By Chris Carmichael, Founder and Head Coach of CTS Intermittent fasting (IF) is a popular dietary and lifestyle choice for a lot of people, for a variety of reasons and in pursuit of a range of different goals. It can be effective for accomplishing some goals, and ineffective or detrimental in other areas, meaning …
By Jason Koop, Head Coach of CTS Ultrarunning Over the weekend I had the chance to crew and observe the Bear 100 in Logan, Utah. It’s a classic, low key old school 100-race. Being one of the few 100-mile races on the calendar in 2020, a lot of eyes in the ultrarunning world were tuned …
By Chris Carmichael, Founder and Head Coach of CTS Sometimes it takes an actual finish line to remind you what “going hard” really means. I’ve been riding a lot this year, partly due to the “stay at home” orders earlier this season, and more recently due to renewed interest in cycling camps. I even …
“If I don’t get up I’m dead.” That was my thought as I lay on my back, one dog biting into my calf and another circling around toward the back of my head. I had to get up. I had to fight. Fortunately, when the two 140-pound dogs attacked me, my mountain bike fell on …
By Jason Koop, Head Coach of CTS Ultrarunning I’m bullish on the future of ultrarunning. During a time where many ultrarunners are loathing a fall and winter devoid of racing, suffering from flailing motivation and a peering into the prospect that 2021 will be more of the same, I’m optimistic. If trail and ultrarunning were …
By Chris Carmichael, Founder and Head Coach of CTS From a coaching perspective the fall is perhaps the most important time of year. Sure, we can help athletes make big improvements in performance during the spring and summer, but the fall is where you can continue making progress, maintain what you have, or lose almost …
By Jason Koop, Head Coach of CTS Ultrarunning For many years I have retained a copy of Mosby’s Manual of Diagnostic and Laboratory Tests that I fully admit was ‘permanently borrowed’ from an old coaching colleague of me. It’s a medical reference manual that is far above my educational pedigree. It’ll as dull as …
By Chris Carmichael, Founder and Head Coach of CTS Interest in fitness, health, and performance is greater than ever, and people want information and instruction they can trust. I have dedicated my life’s work to helping people achieve their goals and reach their full potential, and one of the biggest lessons I have learned is …
By Chris Carmichael, Founder and Head Coach of CTS When the bombs started falling, the 7-Eleven Pro Cycling Team was on the Spanish island of Mallorca, getting ready to start the Vuelta a España. On April 15, 1986, on the other side of the Mediterranean, United States forces launched an air strike against Libya …
What goes up must come down. In the case of ultrarunning, coming down can be the more painful of the two. Running downhill leads to a lot of muscular damage (more on that later) and wrecked legs. As a result, some coaches spend a lot of time specifically focused on preparing an athlete’s legs for …