Threshold Builder – 6 Weeks of Sustainable Cycling Performance
Improving your threshold is not simply about riding harder. It is about applying the right stimulus, developing power you can actually hold, and managing recovery.
Threshold Builder is a focused six-week block for cyclists who want to improve sustainable endurance performance. It combines carefully dosed intervals above your current training threshold (Tuesday), longer sustainable efforts near threshold (Saturday) and plenty of easy aerobic riding.
WHY THIS MIX? A recent meta-analysis (Peric et al., PeerJ 2026) found that intensity relative to the individual threshold was the most consistent moderator of threshold adaptations, with training slightly above threshold showing larger average gains than training at or below it. The evidence is heterogeneous, though, and it does not mean harder is always better. That is why this plan doses supra-threshold work and builds it on a solid aerobic base.
WHAT TO EXPECT
- 6 weeks, approx. 4–5.5 h per week (recovery week approx. 3:45 h)
- 2 quality sessions per week, at least 72 h apart
- Supra-threshold intervals of 2–4 min and sustainable power blocks of 8–18 min
- Week 4 is a genuine recovery week
- Benchmark session in weeks 1, 4 and 6: same power, you compare heart rate, RPE and power fade – not a max test
- Power-based workouts for smart trainers, Wahoo, Garmin and Zwift, indoors or outdoors
- RPE, fueling and recovery guidance, shorter B versions for bad days, a short feedback template after key sessions
SAMPLE WEEK (WEEK 3)
Mon rest · Tue Supra-Threshold 4 × 4 min (60 min) · Wed rest · Thu Easy + Cadence (60 min) · Fri rest · Sat Sustainable Power 2 × 15 min (75 min) · Sun Easy Endurance (110 min)
REQUIREMENTS
Regular cycling for several months, a power meter or smart trainer and a plausible, current FTP in TrainingPeaks. Not for beginners. If you have up to 6 hours, extend the easy rides.
WHAT THIS PLAN IS NOT
FTP is a practical training anchor, not a measured lactate threshold or MLSS. This is a standardised plan and does not replace an individual performance assessment. No plan can guarantee a specific FTP increase.
Developed by Nils Richter, sports scientist (Diplom-Sportwissenschaftler), VO2max Coaching. Questions: info@vo2max.de
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