5 Tips To Accelerate Your Fitness (Podcast #37)

Here in the northeast spring has officially sprung (despite the recent short stint of cold, rainy weather) and that means everyone is starting to take their training outside. The big question is how do you get that boost to your spring training that makes you nigh on invincible on the Sunday group ride? You may have been putting in countless hours on the trainer and rollers over the winter, but you may still have trouble when the speed ramps up or you find yourself unable to cover those massive group surges. A little adjustment to your training, a little specific work to boost your higher end energy systems, and you'll find yourself pushing the pace at the front of the group instead of dangling off the back.

On this episode of the Tailwind Coaching Podcast, I'll talk about:

The importance of having goals for your outdoor rides
How important it is to build your FTP (Functional Threshold Power)
How to ramp up your Zone 5 fitness
The importance of repeatability
The Fartlek concept
Why your recovery rides may be hurting you more than helping you

As always, if you enjoy what you hear, head over to the Tailwind Coaching Podcast on iTunes and rate it 5 stars. Don't forget to post any questions to the Tailwind Coaching Facebook page, and don't forget to support our sponsors and help to keep this podcast free.

With the racing season quickly approaching, don't get stuck at the back of the pack or shelled on the first climb. Check out my modular training plans in my online store and get started on the path towards killer fitness today. And don't forget to save 10% with the coupon code in this week's podcast.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 45:24 — 62.4MB)

Subscribe: RSS

Tags: Coaching, podcast, power, racing, training|

The High Intensity “Trap” (Part 2, Podcast #36 )

Last time on the Tailwind Coaching Podcast, I talked about the “High Intensity Trap” and how your average Joe Sixpack cyclist can get in trouble with too much high intensity work. I touched on some of the physiological benefits of high intensity training, factors that influence your training and recovery and the basic concepts behind physiological adaptations to training stress. But that's only part of the story: what happens in your body when you overtrain? How does your daily activity, daily stress and mental outlook factor into your daily training stress? And what happens when you find yourself in the position where you're trying to build a lot of fitness in a little bit of time?

On this edition of the Tailwind Coaching Podcast, I'll discuss:

The physiology of overtraining.
The role that cortisol plays in adaptation and recovery.
How outside stress can push you over the overtraining edge.
Ways to combat overtraining situations.
How I plan to avoid the “High Intensity Trap” with only 2 months to go until race season.

If you're enjoying what you hear, head over to the Tailwind Coaching Podcast on iTunes and rate it 5 stars. Don't forget to post any questions to the Tailwind Coaching Facebook page.

With the racing season quickly approaching, don't get stuck at the back of the pack or shelled on the first climb. Check out my modular training plans in my online store and get started on the path towards killer fitness today. And don't forget to save 10% with the coupon code in this week's podcast.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 51:16 — 70.4MB)

Subscribe: RSS

Tags: Coaching, podcast, training|

The High Intensity “Trap” (Part 1, Podcast #32)

With Tour Down Under on television, January winding down and the impending cycling season looming on the very near horizon (Tour of the Battenkill is only about 70 days away) many cyclists will start to feel the time crunch on their training. The walls feel like they are closing in on your fitness and that target date on the calendar gets closer and closer, so you do the only thing you can think of: increase your intensity hoping to kick start your fitness. The question is, are you going to implement that plan properly? How much is too much? What happens when you lean too hard on that high intensity plan?

On this edition of the Tailwind Coaching Podcast, I'll discuss:

What is considered high intensity?
How we get in trouble by relying on high intensity training?
Physiological adaptations of high intensity and low intensity training and where they overlap.
How the body builds and adapts to training and overtraining.
What factors influence your training and recovery.

Next time, we'll figure out how to control the trap that is high intensity training and how to use it to accelerate our fitness instead of destroying it.

If you're enjoying what you hear, head over to the Tailwind Coaching Podcast on iTunes and rate it 5 stars. Don't forget to post any questions to the Tailwind Coaching Facebook page.

And don't forget: Tour of the Battenkill is April 5th and 6th. You can get my new, revised and improved 20 week Battenkill Training Plan in my store, and be well on your way to the podium. And if you've got other goals this season, check out my modular training plans in my online store and get started on the path towards killer fitness today. And don't forget to save 10% with the coupon code in this week's podcast.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 43:48 — 60.2MB)

Subscribe: RSS

Tags: Coaching, podcast, training|

Setting SMART Goals (Podcast #31)

Picture this: It's the dead of winter, there's snow on the ground, freezing rain and wind in the air. You're stuck inside on the trainer, doing intervals and skills. Motivation is hard to come by at this time, and you're a little bit aimless in your training. How do you break out of the slump?

You hunker down with a pen and paper (either virtual or physical) and start setting some goals, that's how.

I talked about planning your season in our last edition of the Tailwind Coaching Podcast, but I only glossed over one of the most important aspects: setting your goals. To be frank, you can't even really plan your season without setting goals to build your season around, so you may have picked a few goals already. But the question I have for you is….are they SMART goals?

In this edition of the Tailwind Coaching Podcast, I'll explain the concept of SMART goal setting, and cover the following:

How many goals are appropriate to set for a season
The SMART paradigm of goal setting and what each letter stands for
The difference between goals and objectives

If you like what you hear, go over to the Tailwind Coaching Podcast on iTunes and rate it 5 stars. Don't forget to post any questions to the Tailwind Coaching Facebook page.
And don't forget: Tour of the Battenkill is April 5th and 6th. You can get my new, revised and improved 20 week Battenkill Training Plan in my store, and be well on your way to the podium. Remember to save 10% with the coupon code Podcast10 in this week's podcast.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (56.2MB)

Subscribe: RSS

Tags: Coaching, Motivation, podcast, training|

Coaching: Music Based Cadence Workout

[dc]W[/dc]inter is really, truly here. Snow, sleet and rain has been battering the North East US for weeks. If you're anything like me, you're probably looking for ways to accelerate your base training inside on the trainer or rollers, because training outside is not even remotely appealing. As a coach I'm always looking for new and innovative ways to make indoor workouts interesting and to motivate athletes towards performing their best while stuck inside. That mentality has spawned some really innovative tools in the marketplace (look at Trainer Road and the Sufferfest) and of course, some really bad ideas as well (the "watch football, go full gas while the play is in action, rest during the huddle/line up" kind of workout….) The main issue with training indoors has always been boredom: it's difficult to ride the trainer for hours on end, and even riding the rollers becomes tedious when all you can do are focus on not falling off and counting pedal strokes (or staring at your Garmin.) Even watching a movie can be tedious, especially when your attention is divided between the screen and your workout numbers. Add to the fact that indoor training can be extremely repetitive and you have a recipe for lack of adherence to a training program and loss of motivation. Variety is the spice of life, after all…

Adding Variety

One of the workouts I've found myself weaseling into my base training is a music based cadence workout. It not only helps to keep motivated while inside, but it helps to keep training somewhat unpredictable, as you're not really sure what you're going to get next (by virtue of the shuffle function, of course.) By doing this on rollers, you'll not only get a solid workout, but you'll be training your body to handle real world changes in pace, tempo, gearing, etc. You'll continue to build balance and refine your pedal stroke while listening to some killer music, and you'll feel worked by the time your workout is over.

The concept behind this workout is pretty simple:

(more…)

Tags: Coaching, Motivation, training|