Most endurance athletes believe that improving performance is largely a question of doing more training. More miles, more hours, more long sessions. On the surface that seems logical. If a certain amount of training makes you fitter, then increasing the volume should make you even fitter. It is a simple equation that has been reinforced for decades within endurance sport.

However, after more than 30 years of coaching and competing, I have come to a different conclusion. The athletes who improve the most over time are rarely the ones who train the most. Instead, they are the ones who can train consistently without breaking down. That ability is what I would describe as durability.

Beth and I chatted about this in a recent podcast. You can listen to the full episode HERE​

The Endurance Culture of “More Is Better”

Endurance sport has always had a culture that celebrates high volume. Long rides, epic runs and so-called hero sessions are often seen as badges of honour. In recent years, this has been amplified by social media and platforms such as Strava, where athletes are constantly exposed to what appears to be everyone else doing more than they are.

This is where a key problem emerges.

What you are often seeing is content without context.

I remember when I first got into triathlon, one of the only books I could find was written by Dave Scott. At the time he was one of the best athletes in the world, an Ironman world champion, and someone whose training I assumed I should follow.

So I tried to copy it.

It did not take long before I got injured.

What I did not understand back then was that Dave Scott was a completely different type of athlete. He had years of training behind him, a huge capacity for volume and the durability to handle it. I had none of those things.

You might see an elite athlete training 20 to 30 hours per week and assume that is what it takes to succeed. What is missing is the years, sometimes decades, of consistent training that allowed that athlete to build up to that level.

Those athletes are not successful because they train 25 hours a week. They can train 25 hours a week because they have built the durability to handle it.

Without that context, it is easy for age group athletes to try and copy the volume without having the foundations in place. That is where problems begin.

What Durability Actually Means

Durability, in this context, is not about toughness in a single session. It is about your ability to absorb training and repeat it consistently. A durable athlete can turn up the next day, and the day after that, without being limited by injury or excessive fatigue.

That does not happen by chance. It is usually the result of having strong foundations in place.

Sleep underpins recovery and decision-making. Nutrition supports both performance and repair. Strength training builds resilience in the muscles and connective tissues. Mobility ensures the body can move efficiently and reduces unnecessary strain. Training load, meanwhile, needs to be increased gradually so the body has time to adapt.

These are not glamorous aspects of training, but they are what allow athletes to keep progressing over time.

The Problem with Hero Sessions

One of the most common mistakes athletes make is overvaluing individual sessions. A long ride with friends or a particularly tough workout can feel productive, and there is nothing wrong with these in isolation.

The problem arises when those sessions come at the expense of subsequent training. If a single session leaves you so fatigued or sore that you are unable to train properly for several days, then its overall contribution is questionable.

A useful question to ask is whether a session makes you more durable or less durable. If it improves your ability to train consistently, then it is likely to be beneficial. If it increases the likelihood that you will miss sessions later in the week, then it may be doing more harm than good.

Why Consistency Always Wins

In my coaching experience, the athletes who achieve the most are often not the most talented or the ones training the highest number of hours. More often, they are consistent and measured in their approach. They train regularly, avoid extremes and rarely allow their training to disrupt the rest of their lives.

This type of athlete may not stand out in any single week, but over months and years they make steady and significant progress. I have worked with athletes who trained fewer than ten hours per week yet achieved impressive results simply because they maintained that level of training consistently.

Over time, the cumulative effect of that consistency outweighs the more erratic approach of athletes who alternate between very high volume and periods of inactivity due to injury or fatigue.

Build the Foundations First

Before increasing your training volume, it is worth taking a step back and assessing whether the basics are in place. Are you getting enough sleep to support recovery? Is your nutrition consistent and appropriate for your training load? Are you strength training regularly and addressing any mobility limitations? Are you increasing your training gradually rather than making large jumps?

If the answer to any of these questions is no, then adding more volume is unlikely to produce the desired results. In many cases, it will increase the risk of injury and burnout.

Playing the Long Game

Endurance sport is ultimately a long-term endeavour. While it is possible to gain fitness from short periods of intensive training, sustained performance comes from the ability to train consistently over months and years. That consistency depends on durability.

Rather than asking how you can train more, a better question is how you can train in a way that allows you to keep showing up.

In the long run, the athlete who remains healthy and consistent will always outperform the one who relies on bursts of high volume followed by enforced breaks.

The mistake I made trying to copy Dave Scott is the same one many athletes are still making today.

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If this idea of building durability resonates, this is exactly how I structure training inside the SWAT Inner Circle.

We focus on helping athletes train consistently, stay injury free and make steady long-term progress rather than chasing volume.

You can find out more here:

Join the SWAT Inner Circle today

Thanks for being part of the tribe — I’m here to help you stay Battle Ready! Simon