Influence of Training Session Duration on Improvements in Physiological Resilience to Exercise (RED)

April 9, 2026 updated by: Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Saint Etienne
During prolonged endurance exercise, certain physiological variables deteriorate depending on the duration of the exercise. Physiological resilience has therefore been defined as the ability to resist these changes and appears to be an important performance factor in endurance sports. For example, most studies in this field have investigated changes in cycling power output associated with the first ventilatory threshold (VT1), a marker of an individual's endurance capacity, after prolonged endurance exercise. To date, only two studies have examined the effects of training on resilience. The first compared the effectiveness of two training programs, one with low-intensity sessions and the other with high-intensity sessions, with no difference between the conditions. The second study showed that incorporating strength training into a running training program was more effective at improving resilience than running alone. However, the influence of training session duration on resilience remains unknown. Only one observational study has shown that in a group of runners of similar ability, those who were used to doing long sessions had better resilience than those who only did short sessions.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

We hypothesize that at equal intensity and volume, a less frequent training consisting of long sessions would be more effective in improving physiological resilience than a more frequent training composed of short sessions.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

40

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Locations

  • France
      • Saint-Etienne, France, 42055

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Subjects who engage in rigorous cardiovascular activity (e.g., endurance sports, team sports, combat sports, etc.) for a maximum of two hours per week
  • Ability to understand, speak, read, and write French
  • Affiliated with or beneficiaries of a social security system
  • Having freely given their written consent after being informed of the purpose, procedure, and potential risks involved

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Subjects with chronic joint conditions (e.g., recurrent sprains, patellar or ligament problems).
  • Subjects with one or more heart conditions, including ischemic, valvular, arrhythmic, hypertensive, congenital, or hypertrophic heart disease.
  • Participants under guardianship or conservatorship.
  • Subjects with chronic or central neurological conditions.
  • Subjects who report having taken products prohibited by the World Anti-Doping Agency.
  • Pregnant or breastfeeding women.
  • Subjects who are unable to understand the purpose and conditions of the study and unable to give their consent.
  • Persons deprived of their liberty by judicial or administrative decision, persons receiving psychiatric care under Articles L. 3212-1 and L. 3213-1 who are not covered by the provisions of Article L. 1121-8, and persons admitted to a health or social care facility for purposes other than research.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Other
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Long sessions group
Group benefiting from long sessions, twice a week
Other: Long sessions
Training frequency of 2 long sessions per week
Active Comparator: Short sessions group
Group benefiting from short sessions, 5 times a week
Other: Short sessions
Training frequency of 5 short sessions per week

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Power (watt) output at ventilatory threshold 1 (VT1)
Time Frame: At inclusion, Day 80.
the power (Watt) output at the VT1 measured by the difference of the power output (% decrease after 4 hours of cycling) between measurements taken before and after a training program. The results will be compared between group benefiting from long sessions and group from short sessions
At inclusion, Day 80.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
a) Degree of change in heart rate (beats per minute),
Time Frame: Day 7, Day 85
Degree of changes in heart rate (beats per minute) during a 4-hour endurance cycling session, as measured by a heart rate monitor. The results will be compared between group benefiting from long sessions and group from short sessions
Day 7, Day 85
Rate of change in oxygen consumption (in L of O₂/min)
Time Frame: Day 7, Day 85
the rate of change in oxygen consumption (in L O₂/min) during a prolonged 4-hour endurance cycling exercise, quantified by measuring gas exchange (calculated using the equations of Jeukendrup and Wallis). The results will be compared between group benefiting from long sessions and group from short sessions
Day 7, Day 85
b) The Power (watt) output at ventilatory threshold 2 (VT2)
Time Frame: At inclusion, Day 80.
the power (Watt) output at the VT2 measured by the difference of the power output (% decrease after 4 hours of cycling) between measurements taken before and after a training program. The results will be compared between group benefiting from long sessions and group from short sessions
At inclusion, Day 80.

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Saint Etienne

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Léonard FEASSON, PHD, CHU de Saint-Etienne

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

April 8, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

November 15, 2028

Study Completion (Estimated)

February 28, 2029

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

March 25, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 25, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

March 31, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

April 14, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 9, 2026

Last Verified

April 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 25CH281
  • ANSM (Other Identifier: 2025-A00293-46)

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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