I hope you have some free time this weekend because you’re going to want to set aside some time for this 2 hour doozy of a workout. And while 2 hours might feel like a long time to pedal through the virtual world, the way this workout is broken up I promise it will won’t get boring.
Building off our last workout this one will really dial in your ability to ride at a steady power output for the entire bike leg. In all we have 60 minutes of sweetspot effort, I know for me personally these type of workouts are always difficult. While it’s not quite at your FTP riding for that long at 85% still puts a serious strain on your legs. It’s an effort that takes as much mental strength as it does physical. This makes it particularly useful for training for half and full iron-distance events. In those events being disciplined on the bike and not getting to caught up in what’s going on around you leads to a successful bike split. This is one of those workouts that, if you get through it successfully, will give you a lot of confidence moving into the new season.
Now let’s take a look at the specifics of today’s workout. After a warmup and some good primers to get the legs firing we hop right into our first 30 minute sweetspot block. What I like about how this one is set up is that every 5 minutes the monotony is broken with a 5-second sprint. This gives you little milestones to work towards during these long intervals. We’ll repeat this 30 minute interval again before hopping into two sets of 4 x 1 minute at 115% of FTP to put some sting in the legs.
10 minutes warmup
1 min @ 75% FTP
1 min @ 80% FTP
30 sec @ 55%FTP
1 min @ 85% FTP
1 min @ 90% FTP
30 sec @ 55% FTP
1 min @ 95% FTP
1 min @ 100% FTP
3 min Easy
30 min @85% FTP * 5 sec sprint @ 200% FTP every 5 seconds
6 minutes easy
30 min @85% FTP * 5 sec sprint @ 200% FTP every 5 minutes
6 minutes easy
4 x 1 min @ 115% FTP w/1 minute easy between each
2 minutes easy
4 x 1 min @ 115% FTP w/1 minute easy between each
2 minutes easy
10 minute cool down
I’d call this an ERG mode essential workout. This makes the sweetspot intervals much easier to execute and more effective since it’s essentially impossible to cheat on your prescribed wattage. The other advantage here is that you can’t forget to do your sprints either when ERG mode is on. The wattage is getting ramped up whether you like or not!
There’s no hiding it, this is a tough one. Get your playlists, snacks, extra bottles and towels ready cause you’ll be pulling out all the stops for this workout. But once you get through this you will definitely be motivated to push through this block of winter trainng and come out a better athlete in the end.
