Fitness testing is an essential part of improving as a cyclist as it allows you to quantify where you are, set training zones for your workouts (either through heart rate or power), and track your progress over time. If you are new to riding with power, where do you begin? Power testing to determine...
With the advent of accurate, reliable smart trainers like the KICKR and SNAP, more athletes are taking advantage of the benefits of training with power. With that comes a greater focus on metrics like Functional Threshold Power (FTP). For the uninitiated, FTP is typically defined as the highest power output you can maintain for...
In order to reach your goals, you need to have a plan. This plan will be the blueprint that will lead you to your end success. The question is, where do you begin? In order to know how to get where you are going, you need to know where you are starting from. This...
There was a point when riding the trainer was viewed for times only when the weather was too treacherous to ride outside, or for rehabilitation from an injury. Wintertime was the only season when cyclists could muster up the mental strength to subject themselves to riding in a fixed position for a few hours...
Indoor cycling is exploding in popularity and is projected to keep growing for the next ten years! Ride-simulating software like Wahoo X makes riding indoors as fun as playing video games. Many other people are also getting into indoor cycling for its cardiovascular, low-impact health benefits. Whatever your reason, if you’re starting indoor cycling...
Bike trainers have evolved over the years… Ask any long-time rider to recall their first indoor training experience and it probably sounds like a B-grade horror movie; you’d hop on your stationary torture machine and grind away in agony in an aptly-named “pain room.” On your indoor trainer, no one can hear you scream… But thanks...
Indoor cycling is any type of indoor exercise that focuses on rotating pedals in circles. It can involve very different looking equipment including under-desk pedal systems, rolling cylinders, exercise bikes, or indoor bike trainers. To get an overview of indoor cycling, let’s take a look at the most popular forms of equipment! For each...
It’s time to remove all distractions. It’s time to upgrade everything. It’s time to build the ultimate pain cave. Making the ultimate indoor cycling pain cave is a three-step process. Upgrade your cycling gear Upgrade your entertainment Upgrade your ambiance The Ultimate Cycling Gear The Core Gear Start by getting the right trainer, the...
The UTMB may be the Superbowl of ultra running. It draws large immense crowds and can be compared to the Boston Marathon for its international acclaim. The UTMB or the Ultra Trail de Mont Blanc takes place every year in August in Chamonix, in the French Alps. Over the last 15 years, this has...
It’s July, and that means one thing: the Tour de France. Millions of viewers will gather around to watch some of the world’s best battle through the flats and hills of France. Watching cycling’s best ride day in and out for 21 stages can incite enthusiasm in even the most novice riders. Some of...
High cadence can be a very subjective matter. While one may say that pedaling at 80 rpm is an extremely high cadence, a track sprinter may say that 240 rpm is a high cadence. Whatever your view of “high cadence” may be; the importance of incorporating high cadence drills into your training repertoire does...
At one point in our lives we have all heard the expression, “how hard does this feel?” Even at the doctor’s office, we are asked to rate our level of pain on a scale of 0-10. Rate of perceived exertion (RPE), has been a term used since the very beginnings of endurance exercise. Way...
We are all different, and these differences are reflected in not only the way we train, but in the way we set our goals. Whether on the roads or in the office, how we approach planning is very dependent upon the way we best operate mentally. Are we organized to a T? Or do...
The 2022 Unbound 200 was another incredible episode of America’s premier long-distance gravel event that came down to a 4-up sprint finish in the men’s race, while the women’s winner soloed most of the final 100 miles to earn victory. The 2021 event was held on the North course with strong winds and high...
Sleep, one of the most important things we can do for our body, and yet still 1 in 3 adults do not get enough of it.1 While most of us are endurance athletes, it typically goes without saying that we care about our bodies, we care about our performance, and we want to feel...
