Originally Posted by
Carbonfiberboy
I've been telling myself for years that it's not training more, it's training smarter that helps most.
Anecdotally my rate of power increase seems to be about the same regardless of whether I ride anaerobic intervals once or twice a week, and mix in tempo rides or not.
OTOH I'm much faster on longer rides with more rides below my aerobic threshold, and those can be harder when I'm fresher from fewer hard rides.
That did wonders for my body composition too, with those miles not making me hungry and knocking off an extra 40 pounds of fat so I can climb like a mountain goat as I did nearly 20 years ago.