indoor sweetspot training

OK with my training camp and season just around the corner I've stepped it up a notch or two.

Foul weather has dictated I ride indoors but undeterred, I'm keeping it swift and short, with low level lactate threshold intervals.

How do you know your lactate threshold, well you can either buy an expensive lactate tester and take various blood samples at different training loads, or you can follow this simple method.

On an indoor trainer (or on a stretch of road you can easily replicate the same test again later on/ a much harder option)

warm up for 15-20 mins

do a hard, just sub-maximal effort at 5 mins to clear the legs,

spin easy for another 10-15 mins.

Then do a 20 minute time trial.

Don't start too hard but just below what you think you can do for 20 mins and every 5 mins check to see how you feel , then ramp it up slightly or step it back a little.

done right its going to hurt, and about 10mins in you should be thinking I'll never manage to finish this, that means your working well.

at the end of 20 mins warm down for 15-20 mins with some light spinning.

95% your average power output (if you have power meter) or heart rate for that (20min) time is a good indication of your FTP (functional threshold power) the power you could sustain for 60mins and the bench mark for all your subsequent training zones.

At the moment my FTP is about 347w or 181bpm.

It raises during the season.

So what does that mean well for now I'm starting to do some sweetspot intervals just on the cusp of my threshold power at 88%-95% ftp or in my case 302w -320w approx.

as its early in the season and it hard training indoors compared to the road, i've started of easy with 2x 10min intervals and a 10 min rest interval in between.

but as my training progresses i'll step it up to 2x20x10 and then 3x20x10 before moving on to harder higher level ftp workout and VO2 max intervals.

sounds easy right?

Heres my last training power files