Endurance vs intervals
Endurance vs intervals
From long steady miles to short, sharp, intense efforts, there’s a time and a place for every type of training but when to apply each also depends on what level of fitness you’re starting with and your end goals. If you’re more geared towards a 2014 season packed with sportives then, for the most part, your winter may include a larger emphasis on endurance. If you’re more interested in criterium racing or time-trials, it’ll be important to simulate and adapt to such efforts.
In its simplest terms, endurance riding is most used to improve stamina and efficiency whilst interval training is used to increase speed and the threshold that you can comfortably work at. So if you want to go faster why not just do intervals? While that may seem logical, to get the most from intervals it’s important to first of all build a solid endurance base so that you can really get the benefit. Think of your body as an engine. With little endurance, intervals will be the equivalent of bolting a turbo onto a 1 litre engine, whereas with a good endurance base you’ll be starting with a 2 or 3 litre engine before you head to the tuning shop.