I'm planning on trying ZA over the winter properly this year. I've basically messed around this year and my weight is hovering about 81-82kg compared to 77-78kg in 2018. I'm changing jobs to potentially less on my feet so it will only get worse if I don't get something in place.
I did the baseline ride but haven't received my phenotype yet but I imagine it will say sprinter, it said sprinter to my mate who was 5wkg for the climb...
Damn volcano climb is a *******, pretty much equalled my PR but with 30w more due to the TT bike I guess?
ZA is only available until 9th October. You start with the 'baseline' ride which we've all been doing to get our phenotype. There's then 6 workouts, finished off with a 'finish line' ride - so you can look for the improvements.
I finally got around to doing mine on the weekend and I'm a 'Pursuiter'. Wasn't a great ride for me - fatigued from lots of walking the day before (Alton Towers) then a bunch of DIY in the morning before.
Sprint barely hit 11kg and struggled to sustain the 10 I'm more than capable of - after peaking 13w/kg in ZRL during the week. Medium up Titans Grove,
I went too hard and semi-blew myself up half way holding 7/wkg... Bit too optimistic!
Volcano I was happy with, good sustained effort and was able to empty the tank chasing a wheel at the top blowing up over the line.
PR up Titans I'm not happy with, even taking 10s off my PR feel like there's more there. Sprint 2s off my best. Volcano my fastest this year by 5-6s. Still feel like there could be a few seconds there with pacing/better legs, but happy!
Short 8.8 w/kg
Medium 5.6 w/kg
Long 3.7 w/kg
I guess you lose the drafting and any potential power ups so would explain the difference. I’m still waiting for my phenotype, but expecting sprinter given what others are finding.
I was thinking about repeating the ride in 2-3 months to see how the power & times changes. Though I guess FTP, race results and enjoyment kind of give the same information. I think you need to be fairly high level to benefit from specific sprint training..etc. I am only 3.2W/kg so I will be unlikely to ever need such focussed training.
Although ZA will be over, it would be easy to do with just a TT bike on free riding - so totally solo efforts on the segments.
Don't underestimate how things like 2-5 min power can give you massive boosts when racing, or doing longer sustained power periods for TT training can boost your 20 min figure and therefore your 'FTP'.
I'm around the same as you, but when I'm riding/racing well generally find those short efforts are maybe only slightly higher than 'normal' by the numbers, yet I'm able to recover from them fast. So they're repeatable, so I'm able to survive at the 'pointy end' rather than being absolutely blown up and needing to ease for more recovery at lower intensities.
Riding regular TTT's has done massive amounts for me, I'm doing repeatable 2 minute efforts at 4.0 w/kg - around 310W with 4-6 minute rests between them. More like O/U's I guess, as I'm riding with generally stronger riders than me, recovering faster, covering gaps and doing longer turns than them.
Any sort of plan will help as it's still riding your bike.
This.
In my opinion many of the plans on Zwift are aimed at 'easy gains', so riders without good volume, or lacking specific short or sustained efforts. Racing and dare I say it training sessions - are all about getting accustomed at riding hard in the 'right' places, while also recovering better in the others.
Lots of riders start out and just get fatigued riding hard everywhere as they're just excited the whole time. Not recovering well - so they struggle to peak. You can't peak, without some drops also in there. Most dig themselves into a downward spiral of just being too fatigued to benefit from any training when they do it. Proper plans bringing easier riding in for riders like that, may sound counter productive (can even feel it at times), but for many starting them, the 'easy' miles build their base, improving their active recovery so they're then able to peak properly and benefit from the training sessions more.
But then that is also why the training plans on other systems regularly get called 'better'. They're usually taken on by riders who understand things more, are more focussed and know their bodies better. Yes they could actually be better, some probably are, but much of it I feel are usually the riders doing them!
