Originally Posted by livedarklions

I think you're kidding yourself if you think 10 minutes of any kind of workout is making much of a difference, and that's not the HIIT programs I've seen described as being effective. Whatever, I really don't have enough interest in HIIT to want to find out more or argue about it. I don't want to wear heart monitors and do the kind of scheduling required to make something like that a program. I do, however, love riding someplace and riding bloody fast when and if I feel like it. I get that my preferences and aversions to structure are not yours, that was my point. HIIT is, basically, a shortcut way of getting similar benefits to those of endurance riding. If I'm riding a fairly vigorous 175-225 miles a week (which I am), there's really no good reason to add HIIT to my routines.

Even the article says the best program is the one you can stick with. Here there's a trade-off of time vs. the pleasure of JRA. I'm not losing any health benefits, and I'm not having to do a type of riding I'm sure I wouldn't enjoy. The appeal to me of cycling is it feels like play. HIIT would kill that for me.