Surge and Float
65 min · 54-66 TSS · IF 0.74 · 110-120% FTP · Zone 5+ (VO2max)
What this workout does
Thirty seconds hard, fifteen seconds floating - never fully recovering. The short floats keep your oxygen uptake pinned near maximum for the whole set, delivering big VO2max time without long, grinding reps.
The 15s floats are too short for oxygen uptake to fall, so it stays pinned near maximum for entire ten-rep sets - one of the most time-efficient VO2max formats there is. The 110-120% FTP surges add repeated anaerobic hits that harden you for race rhythm. Demanding enough that once a week in a build block is plenty.
How to ride it
Indoor / trainer
Warm up 15min with 3 short openers. 3 sets of 10x(30s at 110-120% FTP / 15s soft-pedal float). 5min easy between sets. Cool down 10min. Keep the floats rolling - do not stop pedaling.
Outside
A quiet flat road or bike path with no junctions is ideal. Run each set off a repeating 45s timer: 30s at 110-120% FTP, 15s soft-pedal float. Keep momentum through the floats - the point is to never quite recover.
Workout structure (65 min)
- Warm-up 15m 55% 3x - Opener 30s 110% - 1m 30s 55% 10x - Effort 30s 115% - Float 15s 45% - 5m 55% 10x - Effort 30s 115% - Float 15s 45% - 5m 55% 10x - Effort 30s 115% - Float 15s 45% - Cool-down 10m 30s 55%
Targets are a percentage of FTP. This is the same shorthand the free workout builder understands — paste it there to edit any step, or download the workout for Zwift, Garmin or any smart trainer.
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