Threshold cycling workouts
Learn to live at the limit. Threshold workouts target the power you can sustain for roughly an hour — 95–105% of FTP. Training at and around this intensity raises the ceiling on your sustainable power, which is what decides long climbs, time trials, and whether you can hold a hard group ride. Every workout here rides in ERG in your browser, free, no account.
The full set
Under 40 minutes · 21 sessions
40 to 70 minutes · 27 sessions
Over 70 minutes · 6 sessions
Why it works
Typical sessions are 2×20, 3×12, or over-under blocks that oscillate just below and above FTP. These are demanding workouts: one or two per week is plenty for most riders, with endurance riding in between.
Everything below is free to ride with a smart trainer in ERG mode or with power/heart-rate targets. Make sure your FTP is current — threshold intervals at a stale FTP are either too easy to help or too hard to finish.
How to run it
Controlled discomfort. Hard to talk, still possible to think.
- One or two sessions a week — threshold work is potent and expensive.
- Settle into the first interval; the opening minutes always lie.
- For over-unders, change cadence with the surges: up for overs, settle for unders.
- Finish every interval able to say you could have done one more minute.
Threshold training FAQ
What is a threshold workout in cycling?
A threshold workout places intervals at 95–105% of FTP, usually in blocks of 8–20 minutes. The goal is to extend how long you can ride near your maximal sustainable power and to nudge that power upward over time.
What are over-under intervals?
Over-unders alternate short periods just above threshold (e.g. 105%) with periods just below it (e.g. 95%) without rest in between. They teach your body to clear lactate while still working, which is exactly what surging climbs and race moves demand.
How many threshold sessions per week?
One to two per week is the right dose for most riders. Threshold work is fatiguing; more is rarely better, and it crowds out the endurance volume that supports it.