I do keep meaning to try Zwift racing though as a few friends do it and seem to enjoy it.
Ive found the paced group rides a bit of a revelation. Two hours with Coco at 2.6W/kg a few times a week is a fine base to work from. Feels like a good workout. I don’t care for the HIIT thing. I’ll save my racing for the real thing too. I don’t need weight-doping when vets can have the real drugs 😀
i try and ride one on the rollers and one on the kickr. The rollers is a real workout just to stay on!
Am I right in thinking…..
Losing weight is generally ride hard enough that you can still talk.
Building muscle is ride hard till you feel sick and stop for a bit?
Most people hit a plateau because they dont ride easy enough when they are supposed to be riding easy, or hard enough when they are supposed to be working hard.
As per some above, I put real value in zwift and what it can do - the absolute best thing it does is allow you to properly train at Z2 and get miles in to buid aerobic base. its very difficult to do this in real life.
Do lots of Z2 Aerobic stuff at actual Z2 pace which is generallt easier than people think.
Intersperse with efforts/HIIT/Strengh Training/Sprints/Whatever which needs to be harder than you think. thats the only way your fitness will grow out of the comfort zone that you get from just 'ride your bike a lot'.
(I used to be a firm believe in 'just ride your bike a lot' but only in past years realised the above, I'm a legacy member of Matts mtb fitness program and have done the 12 week plans a bunch of times since it first launched years and years ago. I put great value in Zwift too and how it allows me to fit Z2 stuff around my daily life. I am noticeably faster now I at nearly 40, than I was ten years ago, and I certainly was not fat or unfit then, but I had peaked as to what you can do without any actual structured training.)
Walk 10k steps a day to lose weight. You basically need to be do be doing 30min minimum, without stopping in zone 2 to get your body to burn fat rather than carbs / sugar.
For cardio, I’ve never been fitter then when training with some roadies doing over / under or hill climb sessions twice a week, in addition to a weekly MTB ride. You can learn more about over under here:
https://www.trainerroad.com/blog/over-under-intervals-the-science-behind-them-and-tips-for-success/
This year I am in your exact position, little belly, and want to attack an enduro over summer.
