Why Your Workouts Feel Too Hard (Not What You Think...) | Ask a Cycling Coach Podcast 563

[Jonathan]

WHY YOUR WORKOUTS FEEL TOO HARD (Not What You Think...) | Ask a Cycling Coach Podcast 563

Great episode with Alex Wild analyzing an athlete’s training calendar that feels plateaued. We cover threshold workouts, surveys, recovery weeks, the most common questions you have prior to signing up for TrainerRoad, and a BIG announcement from Alex!

Live now wherever you get podcasts!

// TOPICS COVERED

(0:00:00) Alex Drops a Big Announcement

(0:08:19) Why Threshold Feels Brutal (Even When Fitness Is Up)

(0:10:21) The Indoor Setup Fix Most People Miss (Match)

(0:11:30) The Hidden Reason You’re Stuck: No Real Cycles

(0:18:18) Stop Guessing: Rate Workouts the Right Way

(0:24:37) The #1 Endurance Mistake: “Easy” Rides Too Hard

(0:36:11) Race Pacing Review Follow Up

(0:49:27) Plans for your event (gravel, Zwift racing, touring, more)

(0:51:22) “My longest workout is 1:30… is that enough for a long race?”

(0:56:23) How many intensity days per week should you do?

(0:56:53) “Which plan should I pick?” (custom plan vs presets)

(0:57:17) “I don’t want to follow a plan” (how to train without feeling boxed in)

(0:58:49) When to add strength training (without wrecking key workouts)

(0:59:33) Cross-training: “I also do another sport” (how the plan accounts for it)

(1:01:58) Vacation, sickness, missed days: “Will it adjust when life happens?”

(1:06:55) Quick edits: swap to a shorter or longer workout on the fly

(1:03:58) “I already know my FTP… do I need AI FTP Detection?”

(1:05:42) Training outside: how to execute workouts outdoors

(1:03:36) “Is this only for serious racers?” (training for fun still works)

(1:07:31) “Is it going to be boring?” (how people actually do it)

(1:09:08) “What makes TrainerRoad different?”

(1:15:14) “Can I talk to someone if I have questions?” (coaches + help)

[Kendogz161]

This one is a good one, also it’s always nice to have Alex Wild on, him and Hannah always bring a good perspective to the table.

[mirlord]

TR video thumbnails have been boringly typical for a while now. While that’s quite sad, it’s a tolerable attribute of modern days. But today’s one in Mr. Beast style just pissed me off, tbh. The discrepancy between quality professional content that I’d expect from TR and a clickbaity AF thumbnail couldn’t be larger.

Pardon if I’m harsh in expressing my opinion, but I say all that in good faith. Please, think about it.

[1jeds]

Not harsh at all….the thumbnails and podcast titles are definitely click-baity, which is counter to the actual substance of the pod.

[Dhaulagiri]

The all caps titles in my podcast feed make me actively start to skip episodes

[Twowkg]

IMO not harsh at all, I understand it’s the way things are on YouTube and the internet etc but I absolutely detest the BS clickbait titles and stupid ai generated faces on everything.

Stopped watching the pod when they started with it a few years ago (to be fair it was very minor then) but looking at the last couple years of thumbnails there is a ton of frankly bad slop.

Makes me have no desire to even bother checking out what might well be good content when the text is stuff like “CARBS KILLING US” “ITS IMPOSSIBLE TO OVERTRAIN?!” and “THIS KILLS FITNESS”

[lokerola]

Yea, the over-the-top thumbnails really need to go. Feels extremely click-baity.

[ingluis29]

Is this what happens when people run out of things to complain about?

[RMS138]

@Dhaulagiri

The all caps titles in my podcast feed make me actively start to skip episodes

Same. Haven’t listened in quite a while.

[kevistraining]

Really good episode - especially the part covering onboarding

Really nice to get to listen to Alex again too.

I get the concerns regarding the branding of the thumbnails - not my cup of tea either - but they are way down on the list of things in my life that I would complain about

[Kendogz161]

I have never really thought about the thumb nails before but always found the emote ones funny.
These crack me up for some reason.

[Brevet2023]

Seriously. friend of the pod Alex Wild announces he’s set a major goal and is giving himself two years to chase a dream and folx are talking about thumbnails?! Congratulations, Alex! Good info in this ‘cast also.

[UWDawgs]

First world problems to the extreme!

[Mikeferguson1980]

On the topic of indoor vs outdoor power and using different bikes (based on a sample size of 1) I had this concern because my RPE is much lower outside and I had a dedicated trainer bike inside. I swapped the trainer bike with my roadie and compared the data (thanks @dcrainmaker) and the data was spot on which made me much more relaxed about power numbers between bikes.

[maletero]

I mean, we’re all here to talk about stuff related to riding expensive bikes, often indoors. first world problems are all we have!

And with that out of the way I’ll add my voice to those complaining about the dumb AI pictures and clickbait titles the podcast has been using for the past couple years. I find them unprofessional and off putting. I may be in the minority, but I’m glad I’m not alone.

[SeanTaylor]

Sometimes the difficulty of longer indoor rides is not the ability of my legs or lungs to complete the work out, rather sore bottom or just boredom on that particular day. How should I score such rides if my legs/lungs are exerting minimal effort (easy ride), but my butt is sore or mentally I’m bored (moderate ride)?

Thanks!

[Pierre]

Nice video, thanks. I learned a lot although I’m already using TR since a few years.

Comment on the question : ‘does TR takes into account your vacation’, I think this could be improved. For example in my program, aiming to be fit for a race mid Feb (a X country skiing race, but I founf out it works well), I have 2 weeks off at Christmas. After these 2 weeks off, TR has put a week of endurance, as if I needed to rest after 2 weeks break… I found it strange, so I moved the next week program to replace the endurance week.

Another question I have : after this Feb Race, I will start a new program for a bike race in July. If I restart a program from scratch, will TR take into account the program I’m doing now ?
Greetings from France, have a nice Christmas break!

[hbm]

I had no idea Alex Wild had a big announcement because the title and thumbnail told me nothing of use.

The clickbait strategy, beyond being annoying, is hiding the real content from people who’d actually care.

“Alex Wild’s Big News + Training Plateau Analysis” would’ve gotten me to click immediately.

“Why Your Workouts Feel Too Hard (Not What You Think…)” told me nothing and looks like every other optimized-for-the-algorithm-but-probably-slop video I scroll past.

[Jolyzara]

@Pierre

I have 2 weeks off at Christmas. After these 2 weeks off, TR has put a week of endurance, as if I needed to rest after 2 weeks break… I found it strange, so I moved the next week program to replace the endurance week.

Are you sure it’s not just your regularly scheduled recovery week? In the past I’ve found it just deletes the weeks you are off and jumps right back where you’d normally be (without the time off). If it does make that adjustment that is definitely positive growth in adapting the training program.

But as for the question, “do you need a week of endurance after 2 weeks off…” I think it depends on your training history (volume) and how consistent you are in that training. If you average 6 days a week and with a decent TSS you may need a lesser transition from the break. But even then some endurance riding and an “easy” workout (i.e. rust buster) to act as a transition back to formal training is something I need before jumping into full training. But that’s me.