Some of the most frequent inquiries coaches get center on how much riding is enough or too much for Junior (under 18 years old) cyclists. Juniors and their parents also ask about when and how it’s appropriate to incorporate structured training, hard group rides, and races. CTS Coaches have worked with Junior and U23 cyclists …
As an endurance athlete you likely know someone who struggles with anemia. Although it only affects about 5% of the general population, anemia is more common amongst athletes. By some estimates, more than 50% of female athletes and up to 30% of male athletes may be anemic. Here’s why endurance athletes are more likely to …
Throughout a lifetime as an athlete, I’ve had my share of injuries, surgeries, and comebacks. On December 27, 2021 I had my left hip replaced and started a 3-month return-to-training process that culminated in coaching on the bike at a week-long cycling camp in March 2022. As I’ve shared my journey, many athletes have inquired …
By Reggie Miller, NBA Hall of Fame, Olympian, MTB Racer, CTS Contributing Editor Some of the best advice I received early in my athletic endeavors was to surround myself with people who would always support, challenge, respect and hopefully uplift me through the ups and downs of life, work or athletics. I had my fair …
How many calories do you burn cycling? It’s a question asked by general exercisers and novice cyclists, all the way up to professional bike racers. People ask for different reasons, though. General exercisers may be primarily interested in burning calories for weight loss or to meet daily energy expenditure goals. Some cyclists may ask for …
The invention of the power meter revolutionized cycling training more than 30 years ago. Then it took another 15 years for power meters to be widely available to amateur cyclists. These days, cyclists can train with power on virtually any outdoor or indoor bicycle. Whether you already have a power meter or are curious about …
Ergogenic aids, or performance-enhancing substances, include any substances that enhance performance or recovery. The term encompasses legal substances like caffeine and prohibited substances like anabolic steroids. Interestingly, the research that determined just how ‘sports enhancing’ they could be, was done in controlled laboratory settings rather than real-world scenarios. While controlled settings leave less room for …
Backyard Ultra Events exploded in popularity over the last few years thanks, in part, to their straightforward setup. The objective is to complete successive 4.167-mile loops, each in under one hour, for as long as you can. A little more than 4 miles in an hour sounds easy, and for the first few hours it …
Low intensity rides are a critical component of any cyclist’s training plan, even plans that also feature high-intensity interval workouts. These easier rides go by a number of different names, including ‘aerobic endurance’, ‘Zone 2’, ‘base miles’, and ‘LSD’ or Long Slow Distance. In CTS terminology, we refer to them as EnduranceMiles. Many athletes – …
One of the first goals any athlete mentions to me is to improve lactate threshold (LT), although they might use a proxy for it – Functional Threshold Power (FTP). Those terms are often used interchangeably because power at LT and FTP are typically very close. Both indicate maximal sustainable power. Specifically, that means the effort …