8 indoor bike training software options: overviews and interviews | EP#157

• In terms of executing the workout, you can choose to run it on your Garmin or your smart trainer. 
  
  Another option is to run things through the Xert website itself, so you don't need a Garmin head unit. 
  
  You can also run it from an iOS or Android app that can control your smart trainer. 
• If you really enjoy Zwift, we have a direct workout import model into Zwift.
  
  You can select an individual workout on Xert, export it as a ZWO file and then it will open up directly as a custom workout on Zwift itself. 
• If you have a power meter, you can use the software outside through your Android or iOS app. 

Minimum equipment needed for Xert

• A power meter or a smart trainer, and either an iOS or Android phone. 

Xert training log 

• We have the capacity for running and other sports integration, but it's somewhat rudimentary right now. 
  
  You need to include the data of how long the workout was and what kind of training it was in terms of focus. 
• It will then be incorporated into the overall training software, and also all the modelling we do in terms of fatigue level etc for planning workouts. 
• We are working towards being independent of power - we would like to expand modelling to things like heart rate and other variables so you aren't restricted to having a power meter. 

Who is Xert ideally suited for?

• It works very well for various kinds of triathletes. If you're a short course, drafting allowed athlete the cycling is very analogous to road racing which is suited to Xert and the workouts we have. 
• Even for a long course triathletes, there's a huge value because we have the ability for you to look at your fatigue model live on Garmin as you're in an event. 
  
  It allows you to model how hard you can go at different times on the bike. 
• For example, if you're in the middle of a long course triathlon and there's a hill, we have the ability to see live how fatigued you are and therefore how hard you can go. 

Cost and free trials

• Xert offers a 30-day free trial where you can upload all of your data and analyse it. 
• Xert has a two tier model:
  
  $10/month if you bill monthly
  $100/year if you bill annually. 
• We do have a free model that allows you to analyse up to 1 workout a week. 

To find out more

• Xert
• Baron Biosys

What are the best features of Sufferfest?

• Sufferfest is the most comprehensive platform available for cyclists and triathletes. 
• We partner with Neil Henderson and his crew at Apex Coaching in Boulder, Colorado to use their sport science and make it available to anyone with an internet connection and a turbo trainer. 
  
  Neil is the coach of Flora Duffy & Cameron Dye, among many others. 
• We have cycling workouts, mental toughness training, yoga for cyclists and triathletes and we're releasing strength training in November 18. 
• Our philosophy is that a training programme should be integrated into one plan. 
  
  We work with top level coaches to create integrative plans. We have plans for cycling (road, cyclocross, mountain bike), triathlon (olympic, sprint, half Ironman & full Ironman).
• Our four dimensional power platform also distinguishes us from other platforms. 
  
  It's a one hour testing protocol that measures FTP, neuromuscular power, maximal aerobic power, functional threshold power & your anaerobic capacity. 
  
  It gives a complete power profile of an athlete, showing how you produce power across each metric. 
• The app will then tailor all of the power targets in the workouts to match your unique profile. 
  
  Two athletes could have the same FTP but vastly different MAP or AC, so they'll get completely different workouts even though it's the same session. 
  
  This ensures that you're working at the correct intensity to get stronger.
• This is relevant to triathletes as they tend to assume they need to train steady state, which is not the case. 
  
  Neil has found in his research that if you don't train the other aspects of how you produce power, particularly maximal aerobic power, it acts as a ceiling on your FTP.
  
  If you're not doing high intensity training your FTP will not improve. 
• We offer workouts tailored to your complete power profile which is beneficial to all levels. 
• Workouts are typically at or above FTP - athletes have different percentages of maximal aerobic power and it's typically super threshold efforts that result in a significant difference. 
  
  Two athletes with the same FTP - one is a sprinter, and one may be able to handle repeated efforts. Workouts that are based on % of FTP won't provide effective training stimulus to both these athletes. 
• The mental training is typically two sessions a week. They are audio modules with a workbook that you complete exercises. 
  
  They take about 10-15 minutes per day. 
• The strength training is a progressive body weight based circuit programme, designed specifically to improve performance on the bike. 
  
  It's a progression that covers about 24 weeks. 
  
  At the start it's 2 sessions per week and they are 12 minutes long. As you go through the longest session is 45 minutes. 

Why should you switch to Sufferfest?

• Our unique offering is that we provide everything you need to get stronger, tougher and faster in one platform. 
  
  It's integrated into one training plan so you don't have to think, you just need to do the work. 
• The personalised nature of it is also great - we look at the totality of who you are as an athlete and tailor your plan accordingly. 

What type of athlete is Sufferfest ideally suited for?

• Our users run the gamet from amateur enthusiast all the way up to professional athlete - for example Cameron Dye uses the programme. 
• We're geared towards the time-crunched athletes - our workouts are designed to get maximum benefit in minimum time.
  
  The yoga sessions are 15 minutes and the mental training and strength training are designed to take as little out of your week as possible. 

Price & free trials

• We offer a 7-day free trial. 
• Our monthly subscription is $12.99, and our annual subscription is $99/year (which is $8.25/month).

To find out more 

• Sufferfest

41:57 - 

What are the best features of Fulgaz?

• At Fulgaz our mission is to recreate great rides around the world as realistically as possible. 
• We do this with 4K video, our own unique technology to process all the ride data, and lots of sophisticated training control to make it feel more real. 
• We try and package this all up into an app that's easy to use. 
• We try to find rides and get them recorded, so we can closely recreate it and make the indoor training benefit more specific. 
• Our footage is all filmed on bikes, therefore it can be down gravel tracks/in the middle of fondo's, and it's going at the right speed. 
  
  It's also carefully curated to ensure the data is in time with the video. 
  
  The skill level and technology level needed to get that right is high end. 
• Everything that has been filmed in the last year is 4K, the year before that it was 1080. Even if you don't have a 4K TV, it still looks a lot better on a smaller screen, 
• Our library has about 400 rides, and we currently have around 100 that we're processing and will get online during the winter. 
  
  The shortest one is a hill loop that's three minutes, and the longest is the entire Kona Ironman bike course. 

What sort of athlete is perfectly suited to Fulgaz?

• For some people it's the only thing they use indoors and they like that escapism.
• Some people use it for their easier training, and some use it for just their hill training. 
• One of our users, Patrick Jonka, used to race the Tour de France a lot, and he still goes and does Tour de France trips and he gets fit for that riding these roads on Fulgaz. 
• The software synchs with the gradient, but the video also speeds up and slows down based on your effort. 

Prices and trials

• We offer a 2-week free trial which has unlimited access. 
• Monthly it costs $9.90, but there's a discount if you buy a year at a time. 
• The software is only available on iOS and Apple TV. 

To find out more

• Fulgaz
• Download the app from the iOS store, or Apple TV.  

1:13:56

What are the best features of Zwift?

• Zwift is a multiplayer training and racing platform for cyclists, triathletes and runners. 
• It combines the gamification and the graphics of a video game, with the opportunity to do serious and effective training. 
  
  There is also a highly competitive racing environment.
• Zwift has a large and engaged community, it's a very social platform and at any time there will be thousands of other athletes using the platform with you. 
• There are 5 worlds now available in Zwift:
  
  Watopia, which is an imaginary island with several thousand metres of climbing options or flat courses. 
  
  Also a New York, Innsbruck, Richmond and London.
• There are also several different ways to interact with Zwift:
  
  Doing a long ride alone similar to being outside
  
  A structured workout alone or in a group environment. In groups everybody stays together as long as you're doing similar effort (in terms of % of FTP)
  
  Races within the virtual world.
• We did a group workout with Lionel Sanders last year, we put it into Zwift and 330 people were able to do it with him at the same time. He was doing 400 watts when everyone else was doing 200-300 but everybody rides together. 
  
  Lionel was concerned it would impact his progress negatively having to ride with others, but he reported after that it was the best workout he did last winter as he got so motivated from the others. 
• The racing is as true to life as you can get indoors. 
  
  There are drafting algorithms that replicate sitting in a pack or riding off the front. 
  
  We have some top semi-pro cyclists using the platform for their racing across the year. 
• Some triathletes love the racing element as you can push yourself to new limits, it's a slightly different training involving high intensity intervals and then rest. 
  
  There's very little steady state training in the race. 
• You can also use structured workouts, and have fun at the same time! 
• Zwift has about 50 of the worlds top triathletes using the platform, and the feedback from them is that it's making them faster.
  
  Jan Frodeno started using the platform in January, and he's ridden over 10,000km in Zwift since then. He wouldn't be riding on Zwift if he didn't find it effective. 
• We're working more with world class coaches who are able to integrate their training plans into Zwift. 
• We have some stand alone training workouts in a library, as well as training plans. 
• Coaches can also provide training plans in programmes such as TrainingPeaks, and if the athletes Zwift account is connected it'll show up straight in there. 

Why should you switch to Zwift?

• Zwift has an incredibly engaged community. You're never alone working out on Zwift, which we think makes it so compelling. 

Price & trials

• There is a 7-day free trial.
• Zwift costs $15/month. 

To find out more

• Zwift
• GoZwift on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook
• GoZwiftTri (triathlon specific) on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook

1:28:21

What are the best features of TrainerRoad?

• We make cyclists faster!
• If you want to use science and structure to become as fast as possible, as efficiently as possible in the least amount of time, TrainerRoad is for you.
• We do this through structured workouts, training plans and analytics programme which is on iOS, Android, Mac and PC. 
•  We focus on power based cycling and training - having a power meter on your bike which allows you to be objective about your training. 
• There is now a lot of science about what power you should train at, what length your intervals and rest should be, and how you should build your season to peak for an event. 
  
  We package all that science and put it in an easy to use platform. 
• We have a workout player, which is an app, and you sign up and do a ramp test. This gives you approximately what your FTP should be. 
  
  We then structure all of your workouts to your fitness level. 
• Depending what type of rider you are, we'll have you work on different energy systems. 
• We're all about progressive load - starting slower and building up. 
• This has been the core of our brand, but we've recently launched two other parts. 
• One if performance analytics which is a programme to analyse your workouts. 
  
  We try and give you everything you need but nothing you don't need in terms of metrics. 
• One unique aspect is personal records, and inside that we have seasons. 
  
  Instead of just personal records such as 1 minute power, 5 minute power etc, we do it by second. 
  
  for example if you do a half Ironman bike in 2 hours 34 minutes, this can be recorded exactly.
• With seasons, you can plan in when you want to start and peak, and compare it to other 'seasons'. 
  
  You can then check if you're reaching the right power targets. 
• The second part we launched was a training calendar. 
  
  It syncs all your workouts from Garmin and Strava. You can also plan other workouts such as running, swimming or strength sessions. 
• You can do everything you'd expect to do in a calendar, but also mark certain events as racing and see your training stress score evolve. 
• You can do annotations, where you note things about the day/week etc such as 'I was unwell this week'. 
• Right now you have to mark run and swim sessions as complete, and type in your TSS, but we're working on making this able to pull them in automatically. 
• We also have triathlon plans that have runs and swims built in which you can put on your calendar. 
• In a couple of weeks we will have individual training stress data for each discipline, which you can compare to previous time periods. 

Cycling software in TrainerRoad

• We follow a base build and specialty idea. You work on your base for 12 weeks, then your build, then your specialty. 
• For triathletes we have sprint, Olympic and Ironman training plans for each of these parts of the season.
  
  You pick how much volume you can take (e.g. 6 hours, 8-10 hours), and then you adjust the plan in your calendar. 
• We have a tool coming out where you pick your A event, and we put in the blocks for you. 
• A lot of tools we're building in the future are about how we can be more reactive to the person, and adjust the training based on what happens. 
  
  We don't want to the person to have to become a data scientist, we want the system to tell them what to do. 

What does it look like when you follow a structured workout?

• This is a key difference between us and other platforms: our interface is designed to be very simple. 
• There's research around cognitive load that suggests the more you have to think when you're working out, the higher the RPE is. 
  
  Due to this, the workout system is basic: you see your power, target power, heart rate, cadence and a graph that shows a time based workout where you try to hit targets. 
  
  We give people cadence drills, instructions and motivational texts throughout it. 
• Depending on the intensity of the ride, you can do different things for entertainment:
  
  If it's a recovery or aerobic ride, you could watch TV. 
  Once you get into the sweet spot, or above, you can maybe watch cyclocross races or other cycling videos.
  
  Higher than that, you should listen to up tempo music. There's research that shows this can reduce your RPE. 
• We don't do entertainment because we think the entertainment industry will always beat us. Between YouTube, Netflix, Hulu etc, they're great! 
  
  Once you need the entertainment, music has been shown to be the best anyway. 

Why should someone switch to TrainerRoad?

• If you look at our forum, you can ask the question there and see what others who use the platform think. 
• Our platform is known to make cyclists faster. If you want to feel entertained or feel like you worked hard, you can use other platforms.
  
  We only care about you doing more watts at a higher level and peaking for your events. 

Prices & trials

• TrainerRoad costs $15/month or $129/year.
• We have a 30 day money back guarantee - so you can free trial it for 30 days. 

To find out more

• TrainerRoad website 
• TrainerRoad forum