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B. et al., Med Sci Sports Exerc 2002",null,{"h1":22,"summary":23,"purpose":34,"execution":70,"feel":92,"mistakes":99,"not_for":136,"faq":144,"evidence":181},"Laursen's Pmax and Tmax intervals (8 × 2 min 25)",{"type":24,"children":25},"root",[26],{"type":27,"tag":28,"props":29,"children":30},"element","p",{},[31],{"type":32,"value":33},"text","Laursen intervals: eight 2 min 25 efforts at your maximal aerobic power, estimated at 120–130% of FTP, with 4 min 50 of easy recovery between them. A 78-minute session. An individualised protocol for advanced riders preparing for time trials.",{"adaptation":35,"for_whom":47,"when":63},{"type":24,"children":36},[37,42],{"type":27,"tag":28,"props":38,"children":39},{},[40],{"type":32,"value":41},"Most VO₂max sessions give everyone the same effort length. Paul Laursen started from the athlete instead: first you measure how long you last at your maximal aerobic power (Pmax), the power you reach at VO₂max in a ramp-style test. That time to exhaustion is called Tmax. Each effort then lasts a little over half your Tmax, long enough to spend time near VO₂max without riding to exhaustion, and the recovery lasts twice as long.",{"type":27,"tag":28,"props":43,"children":44},{},[45],{"type":32,"value":46},"In cyclists and triathletes who were already highly trained, four weeks of this protocol improved VO₂max and time-trial performance. It's one of the few VO₂max formats tested on performance, not just measured in the lab over one session. The 2 min 25 used here is a default, to adjust if you know your Tmax.",{"type":24,"children":48},[49],{"type":27,"tag":28,"props":50,"children":51},{},[52,54,61],{"type":32,"value":53},"Advanced riders, already used to VO₂max intervals, looking to find a little more for a time trial or triathlon. The session makes most sense if you've measured your Tmax, in a lab or in the field after a ",{"type":27,"tag":55,"props":56,"children":58},"a",{"href":57},"\u002Fen-GB\u002Flibrary\u002Fcycling\u002Ftest\u002Fcycling-ramp-test",[59],{"type":32,"value":60},"ramp test",{"type":32,"value":62},". Without it, it's still a good VO₂max session, but an approximation of the original protocol.",{"type":24,"children":64},[65],{"type":27,"tag":28,"props":66,"children":67},{},[68],{"type":32,"value":69},"In the study, riders did it twice a week for four weeks: a short, dense block, not a session to keep all year. Keep at least one easy day between hard sessions, and avoid the day before a race or long ride. To progress, re-measure your Tmax and adjust the effort length rather than adding more efforts.",[71,78,85],{"type":24,"children":72},[73],{"type":27,"tag":28,"props":74,"children":75},{},[76],{"type":32,"value":77},"15 minutes building from 45 to 75% of FTP, in 5-minute steps. Eight efforts is a lot: feel free to extend the warm-up a little if your legs are slow to come round.",{"type":24,"children":79},[80],{"type":27,"tag":28,"props":81,"children":82},{},[83],{"type":32,"value":84},"Eight 2 min 25 efforts at 120–130% of FTP, or 300 to 325 W for an FTP of 250 W, with 4 min 50 very easy at 45–55% between them. Aim for the same power on all eight: the first shouldn't be stronger than the last. Stay seated, with a high, steady cadence. If you know your Tmax, replace the 2 min 25 with a little over half that time, and keep the recovery at double.",{"type":24,"children":86},[87],{"type":27,"tag":28,"props":88,"children":89},{},[90],{"type":32,"value":91},"10 very easy minutes at 40–55% of FTP. After nearly an hour of work, take the time to come right down before you get off the bike.",{"type":24,"children":93},[94],{"type":27,"tag":28,"props":95,"children":96},{},[97],{"type":32,"value":98},"Very hard from the end of the first effort, which leaves your legs heavy and your breathing ragged. The long recoveries do their job: you set off almost fresh each time, which is what lets you hold the same power to the eighth. The last two take some grit. Guide: 9 out of 10.",[100,109,118,127],{"title":101,"body":102},"Cutting the recovery short",{"type":24,"children":103},[104],{"type":27,"tag":28,"props":105,"children":106},{},[107],{"type":32,"value":108},"4 min 50 feels long, and the urge to go early is strong. But the double recovery is part of the tested protocol: it's what makes eight quality efforts possible. Less recovery means a different session.",{"title":110,"body":111},"Going too hard on the first efforts",{"type":24,"children":112},[113],{"type":27,"tag":28,"props":114,"children":115},{},[116],{"type":32,"value":117},"The first two feel easy and tempt you above 130%. The eighth makes you pay. Start at the bottom of the range and only nudge up if the first six have stayed even.",{"title":119,"body":120},"Treating 2 min 25 as a rule",{"type":24,"children":121},[122],{"type":27,"tag":28,"props":123,"children":124},{},[125],{"type":32,"value":126},"It's an average, not yours. If you last much longer than average at Pmax, your efforts should be longer; if you last less, shorter. Without a measurement, stick with the default.",{"title":128,"body":129},"Doing it all year round",{"type":24,"children":130},[131],{"type":27,"tag":28,"props":132,"children":133},{},[134],{"type":32,"value":135},"The protocol was tested as a four-week block. Beyond that, there's nothing to say it keeps paying off, while the fatigue certainly keeps building.",{"prerequisites":137,"avoid_if":140},[138,139],"A recently measured FTP, ideally a measured Tmax.","A solid endurance base and several weeks of VO₂max intervals.",[141,142,143],"You're tired, or a race or long ride is planned for the next day.","You're new to interval training: start with shorter formats and fewer repeats.","You have doubts about your health: get medical advice before near-maximal efforts, and even more so before a Tmax test.",[145,154,163,172],{"question":146,"answer":147},"What is Tmax in Laursen intervals?",{"type":24,"children":148},[149],{"type":27,"tag":28,"props":150,"children":151},{},[152],{"type":32,"value":153},"How long you can hold your maximal aerobic power, Pmax, before exhaustion. It's measured after a ramp-style test: once you know your Pmax, you ride at that power for as long as you can. Each effort in the session then lasts a little over half that time, and the recovery twice as long.",{"question":155,"answer":156},"What power is an effort at Pmax?",{"type":24,"children":157},[158],{"type":27,"tag":28,"props":159,"children":160},{},[161],{"type":32,"value":162},"Here, 120–130% of FTP: 240 to 260 W for an FTP of 200 W, 300 to 325 W for 250 W, 360 to 390 W for 300 W. It's an estimate: Pmax is properly measured in a ramp-style test. If you've done a ramp test, the power of your last completed step gives you a good idea.",{"question":164,"answer":165},"Can I do Laursen intervals without knowing my Tmax?",{"type":24,"children":166},[167],{"type":27,"tag":28,"props":168,"children":169},{},[170],{"type":32,"value":171},"Yes, using the default 2 min 25, taken from the average Tmax of well-trained cyclists. You'll get a good VO₂max session, but not quite Laursen's individualised protocol. If all eight efforts feel very easy, or impossible, your real duration is probably different.",{"question":173,"answer":174},"How many Laursen sessions should I do a week?",{"type":24,"children":175},[176],{"type":27,"tag":28,"props":177,"children":178},{},[179],{"type":32,"value":180},"In the original study, two a week for four weeks, in highly trained athletes. It's a short block to place before a target event. In a normal week, one session like this is plenty, with at least one easy day either side.",{"level":182,"text":183},"good",{"type":24,"children":184},[185],{"type":27,"tag":28,"props":186,"children":187},{},[188],{"type":32,"value":189},"Laursen et al. (Med Sci Sports Exerc 2002): 38 highly trained cyclists and triathletes, 2 sessions a week for 4 weeks. The 'Pmax × 60% Tmax' groups improved 40 km time-trial performance (+4.4 to +5.8% across the intense groups) and VO₂peak (+5.4% and +8.1%). The first group recovered for twice the effort duration; the second, until heart rate fell back to 65% of maximum. A third group did 12 × 30 s at 175% of Pmax. The 2 min 25 duration is a default: in a study by Laursen (2004) of 43 well-trained cyclists, mean Tmax was about 4 minutes, and 60% of that is about 2 min 25. Pmax is the power reached at VO₂max in an incremental test; estimating it at 120–130% of FTP is a Wattson approximation, as are the warm-up and cool-down. 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