The virtual reality indoor cycling platform ROUVY are on a mission to help triathletes get race ready. Alongside their recent IRONMAN partnership announcement, which has brought an even bigger library of triathlon race routes to the indoor training app. They’ve also introduced half distance triathlon training plans, and a curated library of triathlon-specific indoor cycling workouts.
In fact, ROUVY are so ready to embrace the world of swim-bike-run you can even get your avatar looking like a true triathlete – riding around without cycling gloves or socks and showing up to the group ride on a TT bike!
As ROUVY seeks to become the go-to platform for triathletes, with the ability to recon race routes and dial in your training. We’re bringing you our top picks of the best new half distance triathlon indoor cycling workouts on ROUVY.
Half distance triathlon training schedule on ROUVY
Before we dive into the specific indoor cycling workouts, it’s interesting to note that ROUVY now also have a downloadable half distance triathlon workout schedule. This not only includes the bike workouts to tick off on the platform. It also shows you when to schedule in your swimming and running sessions (and what to do in these workouts). Helping you to put all the pieces of triathlon training together.
Best half distance triathlon bike workouts on ROUVY – our top picks
If you’ve already got your overall triathlon training plan sorted, but you’re looking for some targeted bike workouts to execute on your designated harder bike days. Here’s our top picks of the new half distance triathlon bike workouts on the platform.
Build your base
What it is: This is a 1-hour long session, that will have you predominantly working in Zone 2 to build your aerobic endurance. It starts with a short ramp up to get the blood pumping. Followed by 10 minutes at Zone 3 in your TT position to slowly introduce a bit of race pace and get your body used to pushing a bit of power while remaining aero, before you settle into the main Zone 2 set.
Why we like it: Base work is key for any triathlete – even a sprint triathlon is an endurance event. But as you step up to the half distance, being an efficient aerobic machine, and having the discipline to hold back and maintain a steady pace is key. The prompt to spend 10 minutes in your aero position is useful, particularly early in the season if you’ve spent most of the winter riding on your road or gravel bike. The Zone 2 main set still has slight variations in power, which will get you to practice holding a specific effort – and it mixes things up a bit, which is ideal if you find Zone 2 work boring.
Mountain momentum
What it is: Just over an hour long, the main set of this workout will have you ticking off mid-length reps at a Zone 3 effort at a low cadence (i.e. over gearing work) followed by recovery spins at a higher RPM.
Why we like it: This indoor cycling workout will be useful for triathletes who’ve got hilly races to prepare for. But it’ll also help to develop general muscular strength which will come in handy for those racing on flat courses where being able to push sustained power without locking up will be important. If the latter applies to you, aim to stay down on the TT bars for the Zone 3 efforts. We also like the cadence play here. Spinning your legs faster after a tough climb is a good way to help get the blood flowing and any lactate build up flushed out.
Turbo diesel
What it is: This 90 minute long session is ideal for a slightly longer mid-week ride or a bang for your buck substitution for a weekend long ride if bad weather or a busy schedule spoils play. Featuring short and medium ramps from Zone 2 to the top end of Zone 3, followed by three sustained Zone 3 efforts to finish.
Why we like it: This is the type of session where hitting the target power feels easy at the start, but by the end you’re having to stay disciplined to keep pushing. It’ll help your body to get more efficient at dealing with fatigue. And the Zone 3 efforts will help to pull your Zone 2 pace ‘up’ from above. Because it’s over an hour, it’s worth taking on a carbohydrate-rich snack before hand. Consider having a small amount of carbs in your bottle too so that you can keep the quality and you’re setting yourself up to be able to recover quickly afterwards – ready for your next session.
Rising peaks
What it is: The Rising Peaks workout has a main set featuring 4 x pyramid reps – building up from Zone 2 to Zone 4 and back down again, with a short easy recovery between each pyramid.
Why we like it: This is a useful workout to get used to keeping momentum and pushing on after a climb. Once you’ve completed the time at Zone 4, you only drop down slightly to Zone 3, rather than going straight to recovery. Get good at this, and you’ll be an advantage on a hilly course. Where others will need to coast and go easy once they crest a climb, you’ll have the after burners to push on and get a gap on your competition. This type of workout is also handy for practicing in putting in a small surge to overtake on a flatter course, before settling back into your target race pace.
Looking for something to pass the time on your long, steady indoor rides? Take a look at our pick of the best new IRONMAN routes on ROUVY!
