8-WEEK FTP DEVELOPMENT PLAN

This plan uses sweet spot, classic threshold, and over-under intervals - sequenced through 8 weeks of block periodization - to raise the wattage you can hold for an hour. The same approach used with WorldTour professionals, scaled for cyclists training 6-9 hours a week.

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WHY FTP IS YOUR BANK ACCOUNT

If VO2max is your engine size, FTP is how much of it you actually use. Most amateur cyclists spend their threshold efforts at 70-80% of their VO2max - leaving real wattage on the table. This plan raises that percentage. Recreational riders typically gain 5-12% FTP in a single 8-week block - roughly +12 to +30W for a 250W rider. Every climb, every solo breakaway, every time the race goes hard - those are FTP efforts. A higher FTP means the same effort costs you less. You arrive at the finish with more left.

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THE PROTOCOLS - NAMED, PEER-REVIEWED
Most FTP plans throw "threshold work" at you. This plan names its sources.

• Sweet Spot (Coggan) - 88-93% FTP. Maximum training stimulus at minimum recovery cost. The foundation, not a compromise.

• Classic 2×20 (Allen & Coggan) - 2 × 20 min at FTP. The gold-standard threshold workout. Accumulates 40 min at threshold per session.

• Over-Unders (Seiler) - 1 min at 95% / 1 min at 105% FTP, repeated. Trains lactate clearance at threshold - the exact metabolic skill that defines FTP.

Each protocol enters in a specific phase, sequenced through block periodization for the 5-12% gain ceiling the research establishes.

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THE 8-WEEK STRUCTURE

• Week 1 - Test + Base. 20-min FTP test sets every target.
• Weeks 2-3 - Sweet Spot. Build muscular endurance at 88-93% FTP.
• Week 4 - Recovery. Volume drops 40%. The week most cyclists skip and shouldn't.
• Weeks 5-6 - Threshold. Direct FTP work: 2×20s, over-unders, criss-cross sweet spot.
• Week 7 - Taper. Threshold maintenance + VO2max sharpeners to raise the ceiling.
• Week 8 - Retest. Same conditions as Week 1. Measure exactly what changed.

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WHO IT'S FOR

• Amateur racers, Gran Fondo riders, and time-trial cyclists
- Riders with a recent training base of 5+ hrs/week
- Cyclists whose FTP has plateaued on mixed-intensity training
- Riders who want to understand why the sessions work

WHO IT ISN'T FOR

• Complete beginners - sweet spot needs an aerobic base underneath it
- Riders who treat every ride as a race - this plan runs on patient progression

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BONUSES INCLUDED

• 20-page PDF execution guide - the science, zone tables, protocol diagrams, weekly logic in print form

• Personalized Loom from Coach Toms - submit your retest data, get a recorded read on what worked and what to do next

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Outside is free. Train smart. Ride on.

Questions: toms.flaksis@gmail.com · Instagram @tomsflaksis · [cyclingcoachtoms.cc](http://cyclingcoachtoms.cc)