Original episode & show notes | Raw transcript
This document provides a detailed analysis of the core ideas discussed in the Empirical Cycling Podcast episode featuring Shane Gaffney, the Training Content Manager for Zwift. The conversation offers deep insights into coaching philosophy, the unique challenges of creating training content for a massive and diverse audience, and the balance between data-driven training and human factors.
Shane Gaffney’s journey as a coach illustrates a significant shift from a rigid, data-centric approach to a more holistic and athlete-centered methodology.
Initial Approach: Gaffney started his coaching career adhering strictly to established training literature, specifically mentioning the “Joe Friel book” (likely The Cyclist’s Training Bible). This method was characterized by:
Rigidity: Applying the same training principles universally to all athletes.
Data-Focus: Prioritizing objective data (power numbers, heart rate) over subjective feedback (how the athlete feels).
Lack of Flexibility: A less adaptive approach to an athlete’s life circumstances.
Current Philosophy: Gaffney’s approach has evolved into a “complete 180,” now prioritizing:
Subjective Feedback: He is now “extremely attuned” to athlete’s feelings, life balance, and overall well-being.
Individualization: Recognizing that a single training principle does not work for everyone.
Simplicity and Fundamentals: Focusing on core principles like progressive overload, consistency, and appropriate intensity distribution. He emphasizes that the execution of training doesn’t need to be overly complicated.
Focus on Fun and Enjoyment: A central tenet of his current philosophy is that enjoyment leads to consistency, which is the cornerstone of improvement.
Gaffney found his niche working with athletes whose primary limiter is not a lack of work ethic, but a lack of time. This was born from his experience running an indoor CompuTrainer studio where classes were, by necessity, an hour long. He discovered that shorter, more focused sessions (often using “sweet spot” intensity) yielded significant fitness gains while reducing athlete stress, especially in harsh weather conditions. This experience proved that the traditional high-volume, low-intensity “base” training model wasn’t the only path to fitness.
Programming a workout for potentially hundreds of thousands of users on Zwift presents a unique set of challenges that differ starkly from one-on-one coaching.
Unlike a personal coach whose goal is peak performance for an individual, Gaffney’s primary objective at Zwift is to:
Increase Retention: Keep users subscribed to the platform.
Improve Onboarding: Make the experience accessible and welcoming for new users.
Reduce Cognitive Load: Make training simple and easy to follow.
Maximize Enjoyment: Ensure users have fun, which encourages them to return.
Reduce Monotony to Increase Consistency: Gaffney’s core strategy is to make workouts engaging. He avoids long, steady-state intervals like a 3x20 minute sweet spot workout in its traditional form. Instead, he introduces variability to break up the monotony, such as:
Cadence Changes: Alternating between high and low cadences (e.g., 95 RPM then 65 RPM standing).
Short, Varied Intervals: Creating workouts with dynamic changes in intensity, even if the overall goal is the same. The “Build Me Up” plan, with workouts like “Red Unicorn,” exemplifies this.
Controlling for the “Bell Curve”: The workouts must be accessible to the widest possible range of users, from brand new cyclists to experienced racers.
Duration: Workouts are typically kept to 60 minutes or less on weekdays and 60-90 minutes on weekends to fit into busy schedules.
Intensity Management (The FTP Problem): Zwift workouts are based on a percentage of Functional Threshold Power (FTP). However, many users establish their FTP using a ramp test, which can often overestimate FTP compared to a 20-minute or 60-minute test. To account for this, Gaffney programs workouts with a built-in buffer:
In-Workout Messaging: Gaffney’s role extends to writing the on-screen messages that guide and motivate users.
Structure:
Warm-up: Explains the “nuts and bolts”—the purpose of the workout and what’s coming.
Main Set: Shifts to motivational cues (“Keep going!”), instructions (“Increase your cadence”), and even jokes or bike facts to distract from the effort during long intervals.
Style: The messaging is a mix of science, fun banter, and encouragement, which data has shown leads to higher engagement and retention compared to workouts with no messaging.
The podcast highlights that Zwift is not a pure training tool but a multi-faceted platform.
User Breakdown:
Train (approx. 50%): Users focused on structured workouts and training plans.
Explore (25-30%): Users motivated by the gamified elements—unlocking routes, badges, and virtual gear (like the “Tron bike”).
Compete (approx. 10%): Serious users focused on racing.
Simulation vs. Video Game: The Zwift logo itself, with three rounded corners and one sharp one, is meant to symbolize the “tension between simulation and video game.” While competitors like RGT may have more realistic physics (drafting, etc.), Zwift prioritizes the fun factor, drawing inspiration from games like Mario Kart (e.g., power-ups).
The conversation delves into the personal aspects of being a coach, an athlete, and a parent.
Both hosts agree that while platforms like Zwift are powerful tools, they cannot replace a human coach. A coach provides:
Individualization: A plan tailored to an athlete’s specific goals, physiology, and life.
Objectivity: The ability to look at an athlete’s training from an outside perspective and make necessary adjustments, which is difficult for athletes to do for themselves.
Adaptability: The skill to modify training on the fly based on feedback, fatigue, and life events.
Gaffney shares a deeply personal perspective on how his identity shifted after becoming a father.
Cycling as Augmentation: He no longer sees cycling primarily as a means to become a better cyclist, but as a way to “augment my performance as a dad, a husband.”
Benefits of Fitness: Being physically fit provides the energy, clarity, and stress relief necessary to be a better parent and human.
Swallowing Pride: A key lesson for parent-athletes is learning to be flexible. It’s crucial to recognize when life stress (e.g., being up all night with a sick child) means a hard workout should be replaced with an easy one. Pushing through leads to burnout (“one step forward, but then three steps backwards”).
Shane Gaffney uses his platform to raise awareness for Cytomegalovirus (CMV), a common virus that can cause severe disabilities in newborns if contracted in utero.
Impact: Congenital CMV led to his daughter being born with severe disabilities, including deafness and cerebral palsy.
The Problem: Most babies born with CMV pass their initial hearing tests but experience progressive hearing loss over the first year of life.
The Solution: Early detection is critical. If a newborn is tested and found to be CMV positive within 21 days of birth, treatment can be administered to significantly reduce the long-term effects, particularly hearing loss.
Advocacy: Gaffney is working to pass a bill in Massachusetts (CMVmass.org) to mandate universal newborn screening for CMV and prenatal education for parents.