# Little and often - better than one big ride a week?



## Globalti (29 Oct 2013)

I worked mornings only last week to use up some holiday and spend the afternoons with Gti Junior once he emerged from bed. We were able to get out three or four times for shortish rides of under two hours. Do you know what? I really enjoyed them and seem to have benefited far more in fitness and strength than if I had done one mahoosive Sunday ride and come home knackered.

This has got me thinking that on a short ride you are strong with plenty of energy in reserve so you can attack those climbs, train and enjoy the riding. By contrast on a long ride of 2-3 hours or more you're getting tired towards the end and it just becomes a drudge; you probably burn muscle bulk, you feel relieved to finish and by association the last ten miles becomes the most hated road in your area, especially if you often have to finish with a long climb on a main road going south west into a headwind like I do. 

So I'm thinking that this winter when I really can't ride I'm going to aim for two or three half hour turbo sessions a week rather than beasting myself once a week for an hour.

What do others think?


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## User6179 (29 Oct 2013)

Am no sure but once the wife wakes up I will let you know


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## Noodley (29 Oct 2013)

I deffo feel more benefit/enjoy shorter rides, but for me I would class 2 or 3 hours as being short. That's not to say I don't go out for shorter rides than 2 or 3 hours but anything upto 3 hours is deffo short.


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## XRHYSX (29 Oct 2013)

I'd love to get out for an hour or two for a 'short' ride, best I can do is the 7 minute 2mile blast to work and back, I can't extend my route due to child care timings before work, and the fact that I sometimes I finish work after midnight and just want to go home to bed, I did do a 42 mile ride last weekend but on the condition I took my 7yr old so was a more of a bimble than a out and out beasting... well not for me any way. I'm hoping I might be able to get out for a decent ride when the 3yr old goes to pre school


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## Hill Wimp (29 Oct 2013)

XRHYSX said:


> I'd love to get out for an hour or two for a 'short' ride, best I can do is the 7 minute 2mile blast to work and back, I can't extend my route due to child care timings before work, and the fact that I sometimes I finish work after midnight and just want to go home to bed, I did do a 42 mile ride last weekend but on the condition I took my 7yr old so was a more of a bimble than a out and out beasting... well not for me any way. I'm hoping I might be able to get out for a decent ride when the 3yr old goes to pre school




Hang on in there, your time will come. Won't be long before they are out raving all night.


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## Hacienda71 (29 Oct 2013)

You need to do both to get the most out of training. Short (circa one hour) and fast, long and slower are all part of a good training regime if you are looking to improve. mix it all up with some structured interval work and you will see the benefits.


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## XRHYSX (29 Oct 2013)

Hill Wimp said:


> Hang on in there, your time will come. Won't be long before they are out raving all night.


 I know I know... ( note to self, must stop breeding )


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## VamP (29 Oct 2013)

Depends what your objectives are. Doesn't it always?

But if you are cycling once a week then you are continually detraining, regardless of how long your one ride is. To make progress, you need to maintain consistency in your approach, that means at least four rides per week. A lot also depends on the volume AND intensity of your sessions. 30 minutes sessions I think are just too short to be of any value.

Consistency however is the most important foundation stone to any training regime.


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## NorthernSky (29 Oct 2013)

i enjoy my short rides, it's the way i've always done things, and i find when i come to do longer ones i can but like you say it becomes a bore after 40miles i think
they say anything over an hr of pretty high level activity the gain in health are very minimal anyway (read this is cyclist recently) so i'd be happy with your shorter runs, especially over the winter when there is less daylight (and motivation to some degree )


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## Crackle (29 Oct 2013)

Is 2 hours a short ride then? Oh bugger........


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## Dusty Bin (29 Oct 2013)

Like Vamp says. you will not improve on 1 ride per week. You can do a lot in 30mins or less on a turbo, like a tabata session, for instance. Knock out two or three of them per week and you will see your fitness improve in no time...


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## ColinJ (29 Oct 2013)

I know lots of people who stay very fit just by commuting on their bikes 2 x 15-60 minutes, 5 days a week, with perhaps the occasional longer weekend ride.

I on the other hand, did completely the opposite - no riding at all for sometimes 2 weeks at a time, then I would go out and thrash myself over the local hills for 6-8 hours. Not big, not clever, and look how I ended up ...


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## VamP (29 Oct 2013)

Dusty Bin said:


> Like Vamp says. you will not improve on 1 ride per week. You can do a lot in 30mins or less on a turbo, like a tabata session, for instance. Knock out two or three of them per week and you will see your fitness improve in no time...


 

I do extra long warm ups for Tabatas  I'd be warmed up in 30 minutes.


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## Moodyman (30 Oct 2013)

Use your bike as a means of getting around - commuting, light shopping and running errands. It's the best way to maintain a good consistent fitness level.

I seldom do long rides, but when I do I can comfortably do 70 milers. Heck, I even did a century with no specific training - only commuting miles.


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## Kies (30 Oct 2013)

Moodyman said:


> Use your bike as a means of getting around - commuting, light shopping and running errands. It's the best way to maintain a good consistent fitness level.
> 
> I seldom do long rides, but when I do I can comfortably do 70 milers. Heck, I even did a century with no specific training - only commuting miles.



Yes i agree with this. In the summer i built the cycling into my weekly travels. As the weather has closed in, less so and my fitness has dropped off slightly :-(
Hence the plan to buy a folding bike and do some inter modal commuting


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## Blue Hills (30 Oct 2013)

A lot of sense in lots of more moderate length rides I think.

And after the blow-out big rides there is of course a terrible tendency to blow-out on reward food and beer/wine - thinking you've earned it. Even if you had, you've then blown it


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## Nigelnaturist (30 Oct 2013)

I just ride when I can (avg 2 out of 3 days) sometime nipping to the docs a mile, or anything from a quick 10-12 mile blast ( I sometimes do this after having done 30-40 miles earlier in the day), I struggle mentally being out longer than 2-3 hrs, but so long as I can ge to somewhere safe for a while ( group therapy, photo group, home or my mates), I can then carry one for another few hours.


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## Crankarm (1 Nov 2013)

60 miles a day 5-6 days a week should see your fitness improve.


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## VamP (4 Nov 2013)

Crankarm said:


> 60 miles a day 5-6 days a week should see your fitness improve.


 

Sure, 20+ hour weeks are essential to improve. I do wonder if you ever think about the things you say.


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## Nigelnaturist (4 Nov 2013)

VamP said:


> Sure, 20+ hour weeks are essential to improve. I do wonder if you ever think about the things you say.


I hardly ever do 20hrs a week. Three times this year.


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## VamP (4 Nov 2013)

Nigelnaturist said:


> I hardly ever do 20hrs a week. Three times this year.


 
Exactly. Hardly anyone has 20 hours a week available, even if they could use them effectively and still get the required recovery time in. I have averaged around 10 hours this year, and that was adequate to move my FTP from 260 to 300. Others have done even better on less time.


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## Archie_tect (4 Nov 2013)

Noodley said:


> I deffo feel more benefit/enjoy shorter rides, but for me I would class 2 or 3 hours as being short. That's not to say I don't go out for shorter rides than 2 or 3 hours but anything upto 3 hours is deffo short.


That depends on how much time you have available.


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## Crankarm (4 Nov 2013)

VamP said:


> Sure, 20+ hour weeks are essential to improve. I do wonder if you ever think about the things you say.



Wot are you on about ?


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## ColinJ (4 Nov 2013)

Crankarm said:


> Wot are you on about ?


Wot they are on about is that 60 miles a day, 5-6 days a week, would take 20+ hours a week, unless you can average more than 15-18 mph!


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## Crankarm (4 Nov 2013)

ColinJ said:


> Wot they are on about is that 60 miles a day, 5-6 days a week, would take 20+ hours a week, unless you can average more than 15-18 mph!



Takes me about 1'30" to 1'40" to ride the distance to and from work if on my commuting bike. If on my road bike generally 1'15" to 1'20". Quickest I have done it was 1'12" back in the summer. I did have a bit of a following westerly wind for the second half of the ride. Worst was 2'20" cycling into a vicious cold NW gale all the way home. Not fun.


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## DooDah (7 Nov 2013)

VamP said:


> Depends what your objectives are. Doesn't it always?
> 
> But if you are cycling once a week then you are continually detraining, regardless of how long your one ride is. To make progress, you need to maintain consistency in your approach, that means at least four rides per week. A lot also depends on the volume AND intensity of your sessions. 30 minutes sessions I think are just too short to be of any value.
> 
> Consistency however is the most important foundation stone to any training regime.


This is where I am going wrong. The trouble is with a young daughter and work commitments, it is impossible for me to be on the bike apart from a ride at the weekend. I guess I will just have to suffer that for the time being.


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## Hip Priest (7 Nov 2013)

I think VamP is right. To get the best results, do both. I'm at my fittest in the summer, when I commute 10 miles a day, do a 20-25 mile flat-out ride once or twice in the evenings, then a steady 100k on the weekend. I need to start getting on the turbo in the evenings 'cause my fitness is dwindling.


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