It depends what your goals are. Also, some people can handle more volume than others, and some people need less volume than others. I am training for a 340 km/3000 m elevation bike ride in June and I am doing 15 hours of cycling per week which is as far as I plan to take it.
This is about 50 % beyond what I would normally be doing, and a couple of times after upping the volume I did get close to backing off because I felt like I was overdoing it, but after pushing through for a week I started recovering again.
The difference in my fitness is almost unbelievable. I can knock out 160+ km rides with no problem when in previous years I would have found them very difficult.
And beyond just results on the bike, I feel much better in myself, even than when I was doing 10 hours per week. I never get out of breath, hills I used to walk up with the dog I now realise I am walking up breathing through my nose the whole time, I handle heat much better, my resting heart rate is in the mid-to-high 40s, I have more energy, etc.
If your goal is to do well at the local 5 km run in the park then lower volume is probably fine, but in my personal experience I still don’t think I’ve hit my limit even at 15 hours per week.
This is about 50 % beyond what I would normally be doing, and a couple of times after upping the volume I did get close to backing off because I felt like I was overdoing it, but after pushing through for a week I started recovering again.
The difference in my fitness is almost unbelievable. I can knock out 160+ km rides with no problem when in previous years I would have found them very difficult.
And beyond just results on the bike, I feel much better in myself, even than when I was doing 10 hours per week. I never get out of breath, hills I used to walk up with the dog I now realise I am walking up breathing through my nose the whole time, I handle heat much better, my resting heart rate is in the mid-to-high 40s, I have more energy, etc.
If your goal is to do well at the local 5 km run in the park then lower volume is probably fine, but in my personal experience I still don’t think I’ve hit my limit even at 15 hours per week.