In Part 2, I discussed intensive endurance/tempo training and Sweet Spot training as conceptualized by Andrew Coggan in the power meter community. There I mentioned the idea of a threshold representing the maximum intensity that can be sustained for some time period (usually defined as one hour). I called it Threshold Training and that is the topic of this part of the series.
Threshold Training
Early in the study of endurance performance, a great deal of focus was placed on VO2 max, the maximum amount of oxygen that the body could process. And while it was thought to be a primary factor determining performance, that turned out not to be the case. Certainly a high VO2 max was required to be an elite endurance athlete but it was not sufficient.
Later research would turn to a concept that has had many names over the years including lactate threshold, anerobic threshold, individual anaerobic threshold, OBLA, ventilatory threshold and more. … Keep Reading