#44 – Chris Schwenker, PT, Virtual Cycling’s Biggest Fan

Sponsor: RePowerU -- a free fitness practices assessment (a 10-minute questionnaire) Our Guest Today: Chris Schwenker, P.T.: "Indoor Virtual Cycling is the evolution of our great sport.  The Zommunique' (theZommunique.com) has it covered with in-depth reporting, eSports racing news, community features, cutting-edge training and performance research, tips, and suggestions.  The ZOM's authoritative content team, led by its founder, Chris Schwenker, P.T., an avid virtual cyclist and Physical Therapist with over 25 years of experience, focuses on the athlete, the avatar, and everything in between." Chris Schwenker, P.T. background Semi-retired as owner and director of his private Orthopedic Physical Therapy practice after over 20 years, Chris is blessed with the freedom to pursue his passion for virtual cycling and writing. On a continual quest to give back to his bike for all the rewarding experiences and relationships it has provided him, he created a non-profit - The DIRT Dad Fund (www.DIRTDadFund) to support members of his online cycling team.  Through the pages of his cycling and fitness blog site, The Zommunique' (www.TheZommunique.com), Chris is committed to helping others with his bike. Chris graduated with top honors as valedictorian of his hometown high school and received a full academic scholarship.  He attained a biology degree from Brandeis University, where he played Division 3 soccer as a Justice Brandeis Scholar.  Chris received his professional post-graduate degree from the SUNY-Stony Brook School of Physical Therapy and has been in private practice for over twenty years.  Chris has co-authored several research papers, been a guest on multiple fitness and cycling-related podcasts, and written and interviewed for many articles on the subject.  You will find him behind his desk when not riding on the North Fork of Long Island roads, where he lives with his beautiful wife and is proud of his two college student children.Love all of virtual cycling, not just Zwift.Always loved sports.  Soccer in college, then powerlifting.  Got big (192 lbs with very low body fat), and didn’t do any cardio.  When Chris’s father died young (before he met any of Chris’s children), Chris shifted into cardio sports.Raced up and down the east coast.  Transformed his body:  from 192 lbs to 128 lbs with single digit body fat.  Now his son is 21 years old.He now rides mostly indoors.  The original issue was the time constraint for when he could ride.  He only had a window early in the day, before the sun rose, so he was riding indoors mostly at 4 - 630am.   Chris was also concerned about safety on the roads he had easy access to ride.He did try freezing cold rides, but didn’t like it.He is a member of the DIRT team, which has 10,000 members.  It’s the biggest club on Zwift.Chris rides a lot.  15,000 miles last year.Chris started virtual cycling to stay warm, and stay safe, but that isn’t why he does it now.  He now is attached to the community, camaraderie, ….his friends are on Zwift.  The racing teamwork is much better than real life in his amateur experience.  AND, you don’t have to crash.Racing in virtual cycling is real racing.  The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat lives on in the virtual environment.Chris’s team uses team tactics to make the virtual racing more exciting than real life racing. Any advice for people transitioning from rid