Riding in 5-minute reps with 1-minute rests, trained cyclists held 17 W more at their lactate steady state and lasted 24% longer than in continuous riding
A result that did not repeat for duration in runners
Key Findings
Time to exhaustion at the intermittent lactate steady state was 24% longer than at the continuous one (67.8 ± 14.3 vs 54.7 ± 10.9 minutes), although power was higher (268 ± 29 vs 251 ± 29 W).
Fourteen trained male cyclists; intermittent work was 5 minutes of cycling with 1 minute of passive rest.
Total mechanical work was higher in the intermittent condition.
Practical Application
Splitting threshold work into 5-minute reps with short rests lets a cyclist do more total work at a higher power for the same lactate — the practical case for reps when the aim is volume at threshold.
Do not promise the longer duration to runners: with the same design, runners held a higher speed (15.26 vs 14.53 km/h) but lasted less long intermittently (58 ± 15 vs 68 ± 11 minutes; Dittrich 2014, DOI 10.1123/ijspp.2013-0403, 10 runners).
Limitations
Only the 5:1 format; acute; whether the duration includes the rests is not stated in the abstract (abstract only was read).