Do fewer long workouts improve resilience to endurance exercise compared with more frequent short workouts?
Official title: Influence of Training Session Duration on Improvements in Physiological Resilience to Exercise
Run by Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Saint Etienne · NCT07504003 · Data updated 2026-11-12
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
| Study type | Interventional |
|---|---|
| Ages | 18 Years to 45 Years |
| Sex | All |
| Enrollment | 40 (estimated) |
| Sponsor | Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Saint Etienne Academic / other |
| Locations | 1 site (Saint-Etienne) |
| Status | Recruiting |
| Started | April 8, 2026 |
| Main results expected | November 15, 2028 |
| Study ends | February 28, 2029 |
| Registry record updated | April 14, 2026 |
| Trial ID | NCT07504003 on ClinicalTrials.gov |
Is this trial a fit for you?
✓Likely a 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.
✕Probably 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.
A plain-English reading of the study's rules. Only the study team can confirm whether you qualify.
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.
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 gone: 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.
Who can join: the full rules
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 it's running
-
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
Similar studies
Other studies for the same condition or treatment. Recruiting studies are listed first.
-
Dose effects of CitraPeak (glucosyl‑hesperidin) on exercise, blood flow, stress, and thinking
This test tries daily CitraPeak (glucosyl‑hesperidin) at two doses to see if it helps healthy, recreationally active adults (18–50) improve exercise performance, recovery, blood flow, mood, and cognition.
-
Single Port Robotic System for Pediatric Surgery
This study tests whether the Single Port robotic system can be safely used to perform certain pediatric abdominal surgeries (like pyeloplasty and reflux procedures) in children aged 1 to 17.
-
Sensory neuronopathy: finding the best disease scales for tracking progression
This study tests which clinical scales best measure disease severity and progression in adults with sensory neuronopathy.
-
Multimodal approach to reduce urinary incontinence in young female athletes
A multimodal program combining pelvic health education and core stability training is tested to see if it reduces urinary incontinence in young nulliparous female athletes.
-
Remediation of memory impairments using motor encoding and dynamic imagery in Alzheimer’s disease
This trial tests whether combining real action, motor imagery, and dynamic video cues can help memory in people with early Alzheimer’s disease and compares it to a control group without Alzheimer’s.
-
Autologous Serum Eye Drops for Severe Dry Eye: Protein Factors and Response
This study tests whether the protein makeup of a patient’s own serum eye drops explains how well those drops work for severe dry eye.
How to take part
- Review the eligibility criteria above with your treating physician.
- Check the official listing on ClinicalTrials.gov for the latest contact details and recruitment status.
- Contact the study coordinator or principal investigator to ask for pre-screening. Pre-screening is free and never obligates you to enroll.