FTP-based training
Most cycling targets are written as a percentage of functional threshold power (FTP), so one workout suits riders of any fitness. FTP and power zones explains how FTP is estimated and how zones follow from it; the power zone calculator turns your FTP into watts, and the climb calculator shows what those watts mean on a real climb.
Power, heart rate and cadence
- Power responds instantly and is the most precise target for intervals. Write it as %FTP for portability or watts for one rider.
- Heart rate lags effort by a minute or more, so it suits long steady work better than short intervals. Use bpm or % of max heart rate.
- Cadence is a secondary target: “5 min at 90–95% FTP, 95–105 rpm” practises pedalling speed at a given power.
SurgeIQ Lab workouts support all three, including power and cadence on the same step.
Workout types
Five kinds of session cover most cycling training. Each chart below is a real, exportable workout.
Long, steady and conversational — the base most training is built on.
Blocks around FTP with short recoveries; even pacing is the skill.
Hard efforts of a few minutes above FTP with equal recovery.
Short, very hard efforts with a cadence target.
Very easy riding that lets the hard days work.
Endurance vs threshold vs VO2max compares their purpose and structure in detail.
Cycling training plans
A cycling plan arranges these sessions across weeks around a goal. In SurgeIQ Lab you can use a built-in plan or write your own — up to 12 weeks, with every ride built from structured steps — and apply it to your calendar from a chosen Monday. Coaches can assign plans to athletes (how that works).
Bike computers and FIT
Structured workouts reach a bike computer as FIT workout files. SurgeIQ Lab exports every structured ride as one, and a whole week or plan as a zip of files named by date or plan day. Load them on a Garmin Edge over USB; direct Garmin Connect or Wahoo sync isn’t available.
- Workout
- FIT workout file
- Garmin/NewFiles
- Edge workouts
What’s inside a FIT workout file →