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Cycling · Plan · Endurance

FTP build plan (8 weeks)

Intermediate · 40–54 · 8-week plan · 4 days a week

Eight weeks of base plus sweet-spot work to lift your sustainable power. Below is a research-backed prompt for ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini, copy it, paste the reply into sweatcue, and run the whole cycling workout hands-free.

Session at a glance

Duration8-week plan · 4 days a week
FormatTimed intervals
Focus8 weeks
IntensityZone 2 · 88 to 94% of FTP
Equipmentbike
Best forEndurance, intermediate

This is how sweatcue structures the session once you paste it in, timed blocks with auto-starting rest and spoken cues. Figures are read from the prompt itself.

The prompt

Copy the complete prompt (it wraps the request below so the AI returns a clean, runnable session).

Build me an 8-week cycling plan to raise my FTP, training 4 days a week. Base it on plenty of easy Zone 2 endurance riding, plus two structured sessions a week, sweet spot (88 to 94% of FTP, building from 3×10 minutes toward 3×15 to 20 minutes) and VO2max intervals (5×5 minutes at 106 to 120% of FTP), with a recovery week every fourth week. For each training day list the week, and the ride with its structure, a target power as a percentage of FTP, and a heart-rate zone. Include the rest days.
Works with Claude, Gemini, Grok or any AI.

Why it's built this way

Sustainable power is built on a large base of easy Zone 2 riding plus progressive sweet-spot work just below threshold, with a smaller dose of VO2max intervals, and a recovery week every fourth week to absorb the load.

Sources: Allen & Coggan, Training and Racing with a Power Meter (power zones); Rønnestad et al., Scand J Med Sci Sports 2020 (interval training in cyclists)

Who this plan is for

Built with one person in mind: 40s–50s, ride regularly, chasing more sustainable power.

  • You’re an intermediate-level trainer and you want a bigger aerobic engine.
  • You have access to the kit it calls for: bike.
  • You want a structured, progressing plan rather than a one-off session.

Who should adapt or skip it

  • It’s low-risk for healthy adults. Scale the loads and reps to your own level rather than copying the top of every range on day one.
  • As with any new routine, check with a clinician first if you have a medical condition, are injured, pregnant, or returning from a long lay-off. This is general information, not medical advice.

What a 2-week plan looks like

This is a multi-week plan that progresses as you go, the AI builds the later weeks harder. Here’s the rhythm of the opening fortnight, at about 4 sessions a week:

MonTueWedThuFriSatSun
Week 1●●·●·●·
Week 2●●·●·●·

● This session· Easy cross-training or rest

Keep session days apart where you can, and adjust for how you feel. When you paste the AI’s reply into sweatcue, each session runs hands-free with spoken cues and timers.

Run it hands-free in sweatcue

sweatcue is an AI workout dashboard: paste the AI's reply and it runs the whole session on screen and out loud, auto timers, spoken cues for every set, rest and rep, and your live numbers. The AI writes it; sweatcue runs it.

Download for iPhone →

More cycling & related workouts

CyclingSweet-spot intervals CyclingVO₂max intervals CyclingZone 2 endurance ride WeightsStrength for cyclists

New to prompting an AI for workouts?

Start with the full workout library, learn the method in how to write a workout prompt, or see what an AI workout dashboard does.