Training
Today
Training
Today
Spend the winter building the engine you race on in spring.
Outdoor base plans assume a four-hour Sunday ride you cannot do in January. This plan does not. Nothing here runs past two hours, every session is designed for ERG mode, and the aerobic work is concentrated rather than stretched — which is the whole argument for training indoors in the first place.
The shape is classic: aerobic volume with torque work and spin-ups for the neuromuscular side, sweet spot intervals that grow from 8 minutes to 20, and a recovery week every fourth week so the ramp is sustainable across a full season rather than a heroic three weeks in November.
It finishes with a 20-minute FTP test. If the winter worked, that is where you will see it.
Every session below is a real workout you can open and ride right now, with or without the plan. Applying the plan puts them on your calendar on the days you choose.
| Week | Focus and sessions | Load |
|---|---|---|
1 week | Settle in Week 1: establish the rhythm. Keep the endurance rides genuinely easy — the interval days are where the stress belongs. | 3.9 |
Roughly four to six hours across four rides, rising through each three-week block and dropping back on recovery weeks.
Yes. Indoor riding removes coasting, descents, and traffic lights, so an hour on the trainer carries more aerobic work than an hour on the road. This plan is built around that, which is why nothing in it runs past two hours.
Sweet spot base if you want to keep raising sustainable power, or sustained power build if your event is close and you need threshold and VO2 work.
Training works in blocks. These plans pick up where this one leaves off.
Eight weeks of sweet spot work at 88–94% of FTP, progressing 2×15 → 3×20 minutes, wrapped in enough Zone 2 to keep it sustainable.
The build block that follows base: threshold intervals and VO2 max work, holding onto the aerobic volume that made them possible.
2 week | Add cadence work Week 2: spin-ups teach a smooth, fast pedal stroke. Let the cadence do the work, not the legs. | 4.4 hours |
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3 week | First torque block Week 3: low-cadence torque work builds the muscular side of climbing. Stay seated and keep the effort controlled. | 5.5 hours |
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4 recovery | Recovery week Week 4: recovery. Resist the urge to add intensity — this week is what lets the next block land. | 3.8 hours |
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5 week | Second block opens Week 5: sweet spot intervals step up to 15 minutes. The last one should feel hard, not desperate. | 5.5 hours |
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6 week | Longer aerobic days Week 6: the endurance rides grow. Fuel them properly — 60 g of carbohydrate an hour past the 90-minute mark. | 5 hours |
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7 week | Peak of block two Week 7: the biggest week so far. Two 20-minute sweet spot efforts and two hours of steady riding. | 6.4 hours |
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8 recovery | Recovery week Week 8: recovery again. Halfway. The fatigue you are carrying is the point — let it clear. | 3.9 hours |
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9 week | Final block opens Week 9: back to full load with 2×20 sweet spot. You should notice these are easier than they were in week 7. | 6.6 hours |
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10 week | Add tempo Week 10: a tempo finish on the endurance ride, and three sweet spot intervals. The aerobic system is being asked to work tired. | 6.3 hours |
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11 week | Biggest week Week 11: the peak. Longer tempo finish, three sweet spot intervals, and a two-hour ride to close it out. | 6.9 hours |
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12 week | Taper and test Week 12: easy riding, leg openers, then the 20-minute test. Take it seriously — this number sets up your spring. | 3.4 hours |
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Applying the plan schedules all 48 sessions from your chosen start date. You pick which days of the week you ride.
Start Winter Indoor Base