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Watts for 200 to 300 W FTPs.",[15,16],"power_meter","smart_trainer",[],{"h1":19,"summary":20,"purpose":31,"execution":67,"feel":89,"mistakes":96,"not_for":133,"faq":141,"evidence":178},"Gimenez session: 9 × (1 min at MAP + 4 min)",{"type":21,"children":22},"root",[23],{"type":24,"tag":25,"props":26,"children":27},"element","p",{},[28],{"type":29,"value":30},"text","Gimenez intervals: 45 minutes non-stop, linking nine times 1 minute at maximal aerobic power (120–130% of FTP) and 4 solid minutes (82–92%). 70 minutes with the warm-up. A tough session, for riders who already have a good base.",{"adaptation":32,"for_whom":44,"when":60},{"type":21,"children":33},[34,39],{"type":24,"tag":25,"props":35,"children":36},{},[37],{"type":29,"value":38},"The Gimenez works your maximal aerobic power (MAP) and VO₂max, but what sets it apart is what it won't let you do: recover. The minute at MAP drives your heart and breathing towards their maximum; the following 4 minutes, at 82–92% of FTP, aren't a recovery but a counter-effort, just under threshold. Your body has to clear the fatigue from the hard minute while still pressing on.",{"type":24,"tag":25,"props":40,"children":41},{},[42],{"type":29,"value":43},"That's exactly what racing asks of you: an attack, then riding hard behind it instead of sitting up, and doing it again. Over 45 minutes the load stays high from start to finish, which makes it one of the heaviest sessions in the library.",{"type":21,"children":45},[46],{"type":24,"tag":25,"props":47,"children":48},{},[49,51,58],{"type":29,"value":50},"Riders with a good base who've already done simpler VO₂max sessions, such as ",{"type":24,"tag":52,"props":53,"children":55},"a",{"href":54},"\u002Fen-GB\u002Flibrary\u002Fcycling\u002Fvo2max\u002Fcycling-short-intervals-30-30",[56],{"type":29,"value":57},"30\u002F30s",{"type":29,"value":59},". 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For an FTP of 250 W: 300 to 325 W, then 205 to 230 W. The first hard minutes feel manageable: stay in the range, there are nine of them. On the counter-effort, keep a steady cadence; if you crack, drop towards the bottom of the range rather than stopping. Out on the road, a steady climb of 6 to 7% suits it well: seated for the 4 minutes, out of the saddle for the minute at MAP.",{"type":21,"children":83},[84],{"type":24,"tag":25,"props":85,"children":86},{},[87],{"type":29,"value":88},"10 very easy minutes at 40–55% of FTP. Note which rep you held both targets to: that's your marker for next time.",{"type":21,"children":90},[91],{"type":24,"tag":25,"props":92,"children":93},{},[94],{"type":29,"value":95},"The first reps feel manageable, the last ones are very hard. The counter-effort gets harder every lap, until by the end the 4 minutes weigh as much as the hard minute. The word recovery appears nowhere in this session, and that's not an oversight. Guide: 9 out of 10 on the minutes at MAP.",[97,106,115,124],{"title":98,"body":99},"Going off too hard",{"type":21,"children":100},[101],{"type":24,"tag":25,"props":102,"children":103},{},[104],{"type":29,"value":105},"The first minute at MAP, on fresh legs, invites you to overshoot. Nine reps later, it's the counter-effort that falls apart. Stay within 120–130% from the start.",{"title":107,"body":108},"Turning the counter-effort into a recovery",{"type":21,"children":109},[110],{"type":24,"tag":25,"props":111,"children":112},{},[113],{"type":29,"value":114},"The 4 minutes are ridden at 82–92% of FTP, not soft-pedalled. Ride them too easily and you strip out what makes a Gimenez: surging and holding on with no real recovery.",{"title":116,"body":117},"Stopping instead of adjusting",{"type":21,"children":118},[119],{"type":24,"tag":25,"props":120,"children":121},{},[122],{"type":29,"value":123},"If you can't hold the counter-effort, drop it towards 82% rather than unclipping. The session keeps its point, even slightly lightened.",{"title":125,"body":126},"Doing it too often",{"type":21,"children":127},[128],{"type":24,"tag":25,"props":129,"children":130},{},[131],{"type":29,"value":132},"It's one of the heaviest sessions in the library. Two in a week is a lot of fatigue for little extra benefit: leave room for endurance riding.",{"prerequisites":134,"avoid_if":137},[135,136],"A good endurance base and several VO₂max sessions already done.","A recently measured FTP.",[138,139,140],"You're new to hard training.","You're tired, or you've done another hard session in the last three days.","You have doubts about your health: get medical advice before near-maximal efforts.",[142,151,160,169],{"question":143,"answer":144},"How do you do Gimenez intervals on the bike?",{"type":21,"children":145},[146],{"type":24,"tag":25,"props":147,"children":148},{},[149],{"type":29,"value":150},"After a 15-minute warm-up, ride nine times 1 minute at MAP and 4 solid minutes without a break, starting with the hard minute. For an FTP of 250 W, that's 300 to 325 W, then 205 to 230 W. Finish with 10 very easy minutes: 70 minutes in total.",{"question":152,"answer":153},"How hard should the 4 minutes of a Gimenez be?",{"type":21,"children":154},[155],{"type":24,"tag":25,"props":156,"children":157},{},[158],{"type":29,"value":159},"At 82–92% of FTP, just under threshold. French sources call it zone I3 but disagree on its intensity, from 60 to 80% of MAP depending on the author. The useful marker: a solid effort you can hold for 4 minutes after a hard minute, nine times in a row.",{"question":161,"answer":162},"Where does the Gimenez session come from?",{"type":21,"children":163},[164],{"type":24,"tag":25,"props":165,"children":166},{},[167],{"type":29,"value":168},"The sources consulted credit its name to a sports doctor and its spread to Frédéric Grappe, coach of the FDJ team, but no primary source could be checked. The structure itself is very consistent from one source to the next. No dedicated study has been found.",{"question":170,"answer":171},"Gimenez or 30\u002F30s: which should I choose?",{"type":21,"children":172},[173],{"type":24,"tag":25,"props":174,"children":175},{},[176],{"type":29,"value":177},"30\u002F30s for a first taste of VO₂max work: short efforts, proper recoveries, a 49-minute session. The Gimenez, longer and heavier, adds the counter-effort: it teaches you to surge without recovering. Move to the second once the first has become routine.",{"level":179,"text":180},"practice",{"type":21,"children":181},[182],{"type":24,"tag":25,"props":183,"children":184},{},[185],{"type":29,"value":186},"The sources consulted credit the session's name to a sports doctor and its spread to Frédéric Grappe, coach of the FDJ team and author of reference books on cycling training in % of MAP. No primary source could be consulted: the origin is unverified. The structure is very consistent across sources: 1 minute at 100% of MAP (zone I5), then 4 minutes in zone I3, whose intensity ranges from 60 to 80% of MAP depending on the author. No dedicated study has been found. The conversion into 120–130% and 82–92% of FTP, the warm-up and the cool-down are Wattson choices. 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