How Coaching Has Changed I first started coaching high school athletes after graduating from college in 1966. Then in 1980 I started working with adult athletes, mostly in running, road cycling, mountain biking, and triathlon. (I’ve also coached endurance horse racing, rowing, Nordic skiing, and even a firefighter who needed to pass a periodic physical […]
The Running Economy of an Aging Multisport Pro
A Return to Competition I recently received an email from an old friend – Mat Brick, a former multisport pro athlete who is now a sports orthopedic surgeon in New Zealand. In his days as a pro, back in the 1980s and ‘90s, Mat was a two-time World Champion in duathlon. Now he’s making an […]
My 5-2 Training Routine
Learning from History: Emil Zátopek and Roger Bannister’s intervals I recently read Today We Die a Little, a biography of Emil Zátopek by Richard Askwith. Zátopek was arguably the best runner in the post-WWII era and perhaps even the best the world had ever seen. While he led a very interesting life in Czechoslovakia during […]
Dryland Training
Training When Pools Are Closed Throughout the Covid pandemic, pools were closed nationwide and most triathletes were unable to swim for at least some of the time. When pools are closed, I advise triathletes to do some strength-endurance training at home with an elastic stretch cord. Training with an elastic cord must be done with […]
Why Ride Inside?
This blog post is excerpted from Ride Inside: The Essential Guide to Get the Most Out of Indoor Cycling, Smart Trainers, Classes, and Apps by Joe Friel and Jim Rutberg, with permission of VeloPress. When you really stop and think about it, there are a lot of advantages to riding inside, but most of them fall […]
Thoughts on Training During the Pandemic
For the past few months I’ve been talking with cycling and triathlon clubs in the US and UK virtually about training during the pandemic. With what appears to be another surge starting, I’ve tried to help these athletes not only cope but also, hopefully, take advantage of this strange time to prepare for when things […]
Muscle Fiber Type and Training
Muscle Fibers and Overreaching This week Alex Hutchinson shared an article he had written for Outside magazine, which featured a study that examined the effect of athletes’ muscle fiber types on their proclivity to overreaching (heavy fatigue that precedes overtraining and is accompanied by a decline in performance) when training volume was increased. The 24 […]
A Personal History of Indoor Riding
What a weird year it’s been. Who would ever thought just 10 months ago that we’d be doing so much indoor training – and even indoor racing – in 2020. Apps such as Zwift, Trainer Road, Sufferfest, Road Grand Tours, Rouvy, BKool, Fulgaz, and others have changed the way we think about riding indoors. And […]
New Ride Inside Book
Jim Rutberg and I just finished writing a book called Ride Inside. I’m sure that from the title you can guess what it’s about. But just in case, I’ll tell you – it’s about indoor training for cycling. I’m sure it must seem like we wrote this due to the Coronavirus pandemic since so many […]
For Coaches: Do You Coach Just Anyone?
In the first 15 years of my coaching career I fired two clients. It’s not that they were “uncoachable,” as we coaches sometimes classify athletes who don’t seem to respond to our philosophies and methodologies. Those two were likely coachable by someone. But, as I found out for both of them, that was not me. […]
My Pandemic Clinics
Three weeks ago I felt a bit guilty. That was at the height of the lockdown due to the Coronavirus pandemic. While I was living through it along with the rest of the world I was mostly unaffected. In my home state of Arizona there was no restriction on working out outside on your own. […]
Muscular Force Training for Cycling
In The Cyclist’s Training Bible, an entire chapter is devoted to building muscular force—or, strength—which is part of what produces power when turning the pedals. The other part is the velocity of your pedaling—cadence. What this means is that power is the result of force and velocity (p = f * v). The more powerful […]
Muscular Force Training for Triathlon
In The Triathlete’s Training Bible, an entire chapter is devoted to building muscular force, which is part of what produces power when swimming, biking, and running. The other part is the velocity of your movement—cadence (steps per minute and strokes per minute). What this means is that power is the result of force and velocity […]
Suggestions for the Aging Athlete
Who is an “aging athlete”? For simplicity’s sake let’s assume that’s anyone over the age of 50. While I’ve known many half-century athletes who are still successfully competing with 30-somethings, by this stage of life most of us start to see things change a bit. The most obvious is the need for more recovery time […]
Indoor and Outdoor Power Agreement
Here’s one of the reasons I like using Assioma Duo power pedals: They are quick and easy to move between indoor and outdoor bikes with the changing spring weather. Yesterday was nasty. Rode inside. Today is nice. Ride outside. These quickly interchangeable pedals ensure power measurement is the same every time I ride. See vid […]
A Quick Guide to Setting Zones
This Quick Guide will help you get the intensity of your workouts dialed in for your heart rate monitor, power meter, and runner’s speed and distance device (such as a GPS or accelerometer). Swimming pace is also described here. For a more complete guide to training with heart rate, power, and pace, please see my […]
Ride Inside Workouts
When cyclists and triathletes want to or need to ride inside, my new book Ride Inside can help them get more fitness from every indoor cycling workout. All of the following workouts from Ride Inside are designed for riding indoors on a cycling machine or on a bike mounted on an indoor trainer. Note that […]
Who Are You, Coach?
There’s lots of coaching competition out there. It’s only going to increase. You have to stand for something unique as a coach to stand out in the crowd. What sets you apart from other coaches? What do you do that is different? Why is that important? What types of athletes do you coach? Do you […]
Coronavirus Race Delay Problems
I’ve gotten a few emails this week from athletes whose A-priority race was re-scheduled for later in the spring or summer. One of them didn’t even know when the race would be held. All had the same question: What should I do in the meantime? First, I’m sorry to hear this is happening, but there […]
Couzens’ 50-40-30-20-10 Rule
I spoke at a camp in Saudi Arabia a couple of weeks ago and a triathlete asked me what he should do on downhill portions of a bike course. Should he pedal hard, pedal easy, or coast? That was a great question and one that also applies to cyclists doing time trials. It does not […]
Hills: Sit or Stand?
I am often asked about standing vs sitting on hill climbs on the bike. This is an article from some time back that addresses this matter. Realize there are different answers, to some extent, if you are doing a triathlon/time trial or a road race. —————————————– Should a rider should sit or stand when climbing […]
The Efficiency Factor in Running
This is something I wrote a while back, but recent questions I’ve received tell me it’s time to reprint it. ________________________ High performance runners are typically very efficient. You can observe this just by watching them run: there is no apparent wasted energy. They look very graceful. For cars we simply measure miles per gallon […]
