Current available workouts in Zwift are based on percentages of your FTP. That’s great if you know your current FTP and find satisfaction building fitness by completing structured workouts that alternate time in prescribed wattages, either with ERG mode on or off.

But what if you don’t know your current FTP and/or you don’t particularly enjoy chasing prescribed numbers?

Here’s where route-based workouts come in, which may be more appealing to new cyclists on Zwift who aren’t yet familiar with FTP and prescribed wattage zones. The route-based workouts use the terrain of the course and designated segments to determine when and what type of effort you should attempt. On-screen commands let you know when a segment is coming and what type of effort is being asked of you.

While we wait for Zwift to roll out these route-based workouts in the workout menu, you can read more about the features of these route-based workouts on Zwift Insider or you could sign up for a Zwift Academy Baseline Ride and try one for yourself.

On the ZA Baseline Ride you can ride at your own pace, but you will be prompted by on-screen messages to go all out during three segments on the Legends and Lava route. You will want to be up to full speed before the start of each segment for your best possible results. If you are registered for Zwift Academy Road, you will receive an e-mail to learn more about your rider type based on your baseline ride.

Here’s what we at Slowtwitch have planned for the rest of the week.

Guest World Schedule

Here’s this week’s guest worlds, so you can plan to earn some of the route badges you are missing:

Monday: Makuri Islands & New York
Tuesday: Richmond & London
Wednesday: Richmond & London
Thursday: London & Yorkshire
Friday: London & Yorkshire
Saturday: Yorkshire & Innsbruck
Sunday: Innsbruck & Richmond

Slowtwich Indoors Event Preview (All Times Eastern)

Go to Zwift Events to sign up for these rides and runs.

Monday 100/100 Group Run, 7:00 AM & 7:00 PM
Join us for a group run on the virtual track of May Field that will kick start your week. Don’t forget that each of the five ride workouts and five run workouts have a short and long option. Rather than canceling a workout when you are crunched for time, you can complete the short version and still reap the benefits of the program.

Tuesday Ride of the Valkryies Workout (Women Only), 6:00 AM
This event is by and for women. It’s an almost no-drop, rubber-banded Structured Training workout, featuring a warm-up, set of intervals, and a cool-down.

Tuesday Structured Training, 7:00 PM
Our Tuesday ride features triathlon-focused cycling workouts written by coaches and pro athletes affiliated with Slowtwitch. The workouts last 60 minutes and will help add variety and interest to your weekly training schedule.

Wednesday Group Run, 7:00 AM & 7:00 PM
A more scenic group run on the Quatch Quest course.

Thursday Rise & Grind, 5:35 AM
This workout is an early morning bracer for the East Coast crowd. Get your work done before heading off to work.

Thursday SWIFT Ride, 6:55 PM
The newest ride to the Slowtwitch Indoors family, Slowtwitch SWIFT (Strong Women, It's Fun Together!) is here to bring another women's only ride to a slightly friendlier time slot. This ride will focus slightly more on strength-based work so bring those climbing legs. But even if you're feeling more like Mark Cavendish in the mountains of the Tour de France, so long as you keep the pedals moving, you'll stay with our group.

Friday Festina Lente, 9:00 AM
This structured training workout is designed to get you geared up for the weekend. Roughly translated as “make haste, slowly,” Festina Lente features a workout that will get your engine running but still leave some in the tank for the big rides and races you have planned for the weekend. This ride is led by members of the Kanberra Cycling Team as lead beacon.