You’ve tested. You know your new FTP. Your training zones have been reset based on real fitness data. Now it’s time to put all those gains to work with something that teaches one of cycling’s most valuable skills: progressive intensity management. Meet the Progressive Power Pyramid – a modern take on pyramid training that builds systematically from tempo through Sweet Spot.
This isn’t just another interval session. It’s a structured journey through ascending intensities that teaches pacing, trains multiple energy systems, and keeps your mind engaged for the full hour. If you’ve ever wondered what “intelligent progression” looks like, this is it.
The Modern Pyramid Approach
When Christian Vande Velde, former Tour de France rider, was asked which single workout a time-crunched cyclist should do for fitness, he immediately answered: “the pyramid.” His reasoning? “They’re good for all around because three minutes is almost endurance and one minute is like a kilo… They’re a good trainer workout, too.”
What makes pyramid intervals uniquely valuable is their diversity. You’re not just working one energy system or one duration. You’re building power across the spectrum – but unlike traditional pyramids that use time variations, this modern approach uses power progressions.
The Progressive Power Pyramid starts at tempo (76-88% FTP), builds through a progressive ramp (78-92% FTP), and peaks at Sweet Spot (88-94% FTP). Each interval is long enough to settle into the intensity but structured to teach your body how to transition smoothly between zones.
Think about real-world cycling: group rides, gran fondos, challenging climbs. The effort never stays constant. You start controlled, build as you warm up, push harder when needed, and (hopefully) finish strong. This workout trains exactly that pattern – controlled escalation without blowing up.
The Workout Breakdown
Total Time: 71 minutes
Intensity: 7/10
Training Stress Score (TSS): ~70
Structure:
- 10 minutes Progressive Warmup (45-70% FTP): Building from Zone 1 to Zone 2
- 12 minutes Tempo (76-88% FTP): Extended tempo effort building aerobic power
- 5 minutes Active Recovery (45-55% FTP): Very easy spinning
- 6 minutes Progressive Build (78-92% FTP): From tempo to Sweet Spot
- 5 minutes Active Recovery (45-55% FTP): Easy spinning for recovery
- 8 minutes Sweet Spot (88-94% FTP): Peak effort at sustained high power
- 10 minutes Extended Active Recovery (45-55% FTP): Longer recovery to clear metabolites
- 10 minutes Recovery Cooldown (35-50% FTP): Extended cooldown for better adaptation
Total quality work: 26 minutes across tempo, progressive build, and Sweet Spot zones. The pyramid structure means you’re building systematically rather than jumping straight to hard efforts.
What makes this workout brilliant is the progression. That 12-minute tempo block wakes up your aerobic system without creating excessive fatigue. The 6-minute progressive build teaches you to smoothly increase power through the transition zone. Then the 8-minute Sweet Spot peak tests everything you’ve built – but because you arrived there progressively, you can actually complete it with quality.
The extended recoveries (5, 5, and 10 minutes) ensure you start each work interval fresh enough to hit the power targets. This isn’t about accumulating fatigue – it’s about teaching your body to execute across multiple intensities with consistency.
Why Progressive Beats Constant
Traditional interval training typically prescribes one power target: “do 3×15 at 90% FTP” or “hold 85% FTP for 40 minutes.” That builds specific fitness at that specific intensity but doesn’t teach you to manage transitions or progressive loading.
Progressive pyramids are different:
They train multiple energy systems in one session. You’re developing tempo endurance, threshold power, and Sweet Spot capacity all within 71 minutes. Time-efficient development across the entire aerobic spectrum.
They teach smooth intensity transitions. Your body learns to shift gears without the shock of sudden jumps. The 6-minute progressive build specifically trains this transition skill – invaluable for racing and challenging rides.
They’re mentally engaging. Constant intensity gets monotonous. Progressive structure keeps your brain focused on each segment: “Complete this tempo block. Recover properly. Execute this build. Recover again. Nail the Sweet Spot peak.”
They develop pacing intelligence. You learn what sustainable progression feels like. How much can you increase effort while maintaining quality? What does controlled escalation feel like versus blowing up?
They’re event-specific. Most real rides involve building intensity: you start controlled, warm up progressively, hit harder efforts when terrain or pace demands. This workout trains exactly that pattern.
And perhaps most importantly: they reveal your current fitness across multiple intensities. If you complete the full pyramid with consistent power, you’ve demonstrated broad aerobic development. If you crack during the Sweet Spot peak, that’s valuable information about where your ceiling currently sits.
Who This Is Perfect For
This workout is ideal if you:
- Have an accurately tested FTP (fresh from last week’s ramp test!)
- Want to train multiple intensities efficiently in one session
- Need to develop the ability to progressively build effort without blowing up
- Are preparing for events requiring pacing skill and varied intensity
- Enjoy structured workouts that keep you mentally engaged
- Want quality training that fits within 75 minutes
- Need to learn how different power zones feel in your body
This is not a workout for someone two weeks into training. You need the aerobic base, tempo fitness, and Sweet Spot experience you’ve built over six weeks. But if you’ve been following along, you’re perfectly positioned to execute this effectively.
What It Actually Feels Like
The 10-minute progressive warmup feels exactly as it should: gradual awakening. Your legs loosen, your cardiovascular system comes online, and by the end you’re ready to work.
That 12-minute tempo block at 76-88% FTP settles you into sustainable discomfort. It’s work – breathing is elevated, legs have that tempo burn – but it’s manageable. You could theoretically continue much longer. The minutes pass steadily, and you finish thinking “okay, that was solid but not crushing.”
The first 5-minute recovery feels like relief. Your heart rate drops, breathing eases, legs flush. You’re not completely fresh when it ends, but you’re ready for what’s next.
The 6-minute progressive build is where the workout gets interesting. You start at 78% (upper tempo), and every minute or two, power creeps upward. By the end, you’re at 92% – right at the Sweet Spot threshold. The escalation is gradual enough that no single jump feels hard, but the cumulative effect means you’re working significantly harder at minute 6 than minute 1.
Second recovery: necessary. Your breathing was getting deep during that build. Five minutes of easy spinning clears enough lactate to prepare for the peak.
The 8-minute Sweet Spot interval tests everything. After 12 minutes of tempo and 6 minutes of progressive build, your legs have accumulated fatigue. Now you’re sustaining 88-94% FTP – genuine Sweet Spot power – for 8 solid minutes. This is where mental toughness matters. Your body wants to drift lower. You hold the line anyway.
The extended 10-minute recovery after Sweet Spot is pure luxury. You’ve peaked. Now you’re actively recovering, clearing metabolites, heart rate dropping significantly. The final 10-minute cooldown feels effortless – you’re done with the hard work, just spinning out the legs and preparing your body for adaptation.
The Benefits You’ll Notice
After 3-4 weeks of including progressive pyramid sessions (once per week):
Your ability to build intensity intelligently improves dramatically. You learn the difference between sustainable escalation and blowing up. This translates directly to better pacing in events and challenging rides.
Power across multiple zones strengthens simultaneously. Your tempo endurance, threshold power, and Sweet Spot capacity all improve because you’re training them all in each session.
Transitions between intensities become smooth. No more lurching from easy spinning to hard effort. You develop the skill of ramping power progressively, which is exactly how real riding works.
Mental engagement during training increases. You stop dreading long constant-power intervals because progressive structure keeps your brain occupied with each new segment.
Race and event performance improves. The specific skill of starting controlled, building progressively, and finishing strong? That’s what wins gran fondos, determines who gets dropped on group rides, and separates smart riders from riders who just suffer randomly.
How to Execute It Properly
Respect the progressive warmup. All 10 minutes. Don’t skip it thinking you’ll save time. Your body needs gradual preparation for the tempo work ahead.
Hit the tempo block targets accurately. 76-88% FTP is a range, not a suggestion. Start at 80-82% and settle in. Don’t push toward 90% thinking it’s “close enough.” The workout design depends on these specific intensities.
Actually recover during recovery intervals. Five minutes at 45-55% FTP feels almost comically easy after tempo work. That’s the point. Spin, breathe, drink water, prepare mentally for the next effort. Don’t coast, but don’t work either.
Execute the progressive build smoothly. The 6-minute ramp from 78-92% should feel gradual. If you’re using ERG mode, it’ll control this automatically. If not, add 2-3 watts every 90 seconds or so. No sudden jumps.
Commit to the Sweet Spot peak. Eight minutes at 88-94% FTP after already accumulating fatigue from tempo and progressive build? This will require focus. Your power will want to drift. Don’t let it. Hold the zone for the full 8 minutes.
Use the extended recovery and cooldown fully. Twenty minutes of easy spinning after Sweet Spot isn’t excessive – it’s strategic. This allows proper metabolite clearance and begins the adaptation process. Don’t cut it short.
No Power Meter? Here’s Your Guide
Heart rate works reasonably well for this workout since each interval is long enough for HR to stabilize:
- Tempo (76-88% FTP): 75-85% max HR, breathing elevated but controlled
- Progressive Build (78-92% FTP): 75-88% max HR, gradually climbing throughout
- Sweet Spot (88-94% FTP): 85-92% max HR, deep sustained breathing
RPE is your most reliable guide:
- Tempo: 6-7 out of 10, sustainable discomfort, could continue much longer
- Progressive Build: 6-8 out of 10, noticeably getting harder throughout
- Sweet Spot: 7-8 out of 10, hard focused effort, definitely ready for it to end
The key distinction: tempo should feel like you could add another 20 minutes. The progressive build should feel like you’re steadily approaching your limit. Sweet Spot should feel like you’re right at that limit but can sustain it for 8 minutes (though you wouldn’t want to go much longer).
Variations and Progressions
Shorter version: Cut the tempo block to 8 minutes and Sweet Spot to 6 minutes. Total quality work drops to 20 minutes but maintains the pyramid structure.
Longer version: Extend tempo to 15 minutes, progressive build to 8 minutes, and Sweet Spot to 10 minutes. Significantly harder but builds exceptional aerobic capacity.
Steeper pyramid: Add a second cycle: After the extended recovery, repeat the 6-minute progressive build and 8-minute Sweet Spot. Total time increases to ~95 minutes with double the peak work.
Multiple peaks: Instead of one 8-minute Sweet Spot, do 2×8 minutes Sweet Spot with 5 minutes recovery between. Teaches repeatability at high power.
Outdoor execution: Works beautifully outside if you have consistent terrain. Use climbs for the work intervals and descents/flats for recovery. The mental engagement of outdoor riding often makes progressive efforts feel more manageable than identical work indoors.
Time-Efficient Training at Its Best
Seventy-one minutes delivers training stimulus across tempo, threshold transition, and Sweet Spot zones. Compare that to traditional training requiring separate days for each intensity, and you understand why progressive pyramids are so valuable for time-crunched riders.
You’re not sacrificing quality for efficiency. Each interval is long enough to create meaningful adaptation. The recoveries are adequate to maintain power targets. The progression is structured to maximize training stress without creating excessive fatigue.
This is smart training: maximum physiological benefit in minimum time, structured intelligently so you can actually complete it with quality and recover adequately for your next session.
The Reality of Progressive Training
Here’s what makes this workout sustainable: the progression is gradual enough that no single interval feels impossible, but the cumulative load creates real training stress.
Tempo alone would be too easy. Sweet Spot alone (especially for 26 minutes total) would be too hard. But tempo → progressive build → Sweet Spot? That’s the Goldilocks structure. Hard enough to drive adaptation, manageable enough to execute with consistency week after week.
Most riders find they can complete this workout with better overall quality than constant-power intervals of similar total duration. The varied structure keeps motivation high, the progressive nature prevents early blowup, and the adequate recoveries ensure you hit each peak with enough left in the tank.
Smart structure beats random suffering every single time.
Getting Started This Week
Find the Progressive Power Pyramid at velovostra.com/workouts.
Free download, zones based on your tested FTP, compatible with all platforms. You know the system by now.
Schedule this strategically. Do it when you’re rested – typically early in your training week after a rest day. You need quality legs to execute the full pyramid properly, especially that 8-minute Sweet Spot peak after already accumulating tempo and progressive build fatigue.
Environment choice matters. Indoors with ERG mode makes the progressive build effortless – the trainer handles the gradual ramp automatically. Outdoors requires more attention to pacing but offers mental engagement. Both work; choose based on what helps you execute best.
Your goal: complete all three work intervals (tempo, progressive build, Sweet Spot) with power staying consistently in the prescribed zones. If your power file shows smooth blocks at target intensities with proper recoveries between, you’ve nailed the execution.
Next Week’s Preview
After building power progressively this week, next week we’re refocusing on sustained threshold work. Time to sharpen the sword. Get ready for intervals that will teach you what sustainable speed actually feels like.
Want Workouts That Build Cohesively?
Individual sessions like this pyramid are excellent for developing specific capabilities. But the magic happens when these workouts connect strategically – each one preparing you for the next, building systematically toward your goals.
VeloVostra creates complete training plans that integrate diverse workouts like pyramids, tests, threshold work, and recovery into cohesive progressions. Every session has a purpose and connects to the bigger picture of making you faster.
Whether you’re targeting specific events or just want to be stronger on every ride, there’s a structured approach that eliminates guesswork and maximizes your training time.
How did the Progressive Power Pyramid treat you? Did you discover that building intensity gradually allows you to hit harder peaks than jumping straight to them? Let me know – and if you want more pyramid variations, check out the complete workout library for everything from short 30-minute pyramids to extended 2-hour progressive sessions.
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