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…
Answer: It’s a process, and every rider will come to a different balance that suits them. Every step in the process can yield more power, greater aerodynamics, and/or higher levels of sustainability. Who Knew There Was So Much to Time Trialing!? Going fast in a time trial is a marriage, if a polygamous one, of…
Answer: Typically two weeks of recovery is recommended, but that timeframe could vary depending on your level of fatigue and motivation. Based on the amount of downtime you take, you can restart a Base or Build plan. Decide How Much Downtime You Need If you’ve just completed a Specialty plan and are focused now on…
Answer: FTP increases and applying different forms of training stress require small planned decreases in TSS to maximize training benefits. Reduce TSS Between Training Phases to Get Faster Within a progressively structured training plan, each new week sees a slight increase in the overall amount of stress (TSS), while each workout sees a similar bump…
Answer: For most athletes, no. Depending on the familiarity and experience with an FTP value, athletes can realistically sustain the power level of FTP in a range from about 40-70 minutes. ** Our default testing format to estimate an athlete’s FTP was changed to the TrainerRoad Ramp Test since this post was published Why Your…
Answer: TrainerRoad training plans are built upon a science-backed training process. This process consists of three consecutive training phases: Base, Build and Specialty. Riders follow this process to reach peak fitness and get faster. What are the phases of a TrainerRoad training plan? The three phases of a TrainerRoad plan are Base, Build and Speciality.…
The infamous fitness plateau is a state no athlete wishes to face. We’re going to make sure you never find yourself there. Throughout this discussion, we will introduce two foundational theories to understand what happens to our bodies when we train. By doing so, we aim to illuminate why certain practices yield results, while others achieve…
Over the last year, we asked six TrainerRoad athletes — some recovering from injuries, some returning from an extended break from cycling and others brand new to the sport — to share their fitness improvements with us. We wanted to know exactly what training plans they followed to achieve their results. Here are six of their stories.…
Every situation is different, but there are a few rules you can abide by to determine whether you should quit your cycling workout or put your head down and suffer through it. How Often Are You Training? If you’re following a low-volume plan… Harden up. You’re training just a few times a week and if you…
Power is the only objective metric you can use to train with. Other metrics — distance, heart rate, RPE — are subjective. This isn’t newfound knowledge. Most cyclists know this, but there are far fewer cyclists who have spent the time to really get it. So why is having more than a baseline understanding of…