The much-awaited Zwift+TrainerRoad integration has lastly arrived, permitting you to execute TrainerRoad structured exercises instantly inside Zwift. And whereas this isn’t the primary Zwift integration we’ve seen during the last 9 months, it’s the primary one to incorporate a brand new function that permits you to rating your exercise, which is distributed again to TrainerRoad. This was a key function for TrainerRoad, the place athletes all the time grade their exercise efficiency after they full (or fail) the exercise.
As a long-time consumer of each TrainerRoad and Zwift individually, I’ve been utilizing the brand new integration these days on my TrainerRoad exercises inside Zwift, so I’ve bought an inexpensive deal with on the way it works. Let’s dive into it.
The Key Particulars:
At its core, this can be a fairly easy integration. Primarily, you’ll hyperlink your TrainerRoad and Zwift accounts collectively, and TrainerRoad will mechanically push scheduled exercises to Zwift (at this time + tomorrow’s exercises). Additional, if you happen to add a exercise to your TrainerRoad calendar manually, it’ll immediately replace it on Zwift (kinda enjoyable to look at, it takes a couple of seconds and occurs stay).
The underpinnings of this integration is the newer Zwift construction exercise API that the corporate introduced final spring, and began implementing final summer time/fall. That’s since been utilized by quite a few platforms, together with FasCat, Xert, and extra. Nonetheless, the large distinction right here is that you simply’ll now get a post-workout survey inside Zwift, one thing that TrainerRoad thought of important to the mixing.
So first, let’s backup briefly and have a look at the way it works. First up, to combine your account, you’ll hyperlink them up throughout the connections space of TrainerRoad:
That entire course of takes lower than a minute.
Subsequent, you’ll want one thing in your calendar in TrainerRoad. This may be exercises from a TrainerRoad coaching plan, or manually assigned exercises to calendar days, equivalent to this:
Within the occasion there isn’t a exercise scheduled, then TrainerRoad will stick a 1-hour exercise on there mechanically, primarily based on the very best factor it thinks you need to be doing, in line with its algorithms.
As soon as they’re on there, you’ll immediately see them in Zwift in a couple of spots. First, is on the house display screen, like so:
However as well as, it’s also possible to faucet on the ‘Exercises’, then ‘Customized’ space, to see the ‘TrainerRoad’ folder, which can dynamically replace as you add a exercise into it (you don’t even should sign off):
Right here’s an instance of that on a unique day:
When you open that exercise, you’ll see the main points on it. Observe that your FTP is *not* synced from TrainerRoad to Zwift mechanically, so modifications that TrainerRoad does to your FTP through its AI gained’t mechanically carry over. That mentioned, this solely impacts the coloured bar zones. The precise worth for every block/chunk, is set by TrainerRoad forward of time.
With that, you merely execute the exercise identical to another structured exercise in Zwift, as seen right here. Notably nevertheless, the structured exercises are not rounded in Zwift to the closest 5w, however as an alternative, are exactly on the wattage TrainerRoad sends (like this 389w right here):
Within the occasion that the exercise has written directions, you’ll see these too.
Then, on the finish of the exercise, you’ll get a survey, which has you price the texture of the exercise, on a scale from 1-10:
That, alongside together with your accomplished knowledge, is distributed again to TrainerRoad. For instance, on this exercise right here (beneath), you’ll discover it’ll present that it got here from Zwift (little icon at left on Feb third), the Zwift map (Feb third), in addition to not solely the exercise particulars but additionally the score (RPE: Reasonable):
From there, TrainerRoad will merely do its factor usually, adjusting your upcoming calendar accordingly relying on the settings you will have in TrainerRoad.
Observe that solely ‘Indoor’ exercises in your calendar will seem on Zwift to finish, thus, ones tagged as ‘Outdoor’ gained’t, until you toggle it from Outdoor to Indoors.
TrainerRoad has an enormous compilation of FAQ’s listed right here, diving into much more particulars than you’ll be able to shake a stick at. Additionally considerably notable is that they’ll be doing a Zwift group experience on February fifteenth with each the CEO of Zwift & TrainerRoad collectively. You may clickity-click on that hyperlink so as to add it to your Zwift schedule.
That mentioned, one minor factor that’s a bummer is that TrainerRoad isn’t sending structured run exercises to Zwift (for these on a triathlon plan). That’s as a result of inside TrainerRoad, the exercises aren’t truly correctly structured. As a substitute, it’s extra like a notepad record. Thus, these exercises don’t get despatched to any platform as correctly structured (together with Garmin). Whereas the corporate has lengthy talked about it, that discuss has been taking place for a couple of years now.
Wrap-Up:
Now what’s humorous is that undoubtedly some shall be unclear about why anybody would have each accounts for Zwift and TrainerRoad. And the reply is frankly fairly easy: Zwift’s structured coaching plans as a platform, kinda suck. With ‘kinda’ being probably the most well mannered method of placing it. However greater than that, platforms like TrainerRoad (and Xert, FasCat, and so on…) are extra than simply an indoor coaching app, as an alternative, they’re full teaching options for a lot of athletes. The coach is an algorithm, however one which works exceptionally effectively for lots of athletes.
But concurrently, lots of those self same athletes need the social factor of using on Zwift. And so, over time, numerous athletes mainly experience each platforms concurrently. It’s a little bit of a technical mess for a lot of, but it surely works. This complete integration solves that. It makes it so that you simply solely have to open up the Zwift recreation for the using half, after which open up TrainerRoad for the planning half (the opposite a part of the day). That’s fairly logical. After all, that does imply you’re “double paying”, however that’s not likely what that is about.
In any case, on this context, individuals see the “price” of TrainerRoad extra akin to that of a training service (for which, this price could be absurdly low), they usually see Zwift as merely the factor they experience inside for leisure.
It’ll be attention-grabbing to see the connection develop right here over time. Clearly, as we noticed at this time, this wasn’t simply one other integration like every of the opposite platforms added over the previous 9 months. As a substitute, it was additive. And likewise, I don’t keep in mind another dual-CEO launch group rides taking place both. So it wouldn’t shock me to see deeper integrations down the street. And as a long-time paying member of each platforms, I’m trying ahead to that.
Thanks for studying!
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