FTP Builder: 60-Minute Structured Bike Power Session

Session Overview

This structured 60-minute indoor bike session builds sustainable power at threshold, targeting the FTP zone that underpins your entire triathlon bike performance. It's designed for intermediate triathletes who want to push their lactate threshold higher before the race season — completed weekly for six to eight weeks, you'll see a measurable improvement in race-day power output.

What You'll Need

• Turbo trainer or smart trainer (power meter strongly recommended)
• Heart rate monitor
• Cycling shoes and kit
• Two water bottles
• Fan (heat management indoors is critical for sustained threshold work)

Warm-Up (12 minutes)

Start with 8 minutes of easy spinning at 90–95 rpm, keeping power below 60% FTP. This primes your aerobic system without pre-fatiguing your legs. Follow with 4 minutes of progressive effort: one minute at 70% FTP, one at 80%, one at 90%, then one minute easy recovery before the main set begins.

Main Set

This session uses a 3 x 12-minute threshold structure with short recovery intervals. Keep power between 95–105% of your current FTP throughout each effort. If you don't have a power meter, target a sustained 7–8/10 effort — hard but controlled, where you could still speak in short sentences if you had to.

• 12 minutes at 95–105% FTP | 3 minutes recovery at 50–60% FTP
• 12 minutes at 95–105% FTP | 3 minutes recovery at 50–60% FTP
• 12 minutes at 95–105% FTP

Cool-Down (6 minutes)

Spin easy at 90–100 rpm for 6 minutes, dropping power progressively below 50% FTP. Resist the urge to stop suddenly — a gradual cool-down clears lactate and significantly reduces post-session muscle soreness.

Coaching Notes

• Your FTP is the power you could theoretically sustain for 60 minutes — but these 12-minute blocks are harder per minute, so don't start the first interval too aggressively or you'll crack in the third
• Cadence should stay above 85 rpm throughout — grinding a big gear shifts stress onto your muscles rather than your cardiovascular system
• Easier: drop to 90% FTP and extend recovery to 5 minutes between intervals | Harder: reduce recovery to 2 minutes
• Target heart rate zone 4 (approximately 80–90% of max HR) for the bulk of each threshold interval