This article is part 1 of 3 in a series focused on maximizing your training. Check out the next article here. Marginal Gains is a popular topic for cyclists these days, and for good reason. Finding fractions of a percent of improvement in every aspect of your life can add up to create impressive results. How you…
Where did the season go? Doesn’t it feel like just yesterday we were building base for those early spring races? Now, as the leaves begin to fall and the hours of daylight shorten, it’s time to reflect upon 2014 and begin setting a plan of action for next year. The first step? Setting goals. Setting challenging yet…
One of the trickiest things about pro-level mountain bike racing is that it doesn’t exactly stick to one location. Events take place week in and week out all across North America and unless you’re one of the lucky few getting flown to them, you’re in for quite a bit of driving. Over the last 6…
Question: Is it truly better to train by ‘power’ vs. heart rate especially with a focus on stage racing and endurance races? What are the benefits and what are the cons if any to training based on power? Answer: Training with power has numerous benefits that can get you faster on the bike for both long distance(4+…
When my to-do list expands beyond the threshold of manageable into the realm of overwhelming, a bike ride can be the perfect way to streamline productivity: by giving my brain the space it needs to reorganize thoughts and enable me to more efficiently and effectively tackle that daunting list. In fact, riding my bicycle is…
Training Interruptions: When Not If Few things derail motivation the way that illness, injury or life’s many non-cycling obligations can. And it always seems to happen when your training is on the upswing, power numbers are going up, relative heart rate numbers are coming down, and the potential for improvement is inspiring to say the least.…
Recovery weeks are typically part of most higher volume training plans every 3rd or 4th week, but since most of our plans thus far are lower volume plans in the 6-9 week range, scheduled recovery is better left up to each athlete. Often enough, when riders are only on their bikes for 3-4 hours/week, full…