[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"public-library:en-GB:workout:cycling-sweet-spot-intervals":3},{"slug":4,"sport":5,"category":6,"level":7,"intensity_unit":8,"modified_at":9,"author":10,"head":11,"equipment":14,"sources":17,"content":21,"facts":202,"blocks":340,"related":348},"cycling-sweet-spot-intervals","cycling","threshold","beginner","watt","2026-10-25","Pierre Halloo",{"title":12,"description":13},"Sweet spot 2x20: 88–94% FTP turbo session","Sweet spot 2x20: two 20-minute blocks at 88–94% of FTP with 5 minutes easy between. 70 minutes, with watt targets for FTPs from 200 to 300 W.",[15,16],"power_meter","smart_trainer",[18],{"citation":19,"url":20},"Frank Overton, FasCat Coaching — sweet spot training",null,{"h1":22,"summary":23,"purpose":34,"execution":56,"feel":78,"mistakes":85,"not_for":139,"faq":147,"evidence":193},"Sweet spot 2 × 20 min",{"type":24,"children":25},"root",[26],{"type":27,"tag":28,"props":29,"children":30},"element","p",{},[31],{"type":32,"value":33},"text","The sweet spot 2 × 20 is 40 minutes at 88–94% of your FTP, split by 5 easy minutes. 70 minutes in all, within reach once you ride consistently, to bank time just under threshold without going into the red.",{"adaptation":35,"for_whom":42,"when":49},{"type":24,"children":36},[37],{"type":27,"tag":28,"props":38,"children":39},{},[40],{"type":32,"value":41},"Sweet spot is about banking time just below your threshold. At 88–94% of FTP you sit where tempo meets threshold: hard enough to work on what sets your FTP, controlled enough to hold for 20 minutes, twice. That is the idea that made the method popular: a stimulus close to threshold work, for less fatigue, so a session you can repeat often. One caveat: no controlled study has tested this exact format (see below). Its case rests on very widespread use and on the logic of the intensity.",{"type":24,"children":43},[44],{"type":27,"tag":28,"props":45,"children":46},{},[47],{"type":32,"value":48},"Riders with a few weeks of consistent training behind them and a recently tested FTP. It is easy to pace: one target, twice, with no surges and no changes of rhythm. It suits anyone short on time midweek: 70 minutes on the turbo is enough. Coming back from a break? Start with shorter tempo blocks (see the variations).",{"type":24,"children":50},[51],{"type":27,"tag":28,"props":52,"children":53},{},[54],{"type":32,"value":55},"According to its proponents, sweet spot can be repeated two or three times a week: that is its whole selling point. Keep at least one easy day between two sessions, and avoid the day before a race. It often goes early in a training block, while you build your threshold, before the end of the block makes room for harder work. And don't let it take over your week: keep some genuinely easy rides and a little harder work too.",[57,64,71],{"type":24,"children":58},[59],{"type":27,"tag":28,"props":60,"children":61},{},[62],{"type":32,"value":63},"Build up over 15 minutes in three 5-minute steps: very easy, endurance, then a touch firmer. Reach the first block with warm legs, without having pushed yet. On the turbo, use this time to sort out your fan and your position: you are about to hold both for 20 minutes.",{"type":24,"children":65},[66],{"type":27,"tag":28,"props":67,"children":68},{},[69],{"type":32,"value":70},"Two 20-minute blocks at 88–94% of FTP, with 5 easy minutes in between. Start the first block at the bottom of the range and let yourself drift towards the middle: power tends to creep up when you feel good, and the second block pays for it. Keep your cadence steady and a position you can hold without fidgeting. During the recovery, spin genuinely easy: 5 minutes is short, don't waste it riding at tempo. The second block should feel like the first; if it is clearly harder, your target was too high.",{"type":24,"children":72},[73],{"type":27,"tag":28,"props":74,"children":75},{},[76],{"type":32,"value":77},"10 very easy minutes to finish. Don't skip them, especially if another session is planned for tomorrow.",{"type":24,"children":79},[80],{"type":27,"tag":28,"props":81,"children":82},{},[83],{"type":32,"value":84},"A solid but controlled effort: you can manage a few words, not a conversation. The last 5 minutes of each block get demanding without turning into a fight. If you finish the second block gasping, it stopped being sweet spot: that was a threshold 2 × 20, ahead of schedule. Guide: 6 to 7 out of 10.",[86,104,113,122],{"title":87,"body":88},"Mixing it up with the threshold 2 × 20",{"type":24,"children":89},[90],{"type":27,"tag":28,"props":91,"children":92},{},[93,95,102],{"type":32,"value":94},"Same name, different session: the ",{"type":27,"tag":96,"props":97,"children":99},"a",{"href":98},"\u002Fen-GB\u002Flibrary\u002Fcycling\u002Fthreshold\u002Fcycling-threshold-intervals",[100],{"type":32,"value":101},"threshold 2 × 20",{"type":32,"value":103}," is ridden right at FTP, with a recovery twice as long. Here you stay just below. If the threshold version is what you are after, it has its own page.",{"title":105,"body":106},"Going out too hard",{"type":24,"children":107},[108],{"type":27,"tag":28,"props":109,"children":110},{},[111],{"type":32,"value":112},"At the top of the range the opening minutes feel easy, and that is the trap: the fatigue comes from the duration, not the intensity. Start at the bottom of the range and only move up if the first block goes well.",{"title":114,"body":115},"Doing nothing but sweet spot",{"type":24,"children":116},[117],{"type":27,"tag":28,"props":118,"children":119},{},[120],{"type":32,"value":121},"It is tempting: 70 minutes, one target, an effort that stays bearable. But a week made only of sweet spot leaves you with no real recovery and no harder work. Keep some easy rides and, depending on the phase, a session above threshold.",{"title":123,"body":124},"Riding off an old FTP",{"type":24,"children":125},[126],{"type":27,"tag":28,"props":127,"children":128},{},[129,131,137],{"type":32,"value":130},"Every target is a percentage of your FTP. If your last test was months ago, 88–94% may land too low or too high. Do an ",{"type":27,"tag":96,"props":132,"children":134},{"href":133},"\u002Fen-GB\u002Flibrary\u002Fcycling\u002Ftest\u002Fcycling-ftp-test-20min",[135],{"type":32,"value":136},"FTP test",{"type":32,"value":138}," before starting a sweet spot block.",{"prerequisites":140,"avoid_if":143},[141,142],"A recently tested FTP: every target depends on it.","A few weeks of consistent riding, ideally after some tempo sessions.",[144,145,146],"You are coming back from several weeks off: start with tempo.","It is a recovery week, or a race is a few days away.","You have neither a power meter nor a smart trainer: without watts, an 88–94% range can't be held.",[148,157,166,175,184],{"question":149,"answer":150},"What percentage of FTP is sweet spot?",{"type":24,"children":151},[152],{"type":27,"tag":28,"props":153,"children":154},{},[155],{"type":32,"value":156},"The most common range, used here, is 88–94% of FTP. Sources disagree: FasCat Coaching, which claims the method, gives 84–97%, others 88–93%. At an FTP of 250 W, 88–94% means 220 to 235 W. If in doubt, stay at the bottom of the range for your first session.",{"question":158,"answer":159},"What is the difference between sweet spot and threshold?",{"type":24,"children":160},[161],{"type":27,"tag":28,"props":162,"children":163},{},[164],{"type":32,"value":165},"Intensity and recovery. Sweet spot is ridden at 88–94% of FTP, threshold right at FTP. According to its proponents, sweet spot costs less fatigue for a similar stimulus, so it can be repeated more often in a week; threshold work is more specific but harder to absorb. The two fit together: many riders do sweet spot early in a block and move on to threshold later.",{"question":167,"answer":168},"How much recovery between the two 20-minute blocks?",{"type":24,"children":169},[170],{"type":27,"tag":28,"props":171,"children":172},{},[173],{"type":32,"value":174},"5 easy minutes, at 50–60% of FTP. That is a Wattson choice: 5 minutes is documented for an entry-level 3 × 10 version, and no reference sets the recovery for the 2 × 20. If the second block still falls apart, lower the target rather than lengthening the recovery.",{"question":176,"answer":177},"How many sweet spot sessions a week?",{"type":24,"children":178},[179],{"type":27,"tag":28,"props":180,"children":181},{},[182],{"type":32,"value":183},"Two or three, according to its proponents: it is the method's main argument. Keep at least one easy day between two sessions, and don't fill your whole week with sweet spot: you also need genuinely easy rides and, depending on the phase, some harder work. These are common training guidelines, not rules drawn from studies.",{"question":185,"answer":186},"How do you progress with sweet spot?",{"type":24,"children":187},[188],{"type":27,"tag":28,"props":189,"children":190},{},[191],{"type":32,"value":192},"Lengthen the blocks before you raise the intensity: 3 × 10 minutes, then 3 × 15, 2 × 20 and finally 2 × 30. After 4 to 6 weeks of work, retest your FTP: if it has gone up, your watt targets go up with it.",{"level":194,"text":195},"practice",{"type":24,"children":196},[197],{"type":27,"tag":28,"props":198,"children":199},{},[200],{"type":32,"value":201},"The term was popularised in the 2000s by Frank Overton (FasCat Coaching), who credits the concept to a group of coaches including Andrew Coggan. The intensity range varies by source: 88–94% of FTP in the most common usage, 84–97% at FasCat, sometimes 88–93%. The method is very widespread among amateur riders, but no controlled study on this specific format was found. The 5-minute recovery, the warm-up and the cool-down are Wattson choices. Bottom line: well-established practice, without experimental evidence of its 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