This is a 12 week pre-season plan to improve your FTP, ideal for endurance cyclists of all disciplines.
It involves 3 key rides a week of 60-90 minutes, which gradually increase in intensity over the duration of the plan. All sessions are structured similarly with work intervals at "sweet spot", or 90% FTP.
The plan starts with an incremental ramp test to determine FTP followed by the first session of 5 x 4 minutes @ 90% FTP.
Each week the time spent in sweet spot increases by 5 minutes per session for the 12 weeks, up to 80mins spent @ sweet spot by week 12. This is a manageable training load progression and should be achievable without causing too much fatigue.
Between workout days athletes should either rest or do only Z2 easy training to ensure sufficient recovery. The plan also allows for a 2-4 hour Z2 ride at the weekend with polarised Z5 intervals, but this is optional.
At the end of the plan athletes can either repeat the plan progress to the build phase.