How Much Faster in 3 Weeks of Cycling? - Zwift Academy 2023

[@LanterneRougeCycling]

I'm telling everyone

[@alesipavec6587]

😂

[@gearmonger8616]

Let me tell you - I love your honesty. Just like your racing commentary , just be true to the process. You can do it that way! One world, one love

[@MitchBoyer]

Super inspiring Benji! 👏👏👏

[@andyrob6565]

Dude 25 watts in 3 weeks is crazy! I really hope you keep it up, consistency is super important. Thanks for the inspiring content

[@kptprzemo]

Benji you're an amazing guy! I've been watching you for couple of years but really enjoying you riding. I must say that you inspired me to workout more. this year i've done 300km on road, but next year want to ride at least 400km and one single ride 50km. i wish that is doable. Keep going strong!

[@BenjiNaesenTV]

I believe in you. :) Every pedal stroke is a win.

[@magnusolsen5336]

This is amazing, so strong and so motivating to see. Keep it up!💪

[@nimmerfors]

New to Zwift and basically at your level so can relate to everything. Well done and congratulations on the improvement.

[@MarkyMarkZwifts]

Nice work Benji, I love a bit of Zwift Academy, I do it every year 👊

[@CamPearson]

Well done Benji, just caught up watching your recent uploads... I did ZA too and found some really quite hard and others ok... kudos for you choosing to do some of the long ones, I always go straight for the short ones :)

[@LewisTinsley1]

Brilliant to watch your progress over the 3 weeks, definitely keep it up 💪

[@richardw.3684]

Keep it up Benji! You're crushing it, trust the process 💪

[@notnixx2912]

you are amazing dude. the good thing to know is the everyone suffers equally on these workouts; fatigue fighter almost killed me and the fast twitch hiit had me doing 22 minutes at ~5wkg which killed me. Keep it up man

[@skippypicasso]

Nice work, Benji, looks good, and great improvement in a short time just shows what dedication can do! One thing I’m curious about as far as your approach to “all out” 30 second efforts. I’ve always thought that since 30 seconds really is a long time that I should aim for a wattage I think I can hold for the full time like 550 watts rather than go full for 20 seconds or so and fade at the end, but I don’t know what’s more effective. I guess I’ll have to do some research now. Anyway, good video, glad to see you back on the bike

[@BenjiNaesenTV]

Thanks for the support! I’ve personally noticed that if I go all-out instead of pacing 30 seconds, I tend to have better watts. 1 minute is different.

[@johnconarty3762]

Just subbed to the channel, I am a heafty fellow as well (127kg), started riding in SEP 2021, started training for 2023 races in JAN 2023. I utilize Zwift a lot and love seeing your content as it motivates me as well. In both my gravel races in 2023 I was far from last but not near the top either haha, goal was finish and don't be last which I did successfully. This morning before work I decided to ride to the radio tower segment in Zwift and complete it. I spawned into the Jungle Cricut loop and hung a U turn immediately, I wanted to try and keep my HR around my zone 2 level while making my way to the radio tower segment so set a maintainable pace up the hill to reach the radio tower segment. I completed the ride in 45 mins with an avg pace of 244w, on the Radio Tower segment my training was pegged at the max lvl because of the gradient and I completed that segment in just under 10mins with a 314w avg. I wish I had done it before so I had something to compare to but I wasn't going all in so I know I am better know then I was before. Anyway rant over and the short of it is you are an awesome inspiration for this fellow hefty lad, keep rocking man!!

[@BenjiNaesenTV]

Proud of you, dude! Great job slaying the radio tower, I’m yet to try that one :)

[@johnconarty3762]

@@BenjiNaesenTV Thanks man! I am looking forward to your Alpe Du Zwift video as I have completed that 2x. Once in Jan 2022 and than again in Apr 2023, I shaved 7 mins off on my second attempt and I plan to tackle it again in JAN 2024.

[@andrewdeck7945]

Having fun watching your growth!

[@christiankirkwood3855]

keep it up benji, I'm loving it

[@gisasgisas9732]

Great effort! Good luck with the training and the races

[@rudmervanderveen4275]

You also might want to try a higher cadence around 90RPM to make more use of your type 1 muscle fibers (Endurance fibers). This can help you to make long blocks more easy. For me it works, idk if it will for you but you can at least try it.

[@sumayahussein2364]

Loving the Consistency👏🏾

[@NathanGuerraTV]

"Like myself" 👊 😀

[@vinniamsterdam700]

It was the legendary Emil Zatopek that showed the world the effectiveness if the interval training.👍👋

[@andreim1270]

Nice video Benji!!💪

[@maccathirtythree]

Grouse work mate - smacked it!

[@masavoie86]

next time you can also try with 2 fan instead of 1 fan for the ventilation you will be impress by the difference

[@davess61]

body temperature is absolutely the limiting factor when riding indoors

[@reloadbaggage]

i joined the virtuslo series after watching your last video. thanks for the motivation, and keep it up!

[@redbertiethechampion1863]

Fantastic effort, keep it up👏👏🚴‍♂️🚴‍♂️🚴‍♂️🚴‍♂️

[@bartdikken7618]

Awesome man!! Really impressive that you were consistent with the three weeks program and showed all the rides!

[@Spotofgardening]

Quick question; I did the Volcano KOM in 11:51, why is my wattage so low compared to you? I was averaging comfortably 2.0-2.3 w/kg??

[@BenjiNaesenTV]

I'm guessing it's because your weight is a lot lower than mine. I'm 110 KG in this video, so I need way more absolute watts than a 80 KG or 70 KG rider to get to the top in the same time.

[@adammillsindustries.]

If you mentally give up you’re either not rested enough or the FTP is set too high to your real FTP. Good video, it will get people training and learning and building confidence.

[@austynhughes134]

I am excited about these workouts, they look legit. I am sure I won't feel that way during them though. Keep up the great videos Benji!

[@kevinderung8524]

awesome going Benji!

[@ShawnIsBatman]

Amazing efforts! Good to see you back to the suffering!

[@seanl3668]

been stalking Benji on zwift 😂 ima tag along for a ride one day!! ❤ woooooooo!!!!

[@Robert-Italy]

Outside of the Zwift Academy workouts, I really like both the Wringer and Gorby. The Wringer is 30 sec x 12 with about 2 minutes of rest between intervals. The Gorby is 5 x 5 minutes. Wringer is about 45 minutes total and Gorby is 60 minutes. The Gorby is very difficult for me.

[@benjaminhrdum29]

Cool💪💪 good video

[@mattsammekull780]

Bravo, Benji!

[@kumer13]

Im from Virtuslo 4endurance 😇😇 happy to see u racing inside out leauge 🤴🏼

[@robinhoEHkiter]

Heerlijk die opvolging van gezichtsexpressies in combinatie met de wattages :D Bluvn goan!

[@robertskochinstitut6653]

A for the effort. Everything looks like high intensity though but you'd benefit so much from less intense workouts. I'd get into some slow endurance group rides that are somewhat more engaging than just riding steady state for yourself. 1,6w/kg as long as possible would be a start. Intervals are fine for sweetspot or harder work, but aren't helpful in the lower zones. Add no more than 1-2 intense rides a week and a bigger fan.

[@davess61]

superb effort there 🙂

[@chrisdieter2322]

Let's go 🤘Volcano kom is my fave

[@tomschenk5148]

Crushin it.❤

[@cuatiain]

What app do you use at 6:28 ?

[@BenjiNaesenTV]

The Breakaway app in the Apple App Store.

[@cuatiain]

@@BenjiNaesenTV looks cool, will give it a try. Also getting ready for WA2023

[@edam9461]

Keep it up Benji. Happy to see you riding through the finish arches on your reps now... Even if you bike throw basically every one! 😂

[@XtremeManchester]

Amazing job Benji! Question: how loud is the turbo trainer from Zwift?

[@BenjiNaesenTV]

I haven't tried many, but this one is the most silent one I've had. You can tell by the fact that you can barely hear it in my videos, haha.

[@sebastienbrochard9812]

I love the suffering! I share the pain! Well, I'm very interested in that race of yours! I'll see you there! 😬 Well done on those efforts and videos!

[@FliskerX]

That's pretty crazy progress!

[@Leonunion]

What makes these workouts extremely hard is what you already say in the video, you lack base endurance. If you really want to become a better cyclist I would suggest to focus on Z2 (< LT1) rides for at least 16 weeks. Do these base ride 3-4-(5) times a week, intensity only once a week or maybe even once every two weeks. If you keep it consistent you will see major improvement in all training zones and better repeatability of higher intensity efforts. I would suggest to do some structured intervals next to racing. I do think most zwift intervals are a bit all over the place, do 13x 30/15sec, 3m rest, 3 sets and 4x4m VO2max (later 6x4m VO2max) efforts, 2x20m 95% FTP intervals, it would help a lot more

[@Fyr35555]

Holy crap dude awesome stuff! You must have done like 30-40 watts more than the previous time up the volcano?!

[@BenjiNaesenTV]

From 229 watts to 257 watts, haha. 🤯

[@konradkowara3747]

@@BenjiNaesenTV Yo, you definitely gave it your best effort, just purely based on snot and sweat! :) I did see your video on the ramp test a few months earlier and there your FTP was 257 - so it somehow does not compute for me, are you getting back on track after a sickness or sth?

[@Spotofgardening]

This guy has a phenomenal ability to punish himself😂 it also makes me think I have a heart issue as I'm 33 and could do this 😂 did the volcano KOM in 11:51 the other day but only averaged 179 watts

[@svenpoelmans3688]

Well done Benji

[@felixblock1542]

You'd better be careful with these Zwift programs. This wild mixing of training zones is often not useful. Normally you want to ride either zone 2 or zone 1 to 2. And in interval training either do upper zone 3 (SST), zone 4 threshold training or zone 5 HIT or rarely zone 6 HIIT. Actually, it usually only makes sense to train zone 2 + one of these zones. Especially at the beginning, you should spend enough volume in zone 2 = endurance training. These all-out components in workouts are almost dangerous, because they tire you out extremely and usually don't do more than a well-hit zone 3-5 area. Tip: 2 days a week intervals and 2 long days at the weekend or elsewhere in the week (1.5-2 hours then). If necessary, add days in between with shorter L2 blocks or regeneration in L1. Setting the FTP too high and then failing at training programs is also not very effective. It's better to set your FTP a little too low and run the ranges cleanly. Most people train too hard and the training effect is either not achieved at all or is reduced! Aerobic training such as zone 2 or parts of zone 3 / SST with strength endurance training can be carried out for a long time. HIT training can not be used so often and it also tends to "burn" people if it is too hard. Don't do too much of it before the season even starts. But still, my hat's off to the Painface from Benji, just remember: consistency is key. Keep it going!

[@eurkrj2609]

What's your ultimate goal on a bike? Something you dream of achieving.

[@Fredrs7]

Your mental resilience and ability to suffer deep is actually pretty impressive, the 30 min effort blocks on zwift are extremely hard mentally to get through

[@LukasHridesbikes]

Is it just me, or are thes workouts more like tests, rather than actual workouts?

[@ryanlindsay4117]

Benji knows how to go hard

[@andrewdeck7945]

Just a random offer. I have advice and some ideas for your training/content. I dont know if there is a way to message you directly, but i had some ideas that might help. Either way good luck with your goals!

[@BenjiNaesenTV]

You can DM me on my Instagram and Twitter and I'm very likely to see it. :)

[@andrewdeck7945]

Perfect! I will work on that and send the ideas in a couple days!

[@andrewdeck7945]

I sent as much of the message as I could. Instagram says I can't send anything else until you accept

[@bitminerbob6731]

I think racing is the best training. I've been racing almost every day (some rest days here and there if I feel fatigued) for the last few mths and I've noticed my fitness improving nicely. My races average mid 140 bpm these days. The HR will spike up to 160bpm with any efforts and then drop down pretty quick to even the mid 130bpm range when in recovery, so for me that's a good sign of fitness improving. Good luck with your progress Benji.

[@bitminerbob6731]

I race B grade too so the bunch is moving pretty quick. :)

[@rumpel.856]

I was also sooo close to not fish the last 20minutes ..

[@DBxCooper]

Well done benji. I’m currently finishing off my goal for the year of a combined outdoor/indoor 5000 miles. I have 630 miles to go. Once I get that I’m not touching a bike for a week or 2. Then I think I may get that zwift academy workout program a try.

[@MrTimeslip]

💪🏻

[@LindseyH24]

It's hard to tell for sure but do you have a fan on you? Please please get one on, set at maximum all the time. Otherwise, you'll overheat so quickly. Also, gels/fuel probably isn't helpful until you're going for rides well over 60mins.

[@BenjiNaesenTV]

Have one fan but it's not the best one, haha. I only eat gels in shorter rides when I need "morale food". 😂

[@ACanette]

I like to follow your journey towards being a competent rider, but it seems that you often get back to square one after burning yourself out in a tough block of training. Add consistency to your training, even 3-4x a week for a whole year will absolutely change your body and mind. You can't rely on motivation to do this transition, you have to build the habit! (and maybe buy a fan, you look to be absolutely burning up after this workouts, heh)

[@BenjiNaesenTV]

Appreciate the support but reality is that I moved to another country and it was impossible for me to ride my bike in that period. 😅 Problem was my travelling killing my habit. Habit is easier now that I live in 1 place. 🙌

[@geeoffchin]

@@BenjiNaesenTV This is very true. I've had times where I had to travel for work for 2 straight weeks and not being on the bike for even just 2 weeks drastically reduces fitness. Noone here is a pro, we try to fit riding into our REGULAR lives. Do as much as you can when its optimal and thats all you can do and don't feel guilty about missing anything. We're all a lot healthier by getting on the bike as much as we possibly can in the time we are given.

[@TD05SSLegacy]

Hope you use a fan when not needing audio for filming training. Overheating can be dangerous to your health! 😢

[@BenjiNaesenTV]

I always use a fan indoor :)

[@benfinesilver2250]

I have the utmost respect for you, but there is some missing information. It’s a KOM. You undoubtable lost weight after exercising from not doing any. With all the best will, and you probably know this… Your biggest gains on that KOM especially on Zwift will come from losing weight and thus your power to weight ratio. I mean this in the nicest possible way Benny…It would be inspiring for people to see you try to improve your body fat percentage over time, showing your diet regimen/ journey whilst documenting your improvements on Zwift. That would be an EPIC journey and series to see. You’d get motivation from all the support. For a relative beginner and someone who takes long breaks/doesn’t usually ride that much, you have potential to get really very good. All the very best, Ben

[@BenjiNaesenTV]

Appreciate the support but your assumptions are actually off. 😅 I have lost 0.5 KGs during this 3-week period, so the difference due to the weight is negligible. Muscle vs fat percentage barely moved as this period was solely training with no specific dietary changes. I'd argue I ate slightly less healthy. Since there were no changes worthy of mentioning, they were irrelevant to the video. In 2024, I want to work on my weight more, now I'm just trying to build habit of training.

[@benfinesilver2250]

@@BenjiNaesenTV Good stuff. You did amazingly well. I wish you all the best. I would highly recommend you try calisthenics, core, calves and plyometrics. It’s my new thing . Helps quite a bit without adding a lot of training stress. Keeps the metabolism going too.

[@user-oq9vf7qc3b]

Benji, I'm sure others will also tell you not to use URG mode

[@DougRose_]

👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼

[@kconnnnn]

4:16 don’t tease us

[@ReverzEffect]

Wearing a jersey indoor, especially for hard intervals is a bad idea in regards to overheating. You should have a massive fan & as little clothing on as possible. If you want to cover yourself at least a little for camera purposes opt for a sleeveless mesh base layer. Also you should always start a training block with the hardest workout & end it with the easiest... so you start with a ZA workout leading into endurance workouts into recovery, not the other way arround. You want to be as fresh as possible for your hard workouts. Actually just scratch recovery rides alltogether, there's no proven benefit over passive recovery and a day of the bike might do you more good mentally then any benefit you may or may not get from an active recovery ride...

[@ethanmarston9446]

Would love to hear the cat's thoughts on the TdF 2024 course

[@PhilipDenys]

those facial expressions.... terifiying :p

[@dominicbritt]

The problem with Zwift workouts is the dubious accuracy of ftp testing on a smart trainer. Most of those workouts should not be challenging if your ftp numbers are correct - it’s all relative to where you are at. Its not often necessary to go all out in an interval - it it shows a number - don’t exceed it. Are you using ERG mode?

[@rudmervanderveen4275]

Zone 2 rides are not meant to feel easy so that's totally normal :)

[@holdonL]

are you really a pro cyclist? or is it a joke

[@BenjiNaesenTV]

It's a joke, haha. Or is it? 👀