Drop in VO2max Over the Years My first VO2max test was in 1982. I went to an exercise physiology lab at the university in my hometown, and a friend who worked there did the testing. I ran on a treadmill with a standard 3-minute step protocol. The results showed my VO2max to be 65 (ml […]
Training
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Training and Faith
“Training is principally an act of faith.” That is from Franz Stampfl who, I suspect, you have never heard of although he was Roger Bannister’s coach. Though Stampfl had a very interesting life, this is not a post about him, but rather about this thought of his on training (however, I’d highly recommend reading this […]
Measuring Workouts
If you own a power meter should all of your workouts be based on power? How about if you only have a heart rate monitor? Heart rate only? I had someone who bought a training plan of mine recently imply that the answer to both is “yes.” He had a power meter and bought a […]
My New Power Meter
In my last post I explained how I first heard of cycling power meters and how I came to use one. That first one was very basic. It just told me instantaneous power and average power. It was heavy. The batteries were a challenge to replace. Riding in the rain wasn’t such a good idea. […]
A Personal History of the Cycling Power Meter
The first time I ever heard of a bicycle power meter was in the fall of 1993. There was a magazine article (by Samuel Abt in Velonews, I believe) about Greg LeMond having recently hired a Dutch physiologist, Arie van Diemen, to coach him in his preparation for the 1994 Tour de France. He had […]
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