For everything that happens in life, our responses are heavily influenced by principles we establish based on our values and experiences. When it comes to improving performance and outcomes in sport or life, I recommend abiding by these seven principles. Find your inspiration Inspired athletes always perform better. Whether you’re extremely fit or just starting …
We received a question about short or long rides and thought we’d answer it for everyone. Here’s the question: “Would it be preferable to ride 6 hours in one day with a day off following, or 2 days back to back for 3 hours? Obviously a person can ride harder each day for 3 hours …
By Chris Carmichael, Founder and Chief Endurance Officer As we start September, the bulk of the summer is in the rearview mirror. And while there are athletes who have big events coming up in the next several weeks, many of you are wrapping up your summer season. You have trained long and hard to …
Cycling skills are essential for speed, safety, and fun. Whether you ride solo, pedal with friends at the local group ride, or participate in cycling events and races, it’s important to practice and continually improve your cycling skills. This guide covers basic and advanced techniques for drafting, pace lines, riding in a group, cornering, descending, …
People have strong feelings about carbohydrate, despite the fact it is neither good nor bad. The positive and negative effects of carbohydrate on health, performance, and recovery come from when, why, and how much people consume. For endurance athletes, carbs are an essential fuel for performance and recovery. To understand this critical component of sports …
Whether you’re riding for one hour on the road or 12 hours in the woods, it is important to know what to take on endurance rides and epic cycling adventures. There are a small number of essentials you should carry on every ride. And, of course, there are the foods and fluids to take for …
Nearly every profession, sports, or area of study has its own language, and subsequently its own acronyms and abbreviations. Cycling training terms can sound like gibberish to non-cyclists, and can be confusing to long-time riders, too. Here’s a reference guide to some of the most common terms and abbreviations used in cycling training. And because …
Normalized Power® (NP) is a valuable training metric used to account for the variability of power output during different types of rides and races. It is also used in calculations for other common training metrics, including Training Stress Score, Intensity Factor, and Variability Index. Here’s a closer look at NP to understand its importance, how …
A powerful sprint is an important weapon in any cyclist’s arsenal. For competitors, strong accelerations can be the key to winning a race, establishing the breakaway, or closing a gap. Non-competitive cyclists frequently undervalue sprinting, which is a mistake. Sprint workouts increase explosive power, muscle fiber recruitment, and anaerobic capacity. Short sprints can also stimulate …
Challenging multi-day cycling events are one of the fast-growing categories of cycling for amateurs. Some are competitive; others are not, but most feature big mileage, lots of climbing, and incredible camaraderie. If you’re planning on riding one of these challenging multi-day events, here’s an essential guide to training, managing your efforts during the event, and …