Interval training is a cornerstone of endurance training programs. But have you ever wondered if you actually need to do intervals to get faster or perform at your best? I dove into this topic in Episode 245 of “The Time-Crunched Cyclist Podcast”, but if you don’t have 30 minutes to watch the video or …
In recent weeks I’ve heard variations on the questions: “How do I get faster on the bike?” or “Why am I not getting faster at cycling?” When the question comes from more experienced athletes, it’s sometimes: “Why am I not getting faster anymore?” As the spring heats up, events ramp up, and you pile on …
Training Stress Score, or TSS, is commonly used to describe how “hard” a ride was, but that’s only part of the story. Although it is valuable, some important aspects of training are not reflected by TSS. So, as you are scanning through your workout data and planning your upcoming cycling training, here’s a guide …
Once the excitement of registering for a great new gravel race has subsided, the reality sets in that you have committed to a major challenge. Riders should prepare for long hours on the bike because most gravel races are 100-200 miles long, with lower average speeds than road events. Training for a gravel race …
There is an entire generation of cyclists that views VO2 max as a genetically pre-determined performance ceiling. A more modern and nuanced take shows it to be quite responsive to training. With different types of workouts we can increase VO2 max itself, as well as peak power, fractional utilization, and power duration at VO2 max. That’s …
Cyclists and runners and just about everyone else likes to put their feet up after a workout or a hard day at work. A common belief is that elevating your feet above the level of your heart for anywhere from several minutes to an hour or more will “drain lactic acid” from your legs, improve …
There are numerous methods for field testing, involving efforts of varying durations. I developed The CTS Field Test, which consists of two 8-minute, all-out time trials separated by 10 minutes of easy spinning recovery, in 1994 with physiologist Dr. Edmund Burke. At the time we used heart rate, time, and distance (3 miles). Watts were …
Despite the current frenzy around Zone 2 training, coaches and athletes have long known they need to train the full range of intensities to improve performance. Even proponents of large volumes of easy aerobic training incorporate high intensity intervals into their training programs when it’s time for athletes to get ready for racing. We’ve been …
As a female athlete in my 60s who mostly coaches endurance athletes between 50 and 80 years old (with a few above 90!), I am sensitive to the risks and advantages cold weather training poses for athletes my age and older. My goals are always to reduce barriers to exercise, keep athletes safe, and contribute …
Part 4 of Leveraging Blood Lactate Response in Training: Using Blood Lactate Response to Guide Training Progression There are many ways to structure training throughout a season to achieve similar outcomes in terms of fitness and performance. The brilliance of human physiology is that applying stress to any point along the spectrum from easy …