Cycling Training Guides
In-depth guides to structured cycling training and to getting your workouts onto a bike computer, each linked to the tools that put it into practice.
Getting workouts onto your Garmin
From a planned workout to a Garmin Edge and back: exporting it, Garmin Connect, the Garmin calendar, targets and FTP, riding intervals on real roads, and what to do when a workout doesn’t show up.
How to Export a Cycling Workout to Your Garmin EdgeGet a structured workout from SurgeIQ Lab onto a Garmin Edge for tomorrow’s ride: download the FIT file, copy it over USB or rebuild it in Garmin Connect.How to Send a Workout From Garmin Connect to Your EdgeBuild a cycling workout in Garmin Connect on your phone or the website, send it to your Edge, and make sure it has actually synced before you ride.How to Start a Structured Workout on a Garmin EdgeWhere to find a workout on an Edge 540, 840, 1040 or 1050, how to start it, what the screen shows, and how to skip, repeat or end a step mid-ride.How to Put a Cycling Training Plan on the Garmin CalendarHow a week of cycling workouts gets onto the Garmin Connect calendar and your Edge, what Garmin supports, and what SurgeIQ Lab can and can’t do today.Power, Heart Rate and Cadence Targets in Garmin WorkoutsWhat power, heart-rate and cadence targets look like on a Garmin Edge, when each makes sense, and why the FTP on your Edge decides the watts you see.How to Ride Structured Interval Workouts OutdoorsThe same workout rides differently on the road. Match intervals to terrain, deal with lights and descents, and know when to change or stop the session.Garmin Workout Not Showing on Your Edge? TroubleshootingFixes for Garmin workout problems: missing on the Edge, constant target alerts, FTP changes, skipping intervals, and files Garmin Connect won’t import.What Is a FIT Workout File? How Structured Workouts Reach a Bike ComputerHow a structured cycling workout becomes a FIT workout file: workout vs activity files, workout steps, how power and heart-rate targets and repeats are stored.
Structured training
How structured training works: FTP and zones, reading a workout, the main session types and where recovery fits.
Understanding Structured TrainingWhat makes a workout "structured", why structure helps, and how warmups, intervals, recoveries and targets combine into sessions and multi-week plans.Cycling FTP and Power Zones ExplainedWhat functional threshold power (FTP) is, how it is commonly estimated, how power zones are derived from it, and the limits of zone-based training.How to Read a Structured Cycling WorkoutDecode workout notation like "4 × 5 min @ 105–110% FTP / 3 min": step types, repeat blocks, target ranges, ramps, cadence and the workout chart.Endurance vs Threshold vs VO2max WorkoutsWhat endurance, threshold and VO2max cycling workouts are for, how each is typically structured, and how they fit together in a training week.How Recovery Fits Into a Training PlanRecovery at every level of a plan: between intervals, recovery rides, rest days and lighter weeks — and how to adjust when you are not absorbing training.
Racing
Race formats and preparing for specific races.
Racing the Berkeley Omnium: Berkeley Hills Road Race & Berkeley Streets CriteriumA rider’s guide to the Berkeley Omnium, the Bay Area’s two-day race weekend: the historic Berkeley Hills Road Race, the Berkeley Streets Criterium, and how to train for both.Road Race vs Criterium: What’s Different and How to Train for EachHow road races and criteriums differ in course, tactics and power demands, and how to train for long climbing races versus repeated crit surges and sprints.