Fitness-on-demand program that Aussies are loving

It’s a well-loved sport that can still seem too daunting for beginners to get into — but this device is changing the game.

Welcome to You Got This, news.com.au’s weekly fitness series featuring stories and ideas from real women who’ve experienced it all.

There is a certain intensity to cycling that can make it seem like a daunting sport to get into.

But there is a device, which launched in 2015, that allows people to get into the sport on their own terms, inside the comfort of their own home.

Zwift is, in essence, a cycling program but it has many features that set it apart from your average spin class.

For instance, it requires a docking station that your bike fits into. Aussies can cycle any track from around the world, experiencing every incline on the track, ride with friends, track their rides and build a community – which is one of the biggest drawcards.

People are obsessed with Zwift, a cycling platform. Picture: TikTok

The platform is a gamified version of cycling, allowing people to ride circuits around the world. Picture: TikTok

One key feature is that it works as a multiplayer ame, allowing riders to rack up points to earn special locked features.

Wes Sulzberger, a former professional cyclist, is the company’s senior manager of global product marketing and country management in Australia and New Zealand.

“It’s really just an online cycling community but it’s going broader than that now with more people jumping on bikes thanks to lockdown,” Wes told news.com.au.

“It’s really been a really good mix of those community groups that were cycling based start to broaden and people that actually haven’t even rode a bicycle on the road to actually riding on Zwift and then going the other way around.”

He said with things such as food and entertainment on demand, there was no reason why fitness shouldn’t be on demand too.

Emily Watts is one such fan of Zwift, discovering the platform when she was 18 and a bad cycling accident left her in a back and neck brace and unable to ride outside for three months.

Wes Sulzberger is an Aussie cyclist who works at Zwift. Picture: Supplied

But she got the same thrill from Zwift that she previously had, now riding in groups or racing.

“My go-to Zwift workout generally varies from day to day, when I was younger using Zwift I would do my efforts every morning on Zwift as I had to make it to the 7.15am bus,” she said.

“But as I have grown up and graduated from high school I have been able to have a lot more time in the day to ride outside.

“However I do generally get on Zwift during the week if it is raining, or I have an easy 30 minute ride I have to do and I can watch an episode of Friends, but workouts that I love to do on Zwift are effort heavy rides that include hard high power efforts.

“These are often specific to a race terrain I am about to do, and have efforts specific to the length of the hills that may be in the race, this is called ‘race simulation’.”

Emily Watts uses the platform. Picture: Supplied

She said the platform was something she recommended to everyone, whether they currently ride or not.

“It is like a video game but you have to physically power the avatar,” she said.

Tim Searle is another Zwift convert who initially discovered it through social media when it was in beta testing in 2015 and, like Emily, ramped up his usage after an accident.

“I developed a group called the Aussie Hump Day Ride (AHDR) after our signature ride that became the largest indoor cycling group in the southern hemisphere,” Tim said.

Tim Searle also uses it. Picture: Supplied

“The Aussie Hump Day Ride (ADHR) run a group ride workout on a Friday morning called ‘Progressive Bacon Rolls’ that starts with half an hour’s moderate riding, then ramps up in intensity for 15 minutes, before an optional further 15 minute ramp at an even higher intensity.”

He said workouts were typically a solo affair, but he really enjoyed the comradery that Zwift and the Aussie Hump Day Ride provided.

There are on going costs associated with Zwift – participants need to purchase the trainer and there is a yearly membership fee to access the programs.

Wes pointed out there were also options to not just get a dock, but a smart bike instead, and costs had come down a lot over the last eight years.

He said there were plans to bring hardware, already available in the US and Europe, to Australia to improve user experience.