Originally Posted by
RISKDR1
What is interesting is that the advise varies somewhat for every post which tells me that what is better is very goal specific. In my opinion ( and my cardiologist's) if you are just seeking overall cardiac HEALTH, then favor frequent bouts of moderate to low intensity riding. If you are seeking maximum performance then you need to do more HIT training.
Up to a point. I'd be interested in the evidence base for your cardiologist's opinion, because in general I think the data is scarce. And there's some evidence that short bursts of very intense, maximal effort exercise produce marked improvements in various metabolic markers even in the very elderly.
However, in general, I'd agree that high-volume, low-intensity should form the bulk of any traing program. But it should be supplemented with some high-intensity work. The low-intensity stuff won't maintain a high VO2 max, and when last I looked there was a strong negative correlation between high VO2 max and premature death from heart disease.