The longer description of our Pre/Off-Season (a) Bike Session for anaerobic and form

This should be an (a) session.
If you know your FTP [Functional Threshold Power] great aim for 120-150% FTP.
If you don’t have a power meter or haven’t calculated FTP before, you can use Perceived Effort (or RPE) noting that these are as hard as you can go efforts
This means HR (Heart Rate) will not be a great measure for us since it will take too much time for your heart and HR monitor to register the short bursts – the lag means it will not represent your effort.
For these workouts, we’re usually looking for an FTP Identify what value of 120-150%.
The point is, we’re going after speed and/or power output that far exceeds our ‘normal’ efforts as a way to raise our ‘normal’
Think like a student wanting raise their grade from a ‘C’ to a ‘B’. Doing extra well on short quizzes and homework like this, can make just enough impact to raise their course grade… like cramming for an exam 🙂
Be well rested, fueled and hydrated for your workout
If you’re not on your trainer, find a quiet stretch of road that is free of stop signs / stop lights / or cross traffic. Hills are terrific
Go as hard as you can for these efforts! Use your power meter as a reference but do not stare at it.
Alternate in the saddle and out of the saddle for a maximum effort

Anaerobic intervals are prescribed as a maximal effort – as ‘hard as you can’. These are prescribed with 30 second, 45 second and 1 minute intervals.
Here are 3 “athlete’s choice” anaerobic interval sessions for you to choose from. Be sure to kick it easy (maintain good form) with a solid, high cadence warm-up incorporating some of our recent form/technique drills/discussions (comfort, position, aero, posture…).

Warm-up: 10-15 minutes
2-3 minutes easy
3-5 minutes progressively harder
3-6 minutes alternative one-legged pedaling (one foot off the pedal, the other foot doing full 360-spin pedaling) be especially careful about this drill if you’re outside and in traffic

Easier:
4 x 30 seconds Hard (9-11 out of 10), 30 seconds easy (maintain good form)
3 x 45 seconds Hard (9-11/10), 45 seconds easy (maintain good form)
3 x 1 minute Hard (9-11/10), 1 minute easy (maintain good form)

Intermediate
6 x 30 seconds Hard (9-11 out of 10), 30 second easy (maintain good form)
2 sets of 4 x 1 minute Hard (9-11 out of 10), 1 minute easy (maintain good form) with 5 minutes in-between sets for 8 total intervals

Advanced
3 sets of 5 x 30 seconds Hard (9-11 out of 10), 30 seconds easy (maintain good form)
3 sets of 5 x 1 minute Hard (9-11 out of 10), 1 minute easy (maintain good form) with 5 minutes in-between sets for a total of 15 minutes Hard (9-11 out of 10)

Cool-down: 10-15 minutes (Warm-up in reverse-ish)
3-5 minutes progressively easier
3-6 minutes alternative one-legged pedaling (one foot off the pedal, the other foot doing full 360-spin pedaling) be especially careful about this drill if you’re outside and in traffic
2-3 minutes easy