PEAK

PERFORMANCE
WORKOUT
LIBRARY
10 proven training sessions to maximise to your cycling fitness and
performance for ROAD, MOUNTAIN BIKE or CYCLOCROSS

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ABOUT
THIS
LIBRARY

Thanks for downloading this free

workout library
The training sessions in this library use leading scientific principles to provide
strong adaptive signals to the body, but also have real-world application for a
wide range of cyclists.

INCLUDED IN THIS GUIDE

• 10 workouts used by elite and world-class cyclists across cycling disciplines

• Additional training tips to further improve your cycling fitness and performance

I hope you enjoy reading through and using the workouts.

Tom
#1
THRESHOLD MICROBURSTS
1min30sec @ FTP/30sec easy

This first workout is highly-specific to intense racing both on the road and off-
road too. It consists of 3x15min intervals, where each interval is made up of
1.5mins micro-intervals at threshold and 30secs at Zones 1 or 2. There’s
approximately 8mins of recovery between each interval, and the workout
includes a warm up and cool down, both at Zone 2.

This workout is designed to provide a strong stimulus to improve your functional

threshold power (or your sustainable 1hour power).

The short 30sec recovery between each 1.5min micro-interval is enough to allow
you to ride for long periods of time at a high overall intensity, but too short to
allow for a full recovery, meaning heart rate stays elevated (and rising)
throughout.

The on/off nature of the intervals also trains the ability to accelerate and
overcome force repetitively, which helps combat cramp and the ability to be
punchy.
#2
VO2MAX INTERVALS
High volume 2min10sec

This is a training session that works on the basis of each interval not being
incredibly demanding individually, but allows for the accumulation of time at
VO2Max. This particular example includes 13x 2min10sec repetitions, but
anywhere in the 10-15 repetition range will work very well. Each work interval is
performed at VO2Max intensity (Zone 5 power, or paced as if you were doing a
5-8min all-out effort).

This workout is perfect for either a regular outdoor ride, or a condensed ride
either indoors or outdoors when the weather is poor - simply use a short warm
up and cool down.

You should find the first few intervals very manageable and progress through to
them being very difficult by the end of the set. Ensure you ride for at least 10
minutes at Zones 1 and 2 before the intervals to warm up, and ride the
remaining ride time at Zone 2, perhaps adding in some short surges if you have
the energy.
#3
THRESHOLD ENDURANCE
2x20min within a long ride

2x20mins will be a fairly familiar workout for most performance-orientated

riders, and that’s for good reason. This workout involves performing a warm-up of
between 10mins if riding indoors or 20-30mins if outside, performing 2x20min
intervals at 98-102% of your threshold (with around 4-5mins active recovery
between) and then a cool down of around 15mins if indoors and up to
1-1.5hours if outside.

This is a targeted workout designed to stress and improve your functional

threshold power, or the maximum sustained steady-state power output you
could maintain for about 1hour. Generally speaking, your FTP is one of the
biggest determinants of performance and is a key metric you’ll want to improve.

Try to pace each 20min interval as evenly as possible and maximise time in that
target zone, though feel free to increase your power in the final few minutes of
the last interval should you have the energy.

Use whichever pedalling style you prefer and ride at a self-selected cadence,
though try to prevent cadence dropping as fatigue sets in.
#4
VO2MAX MICROBURSTS
30sec/20sec within 2hour ride

A great workout for developing your VO2max (ability to deliver oxygen to the
working muscles), training the body to recover quicker and overcoming high
torque repeatedly. The workout involves 3x intervals of 10mins of 30secs at
VO2Max power and 20secs recovery repeatedly. The recovery time between each
10min interval is around 9-10mins.

This specific design elevates the heart rate and holds it high, where the recovery
intervals allow for more time accumulation but not enough recovery to bring
heart rate down significantly. This results in greater time spent at high heart rates
eliciting VO2Max. You could integrate similar intervals into a longer ride, or just
use the main interval portion of this workout for a shorter session. It can be done
on or off-road (e.g. long gravel track).

This workout is great for punchy cycling disciplines since it trains the ability to
accelerate to high outputs repeatedly, just as when getting back up to speed out
of a corner.
#5
SUPRA-THRESHOLD
6x6min hill repeats

This workout is a demanding one for a number of reasons, but represents the
true sweet spot of high intensity volume and fitness improvement. Supra-
threshold is an area in the intensity scale that’s above your threshold, but that
sits below your out-and-out VO2Max zone, meaning you can effectively stress
both at the same time through relatively long-duration work intervals.

As is seen in this workout, you can also increase the difficulty further by surging
and increasing the power for short periods of time throughout each 6min
interval.

These intervals can be condensed into a shorter indoor ride or integrated into a
long ride, e.g. with riding time before the interval set being around 20-30mins,
and time after being as long as you’d like to ride for. The latter can be used to
improve endurance abilities at the same time too and improve muscular
endurance.
#6
ANAEROBIC CAPACITY
1min repeats

Anaerobic training is extremely effective at improving race-specific fitness but

also very risky in terms of creating excessive fatigue if not handled carefully. In
this workout, each work interval is of around 1min, and done right in the middle
of Zone 6. They’re organised into blocks of 5-6 repetitions using a 1:1 work/
recovery ratio, making it even more challenging. You could use longer recoveries
and still perform a very effective training session.

This workout was performed by 2016 MTB XC World Champion Annika Langvad,
and thus features a high quantity of anaerobic intervals. You don’t have to do as
many repetitions in order to stimulate a strong adaptive response.

You should find the first few intervals very manageable and progress through to
them being very difficult by the end of the set, where the legs feel like they’re
locking up. For this type of anaerobic workout, be sure to include a very
thorough warm up and include some intervals of 10-30secs at the intensity you’ll
perform the main set of intervals at..
#7
INTENSITY MIX
40sec/20sec + 3x10min

A great way to make your training sessions more varied, and therefore
interesting and motivating, is to mix up different types of intervals within a
single ride. The workout in question features two sets of 40sec/20sec blocks (a
great interval design in and of itself and easy to perform in practice when one
set of the work and recovery intervals add up to 1min) and then 3x10mins

The 40sec work intervals are performed at a Zone 5 intensity to stress the
VO2Max primarily, and the 3x10mins accrue almost 30 minutes of threshold
work as well.

There’s always more than one way to stress any particular system or ability, and
this fact should be taken advantage of.

A workout like this within a longer ride is great for achieving a high TSS value,
but the intervals can be used with a short warm up and cool down for a
structured indoor workout.
#8
ENDURANCE TRAINING
Low intensity long ride

Whilst interval training is one of the most specific ways you can engineer a
training session, it’s really important to include longer, steady state, low intensity
rides into your weekly schedule throughout the year. This is something the pros
are very aware of.These types of workouts rely on time spent training rather than
intensity to produce the desired adaptive response, so always reduce intensity in
favour of duration rather than the other way around.

The purpose of this workout is to enhance aerobic fitness by stimulating greater

mitochondrial biogenesis (production of mitochondria - the power house of the
cell), enhanced capillarization in the muscles, development of slow-twitch
muscles fibres and trains body to more efficiently use fat as primary fuel source.

These rides can be anywhere from 2 to 6 hours in length, and time spent in Zone
2 should be maximised wherever possible. Choosing a flat or rolling route for this
type of training really helps to achieve this goal.

Consider doing some of these types of steady training in a fasted state to further
improve mitochondrial biogenesis. Either perform the whole ride fasted or
simply the first 1.5-2H before then refuelling during the latter half of the session.
#9
RECOVERY
Short, easy ride

Recovery rides are very helpful for those who train a lot of hours per week and/or
are more experienced cyclists, but can also be leveraged by more novice riders
too. Ride anywhere between 45mins and 2hours at Zone 1, whether using
power or heart rate as your primary training metric. Try to choose a flat or rolling
route so as not to be forced to increase the intensity to maintain forward
movement on a steep climb.

Recovery rides help maintain the body’s rhythm of regular training without
adding any extra stress to the body. This is a good time to ride casually with a
friend if they too have a recovery ride planned.

As a bonus tip, it’s important to leave your ego at home when you head out on a
recovery ride, and always keep in mind the clear purpose of doing such a
workout. There will likely be other riders around you riding faster, so resist the
temptation to go with them
#10
UPPER THRESHOLD
5x9min hill repeats

This final workout in the library is one that the science shows to be extremely
effective at improving fitness across the range. It involves 5x9min repeats at the
very top of your threshold power or HR range, leading to a large accumulation of
high intensity work time. It follows a 2:1 work to recovery ratio, and is nestled
within a ride of around 2hours.

This workout is perfect for either a regular outdoor ride, or a condensed ride
either indoors or outdoors when the weather is poor - simply use a short warm
up and cool down.

These intervals can be ridden at higher or lower cadences and either seated,
standing or a combination of both.

You should find the first few intervals are manageable but progress through to
them being very difficult by the final repetition, where you’ll likely feel fatigue
from the very start. Ensure you ride for at least 10 minutes at Zones 1 and 2 and
add in a few 1-2min efforts at threshold before the intervals to warm up. Ride
the remaining ride time around Zone 2.
BONUS
TIPS
Here’s some additional advice to help you get the most out of your training and
the workouts featured in this workout library.

These few tips should help you be more efficient with your time and foster
better consistency in your training, which is one of the keys to long-term fitness
improvement.

‣ As a general rule, when aiming to perform at your best in the week’s high
intensity sessions, try to ensure that you’re rested enough to achieve the
necessary duration and intensity for the work intervals. It’s not about how
much it’s hurting, but how well you can maximise the time spent in the
correct training zone.

‣ The majority of the time, try to stop your intervals before complete failure.
Ending the workout before failure will give you a very large adaptive stimulus,
but won’t negatively affect your recovery or break training consistency. Save
pushing incredibly deep for the approach to your main season goals to train
the body and mind to maximise suffering ability.

‣ If you’re a MTB or CX racer, ensure that if you’re performing most of your

workouts on the road and you’re building fitness on the road bike that you
dedicate some time to applying this power off-road. You’ll need to do this to
maximise your fitness and racing potential and tune the body to be able to
create this power whilst handling the bike and dealing with the fatigue that
comes from moving the body around and utilising other stabilising muscles
that aren’t recruited when riding on the road.

‣ Periodise your training and use specific blocks that increase in TSS over 3-4
weeks and then offload fatigue with a recovery week. This recovery week is a
good time to do some performance testing to compare to the previous block
to measure improvement and your training program’s effectiveness
THANK
YOU
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tom@tombell.co

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