The Time-Crunched Cyclist Podcast by CTS cover art

The Time-Crunched Cyclist Podcast by CTS

The Time-Crunched Cyclist Podcast by CTS

By: CTS
Listen for free

About this listen

Coach Adam Pulford delivers actionable training advice and answers your questions in short weekly episodes for time-crunched cyclists looking to improve their cycling performance. The Time-Crunched Cyclist Podcast (formerly The TrainRight Podcast) is brought to you by the team at CTS - the leading endurance coaching company since 2000. Coach Adam pulls from over a decade of coaching experience and the collective knowledge of over 50+ CTS Coaches to help you cut throught the noise of training information and implement proven training strategies that’ll take your performance to the next level.

© 2025 The Time-Crunched Cyclist Podcast by CTS
Exercise & Fitness Fitness, Diet & Nutrition Hygiene & Healthy Living Science
Episodes
  • Is FTP Dead? Is Critical Power the Cyclist's Next Great Training Metric? (#270)
    Sep 3 2025

    OVERVIEW
    Cody Stephenson is the Education Program Manager at TrainingPeaks, meaning he teaches coaches how to properly utilize training data to improve performance. He's the perfect sports scientist to discuss the similarities and differences between Functional Threshold Power (FTP) and Critical Power (CP), Functional Reserve Capacity (FRC) and W Prime, and how all these training metrics and methodologies relate to each other. Best of all, he and Coach Adam Pulford are pragmatists, so they explain the strengths and weaknesses of each, without bias or hidden agendas.

    TOPICS COVERED

    • Is FTP dead?
    • What is Functional Reserve Capacity (FRC)?
    • Explaining P Max
    • Are Critical Power and W Prime better than FTP and FRC?
    • How to choose between FTP/FRC vs. CP/W Prime
    • Why is "clean data" so important?

    ASK A QUESTION FOR A FUTURE PODCAST

    Guest Bio – Cody Stephenson

    Cody grew up racing mountain bikes in Durango, Colorado where he developed a passion for endurance sports, science, math and technology. He switched to the road and track while racing for Fort Lewis College, where he also managed to get a couple of science degrees. Now he gets to write and talk about his favorite topics every day as Education Program Manager at TrainingPeaks. When he’s not helping coaches learn to leverage technology to reach their goals he’s trying to become as good of a mountain bike racer as he was when he was 13 years old.

    Resources:

    - Cody Stephenson LinkedIn
    - Articles: https://www.trainingpeaks.com/coach-blog/how-to-coach-athletes-who-arent-racing/
    - CP W’ vs FTP alone
    - Analyzing FTP by Joe Friel
    - Power Training with WKO:
    - Why Train Submaximally? WKO Case Study - Targeting Specific PDC Improvements
    - Learning More about LLM’s and AI

    HOST
    Adam Pulford has been a CTS Coach for nearly two decades and holds a B.S. in Exercise Physiology. He's participated in and coached hundreds of athletes for endurance events all around the world.

    Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, or on your favorite podcast platform

    GET FREE TRAINING CONTENT

    Join our weekly newsletter

    CONNECT WITH CTS

    Website: trainright.com
    Instagram: @cts_trainright
    Twitter: @trainright
    Facebook: @CTSAthlete

    Show More Show Less
    34 mins
  • Are "Recovery Scores" Accurate? Does Recovery Slow With Age? Find out from Christie Aschwanden (#269)
    Aug 27 2025

    OVERVIEW
    Christie Aschwanden is an award-winning science journalist and author of Good to Go: What the Athlete in All of Us Can Learn from the Strange Science of Recovery. In Part 2 of her appearance on the "The Time-Crunched Cyclist Podcast" we take a look at the evidence behind recovery scores from wearable fitness trackers. Christie also weighs in on the whether science supports the idea that older athletes need more recovery time.

    TOPICS COVERED

    • Is data from wearable sensors really accurate?
    • Are "recovery scores" from fitness trackers accurate/meaningful?
    • The effect of aging on recovery
    • The benefit of stillness and relaxation for recovery

    ASK A QUESTION FOR A FUTURE PODCAST

    Guest Bio – Christie Aschwanden:

    Christie Aschwanden is an award-winning science journalist. She was the lead science writer at FiveThirtyEight for many years and is a former health columnist for the Washington Post. A finalist for the National Magazine Award, her writing has appeared in Outside, Discover, Smithsonian, and Oprah Magazine. She’s also co-host of Emerging Form, a podcast about the creative process. She was a high school state champion in the 1,600-meter run, a national collegiate cycling champion, and an elite cross-country skier with Team Rossignol. She lives and occasionally still races in western Colorado.

    Read More About Christie Aschwanden:

    https://christieaschwanden.com/

    https://twitter.com/cragcrest

    Book Link – Good to Go: What the Athlete in All of Us Can Learn from the Strange Science of Recovery

    HOST
    Adam Pulford has been a CTS Coach for nearly two decades and holds a B.S. in Exercise Physiology. He's participated in and coached hundreds of athletes for endurance events all around the world.

    Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, or on your favorite podcast platform

    GET FREE TRAINING CONTENT

    Join our weekly newsletter

    CONNECT WITH CTS

    Website: trainright.com
    Instagram: @cts_trainright
    Twitter: @trainright
    Facebook: @CTSAthlete

    Show More Show Less
    20 mins
  • Science of Recovery with Christie Aschwanden: Do tart cherry juice, ketones, and ice plunges work? (#268)
    Aug 20 2025

    OVERVIEW
    Christie Aschwanden is an award-winning science journalist and author of Good to Go: What the Athlete in All of Us Can Learn from the Strange Science of Recovery. With all the hype and marketing dollars being thrown at recovery modalities like tart cherry juice, ketone supplements, ice plunges, and the timing of post-recovery meals, we brought Christie back to "The Time-Crunched Cyclist Podcast" to take a look at the evidence behind the claims. Which recovery products work? How do they work and are they worth the expense?

    RECOVERY METHODS/PRODUCTS COVERED

    • Tart Cherry Juice
    • Ice plunges/Cold water Immersion
    • Is inflammation bad for athletes?
    • Ketones
    • Post-workout recovery window

    ASK A QUESTION FOR A FUTURE PODCAST

    Guest Bio – Christie Aschwanden:

    Christie Aschwanden is an award-winning science journalist. She was the lead science writer at FiveThirtyEight for many years and is a former health columnist for the Washington Post. A finalist for the National Magazine Award, her writing has appeared in Outside, Discover, Smithsonian, and Oprah Magazine. She’s also co-host of Emerging Form, a podcast about the creative process. She was a high school state champion in the 1,600-meter run, a national collegiate cycling champion, and an elite cross-country skier with Team Rossignol. She lives and occasionally still races in western Colorado.

    Read More About Christie Aschwanden:

    https://christieaschwanden.com/

    https://twitter.com/cragcrest

    Book Link – Good to Go: What the Athlete in All of Us Can Learn from the Strange Science of Recovery

    HOST
    Adam Pulford has been a CTS Coach for nearly two decades and holds a B.S. in Exercise Physiology. He's participated in and coached hundreds of athletes for endurance events all around the world.

    Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, or on your favorite podcast platform

    GET FREE TRAINING CONTENT

    Join our weekly newsletter

    CONNECT WITH CTS

    Website: trainright.com
    Instagram: @cts_trainright
    Twitter: @trainright
    Facebook: @CTSAthlete


    Show More Show Less
    33 mins
No reviews yet
In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.