At the beginning of a new phase of training it is important to get a snapshot of an athlete’s current fitness so you can scale training intensities appropriately. Assessing an athlete’s Functional Threshold Power (FTP) is the most utilized method because FTP testing can be accomplished outside a lab setting. All you need is a …
By Chris Carmichael, Founder and Head Coach of CTS In exercise science and coaching there are long and passionate debates about the structure of interval workouts, the intensities that should be used, the duration of efforts and recoveries, and the total amount of work performed during a training session or a block of training. …
By Alison Tetrick, Pro cyclist, Entrepreneur, CTS Contributing Editor Don’t start me on the jokes that 2022 sounds like 2020 “too”. Wait. It does. Ah, I remember when I started 2020, excited about my goals. I dusted off the boots and was ready. Now, here we are. 2022. Ready for something fresh and new? Maybe. …
By Chris Carmichael, Founder and Head Coach of CTS There is no shortage of endurance challenges spanning the week between Christmas and New Year’s. Although the “Festive 500” – 500 kilometers between December 25-31 – remains one of the most popular, you can also find other distance-, duration-, and elevation-based challenges for the coming …
By Scott Mercier, CTS Contributing Editor, US Olympian, Retired pro cyclist Winter was always my favorite season as a kid. Powder days and ski racing were what I craved. It helped having skiing as P.E. class school and a lift just 4 blocks from our house in Telluride. When I discovered the bike, however, my …
By Chris Carmichael, Founder and Head Coach of CTS If you want to get a sense for the quality, durability, and versatility of a bicycle, you need to get feedback from cyclists with a range of body sizes, experience levels, and riding styles. I can tell you I love a certain bike, but that’s the …
By Reggie Miller, NBA Hall of Fame, Olympian, MTB Racer, CTS Contributing Editor If you asked me in January what 2021 would look like, I would have responded, “Not so great.” But as I sit and reflect on this past year, it absolutely was a year of PROGRESS. We were all hit with a terrible pandemic, collectively unsure …
By Chris Carmichael, Founder and Chief Endurance Officer of CTS I have always enjoyed getting to know people and hearing their cycling stories during group rides, and it’s also interesting to listen to the advice riders give to each other in the pace line or at the coffee stop. Most of the time it’s …
By Chris Carmichael, Founder and Head Coach of CTS When you tally up all the workouts and rest days, Time-Crunched Athletes spend more than 95% of their time NOT exercising. Even cyclists on high-volume training plans rarely spend more than 10% of the total hours in a week training. What you do – or don’t …
By Alison Tetrick, Pro cyclist, Entrepreneur, CTS Contributing Editor There is always something to be thankful for – even missed workouts, breakups, and a lower FTP. Trust me, I know. When good things happen to us, being thankful is obvious, but the low moments, the frustrations, and the challenges, those too can be beacons of …