At a time of year when the leaves are flying, centuries are calling and fondos are in full swing, many cyclists struggle with holding their hard earned summer fitness in the waning daylight of the fall. In the past couple weeks, I've seen (and received) a number of questions about maintaining form and fitness “for just a few more weeks.” I'm going to let you in on a couple of secrets for your end of season woes.
For those of you who are ending your season soon and haven't thought about the next one, all I can say is:
WHY NOT!?!?!
You should be reviewing the successes and failures of your current season and thinking about your goals and aspirations for next season. If you're contemplating hiring a coach to help you reach those goals, now is the time in the season to start thinking about it. I've been hard at work refining my training plans and building new workouts for my athletes. Of course, one-on-one coaching is extremely focused and for that reason I limit the number of athletes I'm able to coach one-on-one. Check out my coaching services if you're thinking of recruiting a little help to ensure you meet your goals. Hoping to race Battenkill? Want to PR at Gran Fondo NY? Have a crit series on the calendar? I've got the tools to make you leaner, stronger and faster, if you've got the drive and commitment.
As some of you may have seen from my Strava uploads, I've been busy testing a number of different High Intensity Trainer (HIT) workouts recently. These workouts are specifically designed for indoor trainer use (and with the shortening days and the holidays not far off, that's where you'll find most of us very soon) and are designed to build fitness and fundamental skills in very short times. I've made the first few of the available on my Training Plans page, and keep your eyes open for more and more of them. As a bonus (or an incentive, depending upon who you are) I'll be including ALL of my HIT workouts in my one-on-one coaching programs at NO extra charge! That means you'll have access to these killer workouts as part of your customized training plans, giving you even MORE improvement in your speed, strength, skill and endurance.
Keep your eyes on this space for future coaching announcements and new workouts.
[dc]Y[dc]ou've all heard about anaerobic threshold, lactate threshold, threshold, red line, Zone 4, “the burn” and plenty of other terms that relate to the upper limits of your aerobic engine. But what a lot of people don't seem to understand is how to find that magical number, and what to do with it.
In this article, we'll examine the physiology behind anaerobic threshold and then you'll learn how to figure out what it is. I'll also discuss (very briefly) how you can use it to train towards becoming a stronger cyclist.
So without further ado….
[dc]S[/dc]ince my previous post apparently stirred up a bit of controversy, I think it's appropriate to address the following question:
"Why didn't you include triple cranksets in your comparisons?"
Well, the simple explanation is because triples are irrelevant.
"What?"
Yes, they're irrelevant. With the rise of compact gearing and wide range cassettes, triple cranksets have been relegated to the dustbin of cycling history (with the notable exceptions of loaded touring and possible commuters.) But the question remains, why is this the case? Let's find out.
Since most of us are in the build phases of our training plans, anticipating early season racing and getting psyched up for our early season goals, you may be wanting to boost your fitness a little more. If you're finding that you're just a little behind the curve, it may be time to consider adding a little “Sweet Spot Training (SST)” in your routine to prod your body up to the next level. But what is SST? How do you do it? How much is too much? How does it actually make you stronger and faster? I'll explain what it is and how you do it after the jump.
