The Concept2 BikeErg is one of the best tools for building aerobic capacity. But most people use it the same way every time: hop on, go hard for 20 minutes, get off. That approach burns calories but it does not build fitness in any measurable way. If your bike erg sessions have no structure, no prescribed intensity, and no progression, you are leaving results on the table.
The 8 workouts below are designed around different energy systems and training stimuli. Each one has a specific purpose, a prescribed intensity using RPE (Rate of Perceived Exertion), and coaching notes explaining what to focus on. They are not random. Pick the ones that match your goals or cycle through all 8 across a few weeks.
If you want a full 8-week structured plan that progresses these kinds of sessions week over week with coaching notes on every workout, check out our Bike Erg Program.
Understanding RPE (Rate of Perceived Exertion)
All 8 workouts below use RPE to prescribe intensity. RPE is a 1 to 10 scale based on how hard the effort feels. It adjusts automatically to your fitness level, your recovery, and how your body feels on any given day. No testing required.
- RPE 2: Very easy. You could do this all day. Recovery pace.
- RPE 3: Easy. Full conversation, no effort to talk.
- RPE 4: Easy to moderate. You notice you are working but it is comfortable.
- RPE 5: Moderate. You can talk in full sentences but prefer not to.
- RPE 6: Moderate to hard. Short sentences. Breathing is noticeable.
- RPE 7: Hard. A few words at a time. You could hold this for about 20 minutes.
- RPE 8: Very hard. You do not want to talk. Sustainable for about 5 to 8 minutes.
- RPE 9: Near max. Cannot talk. Sustainable for about 30 to 60 seconds.
A quick guide: if you can breathe through your nose, you are at RPE 4 or below. If you can speak in full sentences, you are at RPE 5 to 6. If you can only manage a few words, you are at RPE 7 to 8.
A Note on Damper Settings
Unless otherwise noted, set your damper between 5 and 7 for all workouts. This range works for most people at a natural cadence of 75 to 85rpm. Workouts that require different damper settings will specify them.
Workout 1: Pyramid Intervals
1 min / 2 min / 3 min / 2 min / 1 min at very hard pace (RPE 8-9)
Equal rest between each interval (1 min rest after 1 min work, 2 min rest after 2 min work, etc.)
Cadence: 90 to 100rpm on work intervals
The pyramid forces you to manage two different challenges. The short intervals test raw output. The 3 min peak tests your ability to hold high intensity when you are already fatigued from the first two efforts. On the way back down, the 2 min and 1 min intervals should feel harder than they did on the way up even though the duration is shorter. That is accumulated fatigue doing its job. If you have anything left on the final 1 min interval, you held back too much on the 3 min peak.
Total hard work: 9 min. Total session time: about 30 min including warm-up and cool-down.
Workout 2: Long Threshold
2 x 10 min at hard pace (RPE 7)
Rest 5 min between rounds
Cadence: 80 to 90rpm
Ten minutes is long enough that you cannot fake it. The first 3 minutes feel manageable. Minutes 4 through 7 are honest work. Minutes 8 through 10 are where most people start drifting. Your job is to hold flat output the entire time. Record average watts for each round. If round 2 is within 5% of round 1, your pacing is right. If you crash in round 2, you went out too hard on round 1. This is the most effective single format for building your ability to sustain pace.
Total work time: 20 min. Total session time: about 40 min.
Workout 3: Negative Split
30 min continuous
First 15 min at easy to moderate pace (RPE 4-5)
Second 15 min at moderate pace (RPE 5-6)
Cadence: 75 to 85rpm throughout
The rule is simple: the second half must be faster than the first. Not dramatically faster. A 5 to 10 watt increase is enough. The discipline is in holding back for the first 15 minutes when you feel fresh and want to push. If you go out at RPE 6 in the first half, you have nowhere to go in the second half without crossing into threshold territory, and that turns this into a different workout. Start easier than you think you should. The negative split teaches pacing restraint, which is the skill most people lack on the bike erg.
Total session time: about 40 min.
Workout 4: Sprint EMOM
Every 3 min for 24 min (8 rounds)
15 sec max effort sprint (RPE 9-10)
Remainder of the 3 min: easy spin (RPE 2)
Cadence: max on sprints, natural on recovery
Short, violent efforts with full recovery. The 15 sec sprint should be genuinely maximal. Stand if you want. The remaining 2:45 of easy spinning lets your heart rate come back down before the next one. This is not about accumulated fatigue. It is about repeated peak power output. Track your peak watts on each sprint. If sprint 8 is within 15% of sprint 1, your recovery between efforts is working. If it drops more than that, you are not spinning easy enough during the rest periods.
Total sprint time: 2 min. Total session time: about 35 min.
Want More Structure?
These workouts are effective on their own, but they work best when they are part of a structured plan with weekly progression. The 8-Week Bike Erg Program organizes sessions like these into a periodized plan with two training blocks, coaching notes on every workout, and prescribed cadence and damper settings throughout. If you have been doing random bike erg sessions and want to see real improvement, a structured approach is the fastest way to get there.
Workout 5: Nasal Breathing Ride
35 to 40 min continuous at easy pace (RPE 2-4)
Breathe through your nose the entire session
Cadence: 75 to 85rpm
The only rule is nasal breathing. The moment you need to open your mouth, you are going too hard. Slow down until you can close your mouth again. For most people this means staying at RPE 2 to 3, which feels almost too easy. That is the point. This kind of low intensity aerobic work builds your aerobic base, improves fat oxidation, and enhances recovery between hard sessions. It is the most underrated workout on this list. Competitive endurance athletes spend 80% of their training time at this intensity. Most gym athletes spend close to 0%.
Total session time: 35 to 40 min. No warm-up or cool-down needed. The session is the warm-up and cool-down.
Workout 6: Tabata
8 Rounds
20 sec all out (RPE 9-10)
10 sec easy spin
Cadence: max effort on work, easy spin on rest
The original Tabata protocol. 20 seconds of maximum effort, 10 seconds of rest, repeated 8 times. It takes 4 minutes. It will be the hardest 4 minutes of your week. The 10 sec rest is not enough to recover, which is the entire point. By round 5 or 6, your output will drop. By round 8, you are surviving. Do not sandbag the early rounds to save energy for the end. The protocol only works if rounds 1 through 4 are genuinely maximal.
If you feel fine after the 4 minutes, you did not go hard enough. Rest 4 minutes and do a second set if you want. But one set done properly is enough.
Total work time: 4 min (or 8 min with two sets). Total session time: about 20 to 25 min.
Workout 7: Over-Under Threshold
5 Rounds
3 min at moderate to hard pace (RPE 6)
1 min at hard pace (RPE 7-8)
No rest between rounds
Cadence: 80 to 90rpm
Over-under intervals alternate between just below and just above your threshold. The 3 min block at RPE 6 keeps you close to threshold without crossing it. The 1 min surge at RPE 7-8 pushes you above it briefly. Settling back to RPE 6 after a surge is the skill this workout trains. It teaches your body to clear lactate while still working, which is exactly what happens in competition when the pace surges and you need to recover without stopping.
Total work time: 20 min continuous. Total session time: about 35 min.
Workout 8: 4km Benchmark Test
Bike 4km as fast as you can
Warm-up: 5 min easy spin at RPE 2, then 3 x 30 sec builds at RPE 3, 5, and 7 with 30 sec easy between each, then 2 x 15 sec hard efforts at RPE 8-9 with 45 sec easy between, then 2 min easy spin.
Pacing: start at what feels like 8 out of 10. Hold that through the first 2km. At 2km, assess. If you feel like you could go slightly harder, build into it. If you are already struggling, hold steady. The last 500m is everything you have.
Record your time and average watts. Do this test once, train for 6 to 8 weeks, then retest. That is the clearest way to measure whether your training is working. A 5 to 10 second improvement or 5 to 10 watt increase is a meaningful gain.
Cool-down: 8 min easy spin, gradually decreasing effort to RPE 1-2. Do not skip this.
How to Use These Workouts
Do not try to do all 8 in one week. Pick 2 to 4 per week based on your goals:
If your goal is general conditioning, do one threshold session (Workout 2 or 7), one high intensity session (Workout 1 or 6), and one steady state session (Workout 3 or 5) per week.
If your goal is aerobic base building, focus on Workouts 3, 5, and 7. Add Workout 1 once per week for stimulus variety.
If you want to test yourself, do Workout 8 first, train for 6 to 8 weeks using the other workouts, then retest.
Always warm up before high intensity sessions (Workouts 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, and 8). A 5 to 10 minute easy spin at RPE 2 to 3 with a few short builds is enough. Cool down with 5 to 8 minutes of easy spinning after every session.
Ready for a Full Program?
These 8 workouts will make you fitter if you use them consistently. But standalone workouts can only take you so far. Without weekly progression, block periodization, and a plan that adapts across 8 weeks, you will eventually plateau.
The 8-Week Bike Erg Program takes the same training principles behind these workouts and organizes them into a structured plan with 32 sessions across two training blocks. Every session has coaching notes explaining what to do, how it should feel, and what to adjust. Cadence prescriptions, damper settings, warm-ups, and cool-downs are built in. Sessions run 35 to 50 minutes alongside your existing training.
If you have been doing random bike erg sessions and want to see real, measurable improvement, this is the next step.
