By Chris Carmichael CEO/Head Coach of CTS Last summer, TrainingPeaks added a 5-icon rating scale athletes can use to track subjective feedback about every workout. It was a big step forward and it offered athletes and coaches a valuable new tool. After several months, at least anecdotally, the feature has been well adopted by …
By Chris Carmichael CEO/Head Coach of CTS Group rides are an essential social hub for local cycling communities and play an important role in developing riders’ skills, savvy, and speed. CTS Coaches often incorporate group rides into athletes’ training plans – even if they have no plans to compete. The skills and situational awareness gained …
I’m not a “New Year, New You” kind of guy. I absolutely think the New Year is a great opportunity to evaluate what you’re doing well and what needs to be changed, but progress is perpetual. The New Year is a merely a mile marker on a long journey to the best version of …
A few months ago, my friend told me about the difference her “Panda Planner” had made in her life. I snickered. A Panda Planner? It sounds like some sort of Lisa Frank throwback for angsty adults. She told me about how the Panda Planner would ask her each morning to focus on an affirmation for …
Social media isn’t going away. Sure, sometimes it’s tempting to jettison the cell phone out the car window while driving down the interstate. At times we probably all fantasize about a world completely devoid of technology, but for most of us, the positives of social media usually outweigh the negatives. We can stay up-to-date with …
By Mara Abbott Olympian and CTS Contributing Editor By now, I hope many of you are deep into your D40 challenge. If you missed out and haven’t started yet, it really isn’t too late – you could still either commit to a pro-rated version to boost your fitness before the New Year, or extend your own …
December is a terrible month for fitness, but we’re going to change that this year. Athletes miss more workouts in December than any other month. It’s not that surprising, really. There’s a lot going on between Thanksgiving and New Year’s. People are traveling, there are parties, the days are short, and the weather can get …
By Mara Abbott, Olympian, CTS Contributing Editor As a native Coloradan, I love changing seasons. I have my favorite times of year, but I really like the variety and appreciate the every-so-often obligation to shift my habits and priorities along with the turn of the year. In training and in life, I’m generally quite content …
By Julia Priest, CTS Coach Before Gran Fondos and gravel events grew in popularity, male and female cyclists of all abilities had few opportunities to compete together on the road, dirt, or velodrome. Sure, non-competitive century rides and charity events always had mixed fields, but once there was a competitive element to a cycling event …
By Syd Schulz CTS Pro Athlete I recently got back from a three-week trip to Europe for the final two Enduro World Series races. Between my husband and me, we had two giant bike bags, two checked bags and carry-ons. All told, something close to 300 pounds of gear (luckily the airlines forgot to …