Faced with a long-distance race but aren’t sure you have the fitness you need? You may be surprised to learn that you can tackle long-distance races (and rides) with all the fitness you need, and more, by simply training smart. How the Time-Crunched Athlete Gets Faster The problem many athletes face is the limiting belief…
Payoffs occur to those who put the right type of work in at the right time. The reason most cyclists don’t see the dividends they desire comes down to improper season planning at the beginning of their training season. To perfect your training season leading up to an important event, or series of events, ask…
The methods cyclists use to get faster have evolved since the late 1990’s. Twenty years ago, if you were using a power meter you were considered an early adopter. Now, power — whether you’re using a power meter or another source — is the gold standard that modern athletes use to measure their fitness and…
A complete guide to planning your training for the year, power vs. heart rate and indoor training tips and gear we’re loving right now. All of this and more in Episode 134 of the Ask a Cycling Coach Podcast! Topics covered in this episode TrainerRoad CX Nationals Athlete Panel Event We’re hiring three software…
It may seem counterintuitive to revert to base training every year after reaching new heights of performance, but this strategy pays dividends come race season. What is Base Fitness? Base fitness is synonymous with aerobic-base fitness, and this type of fitness is achieved via specific training that spurs particular physiological adaptations. Much like the name…
Every second counts on race day. Don’t let a poorly pinned race number add time to the clock and get in the way of your next win. How Athletes are Pinning Their Race Number Wrong The most common mistakes racers are making when pinning their race numbers is either positioning the number out of view…
Family vacations, work trips, even the oh-so dreaded holiday weekend at the in-laws … believe it or not, you can still hold onto your cycling fitness and even be getting faster. Training During Travel As much as we hope that it doesn’t, a training hiatus due to travel longer than a few days can derail…
Ryan Cooper is the founder of Best Bike Split, Chief Scientist at Training Peaks, and an expert on all things aerodynamics and pacing. We met up with Ryan in Kona to discuss how to achieve perfect pacing, aerodynamic advantages in time trialing, and triathlon tactics. Topics covered in this episode How Ryan Cooper became an…
All Off-Road Specialty training plans are improved to be more specific to your riding and racing goals. What’s New Each Off-Road Specialty plan includes a TSS progression in line with the improved Build training plans. To allow flexibility for varying racing schedules, training stress remains steady from week to week throughout this 8-week block bringing…
Importance of Strength Training for Cyclists The demands of being on the bike for extended durations, coupled with constantly turning over the pedals, brings to light the importance of functional strength for cyclists. Functional strength sounds like a bit of a buzzword, but it has real application in the world of endurance sports. Strength training…