Behold, the Streakers. In virtually any athlete community, you can find someone who has ridden, run, climbed, swam, hiked, or something every day for the past 30 days, 6 months, or even multiple years. In an era when the value of recovery is more understood and accepted than ever, training streaks make little to no …
By Maddison Russell, CTS Senior Coach With the New Year rapidly approaching, many cyclists are wrapping up the Transition Period or “off-season” and getting ready to ramp up training in January. If you haven’t done so already, it is important to start the year with defined goals and an annual training plan to achieve …
By Reggie Miller, NBA Hall of Fame, Olympian, MTB Racer, CTS Contributing Editor For my last article of the year, I reached out to 4 highly respected cyclists I admire to ask them 5 unique questions. It’s always interesting to know how champions find their inner drive. What motivates them to continually push the envelope …
Indoor cycling has long been characterized by high-intensity interval workouts, because they are a good way to create a bigger training stimulus in a shorter period of time, they keep athletes engaged and focused, and they’re often safer and more convenient to complete on a trainer. CTS championed such workouts; they factor heavily into the …
We have yet to meet a cyclist who doesn’t want to go uphill faster, but not all hills are created equal. Rolling hills aren’t very long but they often come one right after the other and can add up to a surprising amount of elevation gain. Sustained climbs take patience and power, and the key …
By Jim Rutberg, CTS Pro Coach, co-author of “The Time-Crunched Cyclist”, “Training Essentials for Ultrarunning”, and “Ride Inside“ Trends in endurance training come and go, and long and easy workouts for building aerobic endurance are back in fashion. We’re talking 2+ hours at Zone 2 or even Zone 1. Long easy rides work wonderfully if you …
If indoor cycling is going to be a substantial component of your training time – either for a season or year round – it’s best to create a dedicated space where you can leave the trainer and associated equipment set up between rides. Needing to drag the trainer, fans, bike, etc. out and set them …
If you want to go long, burn fat. If you want to go fast, burn carbohydrate. Athletic performance is not that simple, of course, because you burn both – and a little protein – at all times, during all activities, and at any intensity level. However, the basic premise still stands: you rely more heavily …
by Chris Carmichael, CTS Founder and Chief Endurance Officer Whether you’re a road cyclist, mountain biker, or triathlete, if you spend time on two wheels you will inevitably crash. Experience helps make bicycle crashes less frequent, but even the most experienced riders sometimes fall. I was reminded of this recently when longtime CTS Coach …
For performance-oriented cyclists, five-minute power is an important metric because staying with the group – or leaving them behind – often depends on these shorter efforts. Improving your 5-minute requires strenuous training, but the rewards are absolutely worth the work. Here’s what you need to know about training for 5-minute power. Components of 5-minute power …