Overview

Explosive Power Intervals are designed for cyclists who need to punch above their normal effort—think crits, cyclocross, or cross-country MTB. Each session consists of 2 blocks of 5x 60-second bursts at 130–140% FTP (hard effort, ~9/10), with 2-minute easy recoveries between intervals and a longer 10-minute recovery between the blocks. The goal is to maintain consistent power across all efforts without fading.

Key Benefits

• Trains fast-twitch muscles for explosive efforts
• Improves repeatability of hard bursts
• Builds stamina above threshold power
• Enhances anaerobic energy production and recovery
• Ideal for cyclocross, cross-country MTB, crits, and road racing

How to Apply This

1. Warm up thoroughly for 15–20 minutes
2. Perform 2 blocks of intervals, each with 5x 60-second bursts at 130–140% FTP (~9/10 RPE)
3. Take 2 minutes of easy pedaling (~50% FTP, 2/10 RPE) between each interval
4. Rest for 10 minutes (~50–65% FTP, 3–4/10 RPE) between blocks
5. Pace the efforts evenly—don’t start too hard or later intervals will suffer

Pro Tip

As you get stronger, focus on reducing recovery time rather than increasing the effort. This improves repeatability and helps you recover faster between hard efforts. Use these sessions sparingly in your training cycle to avoid over-taxing anaerobic systems, which could impact threshold performance.