Time-Constrained Training: The Bike

By Duston Morris, Ph.D., ABD, M.S., ACE, USAT

The basic premise in our society is the “more means better.” But if you spend any time at all reading and researching any topic in health, fitness, or nutrition you will begin to realize that more is NOT always better and quantity is not always the answer. In this article I will address this as it relates to cycle training.

Sure…if you are planning on racing or participating in long distance events like centuries, Half-Ironman and Ironman distances, then you are going to need volume, but even then it needs to be done using a systematic plan to build this volume. But even with the larger demands of longer distances you can build this type of distance on a structured four-day riding plan. So let’s take a look at the details.

New research demonstrates that athletes should increase the intensity of their workouts (WO) to see significant improvements in power and performance. So if you are an athlete that has about 6-8hours per week for training there is rest time naturally built into your overall week. With this type of schedule you will need about 4 WO days/week where the total duration of your WO are anywhere from 60-90mins. One of these rides can be extended beyond 2hrs and at or below 70% of your HR maximum in order to maintain some endurance. These shorter WO (60-90mins) typically are done during the week when athletes have other responsibilities like work and family time. During these shorter WO you should focus on a 5-10min warm-up at an easy spin rate and then randomly stack or systematically stack dose intervals throughout the duration of the WO where you are achieving intensity that puts you at your lactate or VO2max threshold levels.

This works because such bouts of training can lead to similar physiological adaptations that are witness through traditional endurance training techniques. For example a 2005 study demonstrated that high-intensity interval training (i.e. using dose intervals during a WO) actually doubled an athlete’s time to an exhaustive state when performed at 80% of that athlete’s peak VO2max.

Coach D Notes: When you are limited on time, add the intensity! Better yet, reduce your volume at different times throughout your training cycle and work on building in WO that focuses on intensity. Bottom line…if you want to get stronger and faster you need to engage in WO that pushes your threshold, these means intense WO! Not to mention that research now demonstrates that this type of WO can also make you stronger and faster over longer distance.