Shrinking Climbs
80 min · 66-81 TSS · IF 0.74 · 105-130% FTP · Zone 5+ (VO2max)
What this workout does
Climb repeats that get shorter and harder: 3 minutes strong, 2 minutes harder, 1 minute nearly flat out. Teaches you to empty the tank in stages - exactly how decisive climbs are raced.
Each round moves from sustained climbing at 105-112% FTP into progressively shorter, harder surges, training the aerobic-to-anaerobic handoff that decides raced climbs. Emptying the tank in ordered stages also builds pacing judgment under fatigue. Best late in a build once basic VO2max work is established.
How to ride it
Indoor / trainer
Warm up 15min with 3 short openers. 3 rounds of: 3min at 105-112% FTP, 4min easy, 2min at 112-120% FTP, 3min easy, 1min at 120-130% FTP, 3min easy. Cool down 10min.
Outside
Best on a climb you can rejoin quickly, or one long steady grade. Ride 3min at 105-112% FTP, recover, 2min at 112-120% FTP, recover, then 1min at 120-130% FTP - each rep shorter and more vicious than the last.
Workout structure (80 min)
- Warm-up 15m 55% 3x - Opener 30s 110% - 1m 30s 55% 3x - Climb 3m 109% - 4m 55% - Climb 2m 116% - 3m 55% - Climb 1m 125% - 3m 55% - Cool-down 10m 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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