Splitting Training Sessions

2 hours level is 2 hours level 2, however you make it up.

its just that

a) it takes some time to get warmed up. you only need do that once on a long ride. whereas many rides requires more warmup time and therefore more ride time overall.

b) to get the endurance benefits of the ride - general resilience and programming the body to use fat as an energy store probably does require the one longer ride.

886014 said:

I guess like many I find indoor training mind-numbingly boring. Say my training schedule called for a 2 hr ride for the day and I was forced inside due to the weather, I was wondering if I could split the 2 hrs into 2x1 hr sessions and still gain the same benefit? If so, is there a minimum amount of time required in each session eg 2x45 mins = 1.5 hrs, 3x30 mins = 1.5 hrs etc? Taken to the extreme, I find it difficult to be believe 30x3 min sessions would be the same as a single 1.5 hr session, but at a more sensible level?

I recommend at least an hour on the trainer when a quality workout is the goal (i.e.: one that induces adaptation vs one meant for recovery), with 90min generally being the maximum amount of time for one session on the trainer. There are other factors to consider as well: where you live changes the relationship between prescribed workouts outdoors and actual indoor time (time spent outside equals about 65-70% of time on the trainer where I live due to all of the hills); your fitness level (a novice will gain benefit from less training time); and your training goals (e.g.: a roadie needs more volume than a crit specialist).