The key to getting faster is structured training. With summer coming and the weather improving, most people don’t want to spend all of their time riding indoors. Outside workouts ensure athletes have the same access to high-quality, structured training when they’re outside.

If you can safely take your workouts outside, you can get faster year-round, inside or out, with TrainerRoad outside workouts on your Garmin Edge, Hammerhead Karoo or Wahoo ELEMNT head unit.

Wahoo ELEMNT Display Setup

While it might seem helpful to have a lot of data displayed on your head unit, too many data fields and training pages can be an overwhelming and unnecessary distraction from your workout. In addition to this, having to move between pages and lock your vision on your head unit poses a risk to your safety when riding outside.

This is why we recommend that athletes who want to take their structured workouts outside build a custom training page that has all the necessary fields in one place. A well-organized custom training page will reduce distraction, without sacrificing the data you need to nail your power based structured workout.

Outside Workouts Setup

If you want to create a custom display for your Wahoo head unit, the Wahoo Elemnt mobile app is the place to start. If you’re new to using a Wahoo head unit or you haven’t used outside workouts before, you’ll need to grant access to your TrainerRoad account in the Wahoo app first.

1. Open up the Wahoo mobile app and go to the Authorized Apps tab.
2. Login to your TrainerRoad account to Grant Wahoo Fitness permission to access your account.
3. Allow Wahoo Fitness to access your TrainerRoad account.

Once you’ve connected your Wahoo device to this app, and synced your TrainerRoad outside ride to this app, you’ll be ready to make your outside workouts display. 

Recommended Wahoo ELEMNT Setup

Athletes can set up a custom display for their Wahoo ELEMNT head unit in the Wahoo Elemnt mobile app.

1. Recommended Custom Display.
2. Library of Planned Workouts.
3. Planned Workout.

Recommended ELEMNT Fields

The fields in this custom training display are set up like the TrainerRoad app.

  • Target Power gives you the target power for the interval you are in. 
  • Avg Power (3sec) gives you your live power from your power meter. When you ride your goal is to match this data point to your target power displayed on your screen.
  • Cadence and Heart Rate gives you live updates on your cadence data and your heart rate data if you have either of these sensors. If you don’t have either of these devices feel free to remove either field. This will further simplify your training display. 
  • Remaining Time(Interval) lets you know how much time is left in your current interval. 
  • Remaining Time(Workout) lets you know how much time is left in the workout.

In addition to these fields, the structure of your planned workout will automatically appear at the bottom of the display. So as you progress through your workout you’ll be able to keep an eye on upcoming intervals.

Why We Recommend These Fields

The fields included in this custom ELEMNT display deliver necessary and important data for structured interval training. Target Power gives you the power target for your current interval and Average Power gives you a live update on your power. With your Average Power next to Target power, it’s easy to see where your power is and where it needs to be.

In addition to these values, the next two most important values are Remaining Interval Time and Remaining Workout Time. These data fields give you a count down of the amount of time you have left in your current interval and your workout. This ensures that you can pace correctly for your interval and your workout.

Finally you have heart rate data and cadence data. While neither of these fields are necessary, they can be very helpful for athletes who use either device. You can actively keep an eye on your heart rate if it’s on this display or you can focus on keeping your cadence at a certain RPM.

Important Data Only

With all the necessary data in one place, you can focus on pushing the pedals and controlling your power. You’ll only need to glance down at your Wahoo to check on your progression and make sure you are on track.

This display will improve the productivity of your workouts, and make them safer. When you’re on the road or the trail you should try and minimize the amount of time spent interacting with your head unit. It’s unsafe to lock your gaze with your screen or spend time swiping screens, looking for information. Keep it simple and put everything you need in one place!

A simple training display gives you the data fields needed to keep your workout on track, without the unnecessary distraction that comes with too much data. This display delivers a more focused experience and a safer workout. For more information on how to pick a route for your workout, check out, Outside Workouts: Choosing the Best Routes.

To learn more about how you can take your structured training outside visit TrainerRoad’s outdoor workouts page, or if you want to learn how structured training can make you faster visit TrainerRoad.com.

For more cycling training knowledge, listen to The Ask a Cycling Coach — the only podcast dedicated to making you a faster cyclist. New episodes are released weekly.