knee replacement

Knee Replacement Training Plan: One Year Post-Op Report

  By Chris Carmichael, CTS Founder and Chief Endurance Officer One year after a total knee replacement surgery on my right leg, and 21 months after surgery to replace my left hip, I am finally feeling strong and durable as a cyclist again. As I near my 63rd birthday, I know I am one of …

How to Overcome Cyclists’ Top 6 Fears

  By Chris Carmichael, CTS Founder and Chief Endurance Officer There have been times in my life when I’ve envied athletes and coaches in stick-and-ball sports like baseball, football, hockey, and basketball. Even combat sports like boxing and mixed martial arts. There are risks involved in all of them, but they’re also safely ensconced in …

ride faster uphill

Top 10 Ways to Feel Better and Ride Faster Uphill

  By Chris Carmichael, CTS Founder and Chief Endurance Officer Over the years my coaches and I have written countless cycling workouts designed to increase riders’ fitness and power output for riding uphill faster. If you’re reading this blog you have probably done some of them, or something similar. But there’s a difference between being …

masters cyclist dean pierson

Fast, Fit, and Winning at 59: Meet Masters Cyclist Dean Pierson

  By Jim Rutberg, CTS Pro Coach, co-author of “The Time-Crunched Cyclist”, “Training Essentials for Ultrarunning”, and “Ride Inside“ Dean Pierson knows the value of a strong foundation. His company, Culver and Pierson, builds top-quality homes throughout the Delmarva Peninsula (includes Delaware and some of Maryland and Virginia), and Dean applies the same attention to detail to …

summer cycling training errors

Have You Made These Summer Cycling Training Errors?

  Chris Carmichael CTS Founder and Chief Endurance Officer Summertime is fun time! Strong rides in the warm summer sun are your reward for months of training. But it’s not uncommon for athletes to make a series of summertime training mistakes that either cut short their fun or limit their peak performance. To finish the …

stay in your lane, strava

What Strava Got Wrong

  By Chris Carmichael, CTS Founder and Chief Endurance Officer Last weekend, I received an email from Strava with the subject line: “You don’t need to hire a coach.” I’ve been a Strava member from the beginning. I think it’s a great app for tracking activities, creating personal and interpersonal challenges, and connecting with other …

sprint

Cycling Sprint Workouts for Non-Sprinters

  By Jim Rutberg, CTS Pro Coach, co-author of “The Time-Crunched Cyclist”, “Training Essentials for Ultrarunning”, and “Ride Inside“ Amateur and masters cyclists will swear up and down that “I’m not a sprinter” because they don’t have a finishing kick like Jasper Philipsen, Wout van Aert, or Mark Cavendish. But sharp, hard accelerations (aka: sprinting!) are a …

mid-season slump

Here’s How to Revive Your Cycling Season After a Slump

By Maddison Russell, CTS Pro Coach At some point, all athletes lose focus and motivation. By the middle of summer, many athletes have been training consistently for months, and been competing in several goal events. Whether it’s oppressive heat, vacations, or a lack of direction for the second half of the season, athletes can lose …

Tour de France training

Time-Crunched Cyclist Training Lessons from This Year’s Tour France

  By Jim Rutberg, CTS Pro Coach, co-author of “The Time-Crunched Cyclist”, “Training Essentials for Ultrarunning”, and “Ride Inside“ The 2023 Tour de France was one of the most riveting editions in recent memory. Amateur and Time-Crunched Cyclists rightly marvel at the power, resilience, and speed of top pros, but typically find their training and racing exploits …