On October 29th Zwift will begin a phased beta rollout of the Workout Mode they first showed and teased at the GoPro Ironman World Championships. Moving forward they will also begin to charge for the program.

Users will see on the start-up screen a choice between “workout” and “ride”. After selecting workout, they will be offered about a dozen standard workouts created by Jon Mayfield, co-founder of Zwift.

The workout option operates using the Zwift gaming platform and will work on Erg mode with most smart trainers. It takes advantage of the current Zwift screen display, but will also add additional graphics and timers to let riders know where they are in the interval (top of screen), upcoming intervals (left side of screen), and interval stats (bottom of screen). Riders using the Zwift virtual course will be able to recognize other riders performing Zwift workouts, as there will be a hologram screen in front of the bike.

The second phase of structured training, expected to roll out in the next couple of months, will allow subscribers to create their own workouts based on user feedback from the beta phase. The next phase will also see Zwift partnering with “established coaching partners” to develop additional structured training programs. This is already in the works, with details soon to come.

Since our initial review of Zwift, they have also released a number of updates that have improved connectivity and compatibility with additional smart trainers and sensors, along with kit and bike upgrades including Trek, Specialized, and most recently, Canyon. Along with the rollout of the Workout Mode, Zwift will also begin a cost based subscription for Zwift users. The fee will be a non-contract based $10 a month (£8 in UK).