Why Training Smarter (Not Harder) Wins in the Long Run
By Roston Nordell, Mach1 Performance Devo Rider & Intern
“More pain, more gain” is the mindset fueling countless amateur and recreational athletes. But that mentality isn’t just unsustainable—it’s flat-out wrong.
Chasing fatigue isn’t a performance strategy. It’s a fast track to burnout. Real, lasting progress happens when you apply the right kind of stress, at the right time, with just enough recovery to adapt and grow.
Let’s break that down.
More Isn’t Always Better:
The Difference Between Stimulus and Stress
At first, more training = more fitness. But the “harder is better” model only works up to a point. Eventually, you hit a plateau—or worse, start going backward.
Why? Because performance isn’t built through stress alone—it’s built through recovery from the right kind of stimulus.
“Just because a session feels hard doesn’t mean it’s productive.”
A 2020 study on elite endurance athletes found that just two interval sessions per week produced better results than four, despite identical training volume (Støren et al., 2020). Why? The group with fewer intervals had more time to absorb the training.
“The larger, more concentrated exercise stimulus... with longer time between sessions allowed for more effective adaptation.”
The same principle applies across disciplines. Even in strength training, studies show training to failure doesn't outperform submaximal effort when volume is matched.
Play the Long Game: Consistency > Maximalism
Once you drop the “every session must hurt” mindset, you can start training with sustainability in mind.
In fact, that’s exactly how many of the world’s top endurance athletes train.
A recent study on the Norwegian Method—the approach behind many of today’s elite triathletes and runners—showed that their interval sessions were higher in volume, lower in intensity, and more repeatable than traditional HIIT protocols (Rønnestad et al., 2023).
“It’s not ‘epic’ HIIT sessions but effective integration of intensity, duration, and frequency... that drives endurance performance.”
— Dr. Stephen Seiler (2024)
If you’re logging 100+ hard sessions per year, they need to be sustainable—not heroic. Progress comes from repeatable, high-quality efforts—not from crawling off the bike every Tuesday.
Flexibility Is a Performance Tool
Consistency doesn’t mean rigidity. Life happens. Fatigue accumulates. If you wake up wrecked on an interval day, pushing through might not be the smartest move.
The best athletes aren’t the ones who go hard no matter what—they’re the ones who know when to push and when to pivot.
One study found that athletes who adjusted their training based on heart rate variability (HRV) made more progress than those who stuck to a fixed plan, regardless of how they felt (Vesterinen et al., 2016).
This isn’t an excuse to ditch structure. It’s an invitation to listen to your body and train with both data and intuition.
The Bottom Line: Train Smart, Not Just Hard
Hard training has its place. But it’s not the whole picture. Endurance success comes from intentionality, not intensity for intensity’s sake.
What training smart really looks like:
Knowing when to go hard—and when to go home
Understanding that recovery is part of adaptation
Keeping your efforts repeatable, not heroic
Stacking small wins, week after week, year after year
One epic workout won’t make your season—but smart training habits will.
This post was written by Mach1 Performance intern and Devo athlete Roston Nordell, combining the latest research with hands-on coaching insight to help athletes train smarter and sustain progress long term.