Microbursts
60 min · 41-50 TSS · IF 0.67 · 120-130% FTP · Zone 5+ (VO2max)
What this workout does
Ultra-short hard efforts with brief recovery. Keeps your heart rate elevated and builds your ability to recover between surges — great for group ride fitness.
Fifteen-second bursts at 120-130% FTP with equal recovery keep heart rate and oxygen uptake pinned high while the legs take repeated micro-doses of anaerobic load. This builds surge-and-recover ability - the exact demand of group rides and criteriums. It accumulates VO2max stimulus with less perceived suffering than long reps.
How to ride it
Indoor / trainer
Warm up 20min. 3 sets of 10x(15s at 120-130% FTP / 15s easy). 5min easy between sets. Cool down 15min.
Outside
Any quiet road works - set a repeating 15s timer. 15s at 120-130% FTP, 15s soft-pedal, staying on the bars and keeping momentum. Do not chase speed on the recoveries; just keep the legs turning.
Workout structure (60 min)
- Warm-up 20m 55% 10x - Burst 15s 125% - 15s 50% - 5m 55% 10x - Burst 15s 125% - 15s 50% - 5m 55% 10x - Burst 15s 125% - 15s 50% - Cool-down 15m 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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