This profile was first published in 2018, and I think it’s time to bring it back! It’s especially valuable for instructors who are new to teaching with power, but even seasoned pros will find useful insights here—especially as more riders flock to your classes during the shorter, colder days.
And don’t worry if you don’t teach with power; this profile can still help you sharpen your coaching skills. In fact, I’ve created a version based on RPE as well—scroll down to the bottom of this post to find the link.
This profile has been a project of love for me and has been in the works for a long time. I’ve heard from countless instructors who feel unsure about how to use a power meter, or—even if they know how—aren’t confident about what power levels their riders should target. Others who do understand training zones have shared that they struggle to do a full FTP test with their classes, either because their riders are too diverse in ability or because the traditional 20-minute functional threshold power test feels intimidating.
Here’s the truth: whether or not your bikes have power meters, every single one of your riders is producing power when they pedal. Power is simply the output of force and cadence—your resistance and your leg speed. You don’t need a number on a console to benefit from understanding the concept. When you know the foundations of how power is produced, you can guide your riders to train smarter, push themselves appropriately, and get more out of every class. Quite simply, understanding power will make you a better instructor.
Of course, getting there isn’t always easy. If your club or studio has invested in bikes with power, they should also be investing in training their instructors. Most manufacturers offer education programs that accompany their bikes, but I know it’s not always feasible for clubs to provide this, especially with the reality of high instructor turnover. It can be tough to find instructors who already have the knowledge, and not every facility has the resources to train them.
That’s where professional curiosity comes in. If your facility can’t provide training, I encourage you to seek it out yourself—through online courses, conferences, books on power training, and, of course, through ICA. Continuing to deepen your understanding of power doesn’t just serve you—it directly benefits every rider who walks into your class.
This Ultimate HIIT profile is one step toward that deeper understanding. While it doesn’t replace formal education, it does give you a practical way to introduce riders to the concept of power and help them establish a baseline benchmark that’s a worthwhile approximation of FTP. Until they’re ready—or able—to attempt a full 20-minute FTP test, this profile provides a meaningful starting point.
I call it The Ultimate HIIT profile because, well, that’s exactly what it is! Not only does it include intervals that help estimate FTP, but it also explores some of the most important durations for high-intensity efforts, so riders can experience how different durations compare. This is central to teaching power, but it’s equally valuable for building awareness of perceived exertion. The extensive cueing I provide throughout the profile is designed to help you make those connections for your riders and encourage them to mentally log what each effort feels like.
Encourage your participants to take what they learn in this class and carry it into every other ride they do. That’s how they grow—not just stronger, but smarter as athletes.
⚠️ A note of caution: This is a very challenging workout. However, because recovery is carefully built into the design, it is accessible for most reasonably fit riders. The fitter your participants are, the more they’ll be able to push during the intervals and the more reliable their FTP estimate will be. But even less fit riders will benefit—they can use the 3-minute effort as their benchmark and scale back slightly during the longer or harder intervals, still gaining plenty from the experience.
👉 And if you don’t currently teach with power? I still recommend you download this profile. Even without power meters, it will expand your understanding of how power works and how to guide riders through effort-based training. In fact, I’ve also created a version of this profile based on perceived exertion, which you can find here.
Jennifer- I’m in the process of learning about FTP, and how to make it most beneficial for my riders. I’ve taken many IC classes before becoming an instructor myself, and not once did an instructor refer to FTP or have us take an FTP test. So, admittedly, I have a learning curve I need to get through. I recently started teaching a 30 min IC class – and while my participants have taken other IC classes, they are super unfamiliar with FTP, as well. For a 30 min class, is it worth having them go through the FTP testing? And if the answer is yes, is it better to do a 3 minute or 20 minute test? Thanks so much for your insight, I have learned so much from this association!
Is there a way to shorten this to 50 minutes easily?
Yes, Joyce. I give several suggestions for shortening this profile in the PDF download. I’m trying to do that for all profiles now, since there is such a wide range of class lengths out there.
I did the RPE ride and it was excellent! The playlist was also excellent. I have never used someone else’s playlist in whole, but this one is a perfect match for the ride. Thank you!
thank you, glad you enjoyed it!
I teach at two facilities, and both have Keiser bikes. I know I’m going to have to rely mostly on RPE, but I REAAAAAAAALLLLLLYYY want to tie this to power somehow. Could I just try using the lever re-set on the longer intervals and then observe wattage in the moment on the shorter ones, to give them an idea of how much above that benchmark they are working? Trying to figure this out…hope others will share their ideas.
It’s been over two months since opening our studio in LA so I haven’t had a chance to dive into an ICA profile in that time. So happy to find this today as I needed some inspiration and it was just what the doctor ordered.
My late afternoon classes are still small so I was able to give a lot of individual attention to the group as we went through the process of calculating the FTP estimation during the 45-minute version. I even had one client who I ran through a field test (two 8-minute efforts) about ten days ago and she was pretty on target with the estimate as described in your profile. Since we are outfitted with the SC3 bikes, giving the group the opportunity to really understand what all those metrics are was a treat.
This is an excellent alternative to doing the 20-minute field test and I’ll try the 60-minute version during my weekly FTP-class on Sunday in lieu of the two 8-minute efforts. Thank you, as always!
Questions:
For the two 50-second efforts, would you incorporate the SprintShifter? If so, how and when? Also, what RPMs would you cue?
I attempted to do one of these while coaching (not easy) and tuned into to the 65 rpms as dictated by the beat of the song, at my FTP (knowing I was hoping to add 20-40% more during the effort. I made a last-minute decision to take the SprintShifter from center to far right, which instantly increased that load and, consequently my wattage, to way beyond the 40% I was hoping for. It was doable, though. (I also incorporated use of the Stages button so we were able to compare our output for each interval.)
Final question: during the 30 on/60 off, if the rpm goal is 86, where should the cadence be during the recovery? Or is the goal to increase the wattage but keep the same rpm during the efforts?
Thanks again, Jennifer!
Very good questions Sevana. I did this profile on my Stages bike for a 5th time right before I finished writing it, just to verify my power levels. I used the sprint shift lever on the 1-minute, 30-second and 10-second efforts, but still had to make adjustments every time. It will not be exact for every person.
If you can go more than 40% above FTP for the full duration, that’s OK! Everyone is stronger in different ways. I went about 35% to 40% higher in mine.
During the recoveries in the 30-second efforts, I kept the cadence at 86. It’s not too high, but if someone can’t bring their breathing under control, they can certainly slow the legs. Heart rate should drop somewhat, but 1 minute may not be long enough to drop it to fully recovered levels, but it’s long enough to feel rested enough to go hard again (for most fit people. Less fit riders should only do what they can under control.)
If I were doing just 2 or 3 30-second efforts, I could do them higher than 40% of my FTP, but since there are 7 of them, I averaged about 30-35%. It took a couple of efforts to practice using the sprint shift lever and then fine-tuning it to a power level I could maintain. I found these to be the hardest from a power management point of view. Every time I did it I got better.
Let me know how it goes on Sunday! Good for you for taking yourself through it first. Very important!
Great Information, Jennifer. I love that I’m always learning something new from you or a better way to teach my riders. Thanks!
Regarding the FTP test, I would add that many instructors don’t know how to utilize the average function feature on their bikes. The stages bikes are easy with the stage function and the ICG bikes are easy with the lap function. Both of them, you simply press and go. I teach at many facilities with the Keiser M3i bikes and most, if not all of the instructors don’t even know how to initiate/use the lap function…..moving the lever down/up to begin the lap — then moving it down/up again to end the lap. The averages will then flash for a few seconds and then they are gone. So, I am very intentional with explaining/practicing the process with my riders before we start the test. We usually try it out while we are in resting before the first effort.
I thought the newer M3i Keiser bikes had a lap function? I know the older version you had to push the lever up and back 3 times (big pain!) That is doable for an FTP test (though not ideal to have to stop cold at the end) but it is just way too complicated for short intervals in succession.
Looking forward to the RPE version!
coming soon, Heidi! In the meantime, you can still use this profile, or at least try it on yourself. Instead of power, use RPE cues of moderate, moderately hard, hard, very hard, and very, very hard.
I’m excited to try this, and want to be sure I understand something correctly. For the three minute test runs, you have us stand at the onset…are we standing for three full minutes during the whole time or is that just to get started and then sit? I know I’ve seen you debate those who have long standing times in the past, and three minutes out of the saddle would be nearly impossible for some people. Am I missing something?
Monique, most people cannot put out consistently high power standing for that long, however, when you first start, it’s a good way to get your power up. So have them stand for 10, 20, even 30 seconds if they want, but it’s better to find a hard effort they can hold while seated.
Good luck and have fun!