Have you just been for a run? Yeah
But it's chucking it down outside?
Well it was alright in Central Park in New York.
What?
I've been on Zwift, on the treadmill. Even ran with my mate from Germany.
And it wasn't awful?
A little bit sweaty, like, running on the treadmill,
I suppose, but you should try it.
Okay. Well, before I face my fear of the dreadmill,
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which we do every week.
So before we get stuck into what Zwift is,
let's first take a look at some of the reasons why you might be running on a
treadmill in the first place.
Running on a treadmill is actually really good for helping you to improve your running form.
So when you're running outside and you're focusing on not tripping over loose
paving stones or tree roots, and thinking about where you're going,
when you're on the treadmill, it's far more controlled of an environment.
So you can really focus on exactly what your body is doing.
You can concentrate on your running form and you can even film yourself and then
take a look at it afterwards to see exactly what you're doing.
And you can send that to somebody else to take a look for you,
too, like a coach or a physio. So improving your running form,
can help you run faster,
improve your efficiency and sometimes prevent injury.
And another reason that people might sometimes turn to the treadmill is either
due to external factors or just convenience.
So whether it's weather, temperature, terrain, or even a lack of light,
if you don't feel safe, running in the dark, turning
to the treadmill puts you back in control of when and where you run.
And if you're a member of a gym,
then I'm pretty sure there'll be a bank of treadmills there waiting for you.
And the third reason is climate.
So maybe you're training for a race in a country that's warmer than the one that
you live in. If you're training on a treadmill,
then you're able to more easily mimic those conditions.
So those are the reasons that you might want to train on the treadmill,
but are you happy about it? Well, do you refer to it as the dreadmill? Well,
we think this is where Zwift comes in.
So Zwift is a combination of running on a treadmill,
running with other people and gaming, in what I think is a fun experience.
It's also free. Well, you need a treadmill and treadmills obviously aren't free,
but Zwift itself is free to use and to download for runners.
I'm not going to have to run and hold a video game controller at the same time though?
No, definitely not. What you do is you set up an avatar, which is your, what,
your virtual you within the game. And then when you run on the treadmill,
the on-screen avatar mimics what you do.
And there are lots of different ways of doing it in the game.
You can do a free run, a group run, a workout, a group workout,
races. And then as you do more things,
you unlock levels and you achieve badges.
You're laughing because you can see I'm getting embarrassingly excited about how
much fun it is actually to see yourself gain experience points,
and unlock things as you do more running.
I'm itching to get started on this. It sounds very exciting.
Like one big group run that you can just get involved in anytime.
Yeah, exactly. You can run on it at any time.
You'll be able to see who's online at the same time as you.
Some of the specific events or group runs and workouts,
do have a specific start time. So you need to be in that waiting,
ready to go when they start. But other than that, yes, you're, it's a free for all, just jump on.
I can feel my competitive edge coming out here. Where's Rick, when you need him,
I can feel a head-to-head coming on.
Well, the benefit is it doesn't matter where he is.
As long as he has a treadmill and access to Zwift, you guys can run together
wherever he is in the world. You just need to organize a time,
get in the game together and then you know, have a run off.
So don't even have to see his face.
I can just see computer game avatar version of Rick, which arguably,
I think I'd probably like better, probably answers back less.
So how do I get set up?
Let's find out!
First for the slightly more boring bit and that's logistics.
Now in order to use Zwift run, obviously you're going to need a treadmill.
And we know that not everybody's going to be lucky enough to have their own one
at home.
If you are lucky enough to have one at home or you're heading to the gym,
the first thing to take note of is what kind of treadmill you're going to be
running on and find out whether or not it's directly compatible with Zwift.
There is a list on the website that you can check out to find out exactly that.
Don't worry though, if your treadmill isn't on the list,
because there are loads of other ways that you can get set up.
Probably the easiest is something like this, which is the foot pod.
This is the Zwift specific one, but there are other brands that you can get.
And some of them can be quite expensive.
It really does depend on your budget and also how much data you want to get out
of it too. So before you use the foot pod with Zwift,
make sure you calibrate it first so that it can accurately record your paces.
There are other ways to connect as well.
Some smartwatches will connect directly with Zwift and you can buy sensors for
your treadmill belt,
which tracks the belt speed and relays that to Zwift, as another way of doing it.
And there are even some smart shoes which will work directly with Zwift as well,
to tell it how fast you're running and your cadence and other metrics that you
might be interested in too.
So lots of different ways to connect and remember that the app itself is free.
So what you really need to consider is access to a treadmill and then the
connectivity that we've just discussed here.
Zwift connects to other running apps too. So don't worry,
every run that you do on Zwift will count, because you can upload it
to Strava too. It comes up as a virtual run.
And you can take in game photos that you can upload to your workout as well,
Zwift also has an accompanying app called Zwift Companion App,
which is also free and gives you access to different features and ways of
interacting with others, Zwifters in the platform.
It also shows you your metrics in one place and you can use it to control Zwift
when you're in game.
If you're not able to reach the other screen that you're playing on.
So whether that's to make a U-turn, to change direction and select other routes
or to interact directly with other Zwifters.
I don't think I've ever been this excited to start a run on a treadmill before.
So I've got Zwift on. Now I need to set up my avatar?
Yeah, that's right. That's your in game character.
And you can customize that quite a lot to be fair, exactly what it looks like,
what it's wearing.
And then you can unlock more elements for your avatar as you rack up more miles.
Whether that's different apparel to wear, shoes, accessories,
anything really. And then in addition to that,
as you get more experienced or do particular achievements within the game,
you could unlock things like being an Olympian.
Are you going to be annoyed
if I start calling myself an Olympian around the office, now?
You'd have to run a sub five minute mile first...so?
Maybe soon. So what's this world I'm walking around in?
The default world is called Watopia and that's I suppose the original world
for Zwift, it's not a real place,
but there are actually other real places that you can run in.
And there's a calendar of events that tells you which routes are available on
which day. Watopia is always available.
And there's always another two worlds that are available.
You can click into each world and choose an individual route,
or you can just start running in those worlds and then navigate using the
companion app or the on-screen controls to take turns,
to go on different parts of those courses.
That's perfect.
And then there's a tutorial that takes you through your very first run as well.
So, as Andy said before,
there are lots of different types of runs that you can do within Zwift.
So you can choose to start a free run. So that's,
if you just want to run on your own at your own leisure.
There's also workouts that you can be guided through by Zwift.
And then there's group runs and group workouts too.
And those are set to Zwift's timetable and you can even go head to head in races.
And it looks like there's quite a lot of data on the screen.
So it is definitely best viewed on a laptop or a tablet or a
TV screen rather than a phone.
Yeah, definitely something with a little bit more screen real estate so that you can
see everything that's going on.
So let's take a look and talk you through all of those screen metrics now.
The metrics move around a little bit,
depending on whether you were in a workout or a free run, but in a free run,
the heart rate, if you've connected,
a heart rate monitor appears in the top left along with your speed. Metrics about
the run, including the time and the distance appear at the top of the screen.
There's a map of your surroundings and what's coming up as well as other people
on course in the top right.
You've got splits on the left-hand side of the screen and then a list of others
in the world that you might want to interact with on the right-hand side.
So we've had a look at what the free runs look like,
But what else is there within Zwift?
We touched on it already,
but actually workouts are a really cool feature in that it's essentially a coach
on your shoulder. It talks you through the entire workout.
You don't have to remember everything. It tells you on screen,
what you need to do. And there's a big variety to choose from as well.
Whether that's threshold, intervals, a combination of hills and thresholds,
that's pretty cool. There's also the option to take on a specific training plan,
if you've got a particular distance in mind as well.
Amazing. And I've spotted all the different events down the side too.
So you can do group runs. There's six levels of intensity.
There's different lengths of the routes that you can run.
And they're all starting at different times so they can fit in with your
schedule. So you've got that appointment to be there.
So you show up to run with somebody else.
Yeah, exactly. I think that social side of it, it's really important.
There's a map in game where actually you can see all of the other runners and
cyclists, and I think that's a cool element to it. And in fact,
anyone who has used Zwift for cycling will of course be familiar with that.
So you can use the companion app for a few different things in game as well.
So you can change direction of your runner.
You can make them do a U-turn if maybe you've spotted someone that you want to
run with and you can give a thumbs up to other runners nearby as well,
which is called a ride on and that's owing to Zwift's cycling heritage of course.
Yeah, that's right.
And you can actually use the companion app to send a text message to other
Zwifters whilst they're running or riding at the same time.
So either in a group run,
you can send a message which will go to everyone else in that run.
Or if you're doing a free run and you send a message,
then it will go to any other users within 500 virtual meters of you within the game.
Obviously, you've got to be careful using your phone on a treadmill.
It's actually a lot harder than it looks. So top tip.
You can use the microphone button to dictate what you're going to say.
Or just maybe send the messages when you're doing a recovery or you're not
actually running.
Yeah, exactly. And it is a good way to interact though,
because ultimately there might not be that many actual real life races or club
runs going on at the moment. So it can be a nice way of getting together.
And you might also want to get together,
get your heads together and train for a race in Zwift. Sounds good. Okay.
Sounds good. You're on.
Ok, there's a challenge.
No, I'm not racing you!
So have you enjoyed the tips that we've given today?
Do you use Zwift run yourself? And have you got any tips for us?
Maybe you'd like to run with us on Zwift? Let us know in the comments below,
and we'll see you next time on The Running Channel.