Why Threshold Training Deserves a Place in Your Programming

Most athletes misunderstand threshold training. Normally, they go one of two ways about this: they either avoid it because it feels too uncomfortable, or they do all their running sessions in it because it feels more “productive”. The truth lays somewhere in between. When you improve your lactate threshold, you increase the pace or power you can hold without fully exhausting yourself. In simple terms, you become faster at the same effort. But threshold training only works when it is built into programming that has helps you to develop a strong aerobic base.

Without enough low intensity development, threshold sessions become too stressful. Heart rate drifts upward, recovery take too much time, and what should be a targeted stimulus turns into accumulated tiredness. High performing endurance athletes typically spend most of their training time below threshold (if you read last week’s blog, you’d know that that would be zone 2) with only a couple of sessions working at or slightly above threshold.

When these sessions are programmed correctly in a training cycle, threshold sessions build you and your character. They prepare you to work at a hard effort under pressure, which is critical in races where pacing can really determine the outcome. In hybrid competitions, threshold strength endurance combinations become especially valuable. They teach the body to manage sustained discomfort without losing efficiency. When you improve your lactate threshold, you increase the pace or power you can hold without fully exhausting yourself. In simple terms, you become faster at the same effort. But threshold training only works when it is built into programming that has helps you to develop a strong aerobic base.

Without enough low intensity development, threshold sessions become too stressful. Heart rate drifts upward, recovery take too much time, and what should be a targeted stimulus turns into accumulated tiredness. High performing endurance athletes typically spend most of their training time below threshold (if you read last week’s blog, you’d know that that would be zone 2) with only a couple of sessions working at or slightly above threshold.

When these sessions are programmed correctly in a training cycle, threshold sessions build you and your character. They prepare you to work at a hard effort under pressure, which is critical in races where pacing can really determine the outcome. In hybrid competitions, threshold strength endurance combinations become especially valuable. They teach the body to manage sustained discomfort without losing efficiency. Threshold training indicates working at the highest intensity you can sustain for a prolonged period without drastically accumulating fatigue. It is often described as “the comfortably hard” training. Your breathing should be controlled, but you cannot speak in full sentences, yet you are not sprinting. It sits just below the point where your body moves heavily into the anaerobic energy system. But as I already mentioned; Threshold training is not something we should be doing on a daily basis. Too much time in this zone can lead to burn out. Early training phases often prioritise your aerobic development first. As you progress, threshold sessions are slowly introduced to increase output. Closer to competition, they may become more race specific, so you are able to work with the demands of pace under fatigue. Each phase builds upon the last, making sure that threshold work improves and develops performance. The question is not whether threshold training should be included in your program. It absolutely should be. Just make sure it's programmed in with a purpose.