Workouts

One-Hour Workout: Matt McElroy’s Bike Endurance Booster

Build your aerobic endurance on the bike with this session from the short-course star.

March 2, 2022 Emma-Kate Lidbury

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This week’s One-Hour Workout comes to us courtesy of American ITU speedster Matt McElroy—and it was the session we did for yesterday’s Triathlete Zwift group ride that McElroy led.

He said: “It’s an aerobic workout, almost all in Zones 1 or 2, with some shorter Zone 3/4 intervals in there to keep it interesting.”

McElroy answered questions from riders from all over the globe as he pedaled, sharing insights into his training and racing. He said his first race of the season is due to be the World Triathlon Championship Series race in Yokohama, Japan, in May. He’s also planning to step up to longer distance racing with a couple of 70.3s on his race schedule (the exact ones are to be determined, he said).

This workout can be done indoors on the trainer or outside on the road. You’ll begin with a 12-minute gentle warm-up, building from 50% of FTP (Functional Threshold Power) to 65%. For those not riding with power, this equates to RPE (Rate of Perceived Exertion) 4/10 to RPE 5/10. Focus on smooth pedaling with a light, higher cadence (85-90 RPM).

Ramp up the effort slightly for the next four minutes, riding at 65% of FTP through to ~75% (RPE 5/10 to 6/10). You should be feeling well warmed up by the end of this block.

It’s then time for three rounds of two minutes at 80-90% of FTP (RPE 7/10), before heading straight into three minutes at 55-65% of FTP (RPE 5-6/10).

Recover with a five-minute easy spin at 55% of FTP (RPE 5/10).

The final section of work involves two rounds of: three minutes at 80-90% of FTP (RPE 7/10); three minutes at 90-100% of FTP (RPE 8-9/10); two minutes at 75-80% of FTP (RPE 7/10).

Wrap it all up with an eight-minute easy spin to cool down.