Key topics in this episode:

• Prioritizing training frequency vs. duration vs. intensity
• Key workouts for maintaining fitness while traveling
• Key training zones for preventing loss of aerobic fitness during periods of severely reduced training availability 

ASK A QUESTION FOR A FUTURE PODCAST

Host
Adam Pulford has been a CTS Coach for more than 13 years and holds a B.S. in Exercise Physiology. He's participated in and coached hundreds of athletes for endurance events all around the world.

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, or on your favorite podcast platform

GET FREE TRAINING CONTENT

Join our weekly newsletter

CONNECT WITH CTS

Website: trainright.com
Instagram: @cts_trainright
Twitter: @trainright
Facebook: @CTSAthlete

Key topics in this episode:

• Focus on fitness and power side of the equation first
• Train for increasing Functional Threshold Power (FTP) and increased Time to Exhaustion (TTE)
• Extensive (training to extend efforts) vs. Intensive (training to increase power at an intensity) training
• Example Workouts
  • ClimbingRepeats: 3x8min with 4 minutes spinning between them. ClimbingRepeats are top end of threshold range, bordering on VO2 max intensity, RPE of 9/10.
  • HillAccelerations: 3 x 8min. Efforts start at SteadyState intensity (RPE of 7/10) for 7 minutes and then accelerate to  RPE 10/10 for final minute.
  • SteadyState Intervals: 2 x 20min at 91-105% of FTP. For these longer ones, aim for the lower end of the range (91% of FTP)
• When you focus on fitness and good habits (sleep, recovery, reducing stress), body weight and body composition often take care of themselves.
• If you need proactive weight loss, aim to reduce caloric intake by about 500 calories per day through portion control. 

ASK A QUESTION FOR A FUTURE PODCAST

Host
Adam Pulford has been a CTS Coach for more than 13 years and holds a B.S. in Exercise Physiology. He's participated in and coached hundreds of athletes for endurance events all around the world.

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, or on your favorite podcast platform

GET FREE TRAINING CONTENT

Join our weekly newsletter

CONNECT WITH CTS

Website: trainright.com
Instagram: @cts_trainright
Twitter: @trainright
Facebook: @CTSAthlete

Key topics in this episode:

• Sleep: the master recovery tool
• Why you should pause between training and the rest of your day
• Post-workout nutrition for Time-Crunched Cyclists
• The value of doing fewer recovery-oriented activities

ASK A QUESTION FOR A FUTURE PODCAST

Host
Adam Pulford has been a CTS Coach for more than 13 years and holds a B.S. in Exercise Physiology. He's participated in and coached hundreds of athletes for endurance events all around the world.

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, or on your favorite podcast platform

GET FREE TRAINING CONTENT

Join our weekly newsletter

CONNECT WITH CTS

Website: trainright.com
Instagram: @cts_trainright
Twitter: @trainright
Facebook: @CTSAthlete

Key topics in this episode:

• Best Practices:
  • Standardize your indoor cycling setup/equipment/apps
  • Get more fans for greater airflow
  • Position screens at normal sightline for outdoor riding position
• How to align indoor cycling with your training goals.
• Advantages to indoor cycling that outdoor cycling can't match
• Examining and fixing the difference between indoor and outdoor power outputs.
• How indoor cycling can increase training availability for Time-Crunched Cyclists by 30-50% weekly, monthly, and yearly.
• Using indoor cycling as a low-risk way to improve bike fit.
• How to take your indoor cycling fitness outside.

LINKS

• Ride Inside book by Joe Friel and Jim Rutberg
• Are FTP and Power Training Zones Different for Outdoor and Indoor Cycling?
• ERG Mode for Indoor Cycling: When to use it and when to turn it off
• Top 6 Indoor Cycling Mistakes to Avoid or Fix

ASK A QUESTION FOR A FUTURE PODCAST

Guest
Jim Rutberg has been an athlete, coach, and content creator in the outdoor sports, endurance coaching, and event industries for more than 20 years. He is the Media Director and a coach for CTS and co-author of several training and sports nutrition books, including Training Essentials for Ultrarunning with Jason Koop, Ride Inside with Joe Friel, and The Time-Crunched Cyclist with Chris Carmichael. He writes for trainright.com and his work has appeared in Bicycling, Outside, Men’s Health, Men’s Journal, Velonews, Inside Triathlon, and on numerous websites. A graduate of Wake Forest University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Exercise Physiology, Jim resides in Colorado Springs, Colorado, with his two sons, Oliver and Elliot. He can be reached at [email protected] or @rutty_rides on Instagram.

Host
Adam Pulford has been a CTS Coach for more than 13 years and holds a B.S. in Exercise Physiology. He's participated in and coached hundreds of athletes for endurance events all around the world.

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, or on your favorite podcast platform

GET FREE TRAINING CONTENT

Join our weekly newsletter

CONNECT WITH CTS

Website: trainright.com
Instagram: @cts_trainright
Twitter: @trainright
Facebook: @CTSAthlete

Key topics in this episode:

Question #1: I'm 77 years old and an experienced cyclist. I cannot find out just how much weight I should be moving at my age. Currently at 400 lbs on the [leg] press and 155 pounds on the squat - both multiple reps. How much weight is too much? How frequently?

• Short Answer: Compare you to you, not to others
• Long answers: Use qualitative and quantitative data as your guide
  • Qualitative: Rating of Perceived Exertion.  Hard days: 8-10 reps at RPE of 7-8 on a 10-point scale. Very hard days: 4-6 reps at RPE 9-10. 
  • Quantitative: % of 1 Rep Maximum (1RM). Either test or use chart from NSCA. 
    1. Strength: >85% for reps of 4-6
    2. Power: 80-90% for reps of 1-2, 75-85% for reps of 3-5
    3. Hypertrophy: 67-85% for reps of 6-12
    4. Muscular Endurance: <67% for reps of 12+

Question #2: “I'm using the time-crunched training plans. Should I put strength sessions on interval days or on one of the off days?”

• If you are only able to keep up with TCC cycling plan, then keep hard days hard and easy days easy or rest. Don't add strength training to easy or rest days.
• If all else is going well (you have extra time, sleeping well, nutrition is good, lifestyle stress is under control, etc.), then try swapping a rest day with a strength training day.
• When training volume is low and you have good habits already established, adding in a strength training session to your overall plan can be a healthy thing
• This can add strength and performance to both bike and off the bike life
• Don’t add this in if you are not sleeping well, stressed out, or are already missing other training sessions during the week. 

ASK A QUESTION FOR A FUTURE PODCAST

Links

• National Strength and Conditioning Association 1RM Chart
• The Aging Neuromuscular System and Motor Performance
• Strength Training Resources:
  • NSCA 1RM Chart
  • Article on RPE and RIR

Host
Adam Pulford has been a CTS Coach for more than 13 years and holds a B.S. in Exercise Physiology. He's participated in and coached hundreds of athletes for endurance events all around the world.

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, or on your favorite podcast platform

GET FREE TRAINING CONTENT

Join our weekly newsletter

CONNECT WITH CTS

Website: trainright.com
Instagram: @cts_trainright
Twitter: @trainright
Facebook: @CTSAthlete

Key topics in this episode:

• Why overhyping Zone 2 does Time-Crunched Cyclists a disservice
• Similarities between Time-Crunched Cyclist, Polarized, and 80/20 paradigms
• Zone 3: Is it useful or useless? Should you use it or avoid it?
• Extensive vs. Intensive interval training for Time-Crunched Cyclists
• How to shift training from base/foundation to prep/event-specific work
• Advantages of a "recovery-rich" training schedule
• How to embrace the benefits of time-crunched training

ASK A QUESTION FOR A FUTURE PODCAST

Example Workouts: 

1. Intensive Threshold Training Example:
   • Monday: rest
   • Tues: 4x8min @ Upper Threshold (95-105% of FTP) with 4min RBI; 75min
   • Wed: rest
   • Thurs: 4x6min @ Upper Threshold (95-105% of FTP) with 4min RBI; 75min
   • Saturday: Zwift Group ride or Race, ~1.5hr total. 
   • Sunday: 2hrs @ Zone 2 Endurance 
2. Extensive Threshold Training Example:
   • Monday: rest
   • Tues: 2x20min @ Threshold (91-101% of FTP) with 5-7min RBI; 75min
   • Wednesday: rest
   • Thurs: 3x12min @ Threshold (91-101% of FTP) with 5-6min RBI; 75min 
   • Saturday: Zwift Group ride or Race, ~1.5hr total. 
   • Sunday: 2hrs @ Zone 2 Endurance  (One way to add DENSITY to this program is to rest on Sunday and do Group ride + volume on Saturday for 3-4hrs total that day)

Guest
Jim Rutberg has been an athlete, coach, and content creator in the outdoor sports, endurance coaching, and event industries for more than 20 years. He is the Media Director and a coach for CTS and co-author of several training and sports nutrition books, including Training Essentials for Ultrarunning with Jason Koop, Ride Inside with Joe Friel, and The Time-Crunched Cyclist with Chris Carmichael. He writes for trainright.com and his work has appeared in Bicycling, Outside, Men’s Health, Men’s Journal, Velonews, Inside Triathlon, and on numerous websites. A graduate of Wake Forest University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Exercise Physiology, Jim resides in Colorado Springs, Colorado, with his two sons, Oliver and Elliot. He can be reached at [email protected] or @rutty_rides on Instagram.

Host
Adam Pulford has been a CTS Coach for more than 13 years and holds a B.S. in Exercise Physiology. He's participated in and coached hundreds of athletes for endurance events all around the world.

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, or on your favorite podcast platform

GET FREE TRAINING CONTENT

Join our weekly newsletter

CONNECT WITH CTS

Website: trainright.com
Instagram: @cts_trainright
Twitter: @trainright
Facebook: @CTSAthlete

Key topics in this episode:

Question #1: What training metrics should change for 65+ year old Grand Masters cyclists?

• Should aging athletes calculate training intensities differently?
• How to change training density and work:rest ratios for aging athlete
• How athlete phenotype changes training prescription
• Time-crunched vs. time-rich athletes after retirement
• Maintaining VO2 max for experienced athletes, building VO2 max for novices

Question #2: I need a recovery plan. What do I do?

• Start with sleep
• Separate hard from easy
• Listen to Episode #131 and Episode #3

ASK A QUESTION FOR A FUTURE PODCAST

Links

• Training Zones/Advice for Aging Athlete:
  • Joe Friel: https://joefrieltraining.com/fast-after-60-70-part-8/
  • Joe’s 5-2: https://joefrieltraining.com/fast-after60-70-part-6/
• The Aging Neuromuscular System and Motor Performance:
  • https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27516536/

Host
Adam Pulford has been a CTS Coach for more than 13 years and holds a B.S. in Exercise Physiology. He's participated in and coached hundreds of athletes for endurance events all around the world.

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, or on your favorite podcast platform

GET FREE TRAINING CONTENT

Join our weekly newsletter

CONNECT WITH CTS

Website: trainright.com
Instagram: @cts_trainright
Twitter: @trainright
Facebook: @CTSAthlete

Key topics in this episode:

• How 'training density' - the way we concentrate or spread out rides - affects training stimulus and adaptation.
• Comparisons of Tues/Thurs/Sat vs. Tues/Wed/Thurs vs. Sat/Sun workout patterns.
• Best training pattern for time-crunched criterium and road racers.
• Best training pattern for time-crunched gravel and mtb marathon racers
• Are long rides about building fitness or about experiential learning?
• Should Time-Crunched Cyclists stick to the plan or take advantage of epic days with friends? 

ASK A QUESTION FOR A FUTURE PODCAST

Links

• Influence of Interval Training Frequency on Time-Trial Performance in Elite Endurance Athletes
• Training Density: When to Improve it and When to Leave it Alone:
• Block Periodization vs Traditional Periodization:

Guest
Jim Rutberg has been an athlete, coach, and content creator in the outdoor sports, endurance coaching, and event industries for more than 20 years. He is the Media Director and a coach for CTS and co-author of several training and sports nutrition books, including Training Essentials for Ultrarunning with Jason Koop, Ride Inside with Joe Friel, and The Time-Crunched Cyclist, The Time-Crunched Triathlete, The Ultimate Ride, Chris Carmichael’s Food for Fitness, Chris Carmichael’s Fitness Cookbook, The Carmichael Training Systems Cyclist’s Training Diary, and 5 Essentials for a Winning Life with Chris Carmichael. He writes for trainright.com and his work has appeared in Bicycling, Outside, Men’s Health, Men’s Journal, Velonews, Inside Triathlon, and on numerous websites. A graduate of Wake Forest University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Exercise Physiology, Jim resides in Colorado Springs, Colorado, with his two sons, Oliver and Elliot. He can be reached at [email protected] or @rutty_rides on Instagram.

Host
Adam Pulford has been a CTS Coach for more than 13 years and holds a B.S. in Exercise Physiology. He's participated in and coached hundreds of athletes for endurance events all around the world.

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, or on your favorite podcast platform

GET FREE TRAINING CONTENT

Join our weekly newsletter

CONNECT WITH CTS

Website: trainright.com
Instagram: @cts_trainright
Twitter: @trainright
Facebook: @CTSAthlete

Key topics in this episode:

Question #1: Should Training Stress Score (TSS) be adjusted for extreme environments?

• Does actual training stress change with heat or cold enough to alter TSS?
• After rides on technical or rough courses, examine TSS from HR or Power (hrTSS vs TSS). Go with the higher one because HR may reflect effort while not pedaling.
• LSS (Life Stress Score) - high/medium/low subjective measure. LSS does not increase TSS on stressful work day, but LSS provides context.
• When stress is higher (TSS, hrTSS, or LSS), give grace, add recovery. 

Question #2: During long rides, I consume my first energy drink after 90 minutes, and then I can ride harder than I could at the beginning. Does anyone know why? 

• Effect of sugar and caffeine (i.e. from Red Bull, Monster or sports drink) on energy and focus in short term
• Benefits of consuming calories earlier and more frequently during long rides
• Nutrition recommendations specific to early morning and after-work training sessions.

ASK A QUESTION FOR A FUTURE PODCAST

Links

• Effects of Acute Cold Exposure on Sub-Maximal Exercise:
  • https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/6513768/
  • Aerobic Capacity not effected, but decrease in sub-max performance
• Effects of Cold Exposure in Elite XC Skiiers:
  • https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9562357/
  • Decrease in sub-max time to exhaustion
  • VO2 Max unchanged

Host
Adam Pulford has been a CTS Coach for more than 13 years and holds a B.S. in Exercise Physiology. He's participated in and coached hundreds of athletes for endurance events all around the world.

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, or on your favorite podcast platform

GET FREE TRAINING CONTENT

Join our weekly newsletter

CONNECT WITH CTS

Website: trainright.com
Instagram: @cts_trainright
Twitter: @trainright
Facebook: @CTSAthlete

Key topics in this episode:

Question 1: I'm a cross-country mountain bike racer. How much time should I spend training on the road vs MTB?

• Conditioning vs specificity
• Timing - when to focus more on road vs more on trail
• Examine your limiters, particularly technical skill
• What happens when MTB racers spend too little time on MTB during race season

Question 2 (8:30): When can I add strength training into my base training plan?

• Deciding whether bodyweight activation or heavy strength training is appropriate, based on experience and goals
• If experienced, reintroduce activation for 2-4 weeks before going heavy
• If new, minimum 6-8 weeks activation/movement training before going heavy
• Why base period is a good time for heavy strength training (if appropriate)

ASK A QUESTION FOR A FUTURE PODCAST

Links

• Mechanical Work of XC Mountain Bike Racing
• Podcast: Erin Carson
• Podcast: Sarah Scozzaro

Host
Adam Pulford has been a CTS Coach for more than 13 years and holds a B.S. in Exercise Physiology. He's participated in and coached hundreds of athletes for endurance events all around the world.

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, or on your favorite podcast platform

GET FREE TRAINING CONTENT

Join our weekly newsletter

CONNECT WITH CTS

Website: trainright.com
Instagram: @cts_trainright
Twitter: @trainright
Facebook: @CTSAthlete