Author Topic: VR Training (Read 33768 times)

Ham · « **Reply #75 on:** 02 December, 2015, 03:03:58 pm »

I couldn't get OpenGL running to try Zwift. I suspect Bkool will need the same

TimC · « **Reply #76 on:** 02 December, 2015, 05:01:50 pm »

Works fine on my Macs, and PCs running W7, 8.1 and 10. As does Zwift. Also works on an iPad.

simonp · « **Reply #77 on:** 02 December, 2015, 08:14:29 pm »

TrainerRoad have an "ask a cycling coach" podcast which some might find interesting: https://soundcloud.com/trainerroad

Ham · « **Reply #78 on:** 02 December, 2015, 10:19:48 pm »

Quote from: TimC on 02 December, 2015, 05:01:50 pm

Works fine on my Macs, and PCs running W7, 8.1 and 10. As does Zwift. Also works on an iPad.

I'm running a W10 in a Virtualbox VM inside W7 on a laptop, not entirely surprising.

Ham · « **Reply #79 on:** 30 December, 2015, 02:46:08 pm »

As I'm suffering from terminal manflu, I thought I'd try a "kill or cure" workout.

I lasted 20 minutes and I'm not cured

DrMekon · « **Reply #80 on:** 03 January, 2016, 12:13:17 pm »

Done 1100km on Zwift since uni broke up for xmas. According to strava, I'm at the 3rd fittest I've been over the last 12 months and the 4th most fatigued. Managed to drop about 2.2.kg from 23,000kcal burnt (ie I ate well over Xmas).

I really love Zwift. I think if they keep developing it, the flexible routes, the social stuff, and the ability to put together big groups rides will make it increasingly compelling. For me, more fun that trudging around local roads with less committed mates in the depth of winter. The big rides are easy to find on Team Up - http://teamup.com/ks4861763bd63ce3d8/

That's the Sunday morning tempo ride

Ham · « **Reply #81 on:** 03 January, 2016, 12:18:17 pm »

I haven't manage to get Zwift running on my kit yet

Tried another workout today, somewhat better than the other day, but still not able to survive what I was doing pre-xmas. Gravitated back to a short tempo ride

TimC · « **Reply #82 on:** 03 January, 2016, 12:23:53 pm »

Zwift has just introduced a new, flatter course on Watopia (well, much of it is underwater in a glass tunnel, which is cool!). They've also introduced a feature whereby you can design your own workouts, which might allow a reasonable facsimile of TR workouts so you could run the two side-by-side.

Pedal Castro · « **Reply #83 on:** 03 January, 2016, 01:17:12 pm »

Quote from: chrisbainbridge on 30 November, 2015, 09:55:52 pm

I was also advised by a coach to do some https://www.fascatcoaching.com/tips/sweetspotpartdeux/ sweetspot training. So I made a custom sweetspot workout https://www.trainerroad.com/cycling/rides/2649647-sweetspot. So far I am really enjoying them. His advice was to push it up by a couple of watts each time you do them to maintain the stress but keep them doable.

Surely the idea of sweetspot is that it is high Z3/low Z4, i.e. below FTP which means that you can do it day after day as you haven't stressed yourself too much. I can do my sweetspot stuff as part of my Tues/Wed/Thur commute so my turbo day which is Saturday (after Friday rest day) is for above FTP intervals. I have just created a workout based on Stephen Seiler's research which will be my go to session for the next two mesocycles. Then I'll add in a session based on Billat's 30:30 intervals. The workout creator is so easy to use, I will make a video workout next though, which will take a lot longer I'm sure

bikenrrd · « **Reply #84 on:** 03 January, 2016, 01:52:13 pm »

Last winter I did a sweet spot turbo session twice a week. Warm up for ten minutes, cycle sweetspot for 40, warm down for ten minutes. I think it had a real benefit, coupled with a longer mixed ride each weekend, but I haven't had any time to do any riding at all this winter. Heading for a late summer peak, I think!

Back on topic: Zwift looks interesting and I used to work in videogames so wish I'd have thought it up myself! I'm quite happy on the turbo just to listen to music or podcasts, though, and stare at the wall. I have a cognitively demanding job so I think it's good to switch my brain off for an hour a couple of times a week.

TigaSefi · « **Reply #85 on:** 03 January, 2016, 03:31:04 pm »

I did a Zwift "tempo" ride this morning led by Zwift CEO Eric Min and lasted 20 mins cos everyone (over 120 riders) thought 30mph for 4 laps would be fun! :| Eric spent the entire time saying "slow down". Rather competitive on there.

TimC · « **Reply #86 on:** 03 January, 2016, 04:25:10 pm »

Quote from: TigaSefi on 03 January, 2016, 03:31:04 pm

I did a Zwift "tempo" ride this morning led by Zwift CEO Eric Min and lasted 20 mins cos everyone (over 120 riders) thought 30mph for 4 laps would be fun! :| Eric spent the entire time saying "slow down". Rather competitive on there.

I've tried a couple of 'sub 2' (ie less than 2w/kg) rides on Zwift and instantly been out the back. Trouble is, I'm honest about my weight (94kg), so I need to put out ~190w to be at 2w/kg. Most of those on the rides seemed instantly to go to around 3w/kg, and all claimed to be around 60kg!! Hence, at the first hill I'm out the back.

DrMekon · « **Reply #87 on:** 03 January, 2016, 04:38:43 pm »

Well, according to Zwift, I've an FTP of 252, which the should mean a 20m test result of 264, which means a w/kg of 3.3. That agrees with what Strava says on recent rides. With that set of numbers, the 6am rides with Laurens Ten Dam leave me pretty knackered (read fvcked, massive pool of sweat, soaking wet, but still able to commute to work). I have to put out about 240w on the flat and 300w+ on the hills to keep up. If I get dropped, it's touch and go whether I can get back on.

I think as it moves beyond the early adopters, the groups will become more representative of normal cyclists. About 5 people in my club have signed up over Xmas.

TimC · « **Reply #88 on:** 03 January, 2016, 04:40:11 pm »

Yes, I've seen the number on the course go from 30-40 at the beginning of the Beta phase to 860 yesterday!

TigaSefi · « **Reply #89 on:** 04 January, 2016, 09:22:58 am »

The take up has been huge which is great but best of all been the whiny bitch-fest about Strava not including virtual miles in their end of the year calculations

Real miles are all that counts. Not some "perfect condition" riding on an indoor bike.

Pedal Castro · « **Reply #90 on:** 04 January, 2016, 01:36:30 pm »

Quote from: TigaSefi on 04 January, 2016, 09:22:58 am

The take up has been huge which is great but best of all been the whiny bitch-fest about Strava not including virtual miles in their end of the year calculations Real miles are all that counts. Not some "perfect condition" riding on an indoor bike.

So I didn't need to delete all my recent turbo sessions from Strava in order to get a correct end of year calculation then? $:-\$

TigaSefi · « **Reply #91 on:** 04 January, 2016, 02:21:51 pm »

Nope! Mine wasn't counted. HOWEVER it did count at one point then Strava decided not to include them after a certain point in time. Not sure when.

bikenrrd · « **Reply #92 on:** 04 January, 2016, 03:16:58 pm »

One question about Zwift: my turbo has 8 resistance settings, so I take it I have to input which resistance setting I'm using? If I then turn it down to the next lower setting I'll be able to go faster for less effort. How does Zwift account for this type of cheating? Or can you only use it with fluid trainers with no resistance setting?

TigaSefi · « **Reply #93 on:** 04 January, 2016, 03:26:05 pm »

If I put my wattbike on setting 1 or 2 – high cadence but not much wattage, zwift doesn’t actually go faster…. However if I put my resistance to 4-5 then wattage increases phenomenally but I cadence a lot slower so I only add 1mph or 2mph extra and I have to work very very hard for the 3 minute climb to be over and will use the downhill bit to recover. So it’s hard to cheat the system. To cheat it, apparently you have to change the weight of your avatar to something ridiculously light so the the w to Kg is REALLY high for little effort.

bikenrrd · « **Reply #94 on:** 04 January, 2016, 03:27:37 pm »

But your Wattbike knows exactly how many watts you are doing. If I just have a basic trainer and the power is calculated from the power curve + the speed (through an ANT+ dongle) then there is the ability to cheat there.

simonp · « **Reply #95 on:** 04 January, 2016, 03:40:00 pm »

You might be able to produce a bit more power anaerobically at a lower cadence but higher cadence is more aerobic and thus you ought to be able to keep it up for longer once adapted.

TimC · « **Reply #96 on:** 04 January, 2016, 04:32:28 pm »

Quote from: bikenrrd on 04 January, 2016, 03:16:58 pm

One question about Zwift: my turbo has 8 resistance settings, so I take it I have to input which resistance setting I'm using? If I then turn it down to the next lower setting I'll be able to go faster for less effort. How does Zwift account for this type of cheating? Or can you only use it with fluid trainers with no resistance setting?

You're using a trainer with manual resistance setting? I'm not sure you can enter that into Zwift. If you also don't have power measurement, then Zwift will use your speed/cadence output and declared weight and apply a factor to account for gradients. If it's like Trainer Roads and it has a power curve for your trainer, that will be at a specific resistance setting - so hitting a given wattage will simply be down to cadence adjustment and achieved back-wheel speed.

It worked similarly for my Elite Arione Digital rollers. Even though they have a remotely controllable variable resistance, it's a Private Ant system and not controllable by non-Elite apps. So TR had worked out power curves for resistance levels 1 and 4 and used wheel speed to deduce power. It works quite well - when I added power measurement via Stages crank, it was pretty damn close to the calculated power. At the time, Zwift didn't have a calculated curve for those rollers so I had to have the Stages before I could use the app. Now, I believe, they have similar curves to TR. But it will mean you have to leave the resistance fixed.

This is different to what you'd do with Sufferfest used on its own, where you'd adjust the resistance to get an appropriate RPE for the required cadence. I use this technique on gym bikes, using Sufferfest on my phone. It works very well!

Ham · « **Reply #97 on:** 22 February, 2016, 10:12:35 pm »

Well, I now have a new laptop to run stuff on, so Zwift is on the cards, but WiFi doesn't quite reach down to the ~~shed~~ SEEKRET BUNKER, a repeater of some sort should do the trick.

Been a while without much on the turbo so I turned FTP down to 250 - I climbed on a Wattbike at the cycle show and got a feel for power output, so I am coming to the conclusion the Tacx isn't that far out. Tried out a new (to me) Sufferfest - The Way Out, another Col Collective vid, this time low cadence power training. Lovely scenery, around where I ski most years, made me want to do the ride. I could see how comfort zone would all change if I turned the FTP back up, but at that power it was pretty much on the easy side https://www.trainerroad.com/cycling/rides/3256998-sufferfest-the-way-out - took over 15 minutes to work up enough sweat to get HR, even though I damped the contacts to start.

DrMekon · « **Reply #98 on:** 18 March, 2016, 10:58:11 am »

https://www.facebook.com/gozwift/videos/486112521574228/

The new mountain route is such fun.

TimC · « **Reply #99 on:** 18 March, 2016, 11:04:11 am »

It's open at last? Ooh - that's this afternoon sorted! Deepest, darkest Suffolk is lovely, but it doesn't have proper hills. This could make a real difference to me.

Author Topic: VR Training (Read 33768 times)

simonp

simonp