Build Phase

Short Power Build plans are perfect if your goals demand repeated bursts of aerobic power: criterium races, cyclocross events, and almost all forms of mountain biking and track cycling, for instance. These plans use VO2 max and other above-threshold intervals to develop powerful and repeatable top-end fitness, so by the end of an 8-week block you’ll be ready to go deep when things get tough.

Some cyclists need all-around fitness, with strong abilities in sustained power, high-intensity repeats, and everything in between. This balanced approach is what you’ll get with General Build plans, which prepare you well for a wide variety of events and disciplines. If versatility is more important to you than narrow specialization, these 8-week plans are the ideal choice.

Sustained Power Build plans are designed to develop their namesake skill: sustained power. They achieve this through a focus on strength endurance, lactate tolerance, and aerobic conditioning, all designed to improve your ability to go faster for longer. Athletes who can benefit well from these 8-week blocks include time trialists, century riders, and even road racers whose events feature long climbs.

Triathlon's fastest and most intense events reward athletes who focus their training around this format, and Sprint Triathlon Build plans are designed to do just this. Picking up where Sprint Triathlon Base leaves off, these 8-week plans emphasize the mix of endurance and intensity you'll need to reach the podium.

The 8-week Olympic Triathlon Build plans take the fitness you developed during Olympic Triathlon Base and push it further, incorporating a gradually-increasing workload to build competitive power and endurance.

Balancing half-distance events' need for speed with their formidable endurance requirements, these 8-week blocks build powerful aerobic fitness you'll need on race day.

After building an aerobic foundation in the Base phase, full-distance triathletes are ready to start addressing endurance power on the bike and improving their sustainable run and swim speeds. These 8-week blocks are designed for the job, leaving you significantly faster as race day approaches.

The Polarized Build blocks are designed to build upon your aerobic base fitness with a growing emphasis on longer sustained efforts when compared to Polarized Base. Following the traditionally referenced three-zone model for Polarized Training, these plans reside within a polarized training intensity distribution between 80/20 and 95/5.