martinstoev / zwift_workouts

6 Hour Training Week Workouts

Cycling requires regular exercise to become or remain fast. According to Dylan Johnson, you need to train for more than 6 hours a week to be somewhat competative. These workouts help you become fit with around 6-8 hours per week. The foundations are discussed on Dylan's Youtube channel (see What are the Most Effective Intervals? HIIT Science, How to get Fast with a 6 Hour Training Week and How to Get Fast in Under 10 Hours a Week)

The workouts in this folder are Zwift workouts, but you can also translate them to any other app. You can understand them as a workout framework where you can mix and match them as you want or follow a plan you choose. The important bits are in the <workout> element in the ZWO files.

<SteadyState Duration="600" Power="0.500" pace="0"/>

This is a constant effort at a factor of your FTP. Power 0.500 means 50% of your FTP. Duration indicates the seconds it takes to complete this step, therefore 600 is 1 hour.

Copy the folder to your ZWIFT workout folder. On Mac the correct folder is ~/Documents/Zwift/Workouts/123456/6 hour training week where 123456 is a random id Zwift assigns to your account.

Average Week

The week usually has 5 workouts and 2 rest days. The rest days are on Monday and Friday to optimize for longer rides during the weekend. The hardest sessions are on Tuesday and Saturday, because this is the time when you are most rested.

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
Rest	Hardest Workout	Medium Workout	Endurance		Second Hardest Workout	Endurance

During the week the workouts are around 1 hour. Optimally, the rides on Saturday and Sunday are around 2-3 hours.

When you begin your training or increase your FTP, start with easier workouts and gradually increase them as you become more fit.

Here is a list in ascending order of difficulty:

• Climbing Repeat
• Tempo 2x20
• Tempo 2x25
• Tempo 2x30
• Steady State 4x10
• Steady State 3x15
• Steady State 2x20
• Steady State 1x30
• VO2 Max (4x4min @ 110-125% of FTP with 4 min breaks in between @ 40% of FTP). VO2 Max Intervals are not included, as I don't do them in ERG mode.

A week might look like this.

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
	Steady State 4x10	Climbing Repeat	Endurance Miles 1h		Speed Intervals 12x30sec	Endurance Miles 2h

Recovery

Include an additional rest day once a month and pick easier workouts to allow your body to recover properly. Take another FTP test after this recovery week to make sure you are training at the right intesity.

Flexibility

This workout framework is very flexible. Feel free to adjust as needed. Taper your trainng if you have an important bunch ride or a race during the weekend. Use weekend tours as endurance miles etc.

Don't overdo it with VO2 max intervals. They are very effective, but also demanding on your body. 1-2 per week are plenty, also don't add them every week, maybe 2 weeks per month.