- Ride two or three times a week and keep most rides easy.
- Set your FTP in week one, then ride workouts that scale to it.
- Make week four lighter, and test again if your rides feel easy.
Week one: set up
Pair your trainer and set your FTP. Hammy asks for it during setup. If you do not know it, choose “I Don’t Know My FTP” and take the Ramp Test on your first ride. The Ramp Test is a hard, all-out test. If you have a heart or blood-pressure condition, chest pain, dizziness or any symptom that worries you, check with a doctor before you ride it. Stop if you feel chest pain, dizziness or unusual shortness of breath. After that, pick an easy workout and ride it.
Use the first rides to learn how the trainer, the app and your setup work together.
A sample month
| Week | Rides | What to ride |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Ramp Test if you need an FTP, then Endurance 60 |
| 2 | 3 | Endurance 60 twice, 3×15 Tempo once |
| 3 | 3 | Endurance 60, 3×15 Tempo, 3×12 Sweet Spot |
| 4 | 2 | Recovery Spin 40 and Endurance 60. Test again if rides feel easy |
How hard
Easy rides should feel easy. You should be able to talk. Harder ones, like Tempo and Sweet Spot, should feel like work you can finish. If you cannot finish a block, lower the Intensity on the ride screen instead of stopping.
A short ride you finish is worth more than a long one you skip.
What to expect
Indoor riding is hotter and less forgiving than riding outside. There is no coasting and no downhill. Set up a fan, keep water close, and start with shorter rides. The pain cave guide covers the basics.
In Plan, tap a day to choose a workout from the Library, and switch between Week and Month to see what you have done and what is still to ride. Today shows the workout planned for the day.
Week four: lighter
After three weeks, ride less and keep it easy. It lets the training settle, and it is a good time to look back. Why easy weeks make you faster explains the idea.
Show sources (4)Hide sources
- Fernandez A, Wimer GS, Culver MN, et al. (2023). Fan Cooling Improves Submaximal Exercise Capacity in an Indoor Thermoneutral Environment. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 94(1), 124–130. doi:10.1080/02701367.2021.1946467
- Sawka MN, Burke LM, Eichner ER, et al. (2007). American College of Sports Medicine position stand. Exercise and fluid replacement. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 39(2), 377–390. doi:10.1249/mss.0b013e31802ca597
- Stöggl T, Sperlich B (2014). Polarized training has greater impact on key endurance variables than threshold, high intensity, or high volume training. Frontiers in Physiology, 5, 33. doi:10.3389/fphys.2014.00033
- Valenzuela PL, Morales JS, Foster C, et al. (2018). Is the Functional Threshold Power a Valid Surrogate of the Lactate Threshold? International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance, 13(10), 1293–1298. doi:10.1123/ijspp.2018-0008
