Few things provoke more anxiety in an athlete than threshold tests. Opening the TrainingPeaks app and seeing the dreaded test in your list of to-dos can evoke strong emotions. Whether it’s a 3 x 300 T-pace test for swimmers, 20-minute best sustainable effort on the bike, or 5k time trial on the track, all systems scream alert and the brain shifts into survival mode. It’s akin to what we all experienced in our childhood—test anxiety.
The good news is that it’s totally normal to feel this way. If you struggle with managing test-related stress, know that most athletes experience some form of test-day anxiety, whether subtle or extreme.
But it doesn’t have to feel this way.
Threshold tests are incredibly beneficial to athletes, and if you can learn how to manage your stress response, they can make you bulletproof come race day. Here are four reasons threshold tests are your friend.
1. They Evaluate Your Training Program, Not Your Ability As an Athlete
Labeling a workout as a “test” immediately puts you at a disadvantage. The words we use to describe things shape our reality, and in turn shape our response.
Changing the name of these sessions from “test” to “workout” isn’t just a mental strategy, it’s what they actually are—a hard workout that brings you closer to your goals.
As a coach, I use each workout to show how the training program helps achieve our goals. In this sense, a threshold or FTP test is one session in a series of workouts that serves as both a marker for adaptation and as a workout that challenges an athlete’s comfort zone.
The metrics we get from these sessions let us know how the training is progressing, and how to adjust moving forward. They are not a “test” of an athlete’s ability.
2. They Make You Mentally and Physically Stronger
Reframing threshold tests as workouts is easier said than done.
Almost all athletes perceive these workouts as tests, regardless of any attempt to reshape that perception. But that isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
These workouts create feelings similar to those on race day. This gives you a great chance to improve your mental game and channel that nervous energy into your performance.
Your mental fitness is just as important as physical fitness come race day. Consider studying TrainingPeaks sports psychology articles for specific mental training strategies. Segmenting, mantras, and visualization are just the tip of the iceberg.
Threshold tests are hard workouts that prepare you for the demands of race day. Each time you complete a test, you get mentally, emotionally, and physically stronger.
3. They Ensure Your Training Plan Is Accurate
Research backs threshold tests, allowing you and your coach to confidently set zones and prescribe intensity.
Through best practices and research, we understand the relationship between 3 x 300 or a 1000TT in the pool and T-pace. We have proof that a 20-minute time trial on the bike relates to power levels and heart rate zones. Similarly, we know how to project training zones based on your 5k TT pace and heart rate.
You or your coach can make good predictions about training intensity from these sessions. This ensures that your daily training is at the right level.
4. They Challenge You to Focus on the Process
My number one tip for approaching these sessions is to shift your focus from the outcome (pace, heart rate, power, etc.) to the process itself.
Here are some ways you can practice focusing on the process:
- Executing effort based on your RPE (rating of perceived effort). Instead of looking at the numbers, check your breathing and how your muscles feel.
- Breaking up the effort into mentally manageable bits, such as a one-minute to five-minute box. For example, you can break a 20-minute TT into four five-minute segments.
- Controlling your attitude. Use music, visual stimulation, positive affirmations, smiling, counting, and similar “bumps” that help you maintain a positive attitude.
- Focusing on form. I use toe to head checks to ensure that my movements are effective.
- Relaxing into the challenge. Relax your face. Relax your grip. Release any tense muscles or areas of the body to allow them to work more effectively.
- Avoiding the temptation to engineer the workout by overthinking – just be. Avoid expectations before the session. After all, one of the goals for these sessions is to ensure you’re using the correct training zones. If you set expectations prior to starting, you are either going to limit yourself or set yourself up for disappointment.
- Approaching the session with curiosity. Instead of setting expectations, be curious. Ask yourself, “I wonder what I can do today?”
Practicing the above is easier said than done. Most athletes, including myself, find it difficult to ignore the numbers – but it’s important to try. Focusing on the numbers can not only be discouraging, it can actually impede your performance.
Tips for Overcoming Negative Thoughts During Threshold Testing
Most of the time the numbers aren’t encouraging, as we perceive them as either too low or too high. This may cause you to push too hard at the start, resulting in the “fly and die” scenario. It can also cause you to start too conservatively and miss your best effort on the day.
For example, your heart rate will be high, especially as the session continues. This is normal. But seeing that high number can produce anxiety and associated negative thoughts. These thoughts can include:
- My HR is too high.
- I can’t sustain this.
- This is too hard.
- [Insert your thoughts here.]
Try to ignore outcome metrics like power and pace in the first two-thirds of the session, though they may serve a positive purpose in the latter part of the session to keep you on task and focused.
Fighting Through the Dead Zone
You know that moment in a workout when you are far enough into it that fatigue has built up, but not so far into it that you can reasonably convince yourself that you are almost done? I call that period the “dead zone” – and we have to actively fight through that period.
Sometimes, we might want to make deals with ourselves. They may sound like:
- I can just back off for a minute and regroup after.
- This workout doesn’t really matter. I don’t care.
- I didn’t hit the number I wanted, so I’m just going to quit.
- [Again, insert your thoughts from the dead zone.]
During these moments, use power or pace as a carrot to chase, or even as a whip to keep pushing. Play a game by keeping the number constant, or by trying to build it each minute or over several minutes – even if only by one watt or one second per mile.
Test days help you learn how to manage your efforts to get the best out of yourself. They provide valuable experiences that help you develop positive coping skills for managing race-day stress.
Do your best each day based on your current fitness level. That’s all you can ask of yourself. Learning to be proud of your best effort, regardless of the outcome, is key to finding joy and fulfillment in your endurance lifestyle.
