OVERVIEW
Is there a real benefit to a recovery ride or would you be better off just taking the day off completely? Both recovery rides and complete rest are beneficial, but the choice between the two depends on how fatigued you are, your mood, and what else you have going on in your life. Sports science says they accomplish the same thing and are essentially interchangeable. But there are absolutely times when Coach Adam Pulford recommends active recovery (easy ride, walking, yoga, etc.) and other times when he advocates for complete rest. Learn to make the right choice when it really matters in Episode 251 of "The Time-Crunched Cyclist Podcast".

TOPICS COVERED

• Active vs. Passive Recovery
• When to choose complete rest or passive recovery
• When to choose a recovery ride or active recovery
• Off-the-bike active recovery
• Research on active vs. passive recovery effectiveness

LINKS/RESOURCES

• Passive vs Active Recovery on Peak Sprint Power Production: https://www.thieme-connect.com/products/ejournals/abstract/10.1055/s-0032-1331717
• Passive vs Active Recovery on MLSS Performance: https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/abs/10.1139/h2012-105
• Passive vs Active Recovery:
  • Passive Recovery Is Superior to Active Recovery During a High-Intensity Shock Microcycle
• Good to Go Book: Christie Aschwanden

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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.

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OVERVIEW
How do you climb fast at the end of a race? Many road, gravel, and mountain bike events finish at the top of extended climbs. In Episode 250 of "The Time-Crunched Cyclist", a listener asks how to prepare for a 5-kilometer (3.1-mile) finishing climb at the end of a 2-3 hour race. Everything comes into play: aerobic fitness, power at lactate threshold (LT2), anaerobic capacity, VO2 max, durability, and tactical savvy. Coach Adam Pulford breaks it all down, tells you how and when to focus on specific aspects of fitness and conditioning, how to test durability, and finally, how to tactically take advantage of your fitness on race day.

TOPICS COVERED

• Physical demands of hill climb finishes
• "Edge-finding" or fatigue resistance workouts
• How to test your durability with a workout
• Train "performance first"
• Train specificity last
• Workouts: OverUnders, Front Loaded Power Intervals, Speed Intervals,
• How to execute an effective taper
• Racing tactics on uphill finishes

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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

OVERVIEW
Power, heart rate, or RPE (rate of perceived exertion or how you feel)? Which data point is best for gauging intensity during training or a race, and which is best for monitoring training progress? Coach Adam Pulford tackles these frequently asked questions in Episode 249 of "The Time-Crunched Cyclist Podcast". Although ALL THREE metrics have their place, Coach Adam reveals the hierarchy for what matters most and what metrics are used for context.

TOPICS COVERED

• Power vs Heart Rate vs RPE Hierarchy
• How to keep HR from drifting up during intervals
• Why HR might drop during intervals
• Why prioritize Power first, then RPE, and HR last
• Training at the top vs bottom of power zones
• All about Rate of Perceived Effort (RPE)
• Why three data points are better than one

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LINKS/RESOURCES

• Eston, R., & Connolly, D. (1996).
  Use of Ratings of Perceived Exertion for Exercise Prescription in the Elderly.
  Validates RPE as a tool even without heart rate monitoring.
  Shows strong correlation between RPE and physiological markers like VO2 max and lactate threshold.
• Faulkner, J., et al. (2008).
  Rating of perceived exertion during isometric and dynamic exercise is influenced by the duration of exercise.
  Indicates how fatigue alters perceived effort.
• Garcin, M., Fleury, A., & Billat, V. (2002).
  The correlation between RPE and physiological variables (heart rate, lactate) in cycling.
  Found strong correlation between RPE and lactate threshold, especially in trained cyclists.
  Source: International Journal of Sports Medicine.
• Seiler, S., & Kjerland, G.Ø. (2006).
  Quantifying training intensity distribution in elite endurance athletes: is there evidence for an "optimal" distribution?
  RPE used as a monitoring tool for training load in elite cyclists and runners.
  Source: Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports.
• González-Alonso J, et al. (1999). Influence of body temperature on the cardiovascular response to exercise. Journal of Applied Physiology, 86(2), 599–605.
  https://doi.org/10.1152/jappl.1999.86.2.599
• Berntson GG, et al. (1997). Heart rate variability: Origins, methods, and interpretive caveats. Psychophysiology, 34(6), 623–648.
  https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-8986.1997.tb02140.x

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