Indoor training has gone through a huge transformation over the last few years. In the not so distant past, indoor training wasn’t commonly used as a primary training scenario. Instead, indoor training was more like something to endure when it was impossible to ride outdoors. Periodized training would use winter months as an opportunity to take a break from the bike and recharge. If it was at all possible to ride outside then the advice was to build base miles.
Then, as technology progressed, there started to be a shift. Instead of using indoor training as only something to endure when riding outside was impossible, it started to become a tool for targeted training. Targeted training meant intervals and required an intensity of thought and a purposeful desire to build performance metrics. As this transition took place, one piece remained constant.
Indoor training was a tool for racers looking to get faster. If you want to get faster then the most efficient way to do that is to use interval training. The problem with that scenario is that anyone who wasn’t racing, or all that interested in getting faster, found themselves with few options for indoor riding. There’s a huge group of people who ride bikes for fun and intervals just aren’t that fun. Technology advances though and things have changed again.
As the best smart trainers have gotten more realistic, and options like the Zwift Hub One have made use even easier, the software side of the equation is evolving too. Today there are still tons of options for targeted intervals to make you a faster rider. There are also other options though and specifically, there is Zwift. Zwift is a social ride experience that has options for intervals but focuses on just riding a bike first and foremost. If you always thought indoor riding wasn’t for you because you hate intervals, keep reading. I’ve spent a lot of time exploring how to make riding indoors a lot like riding outdoors and I’ll walk you through some of the options.
What routes are available?
In today’s virtual cycling landscape, Zwift is not the only option available if you just want to ride. What sets Zwift apart is that instead of real locations, Zwift is a collection of virtual worlds. There are actually some virtual routes within Zwift that mimic real world locations, such as the UCI cycling world…
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