I'd like to see a prompt when you enter a race, showing your current weight and giving you the chance to edit. Those who want to cheat will always cheat but I think those who don't think about it much would actually then get into the routine of checking their weight. I weight myself regularly at the same time of the day and track trends over a period of time and will adjust Zwift accordingly.
I don't update my weight very often at all, in part it rarely changes. However, if there is a race going up the alp, or im racing for time doing a climb portal I'll be sure to update it. the other thing is it's not particularly convenient to change weight. I have to figure out where to change weight in-game each time I do it.
Interesting point E, probably something again that Zwift could do to make it easier - at the start of each race if there was something prompting to update your weight (on the enter race screen) then I think more would choose to do it 👍🏻
For sure a prompt would force input. People are then less likely to lie as most errors would just be forgetfulness? It’s easy to change your weight tho’ just in your profile through companion app.
On the fence about it since the races I joined so far, people have been above my weight class anyway. I personally check twice per season, but I had a bad relationship with weight in the past so if I can avoid weighing myself, I certainly will. Luckily my body type is always +/- 2 kg from the listed weight and I wouldn't say that a race was decided by that weight difference in any of the races I've ridden. Dsclaimer: I'm in cat A and 75ish kg, and I was also placed in that category from my start of joining zwift.
I definitely get the point about not wanting to weigh yourself all the time if you had a bad relationship with your weight. Seems like you’re a really strong rider 👍🏻
Great video Ollie and really kind words thank you! it was awesome racing with you and after mid July I will be getting back on zwift more consistently. Still searching for that elusive first race win that's not a TT and a good spot there about me leading people in on that sprint, it's all learning I guess. We definitely need to race more together mate loved it!
Thanks mate and it was an absolute pleasure again - I really appreciated the encouragement throughout 😀 You did amazing in this and I’m 100% sure that win is coming soon 👍🏻 looking forward to more rides together mate!
Well done, must have been a good wedding, 3kg!! I have smart scales and weigh myself at the same time each day. The weight is automatically updated in Zwift. I am always suspicious at anyone who's weight stays the same. It just doesn't happen.
Thank you 👍🏻 It was a great wedding, loads of food but I think the fast food stops on the journey up and back didn’t help at all… I’ve not seen the smart scales so will take a look, it’s very unusual to stay the same weight for years but not impossible I suppose but unlikely 👍🏻
Ooooh I'm the same category as you now and winning some races. Better try to get into one of your videos while I can! :) Park Perimeter Reverse was hard work. Stupidly I tried a fake sprint near the end to get a response I could use as my leadout, but I ended up being the leadout for the two who beat me. Re weight doping: if behaviour seems weird, I sometimes look at the "Aliases" section on a ZwiftPower profile. It's a historical record of changes. Everything from name edits to weight. I recently found a ZRL racer who had gradually dropped 17.6kg across 3 days in February 2024, to the miraculous weight of 50.4kg at which they supposedly remain. I was so annoyed I reported them to WTRL and Zwift. I commend WTRL for a personal reply saying they would look into it, even though it's ZRL off-season. Zwift warns you when you report that they won't let you know how it went.
Hi mate! Would be good to race together some point soon because the categories change often 😁 good work winning some races too! Park Perimeter is such a tough course, your plan sounded good, give it another go! That’s absolutely crazy how much weight that rider lost in such a short amount of time - that’s the sort of blatant stuff that is actually quite annoying! Well done for reporting it and I’m glad WTRL looked into it! Hopefully see you on Zwift soon mate 👍🏻
Hey Ollie, it's a long-standing issue but nonetheless a great topic. IMO, we can never fully eradicate these issues. PM overreading, weight/height doping etc. I just have to make sure that I'm near the top of my category then it's going to affect me less. For cheaters, they're just cheating themselves. In the A category, however, it can be quite crazy without that category ceiling. That's where they truly need some enforcement. I've seen TH-camrs who looked bigger than me but weighed less on the record. It's a shame, really. My 5 cents haha!
Hey Leo, hope you’re well mate - I’ve been enjoying your IRL shorts, the Japanese Alpe looked amazing! I completely agree, there will always be those that choose to ignore weight changes just to gain an advantage which is sad. I can imagine how it is in category A where there isn’t a ceiling - that must be super frustrating for those that are playing fairly! 👍🏻👍🏻
I never changed my weight up until last June only because my weight pretty much stayed the same but since then, I lost almost 10 kilos so I started to change my weight and now weigh myself in the morning before riding so I change it as and when.
Well done mate. I think a good 30% if not more of Zwift racers weight dope (if you’re not a racer there’s no such thing as weight doping IMO) based on what I see on ZwiftPower profiles in terms of never updating weight, etc - I am an official race admin for around 4 years now and I once had someone send me a fake weigh in video they’d made where they were holding onto the sink and the scales never settled etc - they accidentally revealed they were 25kg heavier than they said they were!!! Also the guy who claimed to be 50kg and appeared to be maybe twice that in his profile picture on Facebook….with an oxygen tank to boot in his 70s….so hardly the 6wkg mastermind they’d made themselves out to be. Anyway what I’m saying is - cheating is everywhere on Zwift, sometimes more obvious than others and a good weight doper is hard to catch without weigh in videos. Well done on the race - although my advice would be never tell yourself you’re about to get dropped, or you’ll start believing it. I adopt a ‘well I’m still here’ approach and everyone is hurting/feeling the same - then if you get dropped anyway it is what it is 🤷♂️
Thanks mate, much appreciated as always 👍🏻 what an interesting/crazy couple of instances there - it’s crazy what some do! Maybe Zwift go down maybe an official ranking type races where you have to recorded a weight vid to enter? Even then I suppose there will still be some that try to falsify those vids, it’s a difficult one! I sometimes have a nasty habit of letting myself drop mentally before I actually do- thanks for calling this out because it’s not ok! I need to do better mentally as you rightly say! Next race mate I’ll keep positive 👍🏻
I have been consistently weighing myself every single day. I weigh 205lbs and my weight fluctuates downwards by 5lbs max when doing long rides outside. But by the time I get back on Zwift the next day or time. I’m back at 205. I only change my weight when I’m consistently hitting the same weight. I started at 215lbs. I’m flirting with 203lbs so a change for me is coming soon. Luckily for me, I don’t go over my listed weight. I wish you can just weigh yourself and it automatically changes the weight in zwift for you.
Hey I recorded a vid on this but never published it because of the sound quality. My local hill climb race weighed everyone for a special prize. So I had that data. I filtered out women, very small people and very tall. Out of a sample size of 70 or so the average weight was 81 kilos. Surprisingly heavy as these were all licensed bike racers. I then did a similar filter on a Zwift Fondo , same demographic e.g. North American males similar age range, height range etc., the average weight was 71 kilos. My feeling is this was a fairly accurate comparison of a fairly similar cohort and the average weight doping on Zwift is about 10 kilos. 😂
Gutted that video wasn’t published as it would have been a very interesting one to watch! Really interesting results! It’d be good to actually find out the scale of the issue - I don’t know how difficult it’d be for zwift at the start of each race to ask riders to input their weight at the beginning. At least this way we’d know if people were being a bit lazy or just choosing to lie about it! 👍🏻
When thinking about weight doping I think about the people who change their weight for a race. But than 10 to 20 kilo's lower/higher before a race and change it back after. You see people lose weight at once which is kinda impossible. That bothers me more than people not really changing it at all.
Great point, I do remember not so long ago when people were able to do that without getting caught. That sort of weight doping is, in my opinion, just straight up cheating, whereas not changing the weight forever could be a genuinely because it hasn’t changed.
Well done on Zwift! I limp along in D-Cat. Question for you... Should I weigh myself wearing nothing? I normally do my Zwift weigh-in wearing whatever I ride with, ie my cycling clothing on, including my cycle shoes. Am I being unfair on myself?
Thanks very much 👍🏻 Nothing wrong with cat D, those races are just as competitive! I think the general rule of thumb is in your cycling gear - for me that’s socks, and bib shorts (no jersey), I also don’t wear my shoes on the scales 😊
Personally, my weight fluctuates +/- 0.5 kg depending on time of day, what I've eaten, intensity of the ride, etc, but has not changed from a constant 79kg +/- 0.5 in nearly 2 years of weighing myself daily on calibrated scales so I just leave it set at that. One day, I may be at a 1/2 kilo advantage, but come the afternoon on the same day I could be at a 1/2 kg disadvantage. If my weight fluctuated by 3 kg, then yes I would make adjustments but for 0.5 🤔 Meh
I completely agree and it’s the same for me, my weight does fluctuate depending on the time of day, what training I’ve done etc. It’s interesting also that during a longer/intense race you also could lose weight so would also be at a marginal disadvantage. The +/- 1/2 kilo thing is a good idea I think 👍🏻
Good riding Olly, very much a punchers course that! In terms of weight, I keep an eye on it but I can weigh myself 3 times in a day and weigh 3 different weights, so I try to weigh myself around the same time of day a week and if I’m still within that area I keep it as is, but any drastic changes either up or down than I will. Weighed in at 79.5kgs and instantly wanted to change it on Zwift but I had just ran 10k and cycled 20k so wasn’t very realistic 😂 but I know what you mean people cycling for years and never changing weight, or those Zwifters that just do enough not to get upgraded but dominate their category 🥱 I’ve seen you’re now B cat? Or is that a glitch in the Zwift matrix?!
Thanks mate, much appreciated 👍🏻 I’m very similar to you when it comes to the weight thing, it’s amazing seeing it lower than normal after a busy few days training but it soon goes back to what I would call normal! No you’re not seeing things, amazingly I got upgraded to B which is hilarious - not sure how it’s happened but my zFTP is lower than it’s been for ages, I seriously hope they bring in the results based cats soon! I’m going to race the Zwift Insider tiny races Sunday - interestingly he’s using Vo2 as the category and I’m in D lol! Hope all is well mate 👍🏻
I race at 95kgs but fluctuate a few kilos on either side of that throughout the year. Probably should change the race weight once a month but my racing is just for fun and training.
I think this is where Zwift could do better at gently reminding everyone to change weight if there is a huge difference. It also depends on how seriously people take it, like you say you do it for fun (like me) so maybe there should be a ranked category that fully verifies weight/height for those that also want to race seriously 👍🏻
@@notpogi if you race in the higher tier events, you need to send in a video of yourself doing a weigh in. You also need dual power data too, so they do tighten things up, the higher you race.
The horse 🤣... I have often thought that if Zwift can implement a smart trainer along with other components, why can't they come out with a smart scale connected to Zwift for when you race? I'm no computer whiz but I'm sure it can be done. Phil had a great race but you did too, considering how much driving you had to do! You came in the top third which is quite good in my opinion. You'll get rid of those three kilos quickly. Because I can't ride the bike I'm up around 6 kilos but I just started doing longer rides so hopefully that will disappear quickly. But the horse was hysterical. I had to replay it about three times😂
Haha thanks Linda! I was hoping you especially would find the horse funny 🤣 we have similar humour I think! I completely agree about the smart scale or just something that reminds and makes it really easy to change the weight before each race! Hoping the recovery is going well, I’m really looking forward to some ZWG vids soon I hope 😁
Nice one Ollie that’s a good race after all that driving I’d be asleep or flat out with back pain so top effort. As for the weight doping I imagine there are people out there that cheat with it to the extreme and others just don’t care and don’t check their weight from month to month I check once a week because I did get quite obsessed with it but I honestly don’t gain or lose much more than 2 kg and I don’t think under 1 kg makes loads of difference anyway But I have noticed a lot of 55+ years old riders seem to be under 70kg with 4.5wkg I wonder if on your 55th birthday you wake up like that almost like turning into a teenager so I should be a load better in 6 years time 😂
Thanks mate 👍🏻 I’ve never driven that far before in one go so was struggling a bit! It’s difficult to judge as you say - we just don’t know how honest everyone is being or whether they just don’t get the importance of it. I can’t wait t get to 55 🤣 especially if I’ll overnight become stronger and lighter!! Hope you’re all good mate 👍🏻
One dude finished weighing 48kg could be I guess, As for weights mate some dudes stay around the same weight I run a lot and stay around the same weight have for years and years. But I get you there's some cheating but there only cheating themselves. Good video well done.
Thanks mate much appreciated 👍🏻 yeah exactly, if people want to win by not being honest then they’re only cheating themselves. Some people genuinely do stay the same weight though like you say 👍🏻
I completely agree mate, I think the lighter you are the more it makes a massive difference. I think it’s a good habit to get into as knowing how your body reacts to training is good from a health perspective 👍🏻
Credit to you for being honest. Unfortunately you are certainly always racing against dishonest zwifters. It's a case of accepting this or riding forever frustrated. Difference between you and the cheats is that your conscience is clear
Of course...I go on Zwift at Cat C and if there is 50 riders and cant brake the top 40. But when i go outside on Strava either every ride or every other ride i brake into top 10 All time finishes....things that make you go mmm.
I think weight doping is quite an issue on Zwift. There are people who maybe haven't adjusted their weight in 6 months and are maybe a few kg heavier. There's people who are blatantly cheating by lowering their weight to get a better w/kg. Then there are people who are posting a higher weight to lower their w/kg to race in a lower class. Pure example here - A cat A rider weighs 65kg and has a ftp of 4.5wkg and a sprint of 15wkg. If they list their weight as higher they become a cat B with an ftp under 4wkg and a sprint of 12wkg. This would see them placing top 5 in most races. Unfortunately there isn't much that can be done unless Zwift insists that everyone is weight verified.
It’s a shame people go to such measures just to win or place higher - I honestly don’t understand how that makes anyone feel good! It’s difficult for zwift to police this but a gentle reminder would be good at the start of each race 👍🏻
I suspect that for the most part people racing is for fun / training and the weight issue is niether here nor there for them as they are not at the pointy end of results. I use zwift a lot but pretty much never race - that said if i was racing i would be doing a weigh in each day i raced. If your gonna compete then to my mind it should be by the rules. I am nowhere near serious enough to enter events that require video weigh in - so much so it would put me off bothering TBH.
Yeah excellent point, I think those that do choose to race seriously and often should keep an eye on their weight and update it but as you say - a lot of people just use Zwift for fun 👍🏻
weight doping is a big deal on zwift for racing. weight matters much more on zwift than it does outside, especially on flat courses on zwift. i race in A/A+ and the amount of people who i see who have been exactly 70.0kg for 2 years straight is wild. id say less than 10% of high category racers update their weight weekly who race competitively on zwift. if you are off 3kg and your PM is wonky, you can turn a 4wkg ftp into a 5wkg ftp without even noticing
I don’t disagree, I can’t imagine how frustrating that must be - especially when racing in the most difficult/competitive category! I had a brief look at the riders in this race and a lot hadn’t changed their weight in years… I think Zwift should have a look at reminding as a minimum before each race, then it becomes less of a “I didn’t know I had to” to knowingly gaining an unfair advantage 👍🏻
@@notpogi yea, i think a simple reminder when entering races (esp those that have hardware reqs) is a super simple and non aggressive thing that zwift can do
It’s bound to happen, unfortunately it’s not just a case of cheating themselves (hollow wins) but us other riders. I use a Renpho Bluetooth scale daily. Surely Zwift could introduce something like that for verification. Less costly than a decent HR monitor. It would help make it fairer but also incentivise true weight loss globally 😂
Yes you’re absolutely right, not sure I’d ever feel good winning knowing I’ve had an unfair advantage! I think Zwift could have something like you mention that properly verify those riders that want to race seriously 👍🏻
@@notpogiyes it’s bizarre, but unfortunately there are cheats in all walks of life. I’d like to think it’s not rife, as I’ve found the Zwift community to be very welcoming and friendly since joining recently 👍🏼
I have been consistently weighing myself every single day. I weigh 205lbs and my weight fluctuates downwards by 5lbs max when doing long rides outside. But by the time I get back on Zwift the next day or time. I’m back at 205. I only change my weight when I’m consistently hitting the same weight. I started at 215lbs. I’m flirting with 203lbs so a change for me is coming soon. Luckily for me, I don’t go over my listed weight. I wish you can just weigh yourself and it automatically changes the weight in zwift for you.
That’s a really good habit to get into, if I remember in the morning I will usually weigh myself- I agree it’d be good if there was something that auto-synced onto Zwift 👍🏻
@@notpogi Yea, it’s just habit now. Wake ups, use bathroom, weigh self, brush teeth etc etc. but it would be cool to have your weight update automatically. Maybe sometime later on lol.
I'd like to see a prompt when you enter a race, showing your current weight and giving you the chance to edit. Those who want to cheat will always cheat but I think those who don't think about it much would actually then get into the routine of checking their weight. I weight myself regularly at the same time of the day and track trends over a period of time and will adjust Zwift accordingly.
I think it’s a great habit to get into and I completely agree - it’d be great if there was a little prompt at the start of each race 👍🏻
I don't update my weight very often at all, in part it rarely changes.
However, if there is a race going up the alp, or im racing for time doing a climb portal I'll be sure to update it.
the other thing is it's not particularly convenient to change weight. I have to figure out where to change weight in-game each time I do it.
Interesting point E, probably something again that Zwift could do to make it easier - at the start of each race if there was something prompting to update your weight (on the enter race screen) then I think more would choose to do it 👍🏻
For sure a prompt would force input. People are then less likely to lie as most errors would just be forgetfulness? It’s easy to change your weight tho’ just in your profile through companion app.
On the fence about it since the races I joined so far, people have been above my weight class anyway. I personally check twice per season, but I had a bad relationship with weight in the past so if I can avoid weighing myself, I certainly will. Luckily my body type is always +/- 2 kg from the listed weight and I wouldn't say that a race was decided by that weight difference in any of the races I've ridden. Dsclaimer: I'm in cat A and 75ish kg, and I was also placed in that category from my start of joining zwift.
I definitely get the point about not wanting to weigh yourself all the time if you had a bad relationship with your weight. Seems like you’re a really strong rider 👍🏻
Great video Ollie and really kind words thank you! it was awesome racing with you and after mid July I will be getting back on zwift more consistently. Still searching for that elusive first race win that's not a TT and a good spot there about me leading people in on that sprint, it's all learning I guess. We definitely need to race more together mate loved it!
Thanks mate and it was an absolute pleasure again - I really appreciated the encouragement throughout 😀 You did amazing in this and I’m 100% sure that win is coming soon 👍🏻 looking forward to more rides together mate!
Dat heart rate :O Nice effort!
@@mdewree Thanks! I think that's more impressive than the sprint to be honest! lol
Well done, must have been a good wedding, 3kg!! I have smart scales and weigh myself at the same time each day. The weight is automatically updated in Zwift. I am always suspicious at anyone who's weight stays the same. It just doesn't happen.
Thank you 👍🏻 It was a great wedding, loads of food but I think the fast food stops on the journey up and back didn’t help at all… I’ve not seen the smart scales so will take a look, it’s very unusual to stay the same weight for years but not impossible I suppose but unlikely 👍🏻
Ooooh I'm the same category as you now and winning some races. Better try to get into one of your videos while I can! :) Park Perimeter Reverse was hard work. Stupidly I tried a fake sprint near the end to get a response I could use as my leadout, but I ended up being the leadout for the two who beat me.
Re weight doping: if behaviour seems weird, I sometimes look at the "Aliases" section on a ZwiftPower profile. It's a historical record of changes. Everything from name edits to weight. I recently found a ZRL racer who had gradually dropped 17.6kg across 3 days in February 2024, to the miraculous weight of 50.4kg at which they supposedly remain.
I was so annoyed I reported them to WTRL and Zwift. I commend WTRL for a personal reply saying they would look into it, even though it's ZRL off-season. Zwift warns you when you report that they won't let you know how it went.
Hi mate! Would be good to race together some point soon because the categories change often 😁 good work winning some races too! Park Perimeter is such a tough course, your plan sounded good, give it another go!
That’s absolutely crazy how much weight that rider lost in such a short amount of time - that’s the sort of blatant stuff that is actually quite annoying! Well done for reporting it and I’m glad WTRL looked into it!
Hopefully see you on Zwift soon mate 👍🏻
Hey Ollie, it's a long-standing issue but nonetheless a great topic.
IMO, we can never fully eradicate these issues. PM overreading, weight/height doping etc.
I just have to make sure that I'm near the top of my category then it's going to affect me less. For cheaters, they're just cheating themselves.
In the A category, however, it can be quite crazy without that category ceiling. That's where they truly need some enforcement.
I've seen TH-camrs who looked bigger than me but weighed less on the record. It's a shame, really.
My 5 cents haha!
Hey Leo, hope you’re well mate - I’ve been enjoying your IRL shorts, the Japanese Alpe looked amazing!
I completely agree, there will always be those that choose to ignore weight changes just to gain an advantage which is sad. I can imagine how it is in category A where there isn’t a ceiling - that must be super frustrating for those that are playing fairly! 👍🏻👍🏻
I never changed my weight up until last June only because my weight pretty much stayed the same but since then, I lost almost 10 kilos so I started to change my weight and now weigh myself in the morning before riding so I change it as and when.
Nice👌🏻that’s a lot of weight lost - kudos for that! I think it’s always good practice to weigh yourself as often as possible 👍🏻
@@notpogi I do daily as I have a fitbit so it's good to see how I average out each week.
Well done mate. I think a good 30% if not more of Zwift racers weight dope (if you’re not a racer there’s no such thing as weight doping IMO) based on what I see on ZwiftPower profiles in terms of never updating weight, etc - I am an official race admin for around 4 years now and I once had someone send me a fake weigh in video they’d made where they were holding onto the sink and the scales never settled etc - they accidentally revealed they were 25kg heavier than they said they were!!!
Also the guy who claimed to be 50kg and appeared to be maybe twice that in his profile picture on Facebook….with an oxygen tank to boot in his 70s….so hardly the 6wkg mastermind they’d made themselves out to be. Anyway what I’m saying is - cheating is everywhere on Zwift, sometimes more obvious than others and a good weight doper is hard to catch without weigh in videos.
Well done on the race - although my advice would be never tell yourself you’re about to get dropped, or you’ll start believing it. I adopt a ‘well I’m still here’ approach and everyone is hurting/feeling the same - then if you get dropped anyway it is what it is 🤷♂️
Thanks mate, much appreciated as always 👍🏻 what an interesting/crazy couple of instances there - it’s crazy what some do! Maybe Zwift go down maybe an official ranking type races where you have to recorded a weight vid to enter? Even then I suppose there will still be some that try to falsify those vids, it’s a difficult one!
I sometimes have a nasty habit of letting myself drop mentally before I actually do- thanks for calling this out because it’s not ok! I need to do better mentally as you rightly say! Next race mate I’ll keep positive 👍🏻
I have been consistently weighing myself every single day. I weigh 205lbs and my weight fluctuates downwards by 5lbs max when doing long rides outside. But by the time I get back on Zwift the next day or time. I’m back at 205. I only change my weight when I’m consistently hitting the same weight. I started at 215lbs. I’m flirting with 203lbs so a change for me is coming soon. Luckily for me, I don’t go over my listed weight.
I wish you can just weigh yourself and it automatically changes the weight in zwift for you.
I weight myself first of every month then update my weight , also change my heart rate based on max for the previous month
It’s a good habit to get in for sure 👍🏻
Hey I recorded a vid on this but never published it because of the sound quality. My local hill climb race weighed everyone for a special prize. So I had that data. I filtered out women, very small people and very tall. Out of a sample size of 70 or so the average weight was 81 kilos. Surprisingly heavy as these were all licensed bike racers. I then did a similar filter on a Zwift Fondo , same demographic e.g. North American males similar age range, height range etc., the average weight was 71 kilos. My feeling is this was a fairly accurate comparison of a fairly similar cohort and the average weight doping on Zwift is about 10 kilos. 😂
Gutted that video wasn’t published as it would have been a very interesting one to watch!
Really interesting results! It’d be good to actually find out the scale of the issue - I don’t know how difficult it’d be for zwift at the start of each race to ask riders to input their weight at the beginning. At least this way we’d know if people were being a bit lazy or just choosing to lie about it! 👍🏻
When thinking about weight doping I think about the people who change their weight for a race. But than 10 to 20 kilo's lower/higher before a race and change it back after. You see people lose weight at once which is kinda impossible. That bothers me more than people not really changing it at all.
Great point, I do remember not so long ago when people were able to do that without getting caught. That sort of weight doping is, in my opinion, just straight up cheating, whereas not changing the weight forever could be a genuinely because it hasn’t changed.
Well done on Zwift! I limp along in D-Cat. Question for you... Should I weigh myself wearing nothing? I normally do my Zwift weigh-in wearing whatever I ride with, ie my cycling clothing on, including my cycle shoes. Am I being unfair on myself?
Thanks very much 👍🏻 Nothing wrong with cat D, those races are just as competitive! I think the general rule of thumb is in your cycling gear - for me that’s socks, and bib shorts (no jersey), I also don’t wear my shoes on the scales 😊
@@notpogi Thanks for your reply! ... I must peddle harder now, after a few days off the bike and lots of social eating!
Personally, my weight fluctuates +/- 0.5 kg depending on time of day, what I've eaten, intensity of the ride, etc, but has not changed from a constant 79kg +/- 0.5 in nearly 2 years of weighing myself daily on calibrated scales so I just leave it set at that. One day, I may be at a 1/2 kilo advantage, but come the afternoon on the same day I could be at a 1/2 kg disadvantage. If my weight fluctuated by 3 kg, then yes I would make adjustments but for 0.5 🤔 Meh
I completely agree and it’s the same for me, my weight does fluctuate depending on the time of day, what training I’ve done etc. It’s interesting also that during a longer/intense race you also could lose weight so would also be at a marginal disadvantage. The +/- 1/2 kilo thing is a good idea I think 👍🏻
Good riding Olly, very much a punchers course that! In terms of weight, I keep an eye on it but I can weigh myself 3 times in a day and weigh 3 different weights, so I try to weigh myself around the same time of day a week and if I’m still within that area I keep it as is, but any drastic changes either up or down than I will. Weighed in at 79.5kgs and instantly wanted to change it on Zwift but I had just ran 10k and cycled 20k so wasn’t very realistic 😂 but I know what you mean people cycling for years and never changing weight, or those Zwifters that just do enough not to get upgraded but dominate their category 🥱 I’ve seen you’re now B cat? Or is that a glitch in the Zwift matrix?!
Thanks mate, much appreciated 👍🏻 I’m very similar to you when it comes to the weight thing, it’s amazing seeing it lower than normal after a busy few days training but it soon goes back to what I would call normal! No you’re not seeing things, amazingly I got upgraded to B which is hilarious - not sure how it’s happened but my zFTP is lower than it’s been for ages, I seriously hope they bring in the results based cats soon! I’m going to race the Zwift Insider tiny races Sunday - interestingly he’s using Vo2 as the category and I’m in D lol! Hope all is well mate 👍🏻
I race at 95kgs but fluctuate a few kilos on either side of that throughout the year. Probably should change the race weight once a month but my racing is just for fun and training.
I think this is where Zwift could do better at gently reminding everyone to change weight if there is a huge difference. It also depends on how seriously people take it, like you say you do it for fun (like me) so maybe there should be a ranked category that fully verifies weight/height for those that also want to race seriously 👍🏻
@@notpogi ZRL does a sort of doping check at A category. Or used to at least dunno if they still do.
@@notpogi if you race in the higher tier events, you need to send in a video of yourself doing a weigh in. You also need dual power data too, so they do tighten things up, the higher you race.
I have stayed within 2-3lbs of 190lbs for the past 2-3 years 😅
That’s very consistent 👍🏻 just goes to shows it definitely is possible 👍🏻
The horse 🤣... I have often thought that if Zwift can implement a smart trainer along with other components, why can't they come out with a smart scale connected to Zwift for when you race? I'm no computer whiz but I'm sure it can be done. Phil had a great race but you did too, considering how much driving you had to do! You came in the top third which is quite good in my opinion. You'll get rid of those three kilos quickly. Because I can't ride the bike I'm up around 6 kilos but I just started doing longer rides so hopefully that will disappear quickly. But the horse was hysterical. I had to replay it about three times😂
Haha thanks Linda! I was hoping you especially would find the horse funny 🤣 we have similar humour I think!
I completely agree about the smart scale or just something that reminds and makes it really easy to change the weight before each race!
Hoping the recovery is going well, I’m really looking forward to some ZWG vids soon I hope 😁
Nice one Ollie that’s a good race after all that driving I’d be asleep or flat out with back pain so top effort. As for the weight doping I imagine there are people out there that cheat with it to the extreme and others just don’t care and don’t check their weight from month to month
I check once a week because I did get quite obsessed with it but I honestly don’t gain or lose much more than 2 kg and I don’t think under 1 kg makes loads of difference anyway
But I have noticed a lot of 55+ years old riders seem to be under 70kg with 4.5wkg
I wonder if on your 55th birthday you wake up like that almost like turning into a teenager so I should be a load better in 6 years time 😂
Thanks mate 👍🏻 I’ve never driven that far before in one go so was struggling a bit!
It’s difficult to judge as you say - we just don’t know how honest everyone is being or whether they just don’t get the importance of it. I can’t wait t get to 55 🤣 especially if I’ll overnight become stronger and lighter!!
Hope you’re all good mate 👍🏻
One dude finished weighing 48kg could be I guess, As for weights mate some dudes stay around the same weight I run a lot and stay around the same weight have for years and years. But I get you there's some cheating but there only cheating themselves. Good video well done.
Thanks mate much appreciated 👍🏻 yeah exactly, if people want to win by not being honest then they’re only cheating themselves. Some people genuinely do stay the same weight though like you say 👍🏻
I always often change my weight as as a lighter rider a kg change is a large % of my weight difference
I completely agree mate, I think the lighter you are the more it makes a massive difference. I think it’s a good habit to get into as knowing how your body reacts to training is good from a health perspective 👍🏻
If I gained 3kg and didn’t add weight I would have a 8% advantage
Credit to you for being honest. Unfortunately you are certainly always racing against dishonest zwifters. It's a case of accepting this or riding forever frustrated. Difference between you and the cheats is that your conscience is clear
Great point David, it certainly wouldn’t give me any sense of achievement winning a race knowing it’s not a true reflection on power to weight 👍🏻
My weight is usually more on Zwift than IRL? Just don't bother to change it.
Yeah I’m the same when I’m lighter IRL, I tend not to change it unless it’s over a kilo out 👍🏻
Of course...I go on Zwift at Cat C and if there is 50 riders and cant brake the top 40. But when i go outside on Strava either every ride or every other ride i brake into top 10 All time finishes....things that make you go mmm.
Great point! It’s funny how things seem so much different as soon as we go outside 👍🏻
I think weight doping is quite an issue on Zwift. There are people who maybe haven't adjusted their weight in 6 months and are maybe a few kg heavier. There's people who are blatantly cheating by lowering their weight to get a better w/kg. Then there are people who are posting a higher weight to lower their w/kg to race in a lower class. Pure example here - A cat A rider weighs 65kg and has a ftp of 4.5wkg and a sprint of 15wkg. If they list their weight as higher they become a cat B with an ftp under 4wkg and a sprint of 12wkg. This would see them placing top 5 in most races. Unfortunately there isn't much that can be done unless Zwift insists that everyone is weight verified.
It’s a shame people go to such measures just to win or place higher - I honestly don’t understand how that makes anyone feel good! It’s difficult for zwift to police this but a gentle reminder would be good at the start of each race 👍🏻
I suspect that for the most part people racing is for fun / training and the weight issue is niether here nor there for them as they are not at the pointy end of results. I use zwift a lot but pretty much never race - that said if i was racing i would be doing a weigh in each day i raced. If your gonna compete then to my mind it should be by the rules.
I am nowhere near serious enough to enter events that require video weigh in - so much so it would put me off bothering TBH.
Yeah excellent point, I think those that do choose to race seriously and often should keep an eye on their weight and update it but as you say - a lot of people just use Zwift for fun 👍🏻
weight doping is a big deal on zwift for racing. weight matters much more on zwift than it does outside, especially on flat courses on zwift. i race in A/A+ and the amount of people who i see who have been exactly 70.0kg for 2 years straight is wild. id say less than 10% of high category racers update their weight weekly who race competitively on zwift. if you are off 3kg and your PM is wonky, you can turn a 4wkg ftp into a 5wkg ftp without even noticing
I don’t disagree, I can’t imagine how frustrating that must be - especially when racing in the most difficult/competitive category! I had a brief look at the riders in this race and a lot hadn’t changed their weight in years… I think Zwift should have a look at reminding as a minimum before each race, then it becomes less of a “I didn’t know I had to” to knowingly gaining an unfair advantage 👍🏻
@@notpogi yea, i think a simple reminder when entering races (esp those that have hardware reqs) is a super simple and non aggressive thing that zwift can do
It’s bound to happen, unfortunately it’s not just a case of cheating themselves (hollow wins) but us other riders. I use a Renpho Bluetooth scale daily. Surely Zwift could introduce something like that for verification. Less costly than a decent HR monitor. It would help make it fairer but also incentivise true weight loss globally 😂
Yes you’re absolutely right, not sure I’d ever feel good winning knowing I’ve had an unfair advantage! I think Zwift could have something like you mention that properly verify those riders that want to race seriously 👍🏻
@@notpogiyes it’s bizarre, but unfortunately there are cheats in all walks of life. I’d like to think it’s not rife, as I’ve found the Zwift community to be very welcoming and friendly since joining recently 👍🏼
I weigh myself at least once during every race
That’s definitely a good habit to get into 👍🏻
Yes
I wouldn’t disagree!
I Zwift on a rusty steel frame with a lump on the back wheel lol I don’t care what anyone does on there
As long as you’re having a good time that’s what it’s all about 👍🏻
It's a huge problem!
It’s something I think Zwift could easily influence but yes agree 👍🏻
Just weigh every time you go on a stay on top of it. 😊
Sounds like a good plan 👍🏻
I have been consistently weighing myself every single day. I weigh 205lbs and my weight fluctuates downwards by 5lbs max when doing long rides outside. But by the time I get back on Zwift the next day or time. I’m back at 205. I only change my weight when I’m consistently hitting the same weight. I started at 215lbs. I’m flirting with 203lbs so a change for me is coming soon. Luckily for me, I don’t go over my listed weight.
I wish you can just weigh yourself and it automatically changes the weight in zwift for you.
That’s a really good habit to get into, if I remember in the morning I will usually weigh myself- I agree it’d be good if there was something that auto-synced onto Zwift 👍🏻
@@notpogi Yea, it’s just habit now. Wake ups, use bathroom, weigh self, brush teeth etc etc. but it would be cool to have your weight update automatically. Maybe sometime later on lol.