For the past week or so I have been testing out the Wahoo Systm training app. Wahoo Systm is pretty similar to competitors such as Trainerroad. Wahoo Systm used to be called Sufferfest, but when Wahoo bought Sufferfest, they eventually changed the name to a Wahoo branded training app.

Getting Started

In order to get started, you can start by creating an account. The account is free for 14 days, then you will have to begin the payment. Wahoo Systm costs $14.99 a month, which is the same cost as Zwift.

Selecting a workout

Selecting a workout is very easy. Once you are in the app, just hit library, the discipline you want(you can choose Cycling, Running, Mental Training, Yoga, Swimming, and Strength. After selecting which discipline you want, there are filters that you can change, or you can just scroll through the sessions that Wahoo offers. Currently they have around 300 workouts that are available to all paying users on demand.

Starting a training plan

Starting a training plan is extremely simple. First, head to the plans section, then Wahoo will basically guide you through the whole process. Asking for your goal, discipline, terrain, volume, and more. Once Wahoo has the plan all built for you, you can preview it before enrolling in the plan. Once you enroll into the plan, the workouts will be displayed in your workout calendar on the calendar tab. Any additional workouts that you do will also show up there. Here is a preview of what your calendar will look like after enrolling into a plan.

Why it’s better than Zwift

Currently, Zwift does not offer any real training plans that are custom to your goal and the level that you currently ride at. Riders have complained for years that they haven’t actually seen any gains from the Zwift training plans, one of the reasons why I never do workouts on Zwift. One thing I really like about Wahoo Systm is that you can quickly build a training plan based on your goal, how much you ride a week, and discipline. Wahoo Systm currently has an extremely easy to use UI, it’s much more simple than Zwift, and I was able to get started in less than 5 minutes. Wahoo Systm also offers consultation with the coaches at Wahoo. You can schedule a 30 minute call with them and discuss anything you want related to training and Wahoo Systm, it’s pretty neat.

What should be improved

There are a few things I think definitely need to be improved. The first thing is that you cannot really change the end date of your training plan, the plan defaults to around 12 weeks of training, which is quite a bit for me to commit to. This is something that Trainerroad currently offers. I think Wahoo also should add availability dates, when starting a Trainerroad training plan, Trainerroad asks you if there are any days that you cannot workout, Trainerroad will then try to avoid scheduling workouts on those days. Trainerroad also offers a lot more adaptive training. Trainerroad is pricy though, which is one thing that gives Wahoo Systm an edge. Wahoo Systm offers a 4DP power test, which isn’t exactly adaptive training, Wahoo just uses that to set your power values.

My thoughts

I think that I will definitely be using Wahoo Systm for training in the future, the workouts are good workouts, and I have seen some pretty good gains so far. At first, I thought the concept of having video recordings was pretty lame, but after my first few sessions I started to enjoy them, and it is a good change in scenery from Zwift. I think in terms of free riding, socialism, and racing Zwift is much better. Wahoo Systm I think is more for the athletes who don’t care so much about the gamification, and more just there for the training. There are definitely some things that I think Wahoo should improve, but overall it is a great training platform, and I can definitely see myself using it with Zwift.