Step UpThe 8-week cycling plan for two rides a week
Step Up
8 weeks · 2 rides a week · 40–105 min
Two rides a week, and both of them count. One sharp session and one longer ride each week lift every part of your fitness, from sweet spot to VO2 max.
One sharp session and one longer ride each week, on your smart trainer. Eight weeks later, every part of your fitness has moved up, from sweet spot to VO2 max.
8
Weeks
2
Rides a week
40–105
Minutes
73%
Easy riding
01Who it is for
Two days, both count.
Step Up is for you if you ride regularly but only have two days a week. You are past the beginner stage, and an hour on the trainer does not scare you. You want both rides to move you forward.
It is also the next step after Fit in Four or Back to Fitness: the same two rides a week, but longer and harder, with VO2 max and over-unders in the mix.
Have three days, and one goal, more power? Then FTP Boost is the better fit.
You ride regularly
An hour at a steady pace is no problem.
You have two days
Two or three days apart.
Your long ride can grow
From 60 to 105 minutes.
02The science
Fewer rides, more in each.
With two rides, you can't do everything every week. So the plan turns. (FTP and the zones in full: on the Fit in Four page.)
1. Rest makes both rides hard
After a hard session, the body needs about two to three days to recover and rebuild. Two rides a week give you exactly that. So, unlike in a five-day plan, both rides can be demanding. Pick your days on the right and see.
2. The sharp session turns
Each week's sharp ride works on one system: sweet spot, then threshold, then VO2 max, and around again. Every system gets work every few weeks, so none of them fades.
3. Over-unders
SEESAW rides two minutes just under FTP, then one minute over it, again and again. The minute over builds up lactate; the two minutes under teach your body to clear it while you still work hard. That is what a hill or a fast group asks of you.
4. Force and speed
HIGH & LOW swaps between 60 rpm and 100 rpm at the same watts. Low cadence trains strength in each stroke; high cadence trains smooth, fast legs. Your trainer holds the watts either way, in ERG mode.
73 % of the plan stays in zones 1 and 2: the longer ride is mostly easy, with tempo and sweet spot inside it.
When do you ride?
Just right
3 and 2 days of rest. Two hard rides, each on fresh legs.
03Week by week
Two blocks, 16 rides.
Each week has one sharp session and one longer ride. 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 · 8 rides · 8 h 35
Sweet spot, a staircase, the first VO2 max
The sharp rides go from sweet spot to a threshold staircase, then to your first VO2 max block: five times three minutes. The long ride grows from 60 to 90 minutes. Week 4 rests.
Week 1
Week 1 · Ride 1
OPENING BID60 min
Three 8-minute sweet spot blocks to open the program. Steady pressure, 85–95 rpm, and a calm upper body.
Week 1 · Ride 2
ROLLING ROAD60 min
Zone 2 over rolling roads: five short rises at tempo. Shift early and keep the pedals turning on every rise.
Week 2
Week 2 · Ride 1
STAIR CLIMB60 min
Two staircases of four 3-minute steps, from sweet spot up to FTP. Each step is a little harder, and the top step is where you grow.
Week 2 · Ride 2
HIGH & LOW85 min
Zone 2 with three strength sets: 5 minutes at tempo in a big gear, around 60 rpm, then 5 minutes easy at 100 rpm. Strong legs and quick feet in one ride.
Week 3
Week 3 · Ride 1
THREE-MINUTE WARNING60 min
Five 3-minute efforts above FTP. By minute two your breathing is hard. That is the point: this is where your engine grows. Spin 95–105 rpm.
Week 3 · Ride 2
SWEET SUNDAY90 min
Ninety minutes with two 15-minute sweet spot blocks. Eat and drink as you go. The second block is where the work pays off.
Week 4
Week 4 · Ride 1
REST STOP40 min
Rest week. Forty easy minutes. If it feels too easy, you are doing it right.
Week 4 · Ride 2
KEEP IT TICKING60 min
Still a rest week. Easy zone 2 with four 1-minute lifts, just enough to keep the legs awake.
Weeks 5–8 · 8 rides · 9 h 45
Over-unders, forties, the time trial
Over-unders, 40/20s, and two times 15 minutes at threshold: the key ride. The long ride reaches 105 minutes. Week 8 tapers, then SOLO TT: 15 minutes where you set the watts.
Week 5
Week 5 · Ride 1
SEESAW60 min
Over-unders: two minutes just under FTP, one minute just over, three times in a row. Three sets. Learn to clear the burn while you keep riding hard.
Week 5 · Ride 2
TEMPO TOUR90 min
Ninety minutes of zone 2 with three 8-minute tempo blocks. A long, steady day: eat about 60 g of carbohydrate an hour.
Week 6
Week 6 · Ride 1
FORTIES60 min
Forty seconds hard, twenty seconds easy, eight times in a row. Three sets. The short breaks keep your breathing high, so your heart and lungs work for the whole set.
Week 6 · Ride 2
SWEET CENTURY100 min
One hundred minutes with three 12-minute sweet spot blocks. Your longest ride so far. Stay on top of food and drink.
Week 7
Week 7 · Ride 1
TWO FIFTEENS65 min
The key ride of the program: two 15-minute blocks at threshold. Start the first one controlled. If the second feels as good, you are fitter than you think.
Week 7 · Ride 2
LONG WEEKEND105 min
The longest ride of the program. Zone 2 with two tempo blocks and a steady finish. Eat early and often.
Week 8
Week 8 · Ride 1
PRIMED45 min
Taper week. Easy riding with three short blocks at FTP and three quick bursts. Fresh legs for the finale.
Week 8 · Ride 2
SOLO TT60 min
The finale: a 15-minute time trial. You set the watts yourself. Start at the target, settle in, and empty the tank in the last three minutes. Then think back to week 1.
04Then and now
One sharp, one long.
“Ride your bike, ride your bike, ride your bike.”
Coppi's answer sounds like more riding. But the old clubs knew what he meant: ride often, and give each ride a job. Step Up does that with two.
Early 1900s
Secret time trials
In Britain, racing on the open road is banned for decades. So clubs race against the clock instead: at dawn, one rider at a time, on courses known only by a code. SOLO TT, the finale of this plan, keeps the spirit.
Old club life
The chaingang and the club run
For generations, club riders train twice a week in the same rhythm: a fast midweek group ride that hurts, and a long weekend club run at a pace for talking. One sharp, one long.
2000s
Polarized or pyramidal
Sports scientists study how the best endurance athletes split their hours: mostly easy, a little hard, and some time in between. The debate goes on, but every model keeps the easy days easy.
Today
Quality over quantity
Amateurs with jobs train like the clubs did, with fewer, better sessions. With power, every one of them has a clear target, and nothing is ridden in the grey middle by accident.
05In the app
Your trainer does the counting.
You don't need a spreadsheet or a coach to ride this plan. Open AnyMap, pick Step Up, 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 STAIR CLIMB, played fast, at an FTP of 150 W.
ERG · FTP 150 W
STAIR CLIMB
150Target 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, 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 you step up.
For riders who already ride regularly, yes, when both rides count. With two or three days between them, both can be demanding: one sharp session and one longer ride. That is more training than four easy rides that all feel the same.
Two or three days apart, like Tuesday and Saturday, or Wednesday and Sunday. Ride the sharp session first and the longer ride second. The week planner on this page shows how your days work.
Yes, if it stays easy: 30 to 45 minutes in zone 1 or 2, on a day between the two plan rides. An easy spin helps you recover. A third hard ride does not; it only takes from the two that matter.
Riding at 60 rpm puts more force through each pedal stroke, and that is the point: it trains strength. Keep the watts as set, stay seated and smooth. If your knees hurt, raise the cadence and check your saddle height.
Start a little below where you think you can finish, near your FTP. Hold it for ten minutes. If you feel good with five to go, raise the watts a little each minute, and empty the tank in the last one. A negative split beats a blown start.
Yes. The first ride, OPENING BID, is free, with no account. AnyMap Premium opens the other 15 rides, and every other plan and workout.
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