Didn’t seem to find this kind of thread anywhere but it crossed my mind the other day after utilizing possibly the greatest piece of advice I have gotten from the TR Ask a Cycling Coach podcast. I thought it would be great to have one thread with the single best or most useful tip you have gotten from the podcast as a “one stop shop” If this seems too redundant, please remove this and apologies!
Mine: I don’t remember the episode but they are talking about how to wash bib shorts and someone brought up the technique of lying your bibs on a towel, rolling up the towel and standing on it to dry the bibs. I started doing this and it has been a HUGE lifesaver for thank you TR crew!
I’d have to say it’s to choose a lower volume plan, don’t try to lose weight (especially during build) & trust the process. I’ve been riding bikes in the woods since I was a kid back in the 70’s & am one of the stronger riders in my area -not faster but I can hang on a ride with just about anybody. Well… mostly sometimes. Ok, I’m pretty average but my battered ego doesn’t really buy into that. Enter TR “Start out with a low volume plan if you’re new to structured training”… Bah! They’re not talking to me, I know what I can handle. So I jump into SSB1 mid volume & actually handle it well with an outside ride thrown in most weeks til the weather got bad. Get to the end of that & decide huh… might as well do SSBHV1&2 through the winter. Make it through the first block, no problem -I thrive in sweet spot. But damn I was tired. Looking at the second block I just couldn’t make the decision to commit to 10+ hours on the trainer. Then I used plan builder to plan out the season. I’m in sustained power build medium volume at the end of week 2 & I’m smoked. Vo2 is super tough for me & after nothing but sweet spot in SSBHV1, threshold & a bit over is kicking my ass, too. And I’m trying to lose weight. Another mistake? Yep, tell me not to do something & even at 47, I’m going to try to prove you wrong. I should know better but I’m not the sharpest knife on the tree.
So I said all that to say this: learn from this old fool & listen to @chad@Nate_Pearson@Jonathan@Pete (<not sure if that’s the right Pete, still recovering from a Raymond +7 beat down & can’t see straight) & @ambermalika. They know what the flock they’re talking about. Choose lower volume to start, stick to the plan, properly fuel your workouts & you’re going to get faster. If you’re just starting out, check your ego & trust the process, you won’t regret it.
For me, it’s the importance of recovery. To view recovery as part of training. Never really viewed it that way until I started structured training with TrainerRoad.
Just this past episode @Nate_Pearson really highlighted the importance of looking at long term loading. Its probably the single most common error I have seen over the years, and I have been just as guilty as anyone. I always chuckle when I see the posts here along the lines of “Just started cycling. High volume is no problem, you guys are crazy with this low volume talk!” Yeah, get back to me in a couple months man. Even year over year loading needs thoughtful planning.
The pros are even susceptible to this, Kwiatkowski crashed and burned last summer from overload through the Spring. I did it to myself as well and got dangerously close to over training last Fall.
Age also has to be monitored too, after 40 theres a marked shift in how much intensity one can take and the amount of recovery needed.
That carbs are good, like really good. I used to force myself through certain rides and workouts fasted - not any more. My training is better because of it. The concept of training your gut is important.
I went through a time when I would only hand wash, don’t have the time for that now. I use garment bags and throw my kits in with other clothes or fill up a full load with Lycra. The key thing is to hang dry; I dig the rolled towel/chamois advice. I sometimes use a fan - similar results I’m sure.
This is definitely weird, but I just bring the bibs into the shower with me and wash by hand after my workout. I use some Dr. Bronner’s on them, then hang dry. I just got sick of wasting water running the washing machine every other day for just my kit.
+1. One of biggest training derails I self-inflicted was tyring to be keto-ish and shun carbs. I had achieved 300 W on the 8-minute test after the MV SSB 1&2 (2016 versions) and went into the build. I was flying high and subsequent crash was spectacular. I’m pretty sure my current carb centered training nutrition would have kept me flying.
The other key tip has been hit the plan even if that means low volume and be consistent.
I did exactly this while commuting to work simultaneously and within a week or two I was dreading doing any kind of workout because they felt SO hard. Long story short, even if you are very fit coming in, riding structured training on an indoor trainer is very different than doing lots of hard rides outside.
One from @ambermalika - simple nutritional rule, match the calories you eat before, during, and just after a workout with the calories burned during it.
Probably the podcast segment that’s brought about the biggest change in the way I approach training. Now I hit the oats, peanut butter, and energy drink hard.
My favorite is from @ambermalika too. When she said breakfast + on bike calories should be about what you burn during your ride. Doing SSB HV last winter once I switched to that advice I was feeling so much better.
This is also coming from an ftp setting of 340 so the calories burning 5 days a week from those 2 hour sessions were a lot.
new to a lot of the content, so am ‘flooded’ with bits and pieces of podcasts as I trawl the back-catalog for stuff that sounds applicable…
Got really sucked into the anaemia deep-dive from ep232, a little earlier this evening.
Seems I should be less generous with the basil and oregano in my food.
[I dunno if I’m anaemic, currently; but, past is prologue… blood donation (plasma and platelets, *not* red cells) used to (somehow) leave me with depleted ferritin and low prick-test readings. “Too low to donate”. So I don’t do that now, but if heavy exertion crushes iron to some degree… I need to be careful, I guess. I was already avoiding dairy near beef… no cheese on bolognese ]
Sleep (recovery), eat and train. Those three things, in that order. The TR Podcast has been a game changer for me and the important I place on these. Everything seems so much simpler once you find your balance.
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