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25 posts in Training science
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How to build a cycling training plan around a full-time job
You don't need 12-hour weeks to get properly fast — you need the right 6–8 hours, placed where your life can actually hold them. Here's how to anchor a working week around two quality sessions and one long ride, what to cut first when work explodes, and why a plan that adapts beats a plan that's perfect.
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How many TSS per week do you actually need?
TSS puts one number on how much training you've done — but how much is enough, and when does more stop helping? Realistic weekly ranges by rider level, the ramp-rate rule that keeps you improving without breaking, and why chasing the number corrupts the training it's meant to measure.
Zone 2 training on a smart trainer: how to actually stay in zone
Everyone agrees Zone 2 builds the engine — and almost nobody actually rides it, because outdoors every junction, hill and ego bump pulls you out of zone. On a smart trainer with ERG mode the discipline problem disappears. How to set the right watts, manage drift, and make 90 steady minutes genuinely bearable.
What your power curve says about you: sprinter, puncheur or diesel?
Your best 5 seconds, 1 minute, 5 minutes and 20 minutes tell a story your FTP alone can't: what kind of rider you actually are. How to read your own power-duration curve, the signature shapes of sprinters, puncheurs, diesels and climbers — and when to train your weakness versus doubling down on your strength.
Indoor training with heart rate only (no power meter, no problem)
No power meter, no smart trainer — just a heart-rate strap? You can still train properly. How to find your threshold heart rate with one honest 30-minute test, set five zones from it, structure a week around what HR measures well, and work around what it doesn't (lag, drift and hot rooms).
Heat training indoors: the performance boost hiding in your pain cave
Your trainer room is accidentally a heat chamber — and used deliberately, carefully and only on easy days, heat adaptation can raise plasma volume and buy trained riders a real aerobic bump. The protocols, the schedule before a hot event, and the safety rules that are not optional.
How long does it take to get cycling fit? A realistic timeline
Two weeks until rides stop feeling awful, six to eight until the numbers move, a season until club runs feel comfortable, years until the engine matures. An honest milestone-by-milestone timeline of cycling fitness — what genuinely speeds it up, what doesn't, and why coming back is faster than starting.
Cycling cadence: does it actually matter? What the science says
The internet is full of one true cadence — the research says your legs already found theirs. What the science honestly shows about self-selected cadence, when deliberate high or low RPM work genuinely helps, the typical ranges by situation, and the drills worth folding into an easy hour.
How to train indoors: turning trainer time into real fitness
An hour on the trainer can be worth ninety minutes on the road — or completely wasted. Here's how to structure indoor sessions so every minute you spend in the pain cave counts.
Winter training for cyclists: how to come out of winter faster than you went in
Winter is when next season is won or lost. Here's a month-by-month indoor-first plan that keeps you fit through the dark months without burning out by February.
8 indoor cycling workouts that actually make you faster
Sweet spot, over-unders, VO2 max, sprints and more — eight proven trainer sessions written out rep by rep, with what each one builds and when to use it.
Why your indoor FTP is lower (and what to do about it)
Most riders push noticeably less power indoors than out. Heat is the main culprit — here's the physiology, how big the gap usually is, and how to close most of it.
Why every cyclist should lift weights (and how to start)
Strength work won't make you bulky or slow — it makes you fatigue later, hold position longer and break fewer bones. Six movements, twice a week, and how to fit them around your riding.
VO2 max for cyclists: what it is, and how to actually raise it
It's the ceiling your whole engine sits under — and it responds fast, then fades fast. Four proven sessions, how often to run them, and what to watch instead of a lab number.
The 15-minute core routine every cyclist should be doing
A strong trunk stops your hips rocking, stops power leaking sideways and keeps your lower back quiet in hour three. Six exercises, no equipment, twice a week.
Sleep is the training session you're not doing
You don't get fitter while you train — you get fitter while you recover, and the biggest block of recovery in your week is the one you spend unconscious. Here's how to protect it.
Cooling down and stretching: what actually helps, honestly
The evidence is far less conclusive than the folklore. Here's what a cool-down genuinely does, what stretching is and isn't good for, and the six stretches worth ten minutes after a ride.
Breathing on the bike: the skill nobody teaches you
It won't add watts to your FTP, but it will change how hard an effort feels and whether you stay composed. Five drills, four habits to unlearn, and why position is half the problem.
Your pedal stroke: what's worth working on, and what to ignore
“Pedal in circles” is some of the most repeated advice in cycling — and the evidence doesn't support it. Here's what each part of the stroke really does, and four drills that help.
Fitness, Fatigue and Form: reading your training load without overthinking it
Three numbers explain almost everything about your training — whether you're building, digging a hole, or ready to fly. Here's how Fitness, Fatigue and Form work, in plain English.
FTP explained: what it is, how to test it, and how to actually raise it
FTP is the single most useful number in cycling — it sets your zones, tracks your fitness and shapes every workout. Here's what it means, how to measure it, and how to push it higher.
Sweet spot, threshold or polarized: which training method actually works for you?
Three training philosophies, endless internet arguments. Here's what sweet spot, threshold and polarized actually mean — and how to pick the one that fits your hours, your goals and your life.
Base miles aren't dead: how to build an aerobic engine over winter
Long, steady, unglamorous riding is still the foundation everything else is built on. Here's why base matters, how much you really need, and how to make winter miles count.
Recovery is training: sleep, easy days, and why rest makes you faster
You don't get fitter when you train — you get fitter when you recover from it. Here's how sleep, easy days and rest turn hard work into actual speed.
How to pace a climb with power (and stop blowing up halfway)
Everyone goes out too hard on the big climb. Here's how to use power (or feel) to pace a climb from bottom to top so you finish strong instead of cracking.
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