- A structured workout is a ride made of blocks. Each block has a length and a power target.
- Most targets are a percentage of your FTP, so the same workout fits a beginner and a racer.
- Riding to a plan takes the guesswork out: you know how hard to go and when to ease off.
What it is
A structured workout is a ride you plan before you clip in. It is built from blocks. Each block has a length and a target, such as 12 minutes at 90% of your FTP. Easier blocks sit between the hard ones so you can recover.
Most workouts have the same three parts: a warm-up, a main set and a cool-down.
Why riding to a plan works
Left to feel, many riders drift into the same medium effort every time. It is too hard to recover from and too easy to push your limits. A plan decides the effort for you.
Hard blocks are hard enough to matter. Easy blocks are easy enough that you can do the next hard one properly.
A plan also makes rides comparable. Ride the same workout a month apart and you can see whether the same targets feel easier. And it takes the thinking out of the ride: you watch the next block, not the clock.
How to read one
The name tells you the main set. “3×12 Sweet Spot” is three blocks of 12 minutes at the sweet spot, which sits just under threshold.
- A steady block holds one target.
- A ramp block climbs or falls between two targets, like a warm-up.
- A repeat runs a set of blocks again, such as 12 minutes hard and 4 easy, three times.
Targets are written as a percentage of FTP and as watts. At an FTP of 250 W, 90% is 225 W. If your FTP goes up, the watts go up and the percentage stays. A few workouts, such as the FTP tests, use fixed watts instead.
Two numbers describe a whole workout. IF, the intensity factor, is the workout’s normalised power divided by your FTP. Normalised power weights hard efforts more than a plain average. TSS, the training stress score, combines that with the length: an hour exactly at your FTP scores 100.
Every workout in the Library shows its profile, its length and, once you have entered an FTP, its IF and TSS at that FTP. Open one to see its blocks, then tap Ride.
Picking one
If you have a heart condition or another health concern, or you have been inactive for a while, check with a doctor before starting hard intervals.
The Library groups workouts by focus, from easiest to hardest: Recovery, Endurance, Tempo, Sweet Spot, Threshold, VO₂ Max and Anaerobic. The FTP tests have their own group.
New to structured training? Start at the easy end. Many riders keep most rides easy and add one or two harder sessions a week.
Show sources (5)Hide sources
- Buchheit M, Laursen PB (2013). High-Intensity Interval Training, Solutions to the Programming Puzzle: Part I: Cardiopulmonary Emphasis. Sports Medicine, 43(5), 313–338. doi:10.1007/s40279-013-0029-x
- Esteve-Lanao J, Foster C, Seiler S, et al. (2007). Impact of Training Intensity Distribution on Performance in Endurance Athletes. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 21(3), 943–949. doi:10.1519/R-19725.1
- Seiler KS, Kjerland GØ (2006). Quantifying training intensity distribution in elite endurance athletes: is there evidence for an “optimal” distribution? Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, 16(1), 49–56. doi:10.1111/j.1600-0838.2004.00418.x
- 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
- TrainingPeaks (2016). Normalized Power, Intensity Factor and Training Stress Score. TrainingPeaks Learn (updated 2026). https://www.trainingpeaks.com/learn/articles/normalized-power-intensity-factor-training-stress/
