Power Vs. Duration In Cycling Exercises

If you are trying to improve your cycling endurance and strength, or are aiming for a particular race, you might wonder what type of training is most effective. Endurance training has traditionally been used to promote staying power, keeping you cycling longer. However, recent research points to power intervals and sprint training as other relevant tools for increasing endurance.

Endurance Training

Endurance training rides may be essential to building up enough stamina to participate in races or to push yourself to a new level of performance. According to a study published in July 2006 in the "Journal of Physiology," consistent endurance training provides you with numerous physiological benefits. Regular endurance workouts improve your ability to sustain low to moderate intensity for longer periods of time. You build muscle, increase your cardiovascular capacity and form the ability to perform at a higher level for a shorter time.

Endurance and Glycogen

One of the most desirable effects of endurance training is its ability to alter your muscle glycogen usage, the 2006 "Journal of Physiology" research noted. Glycogen is extra energy your body stores, then burns when you exercise. Even endurance training for only five to seven days will increase your glycogen availability and decrease the rate at which your body will use glycogen. In other words, you will have greater energy stores and use them less quickly, allowing you to work out longer.

High-Intensity Training

High-intensity training involves speed work as well as increased resistance and incline over short periods of time. You want to perform at 80 percent or more of your maximum workout capacity for short intervals. In her book "Ride Your Way Lean," Selene Yeager recommends adding intense interval training to your weekly cycling routine. Interval training can increase your fitness by pushing you past your workout limits, causing your muscles and cardiovascular system to adapt.

High-Intensity Training and Endurance Capacity

Although endurance training will increase your capacity for work, high intensity training can positively affect it as well. A study published in 2005 in the "Journal of Applied Physiology" investigated the effects of six sessions of sprint interval training, performed over two weeks with one to two days of rest in between sessions. The results showed that short sprint interval training increased muscle oxygen use and "doubled endurance capacity during intense aerobic cycling in recreationally active individuals."

Best of Both Worlds

Combining both endurance and power or interval workouts into your cycling routine can be more beneficial than training in one way or the other. When you vary your workouts, you cause your muscles to constantly adapt to new circumstances, which may increase overall performance. According to Ken Wall, fitness director at Odyssey Fitness Center in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, variety "can decrease your risk of overuse injury." Mixing up your workouts may also be more effective in building cardiovascular health and in losing weight.