Sweet Spot Workout Breakdown | Cycling Tips

Everyone loves to build their threshold and sweet spot is an extremely popular cycling workout to do. Let's explore the benefits of doing sweet spot and then I lay out a basic workout template to get you started along with progressing time in the zone as needed. Hope these cycling tips help.

As always, please leave any questions or comments below. I love reading and going through those.

1:09 - Good during the base period
2:54 - The benefits of sweet spot training
4:48 - Progression of sweet spot training
7:11 - Basic starting template of sweet spot workout
9:21 - A sprinter's perspective on sweet spot
10:01 - Outro

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[kiwimp]

I use these type of long interval steady state work outs a little different. At the start of the build I do 15min warm up, 1hr @ 78% of FTP, 10min cool down. Every week do 5w more, I do this every week pretty much right through the season. By the end of the season I'm doing 1hr @ 95% of FTP. I run another interval session per week at whatever phase I'm in PE, FTP or VO2max but the 1hr constant power remains through the season. I've done it for 4 years now and works really well for me, makes the other interval work seem very short and mentally a bit easier to get your head around.

[michaelstoecker]

Thank you - enjoyed this video. Just did SST today (2 x 30min - hitting the high end of my SS each time). Killer! After yesterday’s threshold workout, had to spin the ride home in easy Z2. Tomorrow is a Z1 ride, for sure. 👍👍

[parkerterlaak]

Your videos keep getting better and better. I really appreciate and look forward to your stuff. Keep it up, man!

[guzz]

Thanks for the clear explanation of the benefits!!!

[jonathanwallis]

Just what I was looking for! . Clear and I can implement and adapt it myself. Thank you very much.

[klifton]

Great work on the intro! Keepin it real with the advice for us who are mere mortals. Sweet spot is so uncomfortable for me. Good to know it's kinda supposed to be that way. :) Thanks!

[dave]

Just found your videos today on you tube. Have enjoyed them. Still more to watch. Thanks for the efforts you put in to make them.

[jw]

Love doing a lot of z2 and SS work in the basetraining period. Wont push form like Vo2max and harder workouts will, but will yield great mostly muscular and durability gains. And less of a risk to kill your motivation early on in the season, than if you would start doing super hard workouts far away from racing.

[cordillerasCyclingClub]

Thanks, did not know what sweet spot means. Loving this videos.

[ProfessorSteez]

2 hours of sweet spot hurts, but thanks for the ideas on the progressions! I’ll be forever chasing the form I had this year, did a lot of 300 TSS rides in 4.5 hours and felt limitless for a few of them. These progressions should help me get back!

[markbentley]

Started off just past TTE now starting 2x40. Aiming for min. 2 hours in a session in 6 weeks max. Great way of training as long as you maintain 1 or 2 longish Z2 rides a week

[kacy]

so, if i don't use a power meter and i have no idea what my ftp is, but i do use a heart rate monitor is sweet spot = to zone 3 or zone 4 heart rate? i ride mostly to clear my head, but i want to ride longer rater than faster(i'm 46...i don't care about fast anymore). i can current ride 65-75 miles without a lot of issues on most days. i haven't broken that 100 mile mark....yet and i think i could benefit from some training. i find it hard to ride slow enough to ride @ zone 1-2 heart rate and i'm trying to increase my zone 2 riding time as i have noticed that my peak heart rate as increased with what little zone 2 training i've done.

[packfill]

Chaz, great video as always. I note that you have been driving to a location for your sweet spot work. What do you recommend if you're in a very rolling location where holding a steady effort is nearly impossible. Do you just move indoors or do you just push downhills and back off uphills?

[jackmontou]

Really well done video with great info! Thanks Chaz, no doubt your page is going to grow a ton. Glad Tyler turned me onto your videos.

[MegaMatthewMartin]

I've been doing higher range for my shorter efforts (94% for 10 x whatever) and lower for longer blocks (88% for 30). I might start raising the level for the lower ones, but they hurt plenty by the end.

[dxplosiv]

Thanks for sharing. Maybe a silly question, but on these 20 min efforts, how are you displaying power? For instance, I'm currently displaying 3 second average. Depending on terrain, the numbers are all over the place.

[ahmadh]

Great info as always Chazzy Boy! since you've upped your sweet spot load/duration, shouldn't you do Ftp test to see how much you've improved your threshold?

[jalenoutside]

Hi Chaz, great video! What are the effects of varying the rest period vs increasing the avg power output. Is 5 min the max reasonable rest? Is 3 min too little. Thanks!

[cliffcox]

May I ask, .... My FTP is 255, so 90% is about 230 watts.. I did 10 minutes today, next time, increase 5 minutes, or do the same 10 minutes twice? In other words, do another set, or increase the time of the first attempt?

[ponderingfox]

Haha, the ‘yuh’ at the end of the video is classic. After watching so much VC I kind of expect it. Ever consider borrowing it and putting it in your videos also?