WHO THIS IS FOR
IS THIS YOU?
The time-crunched rider with 6–8 hours a week
You need a high-stimulus block you can recover from, structured across a defined six weeks.
The rider moving from unstructured riding to a plan
You want your first proper training block and sweet spot is the most forgiving entry point.
THE ROADMAN VIEW
The Roadman view
Sweet spot became the default amateur training block because the maths works in your favour when time is tight. It sits at 84–94% of FTP — hard enough to build genuine threshold fitness, but recoverable enough that you can do it twice a week and still come back fresh. For a rider with six to eight hours, two focused sweet spot sessions plus a few easy rides is a genuinely productive week. TrainerRoad built a whole platform on this, and the reason it works is that it concentrates the stimulus where time-crunched riders can actually absorb it.
The way you build the block matters more than people think. The instinct is to make each session harder — to creep the power up week on week. Don't. You build a sweet spot block by adding duration at the same intensity, not by chasing watts. Start at 2×15 minutes, add five minutes to your blocks every couple of weeks, and by week five you're holding 3×20 — roughly an hour of productive sweet spot in a single session. That progression of time-in-zone is what drives the adaptation. The intensity stays put inside the band.
And here's the part that decides whether the block works: the easy rides. Stephen Seiler's research keeps hammering the same point, and it applies directly here — if your easy days drift up into zone 3, your sweet spot sessions never fully land because you're never properly recovered. Two quality sessions a week, everything else genuinely easy, one recovery week to close it out. Then move on. Sweet spot builds the base beautifully, but it's a phase, not a permanent home. The eight to ten weeks before a target event belong to threshold and VO2max work.
EXPERT EVIDENCE
WHAT THE EXPERTS SAY
- Professor Stephen SeilerExercise physiologist, University of Agder; polarised-training researcher
Sweet spot can drive real threshold adaptation in a defined block, but only if the surrounding easy rides stay genuinely easy. The common failure is that the moderate intensity of sweet spot bleeds into the rest of the week, leaving the athlete chronically under-recovered and the quality sessions blunted. Protect the easy days and the block delivers.
Hear it: 80/20 Training to Ride Faster | Dr Stephen Seiler - Dan LorangHead of Performance, Red Bull–Bora–Hansgrohe; coach to Jan Frodeno
Sweet spot has a clear place in amateur periodisation, particularly in the base phase where the full fatigue of pure threshold work can't always be absorbed. The discipline is to treat it as a time-limited block that builds toward sharper, more specific intensity later — not as the entire training plan repeated indefinitely.
Hear it: Roglic's Coach Builds A Training Plan For Amateur Riders | Dan Lorang
PRACTICAL APPLICATION
DO THIS WEEK
Map the six weeks before you start
Weeks 1–2: 2×15 min at 84–94% FTP, twice weekly. Weeks 3–4: 2×20 min or 3×15 min. Week 5: 3×20 min — the peak load. Week 6: recovery, volume cut 40%, no sweet spot. Two quality sessions per week throughout, with at least one easy day between them.
Set the power band precisely and stay in it
84–94% of current FTP. For a 250 W FTP, that's 210–235 W. Don't drift above 95% (that's threshold) or below 82% (that's tempo). On a smart trainer, ERG mode holds the band for you; outdoors, watch your power and resist the urge to push.
Keep every other ride genuinely zone 2
The two sweet spot sessions are your only quality work. Everything else stays under 75% FTP — easy enough to hold a conversation. Adding a third hard ride sabotages the recovery the block depends on.
COMMON MISTAKES
WHAT CYCLISTS GET WRONG
MISTAKEAdding a third sweet spot session because two feels too easy.
FIXTwo is the ceiling for most amateurs. A third pushes total load past what you can recover from and turns the block into chronic grey-zone fatigue.
MISTAKEProgressing by raising intensity instead of duration.
FIXHold the 84–94% band and add time in zone — build from 2×15 to 3×20 over the block. Creeping the watts up turns sweet spot into threshold and breaks the recovery balance.
MISTAKERunning sweet spot blocks back-to-back all year with no shift to sharper work.
FIXUse sweet spot in base and early build, then transition to threshold and VO2max in the final 8–10 weeks before a target event. The base needs sharpening to lift the ceiling.
FAQ
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
How long should a sweet spot block last?
What should the rest of my week look like during a sweet spot block?
Can I do a sweet spot block indoors?
Will a sweet spot block raise my FTP?
How do I fuel a sweet spot session?
What comes after a sweet spot block?
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