Splitting up training hours

Training
1

Bit of thought experiment / discussion point.

Everyone has a finite amount of time to train/ride (be that work commitments or just how much you can take). Is it better to do fewer long sessions or get more sessions that are shorter.

For example it’s easy to get a 45 mins work out in most week days and 1 decent weekend ride and still get adult tasks done. Other option is a couple of 90 min sessions and a weekend ride. Total time is similar but how it’s achieved is different.

Just a pondering I had in a boring meeting!

2

Frequency >volume >intensity, so more shorter rides is better. Although There is some science behind it, I can’t be bothered to look it up but you can easily track the effect on ctl from multiple shorter rides or infrequent long ones

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Unless you are training for endurance rides over 90mins. But agreed that doing what you can is better than doing nothing.

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4

Are you thinking about this article?

Mitochondrial half life is one factor to consider in this case.

5

On a recent Roadman podcast, the first question was how Seiler would recommend using ~8 hours per week over 4 sessions

1 x long ride (3h+)
1 x 2hr
2 x 1hr hour high intensity

Fewer training days, but stretch one of them

The video is set to go right at the start of the answer - well worth the 1’40" it takes to have a look imo

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6

I’ve been having this same thought experiment. Double days is very common in running. I think it could be very beneficial in cycling especially for the time crunched, working rider. One could get their volume up by jumping on the trainer at 6am before work for easy endurance volume and then do those couple of interval sessions after work leaving the weekend for the long ride.

If one is work from home then maybe triple days are on the table!

I honestly never understood why double days aren’t more popular in cycling. Bob Schul, gold medal 5,000 meters - double, triple days while working a full time job. Jacob Ingebrigtsen - frequent double days. Kipchoge and other Kenyans - start almost every day with an easy shake out run and then a workout in the afternoon or early evening. Lydiard’s runners did a lot of those easy shakeout runs adding volume.

I’m guessing that double days is more common in pro cycling whether that is riding 3 hours to a cafe, fueling up for an hour and riding 3 hours back. Or doing a morning ride and then having some kind of mobility or weight training session in the afternoon.

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7

With the power of the new improved non-event-date-custom-plan-builder (catchy name I know), I’ve got a 4-week 5-day 45-minute block to see how it feels.

It will be interesting to see how doing more workouts that fit in easily before work effects me and how I feel. Will report back just before Xmas.

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8

Double the pre and post time, and double the bib laundry?

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9

If half of the sessions are on a trainer that is already set up, then maybe not a lot of pre/post time. It takes the same amount of time to wash two sets of bibs as it does one.

10

A commute to work and a commute home and a workout = triple day?

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I guess it’s because in the main cyclists don’t need to because you can do your daily training load all in one session.

Good luck doing a 3 hour running workout!

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Did double days for about 6-7 years to some extent in college and a bit post collegiate. Thing is, if you don’t get your sleep you are TIRED all the time.

That said I still use them on occasion. I may have limited time in the afternoon so do an hour in the morning and whatever I can (or a run) in the afternoon. They work… but you need the time.

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13

A working, time-crunched person usually can’t go out for the 3-4-5 hour rides unless it’s on the weekend.

I just think that for time-crunched cyclists, the double days could be a useful technique.

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14

I guess it largely depends on what workouts you’re doing.

VO2 Max work lends itself to two shorter sessions.

If you’re trying to progress time in zone at Sweetspot or Threshold then a single, longer session is the way to go.

Also, you can always do intervals on your long ride.

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15

Definitely, but cycling is steeped in tradition and what’s “normal” is 95% inherited from what pro riders have been doing for the last 300 years. :wink:

I’m lucky enough that the only double days I need to do are of the riding/lifting variety.

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16

Double days during the week are the norm for me and allows me to get something around 20 hours a week cycling in on average

During trainer season this will usually be a longer ride with or without intervals in the morning and an easy, shorter spin early evening

In the summer this switches round as I’ll be doing evening TTs so morning rides are generally kept nice and easy

Saturdays are rest / very easy days and Sundays a hard trainer ride or a longer ride outdoors depending on the weather

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17

I used to have a 40-50min commute each way on a bike to work. I combined that with one long ride on the weekend and had great fitness. Sometimes did intervals on one of the legs to work.

It’s winter where I am so I am cross training with 30-45mins of rowing at night and 1-1.25hr riding at lunch. Fitness is also great, but rowing is higher HR -more similar to running than riding in the cardiovascular load. So the shorter sessions gives more of a punch IMO than if I spun my legs for 30mins, which I wouldn’t bc I’d feel it’s basically useless (but maybe not?)

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18

Training during the nicer months is much easier for me because I commute to work on a perfect 1 hour one way route. Intervals way in/Z2 way back. End up packing 6 hours into my 3 days at the office where I’d be lucky to get 3 in the winter those days.

As a result I move most of my volume to WFH days when I can’t bike commute.

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if you cant be bothered to look it up properly you might as well stop spreading missinformation and half truths m8.