How to Use the Wahoo SYSTM App to Exercise, Train, and Boost Your Cycling Skills

As an indoor training app for cyclists, Wahoo SYSTM offers lifelike virtual rides, carefully designed workouts and lots of exclusive cycling content for users. Is it the right choice for you? Here’s how the SYSTM app works and how it compares to similar bike apps.

Set up with the Wahoo SYSTM app

To get started, you’ll need two pieces of equipment: a bike and an exercise bike (or stationary bike). Because there are so many brands available, you can check Wahoo’s support page to see if your smart trainer is compatible with the Wahoo SYSTM app. According to Wahoo Support, if you have a compatible speed sensor, it’s also possible to use the SYSTM app with a classic trainer. Finally, you can use the SYSTM app with a stationary bike by following Wahoo’s guide, although you may not be able to access all of the data like virtual watts.

Optional equipment you should purchase includes the following:

• A heart rate monitor
• A speed sensor and power meter for your bike if you’re working on a classic trainer
• A fan that makes indoor riding much more comfortable

You can use the app directly from your smartphone, but running it on a tablet or casting it to a larger screen can help make the experience more immersive.

Downloads: Wahoo SYS™ for iOS | Android (subscription required, free trial available)

Navigating the Wahoo SYSTM app for cycling

Once your gear is ready to go, download and set up the app. First, complete a 4DP fitness profile that tailors workouts to your specific fitness level. You can fill out a short survey about your current fitness habits and take a fitness test to get more accurate results.

Planned trips appear on the home tab and you can check planned trips with calendar. That progress The screen meanwhile shows the results of your previous rides, including data on your distance, power and average cadence.

Training plans and rides in the SYSTM App

You can start with the workout selection of the 14-day trial plan, which offers a different ride for almost every day of the two-week duration. The first, Getting Away With It, includes a short film. The premise: You want to sneak away from work for a short ride through the French Pyrenees and meet up with a pro cyclist to guide you through the winding mountain roads.

During a ride you can view distance, cadence, power level and heart rate (if you have a monitor connected). Along the way, you’ll be treated to beautiful shots of the French countryside. Even on the small screen of a smartphone, the razor-sharp images are a pleasure.

If you are connected to a smart trainer, you will also get real-time training feedback. Climbing a steep hill feels like slogging through molasses, while descending offers a merciful bit of rest.

Training tips throughout the workout remind you to stand on steep climbs or change cadence for different sections of the ride. This turns your indoor cycling into a challenging workout.

The second ride – the Half Monty (ramp test) – challenges you to ride hard until you can’t pedal anymore. If you follow the prompts and stop when it’s really too difficult, the app will provide results for your 4DP power test, including functional threshold power, maximum aerobic power, and lactate threshold heart rate. It’s a lot of information, but the general idea is that the app then uses those results to input your own heart rate and power goals for future videos.

Rides past Half Monty are much easier to track and meet performance goals. Adjusting your efforts to keep the green line in the right place will become second nature to you.

The SYSTM app offers an enormous variety of training and entertainment options. For example, while riding, watch the riveting Kayabike documentary, in which you follow a South African BMX coach as he prepares his students for a competition. Another ride sees you join the Global Cycling Network (GCN) crew for a ramp-up workout that encourages a focus on cadence and power.

The wide variety of content in the app largely ensures that the rides remain interesting and challenging.

Channels in the Wahoo SYSTM App

Tap the library Tab to review the app’s different types of cycling content. Start by browsing the Sufferfest Channel, a popular series of cycling training videos with a loyal following that Wahoo acquired in 2019.

More than 60 Sufferlandia videos are available in the SYSTM app. Smart, challenging, and full of tongue-in-cheek humor, Sufferfest workouts include titles like Do As You’re Told and It Seemed Like A Good Idea At The Time.

Next, the GCN channel offers indoor cycling classes to help you focus on endurance, interval training, sprinting efforts, and more. Meanwhile, the Inspiration channel features over 70 cycling documentaries that provide a glimpse into the lives of cyclists around the world.

A Week With takes you through a series of videos showcasing the training plans and routines of celebrity cyclists, while the ProRides series offers immersive race simulation workouts. Zoom through the Giro d’Italia or the Santos Festival from the comfort of your coach.

Last but not least, the on-site videos guide you through scenic locations along the Costa Brava coast, the Côte Vermeille and many other beautiful routes. There’s also a NoVid collection of 130+ workouts that offer no videos or soundtracks, just on-screen cues.

How to use the additional content in SYSTM

In addition to cycling content, the SYSTM app also offers strength, running, yoga and mental training options. First, the mental training option will help you learn to think like a top athlete. Because mental toughness is often a key component to an athlete’s success, this program will help you with aspects such as goal setting and focus. Audio sessions help you build these habits over time.

The run and swim sections offer a choice of many preset workouts to follow. These are not recorded in the app, but you can write them down and follow them at your leisure. The workouts are similar to what you might get from a trainer.

Next, the Strength and Mobility section offers more than 70 video workouts, from full-body routines to neck mobility exercises. Finally, the Yoga section offers more than 60 videos on balance training, breathing and stability exercises.

Should You Download SYSTM or Another Indoor Cycling App?

After using the SYSTM app regularly for a few weeks, you’ll learn plenty of helpful advice on maintaining cadence, managing effort, and generally getting the most out of trainer rides. Each video offers a specific lesson or focus, and the expert narrators encourage you to progress. The app can help you get a much better workout than just using the trainer alone (which gets boring quickly).

However, the SYSTM app is a paid subscription and not everyone likes to manage it every month. In addition, the app does not pair with Chromebooks or Amazon Fire devices. However, SYSTEM offers a tremendous amount of content for the price.

SYSTM isn’t the only game in town, and there are plenty of great cycling apps for indoor trainers out there. ROUVY uses Augmented Routes to create immersive routes with 3D riders, while Zwift plays indoor cycling with avatars exploring the fantastical fictional world of Watopia.

If you’re looking for a more playful feel while driving, one of these apps is a good choice. And SYSTM’s companion app, Wahoo RGT, also includes a virtual cycling world. You can access both SYSTM and RGT with a Wahoo X subscription. In general, the best bike app is the one you use the most, so take advantage of their free trials to find your match.

Download the Wahoo SYSTM app to streamline your indoor cycling

Turn your pain cave into a serious workout arena with the Wahoo SYSTM App. Enjoy zooming through scenic streets or dropping the hammer in simulated racing experiences, improving your training with every ride. The SYSTM app not only helps you get fitter and faster on your bike, but also helps you fuel your love for cycling in general with its personable presenters and inspirational documentaries.