off-season

Should cyclists train hard during the off-season?

  By Jim Rutberg, CTS Pro Coach, co-author of “The Time-Crunched Cyclist”, “Training Essentials for Ultrarunning”, and “Ride Inside“ Trends in endurance training come and go, and long and easy workouts for building aerobic endurance are back in fashion. We’re talking 2+ hours at Zone 2 or even Zone 1. Long easy rides work wonderfully if you …

ultramarathon gravel race

An Ultramarathon Legend’s First Gravel Cycling Race

Although I have enjoyed a quarter century of long-distance trail and ultrarunning, I actually had my first exposure to endurance sports on a bike. In the early ‘90s my wife Shelly and I spent our summers traveling the country by bicycle. Then, between 1994 and 1996 we traveled the world by bike, covering 19,000 miles …

cycling at night

Cycling at Night: Skills and Tips for Night Rides

With Daylight Savings Time ending this weekend, we’ll be rolling the clocks back an hour and ushering in the months of earlier sunsets. Commuters will spend more time riding home in the dark. For mountain bikers and gravel and road riders, it’s a great opportunity to clip on some lights and enjoy cycling at night! …

strength training

How to Include Strength Training in Your Cycling Training Plan

Topics Covered In This Episode: Benefits of Strength Training Why strength training shouldn’t be just off-season or cross training If you’re going to do strength training, it’s best to do it year round A Simple Process to Follow: 4 Strength Training Levels we use at CTS to identify where to start How to use these …

screaming barfies Raynaud's

The One About “Screaming Barfies” and Other Ailments From Cold Weather Training

Topics Covered In This Episode: The “Screaming Barfies” – yes, it’s a real thing. Raynaud’s Phenomenon Non-temperature related causes of Raynaud’s Phenomenon Primary and Secondary Raynaud’s Phenomenon Increased risks for women Treating and preventing the effects of Raynaud’s Phenomenon and other cold-related injuries HOST Corrine Malcolm has been a CTS Coach for more than 5 …

couch-riders

How Fitness in Your 50s May Predict Your Lifespan

Middle-aged athletes – men and women – are used to facing criticism or skepticism from our sedentary peers. It’s a midlife crisis, vanity, an attempt to recapture our youth, a way of denying that we’re getting older, and the list goes on. What they fail to understand is that we don’t train to hold on …

ambitious goals alex gustin lux cycling

6-Step Plan to Achieve Ambitious Endurance Sports Goals

Accomplishing ambitious goals in endurance sports requires planning. CTS Coaches prepare elite athletes for success at the world’s premier events, as well as first-timers to take on challenging personal goals, and all athletes between these two extremes. The specific workouts and plans vary widely, but the underlying process is rooted in the same fundamentals of …