The two things that make you faster: a custom plan built for your goals and your schedule, and the consistency to follow it week after week. Everything below is about that second part: how to actually do your workouts day to day.

Don't worry about memorizing all of it. If you're new, read the first two sections and go ride. The rest is here for when you want to go deeper.

New here? Start with this

Most days, following your plan is simple:

  1. Open today's workout in CoachCat.
  2. Send it to your bike computer (Garmin, Wahoo, Hammerhead) or to Zwift or Rouvy.
  3. Pedal. Your device shows your power in real time and prompts you through each interval on the timer.

Sending a CoachCat workout to Zwift and Wahoo

That's it. Your device does the counting and tells you when to push and when to ease off.

You can also do any workout with nothing but a timer and a power or heart rate number. Here's how.

The one skill that matters: holding your zone

Every workout is built from time spent in power zones. The whole skill is this: pedal hard enough to get your power into the right range, then hold it there for the length of the interval.

  • Below your range? Pedal a little harder.
  • Above it? Ease off a touch.
  • When the interval ends, spin easy in Zone 1 or 2 to recover, then repeat.

A 3 second or 10 second power average (most head units have one) makes the number steadier and easier to hold. Use it.

A real example: 3 x 10 Sweet Spot

Say today is three 10 minute Sweet Spot intervals with 5 minutes of easy spinning between each. Your Sweet Spot zone is 240 to 276 watts. Here's the whole thing, start to finish:

A 3 x 10 minute Sweet Spot workout at 240 to 276 watts in CoachCat

  1. Warm up in Zone 2 while you ride to wherever you'll do the work. Stops, starts, power bouncing around: none of it matters during warm-up.
  2. Start interval one on an easy-to-track time, like the 30 minute mark. Bring your power up to 240 to 276 watts and hold it.
  3. Round your zone so it's easy to remember mid-effort. 240 to 276 becomes 250 to 275. Hold there.
  4. Your 10 minute interval ends at the 40 minute mark. Spin easy in Zone 1 and 2 until 45 minutes.
  5. Repeat for intervals two and three.

Use the recovery time to turn around for hill repeats or reposition on the road if you need to. The Lap button is handy but never required.

Know your zones (and your FTP)

CoachCat calculates your zones for you. You just need one number to start: your FTP (functional threshold power), or your threshold heart rate if you train by heart rate.

To set them up, go to Profile > Training Zones, enter your FTP and threshold heart rate at the top, and CoachCat fills in the rest.

CoachCat profile menu showing Training Zones CoachCat training zones calculated from FTP

We use the standard 7 power zones plus Sweet Spot, which sits across the top of Zone 3 (tempo) and the bottom of Zone 4 (lactate threshold).

Don't know your threshold? Every plan starts with a field test to find it. Warm up, then ride as steady and hard as you can for 20 minutes. Take 92.5% of your best 20 minute average power and that's your FTP. Training by heart rate instead? Use your average heart rate over that same 20 minute test as your threshold heart rate.

Don't sweat the details that don't matter

Put your attention on the work intervals. Stay relaxed about everything else:

  • Warm-up and cool-down: the durations we list are guidelines. Whether it takes 16 or 21 minutes to get warmed up doesn't matter. Indoors and want a shorter warm-up? Go for it.
  • Zone 2 and group rides: aim for the prescribed time, but a few minutes over or under is fine.
  • OTS days: a range is fine, plus or minus 5 to 10%. You don't need to nail the exact number.
  • Feeling good? Extra easy Zone 2 riding after your intervals is fine, as long as it doesn't cost you recovery for tomorrow. Call it extra credit.

The bottom line

Know the day's workout, know your zones, and hold your intervals. Do that consistently and watch each day turn green on your calendar. That green streak is what makes you faster. 💪

FtFP.

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