Let Them Go: How Parents Can Support Their Kids in Endurance Sport Racing Without Taking Over
I spent a weekend at the Trek Cup cyclocross race in October and watched a lot of parents support their children racers. The research and top junior coaches suggest an important element in child development: the best way to help kids become strong athletes and resilient people is to let them take ownership of their […]
Optimal Cadence for Cyclists: What the Research Says About Power, Efficiency, and Fatigue
by Coach Paul Warloski If you’ve ever ridden with a group, you’ve probably noticed everyone pedals at a slightly different rhythm. Some spin at 100+ rpm (revolutions per minute), others grind away in the 70s. So, what’s the “best” cadence for cycling performance? A great Twitter thread from sports scientist Rod Siegel led me to […]
Eat, Sleep, Race: Peak Performance Strategies for Tour of America’s Dairyland
Several Simple Endurance Coaching athletes have signed up for the whole Colby or Cheddar series at Tour of America’s Dairyland in Wisconsin, as well as the Grit series in Chicago. We’ve been talking a lot about how to manage five days or more of daily racing. The three most important elements for a successful race […]
Get Race-Ready: A Six-Week Cyclocross Training Plan for Peak Performance
Cyclocross training requires a unique blend of skills, speed work, endurance, and recovery. The cyclocross season is almost upon us, and managing your training load right before and during the season is crucial. The first race in Wisconsin and the national cyclocross series is on Sept. 7 and 8 at the Englewood CX in Fall […]
Optimize Your Cycling Potential: Balancing Endurance and Intensity Workouts
I’ve been having discussions with one of my newer cycling athletes about endurance riding. They consistently ride sort of hard all the time, and often add extra rides in at similar pacing. And while there’s a place for riding sort of hard, like in group rides or focused tempo intervals, this rider is slowly starting […]
Dial In Your Warm-Ups for Endurance Events: Maximizing Speed Without Burning Matches
I know a pro cyclocross racer who does a warmup before the race that is so intense I wonder if the rider was burning too many matches before the race began. Warming up before a race is tricky: Too much and you’re burning matches before the event even starts, but too little, and you’re missing […]
Mastering midlife nutrition: a guide for the over-50 endurance athlete to lose weight, gain energy
Navigating nutrition after 50 can be tricky at best, especially as an endurance athlete. I had a long discussion with several older male athletes about nutrition recently and decided to share my current understanding. (I have a nutrition certification, and I’m not a nutritionist or dietician.) Some endurance athletes over 50 tend to not eat […]
Here Are Six Researched Reasons A Coach Helps You Reach Your Goals
Sometimes as a person and as an endurance athlete, you set a BHAG (big, hairy-assed goal). You might decide to run a trail marathon or reach a certain age and decide you want to find out what you have as potential in cyclocross. You might want to beat your time in a gravel race or […]
Gravel Racing Training for Masters Cyclists: How to Train Smarter, Not Harder
Ready to take your gravel racing to the next level for the upcoming fall races? As a master’s cyclist, you know that training smarter, not harder, is the key to success. Gone are the days of endless punishing workouts and pushing yourself to the brink of exhaustion. Instead, it’s time to fine-tune your approach and […]
If I Want to Ride Fast, Why Do I Have to Do So Much Zone 2 Endurance Training?
If there is one thing I repeat more than anything to my athletes and endurance sports friends, it’s this: slow down! Here’s what I mean: The majority of your training should be at a slow endurance pace where you are able to have a conversation with a friend and be able to breathe through your […]
