Workouts

A workout is a structured training session that focuses on a specific area of fitness to help you improve your skills in that area. Workouts are available for both cycling and running. Many of the workouts have been used and designed by top coaches and pro-athletes in their own training regimens as they tackle world class events. Additionally, you can modify an existing workout or design your own custom workout to meet your specific needs. Zwift has literally thousands of workouts so there is bound to be something to fit your training regimen.

Workout Structure[]

The structure of a workout consists of a few basic blocks: warm-ups & cool downs, effort (w/kg) in a specific zone, duration of time in that zone and cadence during that zone. With these items, a workout can be created to emphasize a particular fitness skill. Skills can be somewhat general such as sprinting, climbing, improving FTP, fondo training, etc. But skills can also be more specific such as improving aerobic or anaerobic capacity, improving max VO2 or lactate tolerance. As you review all of the workouts available in Zwift, be sure to review what area the workout will target. For a group of workouts bundled together over weeks to target a specific fitness goal, look at the training plans available in Zwift as well.

Flexibility[]

Pre-defined workouts are beneficial to every level of cyclist or runner due to the fact that they are based on your individual functional threshold power (FTP). The blocks that make up a workout are individualized since they use a percentage of FTP. Therefore, people at varying levels can all get the benefit of the same workout and at the same time since the level of effort required is based on your FTP.

Warm-ups and Cool-Downs (Ramp-ups/Ramp-Downs)[]

Most, if not all, workouts start with a warm-up blocks to get your heart rate up and legs loose for the workout and then end with a cool-down block to lower heart rate and ease out of the high intensity of the main workout. The intensity and duration of these blocks varies by workout.

Zones[]

In Zwift, there are 6 zones (or levels) of intensity that can be used in a workout. The higher the zone, the higher the effort is required to meet the target. Since zones are based on percentage of FTP, the w/kg required will vary by each person. Using these zones, a workout can target specific areas. Often, repeated intervals are used to achieve the training goal. For example, you might have short peaks of zone 6 separated by longer duration of zone 2 to simulate quick sprints and recovery. Being able to repeat this over several intervals will help you to sprint more effectively and recover quickly. In addition to the 6 zones, Zwift also has a 'free ride' option that can be added to the workout. This allows you to ride at any intensity during the duration of the 'free ride' block.

Zone	Target	Color	% of FTP
1	Recovery	Grey	Below 60%
2	Endurance	Blue	60-75%
3	Tempo	Green	75-89%
4	Threshold	Yellow	90-104%
5	VO2 Max	Orange	105-118%
6	Anaerobic	Red	Above 118%

Cadence[]

Cadence (RPM or the speed at which your pedals are spinning) is another component that can be added to each workout block. A block without a cadence requirement would have you cycle at a given zone for a length of time (ex: ride 2 minutes in zone 2). When cadence is added, you have another factor to consider (ex: ride 2 minutes in zone 2 at a cadence of 85rpm). The use of cadence helps you to use different skills to accomplish the workout block. Riding a workout block at a low cadence will work your muscles harder (using your leg power) while riding the same block at a high cadence (spinning) will work your endurance harder.

When the cadence requirement is added to a workout, you should focus on maintaining the cadence first. The zone effort required will fall into place once the cadence is achieved. Whatever the stated cadence requirement is for the workout, you have a range to be considered to be meeting the requirement. The range is +/- 5 rpm. For example, if the cadence is set at 85rpm, as long as you stay in the range of 80-90rpm, you be meeting the requirement of the workout. Otherwise, you'll see a notice on the screen telling you to spin faster or slower to meet the goal. It takes a little practice but you'll soon be able to dial into cadence specific targets of the workout.

Workout Blocks and Duration[]

A workout is broken up into different blocks, segments or intervals. Each block has a zone requirement, may have a cadence requirement and has a duration. All the blocks together make up a complete workout. The duration of the block is determined by the workout creator. You might have long duration blocks in minutes or short duration blocks in seconds.

Stress Points[]

Each workout is rated using a system called Stress Points (SP). The SP of a workout uses the duration and intensity of a workout to estimate the mental stress of that workout session. It is similar to TSS (Training Stress Score) which is what Training Peaks uses to measure workout intensity. Lower numbers indicate less stress, and higher numbers indicate more stress.

ERG Mode[]

ERG Mode is used in workouts to help you maintain a specific wattage or cadence. This is what allows you to maintain a specific cadence and have the trainer handle the wattage or zone requirement. ERG mode allows you to focus only on zones or cadence. You don't need to worry about shifting or elevation as the trainer handles all that for you in ERG mode. When selecting a specific workout on screen, the ERG mode button is located at the bottom of the workout window. It is clicked on by default but you can turn it off.

Accessing and Completing Workouts[]

You can access workouts from the Zwift home screen by clicking on the 'clipboard' icon. Workouts of the week may also be displayed in the tiles on the home screen. Once you've opened up the Training window, you'll be able to choose between workouts and training plans.

Workout Selection[]

Once you're in the workout section of the training menu, you can chose from many categories of workout types to select the specific workout you want to use. Look at the preview of the workout to determine if it will meet your needs and timeframe. Note the stress points to estimate how much intensity the workout will take. Lastly, look at the workout blocks with a bold number next to it. to see what you will be doing during the workout itself.

With the plethora of workouts available to you, you may want a better method of searching and selecting the appropriate workout for your needs. You can certainly scroll through the list on Zwift but there's also an external site that provides in-depth searching and sorting options to find workouts meeting your criteria. Whatsonzwift.com provides an online free tool to help in this regard.

Intensity & FTP Adjustment[]

When viewing a workout, you will see a slider bar on the right side of the workout blocks image with a bold number next to it. This is your FTP number and since the workout is based on your FTP, you can adjust your FTP for just this workout. Increase the number to challenge yourself even more or decrease the number to to expend less effort. This will apply to every block in the workout.

Alternatively, once you have started the workout, you can increase/decrease intensity by percentages throughout every block of the workout. This is called an FTP Bias Adjustment. At the bottom of the workout block list on the screen, you'll see 100% with up/down arrows. At any time and during any block, you can adjust the intensity up or down as needed. So if you are in a high intensity block and just can't meet the w/kg output needed, adjust this percentage down. Alternatively, if you are easily completing workout blocks, consider increasing the percentage to use more effort. You can adjust the percentage in this way up to +/- 25%.

Experience Points During Workouts[]

Unlike free riding where you earn experience points (XP) by distance, workouts use a different calculation to award XP. Instead, Zwift calculates your XP based on the types of workout blocks you complete, how long those blocks last, and how well you complete them. To receive the full XP award, you must successfully complete the workout block.

Block Type	XP Award
Warm-up & Cool-down	5-6XP per minute
Zone Blocks	1XP per 5.55 seconds (approx 10XP per minute)
Intervals (a pair of zone blocks that are repeated two or more times)	12XP per minute
Free Riding (during workout)	12XP per minute

The wattage and cadence used in these blocks is not a factor when determining XP awards. So 1 minute in zone 1 awards the same as 1 minute in zone 6. Therefore, adjusting your FTP bias up/down has no impact on XP awards.

Completion Status[]

Each block of the workout is a separate achievement. If you accurately hit the target wattage/cadence of a block for at least 88% of the duration, the block will show a full yellow star next to it and you will receive the full XP award for that block. If you miss hitting the target wattage/cadence for less than 88% of the duration, the block will display a half yellow star next to it and you will receive 70% of the full XP award. If you really miss the target less than 50%, you will receive no star and only 1XP per minute. There is no bonus for successfully completing all blocks and receiving full stars for each.

Avatar Visualization[]

Avatar during Workout

When in workout mode, your avatar on screen will have a graphic screen display on the front of the bike/runner. Everyone can see this graphic display and know that you are in workout mode. Depending on the current zone you are doing in the workout, your avatars screen will change color to match the zone you are doing. Additionally, a small graph icon is displayed next to your name in the riders list.

Group Workouts[]

Just like group rides, you can also join a group workout. The workout functions the same as described here but in a group setting. Sometimes, it can be motivational to do a workout with others at the same time. There is one key difference though. In a group workout, all participants are 'rubberbanded' together. This means that regardless of anyone's output, the workout participants will stay together as a group.

Custom Workouts[]

In addition to all the workouts available to you in Zwift, you can also create your own custom workouts. Maybe you want to modify and existing workout or completely create your own, either way, you have that option.

Workout Builder[]

Once you are in the workout screen, at the top of the list is a group of workouts called 'Custom Workouts'. Select this to see workout's you've already created or to create a new workout. Once you've selected to create a new workout, you can use the workout builder to design a new workout. You'll have the option of selecting from the various building blocks described above to add to your custom workout. These blocks are 'drag and drop' from the selection on the right side of the screen. Once you've dragged a block onto your workout timeline, you can select it and make edits like duration, wattage and cadence. You can also drag blocks around the timeline to arrange them as you see fit. You can also add text to the workout similar to what you see in group rides and group workouts. The text will display at a given point in time and last for the duration you set. A description and workout tags are also available.

To change the name of the workout, select the name at the top of the screen and enter the name you'll like to call it. Click the 'Save' button to save the workout.

Online Workout Creator[]

There is a third party online tool that can also create workout files at ZwiftWorkout.com without having to be logged into Zwift. This is a free, open source and safe tool to use. It has all the same features as Zwift's workout builder, a bit slicker interface and creates a downloadable .zwo file that you can place on your computer at Documents/Zwift/Workouts/[Your Zwift ID].

Import-Export Workouts[]

If you've created a workout in Zwift, another site or just want to share it with others, you can import/export the workout in the form of a .ZWO file. These files are saved locally on your computer is Documents/Zwift/Workouts/[Your Zwift ID]. There's no import/export buttons. Rather, just copy/paste the .zwo file into your Zwift Workouts directory. The .zwo files are text files and can be edited manually if you so desire and can follow the file syntax properly.