Eight-Minute Bridge
70 min · 64-78 TSS · IF 0.76 · 100-108% FTP · Zone 4-5 (Threshold/VO2max)
What this workout does
Eight-minute efforts right at the border of threshold and VO2max. Long enough to build sustained power, hard enough to raise your ceiling - the bridge between the two systems.
Eight minutes at 100-108% FTP sits on the boundary between threshold and VO2max, extending your sustainable ceiling while nudging maximal oxygen uptake upward. The longer reps build the muscular endurance to hold hard aerobic efforts, complementing shorter VO2max work. Ideal early in a build block or as a bridge from threshold-focused training.
How to ride it
Indoor / trainer
Warm up 15min with 3 short openers. 3x8min at 100-108% FTP with 4min easy between. Cool down 15min. Settle into a rhythm you could hold to the end of the rep - no more.
Outside
A long steady climb or a flat road without interruptions. Ride each 8min rep at 100-108% FTP - just past the edge of comfortable, breathing in short sentences at best - and spin easy for 4min between.
Workout structure (70 min)
- Warm-up 15m 55% 3x - Opener 30s 110% - 1m 30s 55% 3x - Effort 8m 104% - 4m 55% - 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.
Related cycling workouts
VO2max Intervals
62-89 min · 63-76 TSS
The hardest efforts that deliver the biggest aerobic gains. These 4-minute intervals push your oxygen delivery system to its maximum.
Short Hill Repeats
50-75 min · 44-54 TSS
Steep, short climbs ridden hard. Builds explosive power and mental toughness. Find a 1-2 minute climb and attack it.
30/30 Intervals
45-75 min · 42-52 TSS
Classic short-short intervals: 30 seconds hard, 30 seconds easy. Accumulates time at VO2max without the sustained suffering of longer intervals.
Microbursts
45-70 min · 41-50 TSS
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.
Descending Intervals
44-76 min · 51-62 TSS
Intervals that get shorter as you go. The first one is the hardest to pace — the rest feel more achievable. A psychologically friendly way to do hard work.
Sprint Power Development
59-89 min · 58-71 TSS
Sprint work followed by VO2max efforts. The sprints develop neuromuscular power, the longer intervals build your aerobic ceiling.
A coach who's seen every ride you've done
Ask FormBeat's AI Coach anything - what to ride today, why a session felt flat, how to pace your next race - and it answers from your real training: your power, your history, how you're recovering. Not generic tips, but a read of what each ride actually meant and what to do next.
The guidance you'd pay a coach for - for the price of an app.
