improve vo2 max

How to Increase VO2 max Power and Duration for Cyclists

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 …

high intensity intervals

Interval Training: Mistakes Cyclist Make with High Intensity Intervals

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 …

blood lactate and training progression

Using Blood Lactate Response to Guide Training Progression

 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 …

zone 3

Zone 3: Why, When, and How Leverage Zone 3 Training

  By Renee Eastman, CTS Premier Coach Part 3 of a series on leveraging blood lactate response in training How did Zone 3, a challenging aerobic intensity below lactate threshold, or between LT1 and LT2, get demoted to being a “grey zone” and considered a waste of training time? Well, there’s good evidence that athlete …

rescheduling peak fitness

Rescheduling Peak Fitness For An Earlier Goal Event

  By Jim Rutberg, CTS Pro Coach, co-author of “The Time-Crunched Cyclist”, “Training Essentials for Ultrarunning” SBT GRVL’s date change from mid-August to June 26-29 was one of the biggest shakeups to the gravel cycling calendar for 2025. Athletes who were planning their long-range training scheduled to peak for a long gravel event in August need to …