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SurgeIQ Lab

How to Read a Structured Cycling Workout

Workout descriptions pack a lot into a short line. Here is how to read the notation, the chart, and the details that are easy to miss.

Published

The notation

Take a common VO2max session:

10 min warmup · 4 × (5 min @ 105–110% FTP / 3 min @ 50–60%) · 10 min cooldown

  • 4 × — the part in brackets is done four times.
  • 5 min @ 105–110% FTP — the work interval: five minutes, holding power between 105% and 110% of FTP.
  • / 3 min @ 50–60% — the recovery after each work interval.
  • Warmup and cooldown bracket the main set.

Total time: 10 + 4 × (5 + 3) + 10 = 52 minutes, of which 20 minutes are work.

Reading the chart

4×
  1. Warmup10 min50–65% FTP
  2. Repeat 4×
    1. Work5 min105–110% FTP
    2. Recover3 min50–60% FTP
  3. Cooldown10 min<60% FTP
Block width follows duration and height follows intensity. Blue blocks are easy (warmup, recovery, cooldown); orange blocks are work. The dashed line and “4×” mark the repeat block.

Charts like this let you see the shape of a session at a glance: how much of it is hard, how long the recoveries are relative to the work, and where the hardest part sits.

Repeat blocks

A repeat block is a group of steps with a count. It is not the same as writing the steps out eight times: the workout knows the steps belong together, so a bike computer can show “interval 2 of 4” and a coach can change the count in one place. Blocks can contain more than two steps — for example over-unders alternating 95% and 105% FTP.

10×
  1. Warmup15 min50–70% FTP
  2. Repeat 10×
    1. Hard30 s120–140% FTP95–110 rpm
    2. Easy30 s40–55% FTP
  3. Easy spin5 min<55% FTP
  4. Cooldown10 min<60% FTP
10 × 30 s hard / 30 s easy: a repeat block of short efforts, followed by easy spinning and a cooldown.

Ranges, “below” and ramps

  • A range such as 105–110% gives a window to stay inside. Aim for the middle; drifting to the top on the first interval usually costs you the last.
  • “Below 60% FTP” sets a ceiling only — common for cooldowns and recovery.
  • A ramp (for example 50% rising to 75% over 10 minutes) changes the target during the step. Note that FIT workout files have no ramp step, so SurgeIQ Lab exports a ramp as a steady range and tells you so.

Time, distance and lap

Most steps end after a time. Some end after a distance (useful outdoors on a known road) and some are “open”: they last until you press the lap button — handy for a warmup that ends when you reach the start of a climb.

2×
  1. Warmup until readyUntil lap press50–65% FTP

    Press lap when warmed up.

  2. Repeat 2×
    1. Tempo15 min76–88% FTP
    2. Recover5 min45–55% FTP
  3. Cooldown10 min<60% FTP
An open, lap-controlled warmup followed by 2 × 15 min tempo. Open steps are drawn at a nominal width because their length isn’t known in advance.

Cadence and instructions

A step may carry a cadence range (for example 95–110 rpm) alongside its power target, and a short instruction such as “stay seated” or “even pacing from the first minute”. Both travel with the workout into the FIT file, so they show on the device.

Executing it

  • Know your FTP before the session so the percentages turn into sensible watts.
  • Start the first interval at the bottom of the range; adjust after a minute.
  • Take the recoveries as written — shortening them changes the workout.
  • If you cannot hold the range on the last repeats, note it; it is useful information for the next session, not a failure.

Want to see the file your bike computer receives? What is a FIT workout file.

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