Do fewer long workouts improve resilience to endurance exercise compared with more frequent short workouts?
Influence of Training Session Duration on Improvements in Physiological Resilience to Exercise
We will test whether doing fewer long workouts instead of more frequent short workouts helps recreational endurance athletes resist performance decline during prolonged exercise.
Quick facts
| Phase | Not applicable |
|---|---|
| Study type | Interventional |
| Enrollment | 40 (estimated) |
| Ages | 18 Years to 45 Years |
| Sex | All |
| Sponsor | Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Saint Etienne Academic / other |
| Locations | 1 site (Saint-Etienne) |
| Trial ID | NCT07504003 on ClinicalTrials.gov |
What this trial studies
This intervention compares two training schedules — fewer long sessions versus more frequent short sessions — with overall intensity and weekly volume matched. Participants are recreationally active adults who train up to two hours per week and will complete pre- and post-training testing, including prolonged endurance exercise with physiological measures such as cycling power at the first ventilatory threshold (VT1). The primary outcome is change in physiological resilience, defined as resistance to performance and physiological deterioration during prolonged exercise, measured before and after the training period. The trial is conducted at the clinical exercise physiology service of CHU Saint-Étienne and requires participants to understand French and have social security coverage.
Who should consider this trial
Good fit: Ideal participants are French-speaking adults who do endurance exercise up to two hours per week, are medically fit, and can attend the Saint-Étienne clinic.
Not a fit: Patients with heart disease, chronic joint or neurological conditions, pregnant or breastfeeding women, those under guardianship, or people using banned performance substances are excluded and unlikely to benefit.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the findings could give athletes a simple, time-efficient way to reduce performance drop during long endurance events by choosing longer sessions less often.
How similar studies have performed: Previous small studies found no advantage of low- versus high-intensity sessions and some benefit from adding strength training, so the effect of session duration on resilience remains largely untested.
Eligibility criteria
Show full inclusion / exclusion criteria
Inclusion Criteria: * Subjects who engage in rigorous cardiovascular activity (e.g., endurance sports, team sports, combat sports, etc.) for a maximum of two hours per week * Ability to understand, speak, read, and write French * Affiliated with or beneficiaries of a social security system * Having freely given their written consent after being informed of the purpose, procedure, and potential risks involved Exclusion Criteria: * Subjects with chronic joint conditions (e.g., recurrent sprains, patellar or ligament problems). * Subjects with one or more heart conditions, including ischemic, valvular, arrhythmic, hypertensive, congenital, or hypertrophic heart disease. * Participants under guardianship or conservatorship. * Subjects with chronic or central neurological conditions. * Subjects who report having taken products prohibited by the World Anti-Doping Agency. * Pregnant or breastfeeding women. * Subjects who are unable to understand the purpose and conditions of the study and unable to give their consent. * Persons deprived of their liberty by judicial or administrative decision, persons receiving psychiatric care under Articles L. 3212-1 and L. 3213-1 who are not covered by the provisions of Article L. 1121-8, and persons admitted to a health or social care facility for purposes other than research.
Where this trial is running
Saint-Etienne
- Service de physiologie clinique et de l'exercice — Saint-Etienne, France (Recruiting)
Study contacts
- Principal investigator: Léonard FEASSON, PHD — CHU de Saint-Etienne
- Study coordinator: Léonard FEASSON, PHD
- Email: leonard.feasson@chu-st-etienne.fr
- Phone: (0)477120383
How to participate
- Review the eligibility criteria above with your treating physician.
- Visit the official trial page on ClinicalTrials.gov for the most current contact information and recruitment status.
- Contact the listed study coordinator or principal investigator to request pre-screening. Pre-screening is free and never obligates you to enroll.