Polarised Training for Cyclists with High Intensity Sessions – How to Get Fast

The very traditional school of thought has always advised long hours on the bike with frequent tempo or fast-paced rides. Polarised training, or high-intensity interval training (HIT) has only recently become popular among endurance athletes.

A training mix between very hard & very easy.

Polarised training refers to the idea of a training mix between very hard and very easy. Although there are still debates as to which mode of training is more effective, a recent scientific study by Neal et al. (J Appl Physiol 114: 461–471, 2013) from the University of Stirling in Scotland seems to have finally settled this debate once and for all. This study is the most comprehensive and most well-designed of its kind and may finally be able to accurately answer our question as to which training model gives us the greatest gains.

The study by Neal et al. compared predominantly tempo training (moderate intensity) to high-intensity interval training (HIT) in a randomised cross-over study. This is the best study design to answer the question at hand. All participants in the study were well-trained cyclists and performed