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...
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...
We have all been there before, one minute you feel invincible, and the next you’re ready to throw in the towel. When things are going well, it is easy to do the “right” things. What about when the going gets tough? Are you able to separate how you “feel” from how you talk to...
VO2 Max has been a lab measurement discussed for decades in regards to the world’s top-performing athletes. It is synonymous in endurance sports to relate one’s athletic potential to their VO2 Max measurement. Is this metric the end all be all? If you don’t possess the aerobic capacity of Olympic cross country skiers are...
Endurance athletes can be notorious for placing too large a focus on increasing their hours of swimming, biking, and running, in the “more is better” belief. Perhaps they are missing a key element in this way of thinking, which is strength training! For a while, there was push-back from endurance athletes in regard to...
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...
Why is there a difference between the power you can put into the pedals outdoors than the power indoors? The difference between indoor cycling power and outdoor power tends to be more pronounced with shorter, higher-intensity efforts, especially when you’re out of the saddle. The reason why comes down to a few different factors....
You’ve trained hard for your race, putting in the workweek in and week out so you’re in top form. Now comes the big day. Don’t let all of that hard work and preparation go to waste by getting your race day nutrition wrong. Just like you can’t put sawdust in the tank of an...
