Throughout the Time-Crunched Cyclist books, I have argued against traditional base training because it is incompatible with the busy lifestyles of so many athletes. Traditional low-intensity base training works, but very few full-time working parents can increase training time to 12-20 hours/week for 2-3 months. A well-structured program of short, high-intensity intervals works, too, …
By Jason Koop CTS Coaching Director Author, “Training Essentials for Ultrarunning” Coaching encompasses both art and science. The science describes known facts about human anatomy, physiology, and the way humans respond and adapt to stress. Over time, coaches have developed broad standardized practices – intervals, communication, periodization, energy system development, etc. – we know …
It’s remarkable how quickly 12 months fly by, but here we are at the end of 2017. I am a firm believer in the benefits of self-reflection, and the end of the year provides a great place to pause and look back on your accomplishments from the past year, the moments that were fulfilling, the …
By Syd Schulz, CTS Athlete One of the most important skills I’ve learned as a professional mountain biker is how to learn. Why? Because I used to be bad at it, and now I’m not. In order to grow as an athlete, progress in a career, or build a successful relationship, learning to learn is …
By Jason Koop CTS Coaching Director Author, “Training Essentials for Ultrarunning” As the year draws to a close the ultrarunning coaches and I have been reviewing our year, just as we do with our athletes and we hope you’re doing for yourself. This year has been all about growth, not necessarily in terms of …
The best way to get a great start for 2019 is to set goals that inspire you (and scare you a bit). To help you do that, here are some of the steps I take athletes through when working with them on their goals. Name a Dream Goal you’re passionate about Dream goals define the …
I want to finish 2017 on a high note, and to do that I need some extra motivation. So I’m issuing a challenge for myself and for you: Complete 15 hours of training from Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. Challenge Rules We’re going to keep this really simple: there are no rules. Any …
If you were to walk into our headquarters here in Colorado Springs over the last couple months you’d likely run into one of our coaches walking around with a sleek pair of headphones before heading out for their workout. While they might be listening to music to get pumped up for their intervals, that’s …
For the family and friends of endurance athletes, finding a great gift for a cyclist, runner, or triathlete can be a big challenge. It’s not that great gifts are hard to find, it can just be difficult to know what the endurance athlete in your life really wants. So, instead of giving or getting …
Whenever you suggest weight training to a cyclist, runner, or triathlete, one of the athlete’s first concerns is whether putting on additional muscle mass will hurt their sport-specific performance. Will more muscle make you slower by increasing you total bodyweight, or make you faster by increasing your strength and resilience? There are a few ways …