Joe Friel

In Part 1 I explained why your power output is likely to be lower when riding an indoor trainer as compared with riding on the road. And I also touched on the how this is related to the skills of pedaling a bike. Making some slight changes to how you pedal can benefit not only […]

There are a few things that change when you ride indoors on a trainer as compared with on the road. A common one is heat. Since you’re not moving forward when on a trainer body heat tends to accumulate. Your core temperature may rise causing you to sweat more. At the same time, blood is […]

The most basic component of training is the balance between workout duration and workout intensity. Whether you are an Olympian or a novice "how long" and "how hard" are the only two variables that can be used to produce a workout within a given sport. How these are balanced is at the heart of preparing […]

A while back I received an email from a triathlete who explained that he got different FTP results if he did a 20-minute test on his Watt Bike indoor trainer versus doing a 40km time trial on a tri bike that took about an hour versus doing a 20-minute test on the road on a […]

Yesterday I received an email from a female pro cyclocross racer who shall remain anonymous. She described what certainly sounds like overtraining. It’s hard to be certain, as I’ve written about here and here. But I’d be willing to bet that she has indeed pushed herself beyond her natural limits, which takes great motivation, and […]

The following is an article I wrote for a magazine sometime back. Here I lay out how to prepare to run a fast marathon. Of course, “fast” is only relative to your ability, goal, experience, training, and confidence. This training plan is primarily intended for the triathlete who wants to continue doing some bike and […]

I recently finished writing a “somewhat” new book — The “All New” Cyclist’s Training Bible. The original version was published more than 20 years ago. It had been edited three times over the years. Last year my publisher suggested it was time to edit it yet again. I balked at that as editing it could […]

I apologize for the long gaps between posts to my blog. Even though I am now retired from one-on-one coaching it seems there’s still never any time for writing here. But one thing I seldom pass up in the daily bustle is sleep. In Part 1 on this topic I railed against athletes having so […]

I’m now retired from hands-on coaching. It was challenging work for thirty-plus years, mostly because there was never a break. All of the athletes needed unwavering attention whether I was on vacation or not. Yet I still tremendously enjoyed it and, in a sick sort of way, now miss the pressure of preparing an athlete […]

Several years ago I was provided training products by a company that eventually let down one of my coaching clients. It reflected badly on me as I had suggested the athlete use their product. When it failed to perform the company refused to stand behind it. I left them and ever since have been very […]

I suppose I'm a bit of a heretic. I seldom accept things at face value just because that's "the way we've always done it" or just because an "expert" says it should be done that way. Or, my favorite, which always starts with, "everybody knows…" I always ask myself why. Why should it be done […]

The following is a portion of an email I received today from a US serviceman in Afghanistan. He expresses quite well a common concern I hear from athletes in regards to their Chronic Training Load (CTL) on the TrainingPeaks Performance Management Chart (PMC). ++++++++++++++++++++++++++ The email: Joe, I’m something of a CTL junkie when it […]

A hard workout only creates the potential for fitness. It’s realized when you recover afterwards. When you take it easy after a hard workout the body’s adaptive process kicks in and you become more fit. During recovery the body restores itself by rebuilding damaged cells, creating new neural pathways, expanding capillary beds, rebalancing its chemistry, […]

I just got a DM from a guy who is experiencing what it’s like to try to train and race at the same time the family and career responsibilities are increasing. Here was my response: I can relate, Jim. Lots of athletes ask about things related to this topic. (I once had a guy tell […]

Thanks for your email. I’m glad to hear that you have high goals for the sport and dreams of becoming a pro. Dreams at your age are always the starting place for anyone who eventually becomes a pro. Otherwise, there are many differences in the backgrounds of the pros. But not when it comes to […]

  I received a couple of interesting questions about max heart rate (HRmax) this week… Question: Does declining max HR with age affect max performance? First, there is no research I’m aware of on exactly this topic as it relates to aging. So this is my opinion only. Something related we do have research on has […]

Last week I received an email from an athlete who was concerned about her training for the coming year. She had wisely decided that she needed to include a rest and recovery week every third week. But she was concerned that this would reduce her volume and therefore her race performance. That caused me to […]

The emailed question… Joe: I have been training for triathlon since 2010 and I use the concepts of your book for planning my annual and weekly training. I have a fundamental question about that. I'm an executive and usually travel internationally at least once every two months. When it happens, I try to keep up […]

The following is a list of the biggest changes in the All-New Triathlete’s Training Bible. It really is “all new.” That’s not just a marketing ploy. The only thing that stayed about the same was the chapter topics. But even that changed a little. Writing it took me a year and half. That’s because it […]

Muscle cramps are one of the most perplexing problems endurance athletes face in training. I get several questions on what can be done about them every year. Here is such a question I just received. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Hi Joe, I have recently purchased the Fast After 50 book and currently working through it and trying to come […]

Since I wrote Fast After 50 I’ve gotten lots of queries from aging athletes about how to set up nine-day training “week” as I describe in the book. If you’ve read it you know that I suggest this for athletes who find they aren’t recovering as quickly as they did when younger—which is most all […]

I often get questions about cross training. This is one that came in today from “Jack.” Most of it had to do with the athlete’s advancing age and having read my new book, Fast After 50. I’ve omitted all of that, but I’m most appreciative of his kind comments. Here is the focus of the […]

In Part 1 of this two-part series on setting up a Performance Management Chart on TrainingPeaks for strength training I only got as far as describing why you should only have one combined chart for all sports reflecting your total fatigue. All of the other sport activities should have separate PMCs since fitness (CTL) and […]

I’ve been asked a few times recently how to set up a Performance Management Chart on TrainingPeaks for weightlifting. It’s that time of year when strength work is a major focus of training for many athletes. If you know what you’re doing in the gym it’s a way of developing greater muscular force for the coming […]