Time-Constrained Endurance Training

One of the top barriers of entry for physical activity is a lack of time.

Endurance training provides a unique challenge on this front, as it seems to be a bit more dependent on volume than other modes of training. [1,2]

However, there are two frameworks you can use to fit endurance training into your schedule while still seeing good results.

This article will explain these frameworks and provide examples in regard to how you may implement them.

Framework #1: Identify your time constraint and program around that

The idea here is to identify how much time throughout the week you can devote to endurance training and work backward from there.

How you configure your distribution of intensity will be somewhat dependent on what your actual time constraint is.

And, to be clear, it does not matter how small your time constraint is. Even if it’s just 15 minutes total twice per week- that is not a problem.

Your training intensity distribution is exactly what it sounds like: it is how you distribute your training intensity throughout a training week.

There are a number of different structures through which you might distribute your training intensity throughout the week. The structure that is best for you seems to be dependent on what your current fitness level is [1] or what your goals within endurance are.

Most of the commonly used training intensity distributions can be boiled down to the following bullet points:

• Most of your training time should be easy to moderate

• Some of your training should be hard to very hard

However, the idea here isn’t to choose the most optimal intensity distribution possible.

Instead, it is to choose the intensity distribution that is best for the amount of time you can allocate to endurance training.

For instance, the reason that there is typically an emphasis on “easy” training is because it can allow you to accumulate high volumes of exercise due to the low need for recovery; not because there is something special about that intensity.

In other words: it is the volume that drives the adaptations- not anything special about the intensity.

However, if you do not have the time available in your week to perform high volumes of exercise in the first place, then you are not left with as much reason to emphasize this low intensity training.

Furthermore, depending on how limited your time is, you may be able to make all of your training moderate to high intensity and still be able to recover just fine.

Finally, if time is limited to the point where you don’t need to incorporate low intensity work to recover sufficiently, then opting for moderate or higher intensities will allow you to hit higher volumes anyhow.

To illustrate what this might look like, let’s run through some examples.

Let’s start with the previous example of a 15-minute session twice per week.

You could begin with 5 minutes at an easy intensity and then go into 10 minutes at a moderate-high intensity.

You could do both sessions in this way, or you could do one of them this way and make the other a high intensity interval session (HIIT).

If you have time available in the week for three 20-minute sessions, then I would still opt for a moderate-high intensities across all the sessions.

You could perform two of the sessions at a moderate intensity and one of them as a HIIT session.

Now, let’s say you your week allows for three 30-minute sessions.

In this scenario, I would say let one of the sessions be of an easy intensity, one should be a moderate intensity, and the final should be a high intensity.

As you may guess, if you have time available in the week for more than this, then it may be wise to perform that extra training at a low intensity.

My point with these examples isn’t to tell you exactly what to do.

The right training intensity distribution for you may need to be tweaked depending on your fitness level.

Nevertheless, I hope this provides some help for making the best out of whatever time frame you have available.

Framework #2: Choose a short or moderate distance to train for

The term “endurance training” can refer to a wide variety of different events.

Social media tends to popularize the idea that the longer the better. The increased interest and popularity of 100 mile races, such as the Leadville 100, reflects this.

However, it is misguided to think that to properly pursue endurance that you must chase these ultra-endurance events.

You could choose to train to improve your mile time for one mile, improve your time on a 5k (3.1 miles) run, or improve your time on a 10k (6.2 miles) run.

All of these events can be trained for with just 2-3 sessions per week, depending on your current fitness level.

Furthermore, it’s reasonable to say that the magnitude of health improvement going from no endurance training to training for a 5k is leaps and bounds greater than going from a 5k to a marathon.

Conclusion

All in all, the following points are what I hope you take from this article:

• To engage in endurance training does not need to mean training for hours every day.

• Some endurance training is always better than nothing. The amount you need to make progress is likely less than what you think, especially if you can be patient and trust the process.

• With a little bit of planning, there is a lot of progress you can make with just a little bit of time.