Training tips

Every year a wave of ROUVY employees disappears off to IRONMAN events around the world, and roughly half the team has finished a full distance or a 70.3. So we asked the person with the most finish lines behind him for everything he knows.

Winter has a habit of turning a planned recovery week into three weeks of “I’ll get back on the bike tomorrow”. Poor weather, shorter daylight hours and a dip in motivation can all make consistent riding more difficult, which is where detraining starts to creep in. The good news is that fitness doesn’t disappear all at once, and maintaining it requires much less work than building it in the first place. Understand what fades first and you can cut your winter training substantially without giving away months of hard-earned fitness.

The bike is one of the most common cross-training tools for runners, particularly for those recovering from injuries or trying to manage impact and load in the lead-up to an event, but does cycling really help with running fitness? Well, the answer is more complex than a simple yes or no.

Cycling cadence is how fast you pedal, measured in revolutions per minute (RPM). It's a highly individual metric that shifts with the rider, the terrain and the intensity of the effort – which is why there's no single ideal number to chase. This guide explains what cadence is, what counts as a good cadence for cycling and how to find the RPM range that suits you, with a cadence chart for every riding situation plus drills you can do on your smart trainer.

When I took my very first FTP test on an indoor trainer, I had no idea what to expect. I just knew it was going to start easy and get *very, very hard fast*. So I chugged some water, blasted my favorite playlist, pointed a high-powered fan straight at my face, and pedaled until my legs turned to jelly. My reward? A whopping 78 watts.

By understanding and optimizing your power-to-weight ratio, you can enhance your cycling performance, tackle challenging terrains with confidence, and achieve your personal best on the bike. Whether you're a competitive racer or a dedicated enthusiast, focusing on this key metric will unlock new levels of efficiency and speed.

Indoor cycling workouts give every session a purpose, even when you only have half an hour. A well-chosen workout can build endurance, improve your FTP, prepare your legs for long climbs or sharpen the short bursts needed to close a gap. ROUVY pairs structured power targets with real-world route video, so you can complete the work while watching an actual road unfold ahead of you. These eight workouts cover a useful range of durations and training goals, helping you choose a session that fits both your available time and what you want to improve.

Cycling is a highly repetitive activity that is excellent at improving cardiovascular-respiratory fitness and lower-body muscular endurance. But if the only exercise you do is cycling, your overall muscular strength, mobility, and bone density can be suboptimal. It's also a sport with a high occurrence of overuse injuries.

Training for an IRONMAN means preparing your body to swim 3.8 km, cycle 180 km and run a full 42.2 km marathon in the same day. For a first-time athlete, that usually requires several months of structured training across all three disciplines, with recovery, strength work and nutrition practice fitted around everyday life. Knowing how long to allow and where to place the biggest sessions makes that commitment far easier to manage.