FIVE ZWIFT Workout Tips: Companion App Tricks // Interface Tips // Interval Skips 🚲📊

[@ridesofjapan]

First 2! MIND 🤯after almost 2 years (Even more crazy that they haven't thought of way to explain this in-app... but I shouldn't really be surprised there😉)

[@gplama]

Boom! I suspect there's a few more we haven't discovered yet. (or that everyone else knows about and I don't) 🤣

[@rockhopper01]

Only been Zwifting for two months, I had no idea that the Companion app was this useful. I’ve only just learned how to make and use custom workouts, so every tip here is awesome for me!

[@jswanson859]

Since I'm new to Zwifting, this is very helpful.

[@roberthbailey]

Been Zwifting for years and am on level 33. After 4,993 miles, 13 days and 1 hour, 309,416 feet of elevation and burning 502 🍕, you have saved the day with the swiping on the interval bit. Mega thanks for that one.

[@sonivex]

Love these quick Zwift tips videos. Thanks Shane.

[@FKnoph]

Excellent tips for a Zwift newbie!

[@deanpeddle90]

Damn….I’m a seasoned Zwifter and only was aware of number 5! Lama always knows more !

[@AeroObsessive]

Ok, the "skip interval" is a totally new one for me, super useful! 👍

[@WowRixter]

I've used Zwift for years and 3 of these tips were new to me. Good stuff

[@frenzalrhomb1]

I thought the arrows changed camera and did my first workout at 90 percent. Thought I was awesome😁

[@PatrickJamesKiernan]

After two years of Zwift workouts didn’t know about the workout progress bar toggle on the companion app😲Really wanted one too🥵Thanks!

[@jimhansen5395]

The first one was definitely new to me. Your last tip, about selecting turns, also applies to taking screenshots (switching pages and using the bottom menu).

[@MrRuskil88]

I've been zwifting for years, but only started using the companion app for a few months so these tips were all new to me, so totally awesome. Big thumbs-up Shane 👍

[@TheRevHowie]

I'm a seasoned veteran in Zwift and didn't know those companion app tips. But I also rarely use the Companion app for anything other than chatting to other Zwifters. I use a laptop within reach so I use the keyboard shortcuts for adjusting workouts and so on.

[@NillerMann]

2:43 There’s also a measurable reason why you don’t like doing big watts on a downhill in ERG mode. There’s a bug in Zwift which increases the resistance slightly when going down gradient and vice versa when going up gradient when in ERG mode. Try going at 300 watts in ERG on a flat section followed by a downhill section - most riders will feel a difference even with their eyes closed. There’s also a thread on this topic on the official Zwift Forum.

[@ZwiftInsider]

Really? I've never heard of this bug... can you link to the forum topic?

[@shanew634]

Top Tips Shane, not seen the first tip. I use the map tab to give out ride ons but never thought of using it to navigate turns.👍

[@shazcol]

ERG toggle to incline mode, useful for very short intervals / sprints

[@gausselim1474]

Great video!! You answered all my questions. Thank you very much!

[@TheoreticallyNo]

Thanks for the tips. The first one and swipe to skip interval were totally unknown to me. Useful!

[@kennychan2044]

Whoa, I've been using Zwift for just over a year now and didn't know you could skip intervals. Now I can skip everything between warm-ups and cool downs.

[@Thespecialone1970]

Definitely didn’t know about the ftp bias one. Thanks lama!

[@grogangreen]

I didn't know I could skip intervals IE shorten recovery intervals..Thanks Shane

[@cyclewise6926]

Thanks for posting, the one of skipping ahead was super useful, for the exact reason that you mention, I can't tell you how many times I have been doing a workout and was ready for the next interval but still had 5 minutes of recovery time left and could never figure out how to jump into the next segment

[@RealGriz]

Great video! Have been Zwifting since 2020 and did not know about the interval view in the companion app!

[@datadps9142]

Was in a group ride and got a "Ride on" from Shane 😍👍

[@chrisobyrne5675]

Feel a bit uninformed…..only knew one of these and that was the very obvious +/- FTP buttons! Thanks as always for keeping us informed.

[@joemurphy4489]

Level 50, and I didn’t know about swiping on companion app to skip interval 🙄. I’d prefer fixed watts increments than % for adjusting FTP. Thanks Shane.

[@fraserstewart5210]

Thanks - didn't know about the first tip. Brilliant

[@jamesryan1699]

I learn 2 new tool thank you much

[@ffwdzwift4541]

Excellent tips Shane. As always

[@Magnum0peth]

Not directly workout related, but I'm amazed how after all these time you still can't access the Menu from the Companion to, for example calibrate the trainer after a warm-up. Those that don't have the pc at arms length know what a bummer this is.

[@roadeyerob]

Thanks for the tips! Being in the northern hemisphere it’s been awhile since I last did a workout, but I do recall noticing the scheduled wattage targets in the upper left corner did not always match the actual target when it came time to do the specific interval. I know others noticed it as well - hope they fixed that.

[@jasonmcgrody9472]

It was a bug I think they've fixed. Even think Lama has a video about it.

[@johanpostma3069]

Very useful tips, the swiping feature and choose-direction-on-map are new for me. I would love to see some sort of mouse-pad function in the companion app, instead of having to grab your mouse/keyboard when you’re on pc. For now I’m using unified remote to trick this but love to see Zwift implement such a function in the future.

[@eoinfitzgerald9134]

Thanks Shane, very helpful and informative

[@adammcintosh8556]

Very useful Shane. Now I know it’s not just me who just can’t maintain ERG on a decline! Just feels wrong.

[@kylepazandak5578]

Video Idea. Cover all the different ways to get your rides into Apple Health Kit.

[@Opp5151]

You are the bestttt

[@Uppercottage2]

…’full workout graph’!……haha!, my partner and I always ride together and one day she was getting really impatient with me saying ‘ but just look at the graph at the top of the ZCA screen!…..I didn’t know what she was talking about!, thought she was winding me up or seeing things!……..many workouts later I discovered this for myself!………🤦‍♂️😜🤣

[@Doktor_Al]

Awesome content, as always!

[@Javi_C]

Thank you!

[@frankconte264]

please i you can, include more. love it

[@Uppercottage2]

Knew about #1 (see previous🤦‍♂️), also knew about #’s 3 & 5 but the others are interesting, thanks!…..

[@guidobarbati8649]

Great Tips Thank You

[@jimpalistrant6899]

I did not know about #1, the others I knew about. Other 'tips' off the top of my head: You cannot turn off the Head Up display in workout mode. You cannot Fan View another rider in workout mode (for example, if I want to do a workout around a pace partner, I cannot Fan View the pace partner to find them), drop accelerator is not available in workout mode.

[@saracen888]

Gods work

[@juannauj4428]

Would be very nice feature if it were possible to repeat an interval of something went wrong with erg mode, to hard level etc

[@gplama]

A loop back 🔂 button in the app and action bar would be neat!

[@juannauj4428]

Thanks, was it always there? :D

[@gplama]

@@juannauj4428 No, it's not. I was being hopeful one day it would be! (I've re-worded my reply above)

[@markbradtke5962]

@@gplama I have often thought this would be a great addition. Sometimes it would be good to have the option of adding a few extra intervals towards the end of a vo2 max set!😬

[@satchmojack]

@@gplama The only interval you'll see me repeat is a recovery.

[@jhref]

Hi Shane, here's an oddity for you. When in Riders Choice using erg, and not being promoted to make a route decision, there are up and down arrows on the companion app that do not appear in the action bar. They seem to change the default resistance of the trainer without changing gears, but like I said, this option is not available on the action bar.

[@valuableblu]

I hardly use the companion app so a couple of these I didn't know.

[@matthewblue7839]

New to zwift, which tab shows your workout or is it automatic once you start ? Thx!

[@nainex52]

Used ZWIFT for 2 years... only knew the progress bar one (thought that was obvious)

[@ix901x]

in workout mode should I shifting the gear ? or leave it on one gear for the whole workout ?

[@leeoien3645]

Over 12 million sweat points! So how many does one need to buy everything that is currently in the shop?? :)

[@benlong2701]

I sometimes use the erg/incline button depending on interval time and type (for some efforts Erg mode response times can be too slow on some trainers), although I've always been confused by "ERG On" and sometimes wonder if selecting it will turn Erg mode on, or that it's stating that Erg mode is on. The latter is correct, but I always get confused.

[@carlsimmons305]

Thanks for the Tips, very useful indeed. I generally have to run my Zwift via iPad (tethered from iPhone)… is there a way to use the companion App while running the Zwift program from my iPad? The reply i usually get is that I should come back later as it’s busy.

[@gplama]

Not sure exactly the setup you're using.... you can't run Zwift and the Companion App at the same time on a single iDevice. If the iPad is tethered to the iPhone for data then it's not likely the Companion App will work on the iPhone due to the networking involved. Not something I've tested though.

[@carlsimmons305]

@@gplama Thanks for the fast response, totally makes sense, just wasn’t sure if I had neglected something with my set up. Keep up the great work with all that you do?

[@pt703]

12 mths and only knew about #4. #5 I wish you never told me 😜🐵🙈🙊

[@playitlouder451]

Didn't know about the progress bar at the top of the workout screen. Normally I have the app on the map. Interacting, giving ride ons, etc. takes my mind off the pain.

[@Syffelis]

I just did an FTP test the other day, and when I was toast I had to go to my pc and turn it off there. Is it any way u can turn off a workout / FTP test on the companien app?

[@chbrosz]

you're having fun with your after effects skills, hey? 😁 i kid, great vid!

[@gplama]

Just plain old vanilla FCP here.

[@chbrosz]

@@gplama didn't even know you could do that in FCP. #youlearnsomethingneweveryday Cheers!

[@gplama]

@@chbrosz Which effect? Rewind and tv static?

[@chbrosz]

@@gplama the animated emoji hand 👆 dancing around the screen

[@bendyer9865]

May be a stupid question but what is the optimal gear to use when doing a workout in erg mode? And is it normal to need to change gears when going from easy to harder efforts?

[@gplama]

It's a great question. For the best power accuracy and trainer behaviour in ERG it's best to use the small ring on the front (36/39) and the middle of the cassette on the back. This means the trainer flywheel is spinning at around 20-30km/h which is typically the optimal zone for trainer function in ERG. Having said that, when it comes to the best training and specificity - it depends. Here's a video I did on this a while back: kzbin.info/www/bejne/q3m4gJujfJVng5o

[@bendyer9865]

@@gplama thanks for the response

[@jasonmcgrody9472]

@@gplama This probably explains why ERG mode "locks in" better in a lower gear. I switched to a harder gear mid-workout and my trainer had trouble hitting the required wattage quickly.

[@TheRealRoof]

is it possible to rotate the app on a ipad mini ?

[@TheUnrevealer]

Why in workout mode they typically disconnect road feel, but when there is 'freeride' section, they turn off erg, but road feel goes on?... Its quire weird for workout...

[@gplama]

Without looking at the logs/lower level commands, I suspect the 'road feel' is only sent to the trainer when in SIM mode. ERG is simply "ERG 300W" commands (for example).

[@valopez1000]

Hello. Do you know where I see the altimeter of any zwift route on game?

[@gplama]

There isn't one. There are elevation markers on some of the bigger climbs.

[@devansimmonds4774]

What would be the reason the game tab/pages drops from my companion app and have to wait a few minutes for the workout tab and map etc. to come back? If anyone knows

[@gplama]

WiFi network drops from the phone. Maybe it's switching to cell for data and back to wifi?

[@ianrossmcdonald8283]

You forgot the interval skip button in the companion app when you’re in map mode, and how annoying it is to accidentally bump it in an interval and accidentally skip ahead.

[@fezzwheel2572]

I know your FTP sets the power zones in training, but I have just started running on Zwift, and in those workouts, where is the equivalent of an FTP setting for running? Is it based on the 5km, 10km times? I have no idea how to change it.

[@gplama]

That’s a good question. I don’t have the answers on this but I bet the Zwift Runners Facebook groups will be across it. Jump over there and post this query. 👌🏼

[@marcus_velo_9970]

brilliant tips!, zwift - still think its a command line like interface in many ways > c:\users\ zwift> _ _ _ _ _ < now this is doing my head in, Ride On in group rides, it says Ride On but does it give ride ons to group? I know I can on a solo ride - but in group rides, I'm getting them but how to give out?

[@gplama]

The 'RideOn' action bar button (thumb) will only make your avatar say 'RideOn'. In group ride events there's no circle on the Companion App either, so you have to click on the rider and give out the thumbs to others.

[@marcus_velo_9970]

@@gplama ok, not easy under duress of ride, ... and one at a time, sheeez; I'd love a shake rideon all feature, thanks for answering.

[@colinswan786]

The "visual" progress bar totally kills me. I don't always use my companion app (randomly doesn't connect) and during VO2 efforts it sucks!

[@behindtheboxx]

@Colin - Make sure your computer isn’t on VPN.

[@LiamGlanfield]

I can never get my companion app to work. Have disabled firewall on the PC. Both on the same network. Disable 5ghz WiFi to see if 2.4ghz was better same issue. I get an initial glimpse of it working for 5 seconds then it freezes and fails to work. Force close companion app and repeat. Given up. Would be nice if it actually worked...

[@gplama]

Zwift -> Companion App is an outbound connection so shouldn't require you do disable the standard PC firewall. 5GHz vs 2.4GHz won't make a difference if your network is effectively 'flat'. As long as your Companion App device and Zwift device are on the same subnet, it should work. Zwift support will have your log files on hand if you ping them on this.

[@LiamGlanfield]

@@gplama thanks for the reply. I will get on to zwift support for help. 👍

[@philipskotzke]

Is there a way to do a workout in SIM mode? I know you can disable erg mode, but you don't get the gradient changes.

[@gplama]

Yes, but you have to manually build the workout in a text editor. kzbin.info/www/bejne/d2XEonywncuIfMk