Quick Answer: Extending your cycling season means adapting your gear, ride timing, and training focus as daylight shrinks and temperatures drop — rather than shutting down in October and restarting in March. The riders who stay out longest do four things well: they layer…
Quick Answer: Your fueling needs to shift with your training phase, not just your ride length. Base phase calls for moderate, steady carbs to support high-volume aerobic work; Build phase demands precise in-ride carb intake to fuel threshold and VO2 efforts and recover between…
By James Hickman, Former USA Cycling Expert Coach Quick Answer: Muscular endurance is a cyclist's ability to sustain a strong, steady pedaling effort over long periods without fatigue setting in. The most effective way to build it is with tempo rides — sustained efforts…
Quick Answer: FTP in cycling is the highest average power you can hold for about 60 minutes, and it's the number most training plans use to set your zones. Critical Power (CP) is a related but more precise metric, built from several maximal efforts…
Quick Answer:
Balance endurance and intensity by dedicating 75–80% of training volume to Zone 2 aerobic work, then adding one or two targeted high-intensity sessions per week — sweet spot intervals (88–94% FTP), threshold efforts (95–105% FTP), or VO2max blocks (110–115% FTP). Periodize your…
Quick Answer: Power zones are seven intensity ranges based on your Functional Threshold Power (FTP), from active recovery (under 55% of FTP) up to all-out neuromuscular sprints (above 150%). Training in the correct zone gives every ride a clear purpose — building aerobic endurance,…