Tailwind Coaching Cycling Podcast

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Here you can find all the back editions of the Tailwind Coaching Cycling Podcast.  Feel free to peruse these archives or head over to iTunes to find and rate the show.  Each rating helps to move the Tailwind Coaching Podcast up through the ratings, improving it's reach.  The more people I can reach, the more people can get these free tips on riding stronger and faster, and having more fun doing it.

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Functional Threshold Power: What Is It and How Do We Train With It?

Functional Threshold Power is better known as FTP.  What is it? What do we do with it?  Why is it so important to my cycling?

Athletes almost always have these questions when they begin training with power.  When an athlete begins their training plans to prepare for next season's goal races, gran fondos and centuries, they need to address this metric.  They're looking for the best and quickest ways to improve their performances, but many seem to be having trouble with the training concepts behind FTP.  Questions have predominated about what it is, why we use it and how we calculate it for a long time.

In this latest edition of the Tailwind Coaching Podcast, I attempt to dispel some of the myths behind FTP: how we test it, why we need to know it and how we use it.

After the jump, look into functional threshold power a little more and learn how you can use it to enhance your training.

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By |December 17th, 2012|Categories: Coaching discussion, Power training and discussion, Tailwind Coaching Podcast|Tags: , , |Comments Off on Functional Threshold Power: What Is It and How Do We Train With It?

Coaching: Don't Fear the Group Ride (Podcast #4)

Group RidesSome recent commentary on being afraid of “not having the fitness” to participate in group rides (along with some comments that I was a little critical of group rides in my last podcast) has inspired this week's podcast.  This week I'll be discussing the skills necessary to succeed in group rides, even if the group happens to be stronger than you.

I'll be discussing some techniques and skills that will help give novice group riders and riders with lesser amounts of fitness a fighting chance of hanging with the group and accomplishing their group ride training goals.

I'll cover the following:

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By |December 2nd, 2012|Categories: Coaching discussion, group riding skills and tips, Tailwind Coaching Podcast|Tags: , , |Comments Off on Coaching: Don't Fear the Group Ride (Podcast #4)

Combining Group Rides With Your Training Plan (Podcast #3)

One of the biggest questions that I've faced in the past few weeks has been in relation to structured training plans.  I've heard the following enough times to realize that it's a huge concern for many cyclists:

What about group rides?  Where do those fit into my training plans?

Well, the short answer is that if you know the group dynamic and what fundamentals your plan is focusing on, you can often integrate group rides successfully.  For a more detailed description, listen to the podcast below.

By |November 25th, 2012|Categories: Coaching discussion, group riding skills and tips, Tailwind Coaching Podcast, Training discussion|Tags: , , |Comments Off on Combining Group Rides With Your Training Plan (Podcast #3)

Planning Your Tour of the Battenkill Training (Podcast #2)

If you're thinking about racing Tour of the Battenkill this coming season, you'll need to think about training soon (and registering soon: November 15th!)  If you want to do more than just finish (or just suffer, as people overwhelmingly chose in a Facebook poll) then you'll need to train a few specific things.

It won't be enough to go out and do 65-mile rides, you'll need to focus on things like core stability, muscular endurance, cadence range, cadence control and VO2 max repeatability.  In this podcast, I discuss why you need those facets of fitness in order to survive this monster.

As always, comments are welcome.

By |November 8th, 2012|Categories: Tailwind Coaching Podcast, Training discussion|Tags: , , , , |Comments Off on Planning Your Tour of the Battenkill Training (Podcast #2)

Thoughts on Lance Armstrong and the Fallout of USADA/UCI (Podcast #1)

Since a written post on the Lance Armstrong fallout would be far too long to actually read, I've pulled together a podcast to discuss some of my personal thoughts on the fallout from the USADA and UCI reports.

As always, comments and questions are welcome.

By |November 1st, 2012|Categories: Cycling news, Pro cycling discussion, Tailwind Coaching Podcast|Tags: , , , |Comments Off on Thoughts on Lance Armstrong and the Fallout of USADA/UCI (Podcast #1)