Training Framework
Use this framework to understand how we build performance through layered system development, how those layers interact, and how emphasis shifts across the season. Protocols are frameworks — not prescriptions — designed to support health first and performance that lasts.
Performance Layers
How performance is built
Performance is layered from the ground up. The base supports the levels above it, while higher-intensity work only lasts when it sits on top of enough aerobic depth, durability, threshold development, and max aerobic capacity. The top of the pyramid separates intensity from pure power, recognising that handling pressure and delivering peak power are different demands.
These are the primary performance layers that define physiological emphasis, anchored around the key turn points that shape adaptation — below LT1, between LT1 and LT2, around LT2, and above it. Each layer also maps to the core energy system lens used to organise training protocols.
Primary Layers
1. Foundation
Build the Engine
Builds aerobic capacity, metabolic efficiency, and movement economy that support all higher-intensity work.
How we train this
Standard aerobic development through steady, repeatable endurance work.
Extend durability and fatigue resistance through longer duration work.
Aerobic Fat Max / Power (Top End of LT1)
Push the upper aerobic boundary while staying fundamentally aerobic.
Aerobic Metabolic (Periodised Carb)
Use fuel availability to shape metabolic adaptation within aerobic work.
2. Durability
Hold the Power
Develops time to exhaustion, fatigue resistance, and the ability to hold power under load.
How we train this
Build sustainable pressure and muscular endurance below threshold.
Accumulate substantial work near FTP with manageable fatigue cost.
Extend time at load to deepen aerobic durability and resistance to fatigue.
Introduce light fluctuation while remaining durability-focused rather than truly threshold-driven.
3. Threshold
Lift the Power
Trains sustained power, lactate regulation, and control under changing load.
How we train this
Develop consistent lactate balance and controlled output at LT2.
Move lactate between production and clearance while maintaining control.
Over/Under Threshold Intervals
Stress control by working just above and below LT2.
Add muscular demand while maintaining metabolic control, mechanical efficiency, and durability under load.
4. Ceiling
Expand the Capacity
Expands aerobic power, oxygen uptake, and the ability to repeat high-intensity work.
How we train this
Build sustained VO₂ power and controlled time at high oxygen uptake.
Reach high oxygen uptake earlier in the effort.
Build fatigue resistance and late-interval power.
Accumulate high oxygen uptake through repeated short efforts.
Increasing Density Micro Intervals
Increase time at high oxygen uptake and aerobic stress without necessarily extending total duration.
Push aerobic capacity toward the limit and build tolerance to severe fatigue.
5. Intensity
Handle the Pressure
Develops the ability to handle pressure through surges, attacks, and repeat high-intensity efforts.
How we train this
Build repeatable anaerobic output under controlled fatigue.
Fast Start Anaerobic Intervals
Increase early recruitment and anaerobic demand.
Fast Finish Anaerobic Intervals
Develop the ability to lift power late under fatigue.
Maximal Micro Intervals (Capacity)
Build anaerobic capacity and FRC through maximal repeated short efforts where fade is expected.
Intermittent Hypoxic Sprints (IHS)
Develop repeated sprint ability and metabolic tolerance under hypoxic conditions.
Develop high-force sprint power and fatigue resistance across longer sprint durations.
6. Power
Deliver Max Power
Develops peak power, acceleration, and the ability to deliver maximal efforts when it matters.
Typically progresses from force → coordination → integration → maximal expression.
How we train this
Develop force production from very low speed.
Improve cadence, coordination, and top-end speed expression.
Prime the system before expressing peak sprint power.
Develop peak sprint power and maximal speed.
Supporting Layers
These supporting layers are part of the same framework. They do not sit outside performance — they influence how well the athlete moves, fuels, recovers, tolerates load, and ultimately expresses each primary layer. Over time these can also connect outward into their own full framework pages and protocol pathways.
Adaptation
Enable the System
Supports recovery, readiness, and the ability to absorb training over time.
How we support this
Restore circulation, reduce fatigue, and support readiness without adding meaningful load.
Fueling
Fuel the Work
Supports training quality, recovery, and race performance through practical fueling and hydration strategy.
How we support this
Match carbohydrate, fluid, and sodium strategy to the demands of training and racing.
Strength
Build the Chassis
Supports force production, robustness, and the ability to tolerate load on and off the bike.
How we support this
Build foundational force, balance, and resilience to support performance across systems.
Skill
Apply the System
Develops efficiency, coordination, and the ability to apply power effectively.
How we support this
Improve force application, movement quality, and the ability to express power efficiently.
Athlete
Sustain the System
Supports routine, decision-making, and the behaviours that allow training to work over time.
How we support this
Build consistency, mindset, and sustainable athlete behaviours that protect both health and performance.
Training Phases
Season lens
Training phases describe how emphasis progresses across the season. They are not fixed blocks — each phase evolves internally, and layers from one phase carry forward into the next.
Progress is governed by load balance. The goal is not to train everything at once, but to apply enough load to drive adaptation without compromising the athlete’s ability to absorb it.
Coaching balances the development of the aerobic engine with the demands of racing, progressing from addressing broad weaknesses to targeting specific limiters as performance becomes more defined.
Base
The base phase builds the aerobic engine and durability of the athlete. It progresses from general aerobic work into more structured endurance, creating the foundation for later performance. Emphasis is placed on lower layers that take longer to build, while broad weaknesses are identified and developed early.
Load Pattern: Key Sessions — Cost ↓ · Frequency ↑ · Recovery Demand ↓ · Recovery Frequency ↓
Load Progression: Load builds primarily through volume, creating aerobic depth and durability.
Tracking Lens: TSS ↑ · CTL steadily rising through volume.
Build
The build phase layers sustainable performance onto the aerobic base, developing Threshold while maintaining the durability that supports progression. Training begins to reflect event demands, with a gradual shift from general development toward specificity. Weaknesses identified earlier start to narrow into clearer limiters, guiding more targeted work.
Load Pattern: Key Sessions — Cost ↑ · Frequency ↓ · Recovery Demand ↑ · Recovery Frequency ↑
Load Progression: Load continues to build, transitioning from volume-driven toward more intensity-driven stress.
Tracking Lens: TSS ↑ · CTL trending upward, with load increasingly influenced by intensity rather than volume.
Peak
The peak phase refines performance around the demands that matter most. Emphasis shifts toward expressing the qualities most likely to determine performance, while maintaining the lower layers that allow high-end work to hold together.
Load Pattern: Key Sessions — Cost ↑↑ · Frequency ↓↓ · Recovery Demand ↑↑ · Recovery Frequency ↑
Load Progression: Load stabilises or reduces slightly to allow freshness and performance expression.
Tracking Lens: TSS → or ↓ · CTL stabilises or slightly declines to allow freshness.
Race
The race phase is dynamic. It includes competition, recovery, and short targeted periods to maintain, rebuild, or re-peak performance. In some athletes, especially those with long race seasons, higher layers may continue to be developed within racing itself.
Load Pattern: Key Sessions — Cost variable · Frequency ↓ · Recovery Demand ↑ · Recovery Frequency variable
Load Progression: Load becomes variable and race-driven, with performance and recovery taking priority over accumulation.
Tracking Lens: TSS variable · CTL less relevant, with performance and recovery taking priority.
Reset (Off-Season)
The reset phase restores the athlete physically and mentally, creating space to recover, rebuild, and prepare for the next progression. It also provides a chance to reassess weaknesses, refresh supporting layers, and restore long-term readiness.
Load Pattern: Key Sessions — Cost ↓ · Frequency ↓ · Recovery Demand ↓ · Recovery Frequency ↓
Load Progression: Load is reduced to allow recovery, restoration, and preparation for the next cycle.
Tracking Lens: TSS ↓ · CTL gradually declines as recovery and reset take priority.