Wednesday's Zwift Group Workout: The Lockdown Roller #2

TRI247 Workout Series #120 – ‘The Lockdown Roller #2‘

Wednesday, 13th May 2020 – 7.00pm UK time on Zwift

(ZWIFT LINK >>> https://www.zwift.com/events/view/753908)

Ok, so triathlon racing might be over for quite a while – but that doesn’t have to stop all of your training, particularly cycling from the comfort of your own home / pain cave! Thanks to Zwift, you can self-isolate, train hard (or, as hard as you want), and get your fix of social interaction all in one, thanks to the TRI247 Workout Series!

We’ve got another brand new addition to the TRI47 Workout Series this week. Come and enjoy an hour of structured training, lead this week by ‘Mrs. Editor’, Lesley Levison.

If you are new to Zwift and are not sure how it all works, it’s well worth checking out these recent articles we’ve published to find out more:

The Session: The Lockdown Roller 2

If you’ve been enjoying some Zwift racing, time trials or some of the virtual challenge offerings from many organisers and platforms in recent weeks, then tonight’s session should be a welcome fit into you training.

There’s no doubt that those events are fantastic motivation and can provide that competitive mental stimulus at a time when many of us are at home and unable to do so outside. That said, a bit too much motivation can potentially leave you digging deep into those high intensity zones too often, chasing targets and performances, at a time when many coaches are strongly suggesting limiting those efforts.

That is the theme for this weeks session. It’s a solid aerobic session, but no smashfest efforts are in the plan this week!

The first Lockdown Roller session last month proved to be one of our most popular sessions of the year so far. That highlighted that there is clearly a demand from athletes for some structured – but less high intensity – training out there. So, we are back with another new session focussed on maintaining your aerobic capacity.

The main set comprises of three, 13-minute blocks, separated by a short recovery. Each block will start off steadily, simulate a (gently) rolling course, peak with a minute at FTP in the middle and then reverse.

This week’s ride leader: Lesley Levison

An Age-Group triathlete with a strong swim background, Lesley is typically at the front of her category in most races out of the water – but the current ‘Lockdown’ in the UK means that it has been quite a while since she has even seen a lane rope.

Lesley has really taken to cycling in recent years too, and while Zwift was always her ‘go to’ for the vast majority of her training, the current situation has just strengthened her enjoyment of using the power of Zwift as a training and racing platform. Join her on Wednesday for an hour of group training and banter!

Join us at 7p.m. on Wednesday 13th May 2020 (UK time) on the virtual roads of London. Set your reminder now on the link below or via the Zwift Companion app.

[TIP – It is always worth having the (free) Zwift Companion app to hand on your mobile device. Within the workout screen you can toggle your FTP by +/- 10% ‘on the fly’, which will immediately change your power targets during the session. Legs feeling heavy, can’t quite hold your power targets? It happens! Rather than can the session, how about moving your targets down 5% first, before giving up completely? Alas, the body isn’t a machine and can’t always deliver as you hope/think it should, so a bit of flexibility and not getting too obsessed with the numbers can be a good thing!

On the flipside, perhaps you are having a good day or increasing the overall training stress of the session better meets your own training goals for that day? In that case, you have the option of nudging your baseline up in the same way.]

The session is genuinely open to everyone of ALL abilities. Group workout mode works fantastically in Zwift and ensures that the power targets are tailored to YOUR level. It makes no difference if your FTP is 400 watts or 100 watts, the targets you see will be specific to you – all while being part of the on-screen group.

[To set your reminder, click here: https://www.zwift.com/events/view/753908]

Joining Instructions:

The workout will begin promptly at 7.00pm UK time, Wednesday 13th May 2020. It is worth logging in 10 or 15 minutes before the session to make sure you are set up and ready to go, where you will be able to warm up in the virtual ‘holding pen’.

Look for the TRI247 Workout Series event in the list on the right of the screen once you have paired your sensors. Click to JOIN and you will be taken to the start line ready to begin the workout.

Make sure you have set your FTP level correctly before you join the workout as all the intervals are based on a percentage of FTP so it is important to get that right. If in doubt, dial the FTP number down 10 or 20 watts as it is better to finish the session than to feel like it is too challenging.

If you have never used Zwift before but don’t want to miss out, head to the Zwift support page for tips on how to get the most out of your setup.

After the session head over to the TRI247 Facebook page for some post ride chat.

Zwift Group Rides: TRI247 Workout Series

The cool thing about a group workout on Zwift is that varying levels of ability can ride together in a group and all finish the session together having done the same relative effort, even if the actual watts are significantly different. It is not a race, but a shared goal to get a good session in the training log.