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 …
By Chris Carmichael, Founder and Head Coach of CTS Stage 5 of the 2020 Tour de France was one of the rare instances of a road stage without a breakaway, something we typically don’t see unless the peloton is riding in protest or mourning. Thankfully, it wasn’t for either of those reasons. But that …
By Chris Carmichael, Founder and Head Coach of CTS Ever since the early 2000s, when live Tour de France coverage debuted in the United States, my daily routine for July included listening to or watching the Tour each morning. Sometimes it was just playing in the background, other times I was glued to the …
By Chris Carmichael, Founder and Head Coach of CTS Alcohol has long been engrained in the culture of sports, from champagne on the podium to beer commercials during football games and the ever-present ice-cold beer at the finish line of gran fondos, charity rides and runs, and weekend adventures. But the long term data …
By Chris Carmichael, Founder and Head Coach of CTS Up until the 2020 season, cycling events, bike races, and group rides provided athletes with hard-to-miss feedback about their fitness and performance. When you had good legs, you rode at the front. When you were tired or not fit, you hung on at the back. People …
By Chris Carmichael CEO/Head Coach of CTS The summer of 2020 has been unusual, to say the least. For cyclists, the widespread cancellation of events has led to increased weekly and monthly riding volume, both in terms of time and mileage. This may sound counterintuitive, but in the absence of events, riders are training more …
By Chris Carmichael, Founder and Head Coach of CTS As I was climbing the long road up Pikes Peak for the third time in a month, I thought a lot about quitting. Not me, mind you, but rather quitting in general. Why do some people quit and others persevere? What makes some people unstoppable, and …
By Chris Carmichael, Founder and Head Coach of CTS While cycling plays a central role in our lives, for the general public interest in bicycles comes and goes in waves. Ridership and new bike sales are soaring in 2020 as more people turn to cycling for transportation, recreation, exercise, and commerce in response to the …
by Chris Carmichael CEO/Head Coach of CTS Initially, this article was going to be about all the reasons endurance athletes don’t need protein shakes, but that wouldn’t really be fair or accurate. There are some very good reasons for cyclists, runners, and triathletes to consume protein shakes, but they are also often overused, used for …