All RounderThe balanced 12-week cycling plan for intermediate riders
All Rounder
12 weeks · 2–4 rides a week · 38–135 min
Twelve weeks of everything: hill repeats, microbursts, pyramids, long rides, and sprints in every shape. Short punchy rides, long ones, and real rest weeks, so the last week can take all you have.
Twelve weeks of everything: hill repeats, microbursts, pyramids, long rides and sprints in every shape. No two hard rides alike, real rest weeks, and a last week that asks for all you have.
12
Weeks
2–4
Rides a week
40–135
Minutes
37
Different rides
01Who it is for
Good at everything.
All Rounder is for fit riders who want to be good at everything, not just one thing. You ride three or four times a week, you can hold sweet spot for 20 minutes, and you can ride two hours indoors. Advanced riders will find it hard enough too.
No two hard rides are alike: hill repeats, 15/15 microbursts, 30/30s, a countdown, a pyramid, over-unders, threshold with attacks, and sweet spot in a big gear. They run from 45 punchy minutes to a long day of 135. 17 of the 37 rides have sprints, in every shape: ladders, lead-outs, standing starts and town-sign sprints.
Only two days a week? Take Step Up. One goal, a higher FTP? FTP Boost is built for it. A race coming up? Race Ready gets you sharp in six weeks.
Three or four days a week
Two in the rest weeks, and two days off in every week.
Sweet spot for 20 minutes
You know your FTP, and you can hold 90 % of it.
Up to 135 minutes
GRAND DAY OUT, the longest ride, in week 9.
02The science
You get stronger in the rest.
A hard ride does not make you fitter. It makes you tired. The fitness comes after, while you rest. (FTP and the zones in full: on the Fit in Four page.)
1. Supercompensation
After a hard ride, your body repairs the damage and refills its fuel. Given the time, it builds back a little more than before, ready for the next time. Ride hard again at the right moment, and each ride starts a step higher than the last.
2. Hard days hard, easy days easy
Ride hard too soon, and you start the next ride tired. You miss the targets, gain less and dig a hole. Wait too long, and the gain fades. One or two easy days between hard rides is the sweet spot. So All Rounder puts a long zone 2 ride or a day off between its hard rides, and in the four-ride weeks, a recovery ride for the day after. Try it on the right.
3. Rest weeks
Small amounts of fatigue add up over weeks, so every block ends with a lighter week: 91 minutes in week 4, after 240 in week 3. Week 11 is the last rest week, so you start the final week fresh.
4. Mostly easy
76 % of the plan's 43 hours is in zones 1 and 2. That is what makes the hard rides possible: you come to each one fresh enough to ride it well. Easy does not mean boring: the 7 recovery rides play with cadence, waves and spin-ups.
Easy days between hard rides
Just right
One easy day between hard rides. Each ride starts above where the last one did. ALL ROUNDER fills it with a long zone 2 ride, a recovery ride, or a day off.
A simple picture of the idea, not a model of your own body.
03Week by week
Push, recover, repeat.
Three blocks, each with a rest week at the end: weeks 4, 8 and 11. Below is every ride as the app draws it: every block as long as it lasts, as tall as its power, in the color of its zone.
Weeks 1–4 · 11 rides · 11 h 54
Wake up
WAKE-UP CALL starts it hard: sweet spot, four minutes at FTP and a sprint ladder, to show you what is coming. Then a cadence game, tempo with a twist, threshold with kicks, microbursts, six hill repeats and sweet spot with surges. Week 4 rests.
Week 1
Week 1 · Ride 1
WAKE-UP CALL72 min
A taste of what is coming. Three openers, two 12-minute sweet spot blocks, four minutes at FTP that end in a 30-second kick, and a sprint ladder: 8, 12, and 16 seconds, all-out.
Week 1 · Ride 2
SPIN DOCTOR60 min
Zone 2 with a cadence game. In each round: six minutes at 90 rpm, two at 110 rpm, two at 60 rpm in a big gear. Fast legs and strong legs in one hour.
Week 1 · Ride 3
TEMPO TWIST54 min
Three 6-minute tempo blocks with a twist: a 20-second surge in the middle of each. Hold the tempo after the surge; do not let it drop.
Week 2
Week 2 · Ride 1
RIVER ROAD90 min
Ninety minutes of zone 2 with a float sprint every ten minutes: ten seconds fast, then straight back to your steady pace. Smooth, like a river with a few rapids.
Week 2 · Ride 2
KICKER62 min
Four 6-minute blocks at threshold, and each one ends in a 10-second kick. Kick out of the saddle, as if you attack over the top of a climb.
Week 2 · Ride 3
MICROBURST45 min
Short and punchy: 15 seconds hard, 15 seconds easy, ten times. Two sets, then two 12-second sprints. Forty-five minutes, and every one counts.
Week 3
Week 3 · Ride 1
SIX HILLS61 min
Six 3-minute hills that get steeper to the top: from 100 % to 120 %. Start seated, and stand up for the last 30 seconds of each.
Week 3 · Ride 2
BIG SKY105 min
A long ride that builds: thirty minutes easy, then a little faster every block, up to 85 %. Start slow, finish strong. Eat and drink every 20 minutes.
Week 3 · Ride 3
PEPPERED74 min
Sweet spot with pepper: three 10-minute blocks at 90 %, with a 15-second surge every two and a half minutes. Then two sprints. The surges teach you to recover while you work.
Week 4
Week 4 · Ride 1
PLAYTIME38 min
Rest week. Easy spinning with play in it: two minutes at a quick cadence and a 15-second spin-up in each round. Light legs, no pressure.
Week 4 · Ride 2
CADENCE CARDS53 min
Still a rest week. Zone 2 steps up and back down, then three short openers. Pick a cadence for each step and hold it.
Weeks 5–8 · 13 rides · 15 h 52
Build the engine
Criss-cross over-unders, 30/30s, a countdown from five minutes to one, threshold with surges, fast-start VO2 max, and strength in a big gear with standing starts. The long ride grows to two hours. Week 8 rests.
Week 5
Week 5 · Ride 1
CRISS-CROSS68 min
Over-unders: 90 seconds at 94 %, 30 seconds at 112 %, four times in a row. Three sets. Then two lead-outs: 30 seconds hard, and sprint the last 10.
Week 5 · Ride 2
FLOW STATE40 min
Recovery after a hard day. Easy spinning, three minutes of quick, light cadence in each round, and a short spin-up. Find your flow, and keep it easy.
Week 5 · Ride 3
ESCAPE ROUTE114 min
A long ride with a story. Zone 2, a tempo stretch, a climb at 88 %, and then four 12-second sprints to stay away from the bunch. Fuel it: about 60 g of carbohydrate an hour.
Week 5 · Ride 4
TICK TOCK61 min
VO2 max like a clock: 30 seconds hard, 30 seconds easy, ten times. Two sets, then three 10-second sprints. Keep the easy half truly easy, and keep the legs turning.
Week 6
Week 6 · Ride 1
FIVE TO ONE64 min
A countdown: 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1 minute, and each one harder than the last, from 108 % to 120 %. The efforts get shorter, so you can always give a little more.
Week 6 · Ride 2
LONG WAY ROUND120 min
Two hours over four long hills: each one rises from zone 2 to 88 % over eight minutes, then holds it for two. Your first two-hour ride in the plan. Eat and drink well.
Week 6 · Ride 3
DOUBLE DOWN72 min
Two 15-minute blocks at threshold, with a 30-second surge every five minutes. Then three 10-second sprints. Ride through each surge and settle back in.
Week 7
Week 7 · Ride 1
ENGINE BUILDER58 min
Four 4-minute VO2 max efforts with a fast start: 30 seconds at 140 %, then hold 112 %. The fast start gets your breathing up at once, so the whole effort counts.
Week 7 · Ride 2
SHAKE IT OFF40 min
Recovery after a hard day: a cadence pyramid. One, two, then three minutes of quick spinning, then two spin-ups. Light gear, loose shoulders.
Week 7 · Ride 3
ENDLESS ROAD123 min
Two hours with a strong finish. Zone 2, three tempo blocks, then ten minutes at 86 % when the legs are tired. Long rides build the engine; the finish teaches it to work when tired.
Week 7 · Ride 4
THE GRIND78 min
Strength: three 12-minute sweet spot blocks at 60–70 rpm, seated, in a big gear. Then four standing starts: 8 seconds all-out from almost a stop.
Week 8
Week 8 · Ride 1
DEEP BREATH45 min
Rest week. Three slow waves: four minutes up into zone 2, four minutes back down. Breathe with the waves. The body gets stronger now, in the rest.
Week 8 · Ride 2
AUTOPILOT69 min
Still a rest week. Easy zone 2 with six 30-second lifts to 115 %. Just enough to remind the legs what fast feels like.
Weeks 9–12 · 13 rides · 15 h 29
Everything
30/15s, two times twenty at threshold with attacks, and a VO2 max pyramid. GRAND DAY OUT, 135 minutes, climbs three times and ends with town-sign sprints. Week 11 rests. Then week 12 asks for all of it, and ALL OUT, 107 minutes, is the hardest ride of the plan.
Week 9
Week 9 · Ride 1
BURST MODE65 min
Fresh from the rest week: 30/15s. Thirty seconds at 125 %, fifteen seconds easy, twelve times. Three sets, then one last 20-second effort, everything you have left.
Week 9 · Ride 2
GRAND DAY OUT135 min
The longest ride: two and a quarter hours, three long climbs, and three town-sign sprints near the end. Fuel it like a big day: about 60 g of carbohydrate an hour.
Week 9 · Ride 3
TRIPLE TEN60 min
Three 10-minute blocks at threshold. The last minute of each goes up to 105 %. Pace them so the third is your best.
Week 10
Week 10 · Ride 1
IRON WILL84 min
Two 20-minute blocks at 95 %, with three 20-second attacks in each. Then two lead-outs: 30 seconds hard, sprint the last 15. The key threshold ride.
Week 10 · Ride 2
SLOW LANE40 min
Recovery. Four rounds of easy spinning, a little quick cadence, and one 15-second spin-up. Stay in the slow lane today.
Week 10 · Ride 3
ROLLING ON104 min
Rolling hills: six short climbs, two minutes at 85 % and one over the top at 92 %. Push over each top, then settle back into zone 2.
Week 10 · Ride 4
PYRAMID PEAK63 min
A VO2 max pyramid: 1, 2, 3, 4, 3, 2, 1 minutes, hardest at the short ends. Then two 20-second sprints. The hardest VO2 max session before the last week.
Week 11
Week 11 · Ride 1
QUIET WEEK40 min
Rest week before the last week. Easy spinning with a minute of zone 2 every six, and two spin-ups. Rest now: next week asks for everything.
Week 11 · Ride 2
IGNITION55 min
Still a rest week. Zone 2 with three 1-minute openers and two 10-second sparks. Wake the legs up, but stay fresh.
Week 12
Week 12 · Ride 1
SHARP END61 min
The last week starts hard. Five 3-minute efforts at 115 %, each with a 15-second fast start, then three 12-second sprints. You are fresh from the rest week: use it.
Week 12 · Ride 2
THE CALM40 min
The calm before the storm. Easy spinning in two slow waves, and two spin-ups to stay awake. Keep it truly easy.
Week 12 · Ride 3
LAST MILES75 min
Zone 2 with three short tempo blocks and two openers. Long enough to keep the engine running, short enough to stay fresh for the finale.
Week 12 · Ride 4
ALL OUT107 min
The finale. Everything from twelve weeks in one ride: sweet spot, over-unders, 30/15s, five minutes at FTP, and a sprint ladder to end it. Pace it well and leave nothing behind.
04Then and now
Rest, then and now.
“Hard days hard, easy days easy.”
Coaches knew it long before they could measure it: the work makes you tired, and the rest makes you strong. The best all-rounders have always done both.
1950s
Supercompensation
The Soviet biochemist Nikolai Yakovlev studies how muscles refill their fuel after hard work. With rest, they store more than before. The idea gets a name: supercompensation.
1960s
Hard day, easy day
Bill Bowerman, the track coach at the University of Oregon, has his runners follow every hard day with an easy one. They train less, and run faster.
1969
The complete rider
Eddy Merckx wins his first Tour de France, and takes the yellow, green and polka-dot jerseys in the same year. He wins on the flat, in the mountains and in the sprints.
Today
Recovery is training
Riders like Tadej Pogačar win grand tours and one-day classics in the same season. Their easy days are truly easy, and their coaches plan rest as carefully as the intervals.
05In the app
Your trainer does the counting.
You don't need a spreadsheet or a coach to ride this plan. Open AnyMap, pick All Rounder, and ride the next ride. Here is what happens on the way.
Connect in seconds
AnyMap finds your trainer, heart rate strap and Zwift Click over Bluetooth by itself, and connects again next time.
Devices
KICKR CORE
Trainer · Connected
Polar H9
Heart rate · Connected · 84 bpm
Zwift Click
Controller · Connected
SCAN FOR DEVICES
ERG mode holds the watts
In every block, the trainer sets the resistance for the target. Pedal faster or slower: the watts stay. Here is ALL OUT, played fast, at an FTP of 150 W.
ERG · FTP 150 W
ALL OUT
140Target watt
Your FTP stays true
After every ride, AnyMap checks your FTP. Ride a new best, and it goes up at once, with every zone. The next ride is already a little harder.
New FTP
156W
+6 W
Your zones moved up. Every workout now uses 156 W.
Watch the weeks add up
Every ride is saved, second by second. Your week shows time in each zone, and your month shows rides, kilometers and time against the month before.
3h 45min
This week
6
Week streak
1417%
Rides
41834%
Km
13h 5021%
Time
Make a ride your own
Copy any ride of the plan into the workout builder and change it. Try it here: tap a block, drag its top for more watts or its side for more time, drag a block to move it, or tap + for a new block.
New workout · FTP 150 W
My workout
33:3010 blocks
Tap a block to change it, or + to add one.
06FAQ
Before the first sprint.
No. All Rounder is for fit riders who want to get better at everything: long rides, climbs, hard efforts and the sprint for the town sign. It has no race simulations and no FTP tests, just twelve weeks of balanced training.
Both work. An easy spin below 60 % of your FTP moves blood through tired legs and keeps the habit going, and it costs almost nothing. If you feel worn out, or life gets busy, take the day off instead. Never turn a recovery ride into a hard one.
Because that is when it counts. Outside, the sprint comes after hours in the wind, not on fresh legs. Sprinting when tired teaches your body to find power when it has little left. Give each sprint everything, for 8 to 20 seconds, then spin easy.
Most plans end with a taper, to be fresh for a race or a test. All Rounder ends with a rest week in week 11 instead, so you start week 12 fresh. Then the last week asks for everything, and ALL OUT shows you how far you came.
Move it a day, and spin easy first. One missed hard ride costs you nothing; four hard rides on tired legs cost you a week. If you feel tired for more than a few days, take a rest week early.
The first one, WAKE-UP CALL, is free, with no account. AnyMap Premium opens the other 36 rides, and every other plan and workout.
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