He states that he typically sees a 25% increase in VO2 max when athletes train long and slow, with hours more important than intensity, since stroke volume increases linearly with longer easy hours per week.
That the usual VO2 max high intensity training is good to squeeze the last drops out of it, but overall, only a 16% long term increase this way compared to the 25% VO2 max increase by putting in long slow hours long term.
He shows the stats of an outlier who had a 40% VO2 max increase in 3 years by decreasing intensity most of the time, and doing more hours of easy aerobic riding.
Likewise, Steve, you are wealth of esoteric knowledge in the cycling world.
Yep, you have been saying this for a very long time. I remember you saying, heard someone else mention it, that at 10 hours a week you start to take a bigger step forward. At 20 hours, well…
The linear rather than curvilinear relationship between stroke volume and more hours a week of easy rides is impressive. He noted that stroke volume increases with a greater number of muscle contractions, not intensity.
I wonder if the linear relationship would also have the same inclination in older riders.