4 Workouts to Become More Fatigue Resistant in Cycling

I wrote extensively about how durability or fatigue resistance can be improved and why it’s not the fourth dimension about endurance performance and rather a result of the whole training process. But a common question that pops up in the head of serious cyclists is, “What specific workouts can I do that addresses my resistance to fatigue?”

As a result, here are my top 4 workouts that you want to incorporate consistently, if you want to ride faster for longer. Because after all it’s not FTP that wins races but the ability to go far above it for that final move late in the race toward the finish line.

1. Long Zone 2 Endurance Rides

There’s a mountain of evidence telling us right now that most of the riding we do on a weekly and monthly basis should be easy Zone 2 endurance. In terms of power output this translates to around 50-65% of your FTP. Essentially, your normal forever pace.

While still underappreciated by many cyclists there’s good reason to keep most training at low-intensity below the first lactate threshold. For example, a 2022 study on the relationship between training and durability in pro cyclists across a competitive season has found that pros who complete more of their training at low-intensity and show a more polarized intensity distribution show higher fatigue resistance than pros who do more training between the two thresholds also known as tempo riding. It’s one of those universal truths about high-performance endurance training nowadays.

Research has found that doing the bulk of training at low-intensity is true across endurance sports and performance levels. Be it recreational runners or Ironman triathletes, the athletes showing the biggest part of low-intensity training had faster race times.

Dr. Stephen Seiler divides durability or fatigue resistance in two key principles that low-intensity training sets the base for:

Low-intensity durability
High-intensity repeatability

By doing long rides at the mentioned low-intensity we can improve our ability to, on the one hand, ride more efficiently for longer, and on the other hand, improve our ability to repeat bursts above our FTP in training or racing without a loss in power.

How long the long ride should be depends on your level of fitness so anything between 3-7 hours will constitute a solid long ride for you.

A question that reached me often regarding easy long rides was, “How can I ride at low-intensity on a pretty hilly route?” Obviously when the gradient worsens you may be unable to ride at that low an intensity or you might simply fall off your bike. Adapt your power in this case. You might be able to conquer the hill at 70-75% of your FTP while coasting a lot on the downhill. But your average power will be similar to a steady zone 2 ride. So don’t be too narrow-minded. Instead, adapt your training to the environment you are faced with. The goal is the same: Long slow distance.

Typically long rides depending on your fitness level take 3-7 hours in duration.

2. Long Rides With Pre-Fatiguing HIT Intervals

When we look at the literature regarding our muscle fibers there are certain adaptations that can be achieved with a long ride that are harder to achieve with other types of training.

In other words, muscle fatigue has a similar effect on muscle fiber type recruitment as work intensity does. During a long ride your enduring slow-twitch muscle fibers become fatigued and pass work to less-efficient fast-twitch fibers. Now, through adaptation these fast-twitch fibers become more aerobically efficient and fatigue resistant.

The idea of combining a long ride with HIT intervals is amplifying the effects on muscle fiber type recruitment.

Firstly, you fatigue slow- and fast-twitch fibers with quality HIT intervals at the beginning of the ride. Secondly, you sustainably stress these pre-fatigued fibers with subsequent, extended, endurance riding. Thirdly, by doing the HIT intervals at the beginning of the ride instead of the end you can do them at the highest quality possible which is essential for successful interval training.

So by a simple session like a 4 hour ride with 6×3 minute HIT intervals we can target both quality intervals with a long ride that will help us ride faster for longer.

3. Long Rides With Fresh and Late Stage Threshold Efforts

Doing intervals in a fatigued state is incredibly stressful for the body. If done wrong it can leave you exhausted for more than just a couple of days. So you might be left with losing valuable training time.

However, the simplest principle of sports science is specificity. It involves replicating in training what you expect on race day.

So how can you address this issue? A simple way is just reducing the intensity. Instead of going above your FTP with late stage efforts, stay at your FTP. Depending on your fatigue resistance your fatigued FTP will be lower than your fresh FTP anyways. As a result, fatigued threshold efforts might feel harder than fresh ones. But by practicing hard efforts late in training you can prepare what will await you on that last climb toward the finish. It’s a way to train Seiler’s second principle of durability: High-intensity repeatability.

Again simplicity trumps complexity in terms of workout structure. You warm up, do your first threshold efforts, ride at your zone 2 pace for an extended period, and repeat the threshold efforts at the end of the ride.

A good example is a 4 hour ride with 2×10 minute threshold efforts in the first hour and 2×10 minute threshold efforts in the 4th hour. Simple as that.

4. Strength Training

Ask any researcher which training approach that improves cycling performance enjoys broad scientific agreement and 99 percent of the time they will answer: Strength training.

In fact, research has shown that strength training has helped well-trained cyclists improve their 5 minute all-out power after 185 minutes of zone 2 riding. Every experienced cyclist knows that doing a 5 minute all-out effort fresh and after more than 3 hours of riding is a different breed.

But how can something as far from cycling as moving iron make you a faster rider? Well, effects are likely attributed to postponed activation of type 2 fibers, improved neuromuscular efficiency, and conversion of type 2x fibers into more fatigue resistant type 2a fibers. Remember? Muscle fiber types and long rides.

I completely get you, though, if that sounds to bodybuilding like. So here are all benefits that research has found strength training has for cycling in very cycling specific terms:

Improved exercise economy
Improved anaerobic capacity
Improved lactate threshold or FTP
Improved maximal speed
Improved endurance performance

Regarding the type of strength training you are looking for some heavy weight lifts with standard exercises like barbell squats, deadlifts, or leg press. Some single-leg lifts like one leg squats, lunches, or bulgarian split squats. And some explosive exercises like jumps, sprints, or countermovement squat jumps. Combining heavy strength training with single-leg lifts and explosive exercises will help you address the full neuromuscular spectrum.

In terms of frequency you are looking for more gym time in winter and more efficient training during the season. So during the season one or two gym sessions per week of 30 minutes each is all you need. In fact, research has shown that strength can be maintained during the season with one weekly gym session at reduced volumes. That’s a small effort compared to the huge benefit.

A Word on Frequency

When you don’t have a pro contract and get paid for riding your bike all day long, you will most likely only be able to do one long ride per week. As a result, I suggest you dedicate a block focused on steady long rides, one on pre-fatiguing long rides, and one on long rides with fresh and fatigued efforts.

Base training usually is the best time for pure long rides, while during the race season you want to be as fit as possible for those long, painful road races.

In any case, the mentioned workouts are only as good as your consistency. So if you want to see true gains in your fatigue resistance or durability, there’s no way around doing the work for weeks, months, or years on end.

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