What makes a workout structured
A workout is structured when every part of it is defined by two things: a duration (a time, a distance, or “until I press lap”) and a target (a power range, a heart-rate range, a cadence, or deliberately no target). Put those parts in order, group the repeated ones, and you have a session that anyone — you next month, a coach, or a bike computer — can read and execute the same way.
- Warmup15 min50–70% FTP
- Repeat 3×
- Threshold10 min95–100% FTP
Even pacing from the first minute.
- Recover5 min45–55% FTP
- Cooldown10 min<60% FTP
Anatomy of a session
Most structured rides use the same building blocks:
- Warmup — a gradual start so the hard work begins with the body ready for it.
- Work intervals — the purpose of the session, at a defined intensity.
- Recoveries — easy riding between work intervals; their length is part of the workout’s design, not dead time.
- Repeat blocks — a group of steps done several times, like “4 × (5 min hard + 3 min easy)”.
- Cooldown — easy riding to finish.
SurgeIQ Lab stores exactly these blocks. A repeat stays a repeat — “repeat 4 times: work, recovery” — rather than eight unrelated steps, which keeps the workout readable and lets a bike computer show “interval 3 of 4”.
Targets
Targets tell you how hard each step should be. The common options, and when each is useful:
| Target | Example | Useful when |
|---|---|---|
| % of FTP | 105–110% FTP | You ride with a power meter; the workout scales with your fitness. |
| Watts | 250–280 W | A workout is written for one rider’s current numbers. |
| Heart rate | 135–150 bpm or 70–80% max HR | No power meter, or for long steady work. |
| Cadence | 95–105 rpm | The session practises pedalling speed. |
| No target | — | Warmups or recoveries ridden by feel. |
Percent-of-FTP targets are the most portable: the same workout fits a rider with a 200 W FTP and one with 320 W. FTP and power zones explains where those numbers come from.
Why structure helps
- Repeatability. You can do the same session again and compare.
- Intent. Easy days stay easy and hard days have a clear job, instead of every ride drifting to the same medium effort.
- Communication. A coach and athlete agree on exactly what was planned.
- Execution. A bike computer can count down each step and show the target, so you are not doing arithmetic mid-interval.
From workouts to plans
A training plan arranges workouts across weeks so that hard sessions, easy sessions and rest days sit in a deliberate order.
- Plan
- Weeks
- Workouts
- Steps
In SurgeIQ Lab, a plan’s workouts sit on week-and-day slots; applying the plan puts them on your calendar from a chosen Monday. Recovery is part of that design — see how recovery fits into a plan.
Where structure stops
Structure describes the plan, not the rider. Sleep, illness, heat, terrain and life stress all change how a session feels, and a target that was right last week may not be today. Treat targets as a guide, adjust when something is clearly off, and get professional advice for anything health-related.
Where to go next
How this guide was written
This guide describes common structured-training practice and how SurgeIQ Lab represents workouts. It avoids prescribing individual training and makes no performance claims.