(Note: today’s screenshots were taken after the ride as I couldn’t figure out how to do them in ride)
Something of a first for me today. I managed to make it through a Wahoo SYSTM workout without any issues. And I figured out what I’ve been doing wrong all this time.
The key to Wahoo SYSTM, it seems, is hitting the cadence targets. Forget the wattage. That will come if you nail the cadence. That’s… kinda not how Zwift works. Rarely do workouts have cadence targets on Zwift, and so when they do I pay attention. But here, it always has a cadence target, and the ERG mode only begins to stabilise and settle down when you’re on target.
This may sound bloody obvious, and if so, well, good for you.
It also seems to matter what gear you’re in. Again, not really, on Zwift.
So with those two key bits of info finally registering, I got off to a decent workout.
Actually, I joined this one because of a few reasons:
- It’s the first workout in the 14 day trial training plan;
- I didn’t have the full hour to kill, but this looked decent for a 45 minute spin;
- I wanted to test out Wahoo SYSTM, but was prepared to quickly ditch it if I hit continued technical woes;
- And lastly, because I – wrongly – assumed it would be fairly easy, given it was the introductory ride… right?
Well, it tricked me real good on that last one.
This was a fairly intensive workout.
Crucially though, it was also a varied workout. There were things in there I rarely do – specific sections where it told me to stand up, and some stuff I never do – focusing on pedal stroke in left leg, then right leg, then both, then left again, right, and so on. Each recovery block was repeating that process.
It was decent because you were never left alone. Now, that could be a bad thing, but for me, it really helped pass the time. That’s something I have come to find difficult with doing those same small number of workouts again, and again, and yet again.
This ride had a video, with a soundtrack for each block, cool footage of climbs from the Pyrenees, facts about the climbs and the local regions, segments where the rider on screen was doing pieces to camera, and an enjoyable little side storyline about cutting out of work to go on a lunch break ride… which resonated as that was exactly what I was doing.
No kidding though, this one was pretty intensive. I’d liken it very much to this ride: Norseman Workout #4: Hardangervidda only slightly compressed. With much shorter recoveries (2 minutes), and those lower cadence blocks which I am definitely not good at, it certainly felt like I was sweating my way through the full 45 minutes. But in a really good way.
Honestly, I’m really, really chuffed this one worked out. It was a fun challenge and a nice change. I’m really keen to get properly stuck into the rest of the trial period, and then – hopefully – look to sign up and properly explore the program.
So I’m keeping this one a little light on the “review” factor as I definitely want to do a proper field test before giving my proper thoughts, but the initial impressions are good.
My only real gripe is it’s a pain in the ass to take screenshots. Not that that impacts 99.9% of their clientele, I should imagine.
Have you tried out the Wahoo SYSTM? What did you think of it? Are you still a subscriber? Any hints / tips / suggested workouts to try / avoid ?
Leave a comment and let me know.