Threshold and sweet spot cycling sessions
Threshold work targets your FTP, the power you can hold for roughly an hour. The 9 sessions on this page run from sweet spot, at 88–94% of FTP, to upper threshold, just over 100%, in efforts of 3 to 20 minutes. What sets them apart is how they bank that time: long, steady blocks (2 × 20, Seiler's 4 × 16), shorter efforts with more of them (cruise intervals, upper threshold 5 × 8), or changes of pace around threshold (over-unders, criss-cross, 60/60).
Every target is in % of your FTP, so if yours isn't recent, start with a 20-minute FTP test. Each page gives the exact structure, the watts for an FTP of 200, 250 or 300 W, how to ride it and what the sources say.
4Z4 · Threshold
How to choose
New to threshold work
sweet spot 2 × 20 min, one target just below your FTP, or cruise intervals 6 × 3 min, short efforts that creep up one after another.
Less than an hour to spare
cruise intervals (48 min) or climbing repeats 3 × 8 min (57 min).
Training for a long climb or a 25-mile TT
threshold 2 × 20 min, then Seiler's 4 × 16 once the volume no longer puts you off.
Rolling roads or fast group rides
over-unders, criss-cross and 60/60, which teach you to absorb changes of pace around threshold.
The top of the zone
upper threshold 5 × 8 min, at the power you could hold for 40 minutes.
The sessions
Criss-cross threshold (20 min)
20 minutes with no break as power steps up from 95 to 105% of FTP and back down, five times over: threshold in slow waves, with nowhere to hide.
Cruise intervals 6 × 3 min
Six 3-minute efforts creeping up from 95 to 105% of FTP with a minute's recovery: the way into threshold work, in 48 minutes.
Climbing repeats 3 × 8 min
Three 8-minute climbs at 95–100% of FTP, with 4 minutes to roll back down between them: threshold work cut to the length of a real hill.
Sweet spot 2 × 20 min
Two 20-minute blocks at 88–94% of FTP with 5 easy minutes between: 40 minutes just under threshold, in an effort that stays under control.
Over-unders 3 × 12 min
Three 12-minute blocks alternating 2 minutes just under threshold and 1 minute just over: for soaking up surges without blowing up.
Threshold 2 × 20 min
Two 20-minute blocks at 95–100% of FTP with 10 easy minutes between: 40 minutes at threshold, the reference session for raising your FTP.
Upper threshold 5 × 8 min
Five 8-minute efforts at the power you'd hold for 40 minutes, 3 minutes' recovery: a 40-minute time trial cut into five pieces.
60/60 around threshold 6 × 8 min
Six 8-minute blocks where a minute at 110% of FTP answers a minute at 90%: threshold on average, with a change of pace every minute.
Seiler 4 × 16 min
Four 16-minute blocks at threshold with 2 minutes' recovery: 64 minutes at 95–100% of FTP, the longest session in Seiler's series.
Frequently asked questions
What intensity is a threshold session on the bike?
Around your FTP: from 88–94% for sweet spot to just over 100% for upper threshold and over-unders. The higher the target, the shorter the efforts: 20 minutes at sweet spot, 3 to 8 minutes around 100%. No recent FTP? Test first: every target depends on it.
How many threshold sessions a week?
One or two as a rule, with at least one easy day between them. Sweet spot, which its proponents say costs less fatigue, can be repeated a little more often. Keep the rest of the week for easy endurance riding. These are common training guidelines to fit around your volume, not rules drawn from studies.
Sweet spot or threshold: where should I start?
With sweet spot if threshold work is new to you: one target, just below your FTP, easier to hold and to repeat. Move on to threshold, with the 2 × 20 or the 3 × 8 climbing repeats, once your sweet spot sessions feel under control, often after a few weeks.
Other types of cycling sessions
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