I am currently most of the way through the Zwift FTP Builder. It seems ok but I have not put in a lot of road bike miles for some time so anything structured is bound to give me a bump. I have done TR in the past and they are obviously way more sophisticated with plans than Zwift currently. Its not that i dislike TR but I have chosen to go with 1 subscription for the time being and that is Zwift. Can anyone recommend any of the other plans on Zwift to continue to build?
I love Zwift for racing and the social riding aspects; but yeah, the training plans stink compared to Trainerroad and Sufferfest. I was doing the FTP Builder and bailed because I already had a base and the workouts weren’t challenging in the least. Total waste of time.
Someone on here suggested the “TT Tune-up” program and after a 6 weeks I’ve been digging it. I think it’s more appropriate for what us Triathletes are looking for – steady state and sweet spot training. The first 2 weeks are easy, and then it really takes off. The “Cruise Intervals” and " AC + Sweet Spot" workouts are excellent.
2-3 Zwift races a week. Pretty straightforward and should help get the FTP up a bit. Maybe not the answer you’re looking for, though.
One thing I’ve learned from doing a bunch of racing on Zwift is that my top end power and sprinting suck. I usually have a solid bike time in a tri, but have been having a hard time with OA placing in some Zwift races.
I can’t give any other training plan suggestions, but I just did the Zwift FTP builder. For me, getting back in to cycling, it did its job pretty well. It kept me in the saddle more than I would have on my own.
Looking ahead to this race season, I am trying to figure out what to do next. I am new to smart trainers and haven’t yet tried TR. I would love to get a three sport plan going again, maybe like the TR ones. I do not race on Zwift, and only occasionally do a group ride. I do like the gamification aspect of Zwift and am working on getting that Tron bike. And I enjoy riding in the virtual worlds. Like you, I only want one subscription. Do you or anyone else have opinions on if I should switch to TR? (I don’t mean to hijack your thread, I have just been debating this for some time and it seemed to fit here!)
Take a look at the Build Me Up plan. I “enjoyed” it quite a bit. There is a lot of variety which makes the time go by fast. There is also a lot of work at 90+% FTP so it’s not for the Maffetone types.
Take a look at the Zwift 12 week winter (advanced) training program, it’s got a pretty good TSS load, intervals, power, pedaling exercises, etc. After 7 years of “actual” coaches, I think a number of these virtual coaches are excellent, not to mention much more cost effective.
ive been doing the 12 week zwift …‘build me up’ plan. It is intermediate and has 3 to 5 workouts per week based on ftp at the start of the program and ends with an ftp test. It has been really challenging and I think my riding and pedalling are improving. I have had a slow cadence and have been really concentrating on increasing it as part of the plan.
fwiw…ive done some sufferfest workout s and workout put together by individual coaches. “build me up” is the hardest Ive worked on the bike.
just wanted to chime in here since I just completed the 12 week build me up plan. i tested at the start of the plan and just finished up the final test a couple hours ago. my ftp went from 201 to 224.
overall im very happy, it was a good plan i think and im happy with the gains i made. I think to ask for much more over 12 weeks would have been unrealistic. I skipped 4 workouts thruout the course of the whole thing, some weeks I just couldn’t get 5 rides in. A few workouts stick out as torturous (the “circus” one, oh man) but overall it the workouts were challenging but fair. you don’t have to be a crazy masochist to get through the plan. wanted to share my results in case anyones thinking about the plan.