Ben Healy’s Pro Over/Unders for Normal Humans

A brutally effective way to train race-specific fitness without needing WorldTour genetics.

Ben Healy has become known for his aggressive racing style. Long attacks. Repeated surges. Relentless pressure. He’s the kind of rider who can launch over a climb, force a split, and then somehow continue riding hard afterward while everyone else is trying to recover.

That ability is not just about having a big FTP.

It’s about recovering while still under pressure.

And that’s exactly what this workout trains.

The Workout

3 x 10 minutes

  • 2 minutes hard (~120% FTP)

  • 8 minutes tempo (85–90% FTP)

  • ~10 minutes recovery between intervals

Simple. Effective.

At first glance, this looks like a pretty straightforward interval session. But the magic is NOT the first two minutes.

The point is what happens afterward.

Can you settle back into strong aerobic riding after flooding the system?

That’s the real skill.

Racing is rarely about producing one hard effort in isolation. Most amateur cyclists can do that. The real separator is whether you can continue riding hard after the surge.

That’s what strong racers do better than everyone else.

What’s Happening Physiologically?

The first two minutes are basically a controlled explosion.

You’re asking the body to rapidly produce energy at a very high rate. That means:

  • High oxygen demand

  • Significant glycolytic contribution

  • Rapid lactate accumulation

  • Increased ventilation

  • A huge disturbance to homeostasis

Then comes the important part:

You don’t stop.

You keep riding pretty hard while trying to regain control.

That’s where the adaptations happen.

Lactate Isn’t the Enemy

One of the biggest misconceptions in endurance sports is that lactate is “bad.”

It’s not.

Lactate is actually an incredibly valuable fuel source.

During hard exercise, fast-twitch muscle fibers produce lactate as glycolytic activity increases. But your body doesn’t simply throw that lactate away. Instead, it transports and reuses it throughout the body.

This process is often called lactate shuttling.

Your more aerobic muscle fibers can take lactate in and burn it for energy. The heart can use it. Other tissues can use it. Even the liver can convert portions of it back into glucose through the Cori Cycle.

That’s why elite athletes often aren’t trying to “avoid lactate.”

They’re becoming incredibly efficient at using it.

And this workout directly challenges that system.

Oxidative Reuse: Turning Chaos Into Fuel

Another important concept here is oxidative reuse.

After the hard start, your body attempts to aerobically process the metabolites generated during the surge while you continue producing relatively high power.

In simpler terms:

Your body is trying to turn the chaos into usable energy.

This requires:

  • Strong mitochondrial function

  • Efficient oxygen delivery

  • High aerobic enzyme activity

  • Good lactate transport capacity

  • Durable aerobic fibers

This is one reason elite riders can repeatedly attack without completely detonating.

Their aerobic systems are absurdly good at restoring balance while still under stress.

Mitochondrial Demand: The Real Limiter

People often think these sessions are mainly about toughness.

They’re not.

They’re largely about aerobic capability.

After the hard surge, the mitochondria — the aerobic “engines” inside your cells — suddenly have a massive job to do.

They must:

  • Produce huge amounts of aerobic energy

  • Help stabilize the metabolic environment

  • Support continued tempo riding

  • Process accumulating metabolites

  • Reduce the reliance on glycolysis

That’s why these workouts often feel uniquely uncomfortable.

You’re essentially asking your aerobic system to clean up the mess while the race is still happening.

Returning Toward Steady State Under Stress

This may be the most race-specific part of the entire workout.

A steady state means your body has stabilized things like:

  • Oxygen consumption

  • Breathing

  • Lactate dynamics

  • Energy production

But races constantly disrupt steady state.

Attacks.
Corners.
Steep ramps.
Crosswinds.
Bridges.
Positioning fights.

The best racers are not necessarily the riders who avoid those disturbances.

They’re the riders who can regain stability the fastest afterward.

That’s exactly what this session trains.

Your body learns:
“How fast can I calm the chaos down while still pushing hard?”

That’s a massively important racing skill.

“Lactate Clearing” vs “Lactate Shuttling”

Personally, I don’t love pretending these are two entirely separate systems.

They’re happening together.

Yes, some lactate is being processed, transported, reused, and buffered differently depending on intensity and muscle recruitment.

But in practice, your body is constantly managing and utilizing lactate simultaneously.

So rather than obsessing over terminology, focus on the big picture:

You are not teaching your body to avoid lactate.

You are teaching it to USE it.

That’s a much more productive mindset.

Why This Helps Amateur Cyclists So Much

Most amateur cyclists actually have decent steady-state fitness.

What they lack is durability after intensity.

They can produce one hard effort.

But the moment the race gets stochastic — repeated surges, accelerations, attacks, and unstable pacing — they fall apart.

This workout directly targets that weakness.

It improves:

  • Settling after attacks

  • Riding threshold under stress

  • Repeatability

  • Racing composure

  • Recovery while moving

  • Confidence during chaotic race situations

Over time, you stop viewing surges as catastrophic events.

They simply become part of the rhythm of racing.

And psychologically, that changes everything.

Watch our interview with ben

How Amateur Cyclists Should Modify It

Most Cat 4 riders should copy the exact Ben Healy version, but if it’s too difficult to execute correctly, make some small tweaks.

  • 2 x 10 minutes

  • 1 minute hard instead of 2

  • Slightly lower tempo power

  • Longer recoveries

You want high quality, not complete destruction.

A good sign the workout is appropriately paced:

  • You can still ride strong in the final interval

  • Tempo power remains controlled

  • Cadence stays relatively smooth

  • Breathing stabilizes during the tempo block

A bad sign:

  • Total collapse

  • Power cratering

  • Needing to soft pedal immediately after the surge

  • Completely blowing up by interval two

Remember:
The goal is not maximal suffering.

The goal is recovering while still riding hard.

Progressions and Variations

One reason this workout is excellent is how scalable it is.

You can progress it in several ways:

Extend the hard start

Move from:

  • 2 minutes
    to

  • 3–4 minutes

This significantly increases glycolytic strain and oxygen debt.

Add micro-surges during tempo

Example:

  • 10-second bursts every 2 minutes

  • Small over-unders

  • Climb simulations

This adds even more race specificity.

Increase total work

Move from:

  • 3 intervals
    to

  • 4–5 intervals

Now durability becomes a huge component.

Reduce recovery duration

Instead of 10 minutes easy:

  • Use 7–8 minutes

  • Or recover at endurance pace

This increases density and recovery demand.

At higher levels, this becomes incredibly effective because everybody can hurt themselves.

The winners are usually the riders who recover fastest while still going hard.

When to Use This Workout

This session works best during:

  • Build phases

  • Pre-race blocks

  • Race-specific periods

  • Long rides with structured intervals

  • Early-season intensity introduction

It can even fit into early base training occasionally if carefully managed.

I especially like placing it:

  • Before race blocks

  • In preparation for punchy events

  • During periods where athletes need “durability under stress”

This is a medium-to-hard session.

Not an every-day session.

Usually once per week is plenty for most riders.

Final Thoughts

If you only train steady power…

racing feels violent.

But if you train transitions —
hard surge → settle → hard surge again —

…you stop panicking when the race explodes.

That’s the real adaptation here.

Not just higher FTP.

Not just more lactate tolerance.

But improved control during chaos.

And honestly, that’s one of the biggest differences between riders who merely survive races and riders who can actually race aggressively.

Simple workout.

Extremely effective.

And absolutely worth trying.

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Brendan HouslerComment