I check my weight all the time, especially when actively training for a big race. It’s not unusual to see 5 lb swings in a day and that can be closer to 10 lbs when it’s 100+ in the summer.
When I set my zwift weight, I’m picking the low end. That’s typically my weight after my long Saturday ride. That doesn’t really represent typical weight when I jump on zwift. It’s probably 2-3 lbs light. Is that weight doping or is that the approach others take as well?
I figure it’s still way higher then typical “weigh in†weights for boxers and wrestlers when they get totally dehydrated to hit a weight. So, obviously higher than if zwift ever implemented a true weigh in process where people would be cutting down intentionally.
My general rule for zwift weight is that it’s got to be a weight I regularly see in normal training. Reasonable or am I living a lie?
I check my weight all the time, especially when actively training for a big race. It’s not unusual to see 5 lb swings in a day and that can be closer to 10 lbs when it’s 100+ in the summer.
When I set my zwift weight, I’m picking the low end. That’s typically my weight after my long Saturday ride. That doesn’t really represent typical weight when I jump on zwift. It’s probably 2-3 lbs light. Is that weight doping or is that the approach others take as well?
I figure it’s still way higher then typical “weigh in†weights for boxers and wrestlers when they get totally dehydrated to hit a weight. So, obviously higher than if zwift ever implemented a true weigh in process where people would be cutting down intentionally.
My general rule for zwift weight is that it’s got to be a weight I regularly see in normal training. Reasonable or am I living a lie?
IMO, I use my ‘everyday’ morning weight after going to the BR. Strava only uses pounds so I round up or down, but I know my weight reasonably well-and it’s not the same if I’m a little dehydrated or had Chinese food the evening before…or if I ate a lot. Or if I haven’t yet gone to the BR. I weight myself every day-sometimes multiple times to get an idea of how much a run cost me in terms of dehydration or if I ate a lot in a day and want to see the difference between am and pm-post multiple meals.
I used to be meticulous and change my weight before every race on Zwift, but now I race so much that it’s not reasonable. So every Saturday, I use my usual morning weight and change it if necessary. And I’ve only had to adjust it a few times in the last month, so that’s not ‘weight doping’ to me.
Of course, it would be nice to go down and stay there for a while…But, FTR, 10 pounds is quite a lot of ‘swing’ in your weight for a single day.
If you’re picking your lightest weight that you regularly record you’re probably average in terms of accuracy. I’d guess that roughly a third of Zwift users significantly understate their weight.
Well it means it’s not representative. I care, and use current mean morning weight in weight to the nearest kg. I don’t obsess over it, but if my weight changes a little, I’ll update my profile.
However, I don’t think you’re under any obligation to care unless you’re doing competitive racing a the pointy end.
Scale is accurate. 5 lbs is not that much to lose on a long ride on a hot day. I’ve lost over 3 lbs on a 2 hour trainer session before (more like 4 if you count the bottle I drank). I’m a sweater.
Agree that 10 lbs is getting pretty extreme, but long hard rides and races in the Texas summers can do it. I always weigh myself before and after my Saturday ride (typically 90-100 miles) to see how well I’m hydrating. You can easily drink 6-8 bottles in 5 hours and still drop a bunch of weight.
I’m pretty much the same, I’ve not quite swung 10lb but I’ve seen 8 a few times in Texas heat. Most days I’ll swing 4ish.
I set my Zwift weight as my average over a few months, but I’m not racing so I’m not super picky about it. In any case if I used my Kickr as the power source rather than my power meter it would be a far more significant advantage (~30W).
I’ve already been called out as a cheater for keeping my normal mid-season morning weight of 77kg through the off-season with my real weight at 79kg. last week I averaged 78 so I’m getting back there, but I am still a cheater.
At any rate, there is no protocol but if there was, I’d bet it would be morning (week average being optimal) weight, not the after workout number. And even then, half of zwift is outright setting weights they wouldn’t see on a scale if their right foot was off of it. Appreciate you asking the question but 2-3 lbs. isn’t something to worry about… Says the weight doper
Well it means it’s not representative. I care, and use current mean morning weight in weight to the nearest kg. I don’t obsess over it, but if my weight changes a little, I’ll update my profile.
However, I don’t think you’re under any obligation to care unless you’re doing competitive racing a the pointy end.
I race As. And by race, I mean in the winter time I jump in A races before or after my main ride for some additional training. I sometimes finish, I sometimes don’t.
Again, no one else cares. You don’t care. You’re not thinking about whether or not I’m a few lbs heavy or under weight in the middle of the race. That’s crazy. I mean, I don’t keep two bottles on my bike like I do in a real race! That’s another 2 lbs lighter! Hell, come to think of it, I don’t even have a rear wheel!
Actually, that does sound a bit obsessive to me. I myself might get a little more obsessive about a real race, but I’m not about riding my trainer.
I use AM weights before working out but I only update my weight every few weeks when it occurs to me and I also only weigh myself every few days unless I’m trying to follow hydration status during hot training. I am also one of those heavy sweaters and easily swing 5 lbs in 1 hr and on days when I’m not on top of hydration or temps are extreme I have seen 8-10 lbs swings. Those tend to require additional recovery for me. For the record I weigh between 185-190 lbs. So, to me 5 lbs is not as high a percentage as some of you skinny guys. I think % body weight is a more important value to determine what is a significant swing.
I have a Withings scale that is tied to Zwift. Then I don’t have to worry about it.
+1. Not that anyone will ever accuse me of cheating in Zwift with my embarrassingly low power output but if they did I would be able to show them a very long daily log of my weight. After I stopped laughing at them of course.
