Start with repeatability, not heroics
A single exceptional interval day is less useful than a session you can complete cleanly, recover from, and repeat the following week. For a self-coached cyclist, RPE gives you a practical way to control effort even when power is unavailable or the terrain makes steady watts difficult.
Use the rides you already like
Rolling roads, steady climbs, and fast endurance rides can all contribute. The key is to create sustained blocks of strong, controlled work rather than letting every surge turn the session into an unstructured smash.
- Rolling tempo: use repeated 8-minute blocks at RPE 7/10 with generous easy recovery.
- Climbing feel: use longer seated blocks, smooth cadence, and controlled pressure.
- Fast endurance: keep most of the ride comfortable and place two or three focused blocks in the middle.
A real Hank conversation
FTP responds best to consistent time near threshold, sweet spot and threshold, plus enough easy riding to stay fresh.
Today: 10 min easy warmup. Main set: 3 × 8 min strong-steady, RPE 7/10, with 4 min easy, or 2 × 12 min strong-steady with 5 min easy; stay smooth, seated, 85–95 rpm. Finish with a 5–10 min easy cooldown.
Hank then asked which riding style fit the athlete best: long steady grinding, hills and surges, or group-ride sprinting. That follow-up is important because the same physiological goal can be expressed through a session the athlete is more likely to execute consistently.
How to place the session
Use one focused quality session in a week before adding a second. Place easy or low-cost riding around it. Progress by extending total controlled work, not by making every interval harder. When the session loses repeatability, the progression has outrun the athlete’s current ability to absorb it.
Use the current day, not a generic plan
RiseMove turns available training context into a Daily Signal: Move, Build, Train, Recover, or Restore. Hank™ explains the call and helps you adapt it around the event, schedule, and constraints you provide.