This is intentionally identical to last week. The session is the same, you’re different and can execute it even better.

Sweetspot w/ bursts – 4 x 8:00 intervals
1:00 @ 88-94%FTP
+
0:05 @ SPRINT (high cadence)
1:55 @ 88-94%FTP
0:05 @ SPRINT (high cadence)
1:55 @ 88-94%FTP
0:05 @ SPRINT (high cadence)
1:55 @ 88-94%FTP
0:05 @ SPRINT (high cadence)
+
1:00 @ 88-94%FTP

– Easy recovery spin for 4:00 between intervals –

SESSION NOTES
Overview.
A high-volume “Sweetspot” session on the BikeErg. You will perform 4 sets of 8:00 intervals with 4:00 of active recovery between sets. This isn’t a steady-state cruise; every two minutes (at the 1, 3, 5, and 7-minute marks), you will hit a 5-second seated surge at maximum cadence before immediately returning to your baseline pace.

Effort.
The sweetspot: 88–94% of your FTP (Functional Threshold Power) from the bike power profile. If you don’t know your FTP, this is a pace you could theoretically hold for an all out 30 to 40-minute race. (If you’re wondering, the bike profile was done after the 5-minute effort which took some watts off the 20-min FTP test).
The Surge: 100% effort for 5 seconds. High RPMs, seated, explosive.
The Recovery: Zone 1 “Flush” pace (very easy). Keep the pedals moving to prevent blood pooling.

Feel.
The session should feel like a “comfortably uncomfortable” grind where you are constantly working, just where you’d like to ease the pace but you don’t really have to. The challenge is the sprint when you hit that 5-second surge, you’ll feel a sharp spike in leg burn and a momentary lift in heart rate.

The goal is to immediately settle back into your 90% pace rather than soft-pedaling. You should feel like you are “breathing through” the waste products, clearing the heaviness in your legs while still under tension. By the final sets, the sensation shifts from a cardiovascular challenge to a mental test of durability, holding the line as your muscles begin to feel fatigued.

Adaptation.
This session targets mitochondrial density and lactate shuttling. By surging and then returning to a high-power baseline, you are training your muscles to use lactate as a fuel source rather than letting it accumulate and shut you down. It builds the “stamina” required to maintain high power during long events after your initial “sprint” is gone.

Debrief. Take 2–3 minutes after the workout to reflect
– Did you successfully return to your 88–94% FTP immediately after the surges, or did your power dip significantly?
– Did your RPMs stay consistent during the “sweetspot” phases, or did they start to fluctuate as you fatigued?
– Did you stay seated and maintain a strong, open posture through the final set, or did you start to collapse/reach for the handles?
– How was your breathing through the intervals?
– What adjustment would help you better maintain your output across all sets?