Group SUF Sessions!



Hey Sufferlandrians!  What could possibly be better than a journey through the Valley of the Nine Hammers?  How about a Sufferlandrian Group Ride through the Valley of the Nine Hammers? The ability to do live group sessions in the SUF app is in our development pipeline. In the meantime, if you want to SUF with friends, all you'll need is:

Getting started

  1. Open Zoom.


  2. Decide when you'll ride and what workout you'll do. If it's *right now* then you can start a New Meeting and then invite your friends.


    (That's me, in case you've ever wondered what I look like when I'm working at my desk)

    Then paste the link in your invitation or meeting place for your friends.  It can be an email, a text message, or in a Facebook post.  So long as they click on the link using the device they want to use for Zoom, it will launch the meeting.


  3. If it's in the future, you can use the 'Schedule Meeting' function.
  4. Share the zoom link with your SUF friends. 

If you still need some help with Zoom check out their help center here.

Joining the Group SUF

If you are the group organiser, about 10 minutes before the scheduled start, you should:

  • Make sure you have the scheduled workout video downloaded in advance
  • Have the app launched and the scheduled workout ready to go
  • Your Zoom meeting up and ready to go

If you are a participant, you should:

  • Have the scheduled workout video downloaded in advance
  • Join the Group SUF about five minutes before the start to make sure everything is ready to go.

Before starting, everyone should:

Turn the music off in the workout player, but keep the sound effects on.  This way you can hear your friends talking and still know that there's a big sprint starting.  (Gear icon in the upper right corner > Music).



You can join Group SUF one of two ways:

Option 1: Zoom and SUF on separate devices (easy)

Runs Zoom and The Sufferfest on separate devices.  This way you can see your workout targets on the app on one device and your SUF friends on Zoom on another.


Option 2: Zoom and SUF on same device (not-so-easy)

If you only have one device, then the only way to run/join a Group SUF is on a desktop/laptop computer.  All participants can still join the meeting as they did in the Easy Way.  The group organiser (or someone appointed by the group organiser) will need to share their screen showing the app.

Everyone needs to be running the app to record their workout.  If you're on iOS, run the app in the background, then minimize it and run Zoom.  This will allow the app to control a smart trainer and record your workout.  The screen you'll be watching in Zoom is not yours, so it's a good idea to know what your targets should be, especially if you're not on a smart trainer.   You can run this the other way too.  Keep the app visible on your phone or iPad, but have Zoom running in the background so that you can be in the conversation.  You'll quickly figure out what works best for you!


Starting the Group SUF


The Group SUF organiser should make sure everyone is ready to go and then coordinate starting the workout at the same time, that way everyone is at the same spot in the workout. 

  • Use the spacebar on the laptop or tap the screen on iOS to start the workout rather than let auto-pause start for you.
  • If everyone is doing the same workout and coordinates the start properly, the only one person needs to have the sound effects on for everyone to hear.)

Things to Note

Time Limits

The free version of the Zoom app allows up to 100 participants but meetings are limited to 40 minutes.  Occasionally, zoom allows you to extend.  Make plans to just keep going and launch another meeting for everyone to join.  If you're prepared for this to happen, it's just easy and quick to launch, post the link again and everyone joins back in.


While a group SUF session isn't a traditional classroom setting (an argument could be made about teaching your friends how to Suffer properly), we do want you to have control over your privacy.  Here are some tips on best practices when using Zoom.


Have a great time!  Friends who Suffer together...  well, I guess they Suffer together!






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