Carrie Cheadle
Expert / Petaluma, California
Carrie Cheadle lives in Petaluma, California and has been consulting with individuals, teams, and organizations since 2002. She has used mental skills training to help hundreds of athletes accomplish their goals by increasing confidence, sharpening focus, strengthening commitment, and improving performance under pressure.
Carrie holds a Masters Degree in Sport Psychology and is an AASP (Association for Applied Sport Psychology) certified consultant. She works with all levels of athletes from recreational to elite and professionals competing at the national or international level. She specializes in working with cyclists and endurance athletes.
Carrie is energetic, fun, has a great sense of humor, and employs a real-life approach to working on the mental aspects of sport and performance. Carrie has her own personal commitment to a life full of adventure and fitness. Depending on the season, you might find her running or hiking a trail, riding her bike, kayaking, or planning her next snowboarding trip.
More competitive athletes and coaches are recognizing the powerful impact the mind has on performance. Physical skill alone is not enough to deal with the demands of athletic training and competition. Regular people are recognizing the importance of motivation and commitment to their success in adopting and sticking to an exercise program. An increasing number of people are utilizing Mental Skills Training (MST) of the sort that Carrie can help you with to improve their confidence and feel more in control of their performance. Carrie is available for individual consulting as well as Mental Skills Training clinics and team consulting. She does both in person coaching as well as remote coaching via phone and Skype.
Events:
Services: Mental Coaching
Specialties: Confidence Issues, Mental Skills, Pre-Event Anxiety, Pre-Event Focus
"In the looking confident/ post it notes drill, I cannot tell you how much it helped to realize everyone else is telling themselves the exact same thing I am on a bad day! The handout is good too - it forced me to not just hear what you said and move on, but to actually be able to carry the changes into the future by having concrete things to say to myself." - Professional Cyclist
"I would be willing to say that the majority of endurance athletes would agree that mental toughness is by far more difficult than physical toughness. Knowing how to shove those negative thoughts out of your brain and coming up with a detailed plan of how you will mentally deal with everything from preparing for a race to crossing that finish line. If you think that my comeback from my horrific crash was on my own, think again. Besides my friends and family, I blame two people for my comeback: my coach, and Carrie Cheadle." Category 2 Cyclist
"The entire workshop was fascinating. The breakdown of pre-race prep, control [and] out of control and stoplights all gave me some insight to how I approach situations and events." - Cycling Team Workshop Participant
- The Long Road to Coming Back From a Fractured Vertebrae
Jack Huddleston broke his neck in 2019. With resolve, patience, and the support of his Coach, Scott Saifer, Jack was back in competition by 2020. Before we get into the story, let us tell you more about Jack’s background and …
The Long Road to Coming Back From a Fractured Vertebrae Read More »
- What It Takes to Run an Ultra-Marathon: An Interview with WC Athlete Henry Slocum
Ever wonder what it really takes to run an ultra-marathon and push far past the limits that you have imagined for yourself? Getting into ultra-marathon is a bumpy process, rife with pitfalls and setbacks. There are many details which can …
What It Takes to Run an Ultra-Marathon: An Interview with WC Athlete Henry Slocum Read More »
- A Look Back at Becca Book’s Win at the 200-Mile Unbound Gravel, Women’s Single Speed Race
Becca Book looks back at her time in Emporia, Kansas, where she raced a singlespeed on sharp gravel for 206 miles. She raced it to the win. That’s right-Becca won the Women’s Singlespeed category in the 2021 Unbound Gravel Race! …
- Jessica Cutler Promoted to Head Coach
Wenzel Coaching is proud to promote Jessica Cutler of Seattle, WA to Head Coach. Originally coming to Wenzel Coaching as an athlete competing in road, cyclocross, track and mountain bike under the tutelage of Head Coach Kendra Wenzel, Jessica earned …
- Three Essential Training Components to Run a Faster Marathon
So you’ve run a marathon or two, and you’ve “caught the bug.” You are now looking to finish with a faster time. How can you run faster marathons? If you asked me this question, the first thing I would want …
Three Essential Training Components to Run a Faster Marathon Read More »
- Will a Bike Fit Fix My Knee or Back Pain on the Bicycle?
A good bike fit lets you deliver maximum power from your current fitness and lets you ride for hours without generating new injuries. It lets you comfortably use all the hand positions your bike offers If your bike fits correctly, …
Will a Bike Fit Fix My Knee or Back Pain on the Bicycle? Read More »
- Indoor Cycling Doesn’t Have to Suck [Enduring the Extended “Covid Winter”]
Good weather is here but with the pandemic still raging or at least flickering all around the world, and the health authorities telling us to avoid each other’s slipstreams, bike racing is not starting soon in most places, and group …
Indoor Cycling Doesn’t Have to Suck [Enduring the Extended “Covid Winter”] Read More »
- Yes, You Can Learn to Ride a Bicycle Now! – Learning to Ride Safely in the Era of COVID-19
Anecdotal reports say that bike sales are “through the roof” since the various states have told their citizens to stay indoors except for grocery shopping and exercise. Wenzel Coaching has received increasing numbers of Learn-to-Ride lesson inquiries from people who …
- Knee Pain & the Cyclist [How to Prevent & Solve Knee Pain on the Bike]
Many if not most cyclists develop painful knees at some time in their cycling careers. You may be experiencing sore knees currently when you ride. If you are, make a change before riding again! If you ride with the same …
Knee Pain & the Cyclist [How to Prevent & Solve Knee Pain on the Bike] Read More »
- Cycling in the Era of COVID-19
As a physician I have been getting a lot of questions about training in this strange new world that we bike riders find ourselves in. As of March, 24, 2020 in western Colorado where I live, there are five confirmed …
- Please Take COVID-19 Seriously [A Cyclist’s Personal Experience with the Corona Virus]
A Wenzel Coaching client got back his positive COVID-19 test a few days ago. This is a strong, healthy 40-something guy who crushes the local club ride with regularity. He rides 10+ hours per week, lifts weights, stretches, and eats …
Please Take COVID-19 Seriously [A Cyclist’s Personal Experience with the Corona Virus] Read More »
- The Capacity Workout: When Failure Isn’t
As an athlete, you know you dread it: Deep into a training cycle a workout shows up in your plan that you fear you’re probably not going to finish. And you don’t finish. You’ll annotate the file or note in …
- Six Causes of Foot Pain, Numbness, and Hot-Foot During Bicycling, and How to Solve Them
Aside from saddle sores and knee pain, foot problems are among the most common afflictions of cyclists. In coaching recreational and competitive cyclists for the last three decades, I have found that there are several common reasons for foot pain, …
Six Causes of Foot Pain, Numbness, and Hot-Foot During Bicycling, and How to Solve Them Read More »
- How to Use Visualization and Biofeedback to Enhance Cycling Performance
What if we enhanced our efforts by visualizing how we want our bodies to move and perform? I don’t mean just picturing yourself lifting a goal weight, but mentally practicing the form you want?
- Eat, Drink, and Be Merry
Living and riding in the Pacific Northwest wet winter weather, my family sets up trainers in the sun room to start indoor spin season. I catch up on watching race coverage while turning the cranks. While watching professional road races, I …
- Holiday Eating for Athletes [A Survival Guide]
When fitness goals are balanced with family and work priorities, social eating around the holidays can be a challenge to your ideal training plan. Having well-defined, motivating goals can help avoid excess and junk food, but even with the best …
- Get Stacked: Correct the Cyclist Posture to Get the Most from Strength Training
Cyclists tend to develop certain postural abnormalities that can cause problems both on and off the bike: Slumped shoulders, head dropped forward on the neck and the classic upper-back hump are common and often become painful if they are not …
Get Stacked: Correct the Cyclist Posture to Get the Most from Strength Training Read More »
- How to Avoid the Post-Illness Over-Training Death Spiral
You’re just getting over an illness, feeling maybe 80% healthy, but you are more than desperate to start training again. You fear losing fitness and you want to make up for lost time, so you head out for your first …
How to Avoid the Post-Illness Over-Training Death Spiral Read More »
- How to Pack for a Cyclocross Race [The Ready-to-Race Packing Checklist]
Race day can be stressful. Be prepared. Having a cyclocross packing list means you don’t have to rely on your memory to prepare. Cut your stress level in half by following these steps. First, start by packing the night before …
How to Pack for a Cyclocross Race [The Ready-to-Race Packing Checklist] Read More »
- Diet Tips for Cyclists & Endurance Athletes [Four Complete Fueling Plans for Success]
Nutrition can make or break an athlete’s performance. For the best chance of success in cycling and other endurance activities, different eating regimens are appropriate at different times. Athletes will utilize the following four basic eating plans: Different foods and …
Diet Tips for Cyclists & Endurance Athletes [Four Complete Fueling Plans for Success] Read More »
- The Complete Pre-Race Checklist for a Competition-Ready Bicycle
Races can be decided by a dropped chain. Just ask Andy Schleck after the 2010 Tour de France. Some folks are more excited about the mechanical aspect of bicycle racing than others, but the fact is that maintenance is part …
The Complete Pre-Race Checklist for a Competition-Ready Bicycle Read More »
- Overreaching During a Peak and Taper May Make It Worthless
Cyclists and triathletes want to be ready for a peak performance at their ‘A’ race. It’s common practice to attempt that by doing a period of “overload” or extra hard training ending 1-3 weeks before the race, and then a period of …
Overreaching During a Peak and Taper May Make It Worthless Read More »
- The Power of Group Training
Take Advantage of Group Dynamics to Better Your Strength Workouts It’s 6:45 AM on November 21st several years ago. Snow and ice blow over the sidewalks as early-risers pour their first cup of coffee. Most people will be on their …
- Notes for the Gravel-Curious Cyclist
This year, admittedly bored with a Virginia/Maryland road racing calendar featuring a dozen races I had done at least a dozen times already, I decided to focus on a gravel grinder. The 72-mile Gravel Race Up Spruce Knob (GRUSK) over …
- How to Avoid Dead Legs on Race Day Forever
“My legs felt like lead!” I told my dad. It didn’t make any sense at all. I had been training for a full year for the Junior National Cycling Championships. I hadn’t missed a single day of training and had …
- Opener & Tune-up Rides for Cycling
Opener/Tune-up rides are essential preparation for race days. There are many possible Opener/Tune-up exercises. Not everyone needs quite as much intensity as some athletes may. Either way, this method will provide an adequate challenge to prepare anyone: You will need …
- Coach Meredith Nielsen Talks the History of Women’s Road Racing in Northern California
Coach Meredith Nielsen isn’t just a great skills and beginning racing instructor, she’s also a wealth of information on getting started in women’s cycling in Northern California. She was interviewed by the Our Work Works podcast about beginning racing. Have …
Coach Meredith Nielsen Talks the History of Women’s Road Racing in Northern California Read More »
- Improve Your Cadence for Faster Gran Fondo Finishes
Whether you have a lot of time to train on the bike or just a little, optimizing your pedaling cadence1 will help you to finish gran gondos both faster and stronger. This is because the main moment-by-moment determinant of fatigue …
Improve Your Cadence for Faster Gran Fondo Finishes Read More »
- Surgery and Recovery Around Training – A Coach’s Experience and Analysis
Competitive cyclists are constantly making risk versus reward calculations. Often, these are momentary decisions that have immediate near-term consequences such as making a move in a race or choosing to eat or not eat before a workout. Other times, the …
Surgery and Recovery Around Training – A Coach’s Experience and Analysis Read More »
- The Myth of FTP
It’s pretty hard these days to escape the concept of Functional Threshold Power, or FTP. A quick Google search will produce statements such as: “FTP is the single most important physiological determinant of performance in events” “FTP has become the …
- Even With Motivation, Unconscious Anxiety Blocks Improvement of Habits
All living things are driven to avoid pain. Unconscious systems compel them to select – without awareness – choices that have become familiar and proven safe. Human beings are no exception. They are motivated to avoid pain, including psychological pain, …
Even With Motivation, Unconscious Anxiety Blocks Improvement of Habits Read More »
- Learning to Win – Waiting to Upgrade Your Road Racing Category May Pay Off Later
For some racers, the upgrade from Category 4 to Cat 3 on the road, for instance, may happen as quickly as a few months. For others the challenge to break out of the same category may take years. It may seem …
Learning to Win – Waiting to Upgrade Your Road Racing Category May Pay Off Later Read More »
- Putting Down the Weights — When to Transition from Off-Season Weight Training
Cold, wet weather in late fall drives athletes indoors, making it easy to decide when to start weight training. Knowing when to end regular lifting in the late winter or spring can be more of a challenge. Following a weight-training …
Putting Down the Weights — When to Transition from Off-Season Weight Training Read More »
- Poker Face at Threshold
It’s certainly not necessary to be playing high-stakes at the card table to benefit from a poker face. The ability to mask one’s reactions from the competition is useful outside of gambling – in sport. We often hear about athletes …
- Creative Cross-Training for Cyclists in Winter in Snow Country
A coach once told me, “You are not just a cyclist, you are an athlete, and fitness goes a long way.” Having come from skiing, I always liked that idea because it gave me an excuse to use skiing as …
Creative Cross-Training for Cyclists in Winter in Snow Country Read More »
- Is Your Relationship with Food Undermining Your Athletic Goals?
Relationships with food are complex, particularly for athletes. Adequate and ideal nutrition for health, appearance, and performance can suffer when the focus primarily is on reaching a fixed “ideal” body weight. While a high power-to-weight ratio is essential for success …
Is Your Relationship with Food Undermining Your Athletic Goals? Read More »
- Athlete Perspective: Clara Honsinger’s First Trip to the CX World Championship
Watch Clara Honsinger take on the world’s best Under-23 racers in Valkenburg, Netherlands, TOMORROW, Saturday the 3rd! I had been up for 32 hours – only 30 if you count the two quick hours of sleep on the plane – …
Athlete Perspective: Clara Honsinger’s First Trip to the CX World Championship Read More »
- Adding a Triathlon or Running Event to Your Cycling Season
By Liz Varner If you are primarily a cyclist, adding a triathlon, duathlon, running or other multisport event to your year is a great way to cross train, refresh a season or just try something a little different. Some coaches …
Adding a Triathlon or Running Event to Your Cycling Season Read More »
- How to Support an Athlete Who May Be Vulnerable to an Eating Disorder
As coaches and friends of endurance athlete, we need to be aware of the ways in which discussions of weight-optimization can trigger eating disorders in vulnerable individuals. Weight loss can lead to improved performance in some athletes in some disciplines, …
How to Support an Athlete Who May Be Vulnerable to an Eating Disorder Read More »
- Staying Healthy in Winter
Winter continues the cold and flu season. While fitness is associated with strong immune function, actual training and/or dieting can suppress our immune systems, giving opportunistic germs a better shot at both getting established and hanging around longer than they …
- 2017 Holiday Eating Survival Guide for Athletes
When fitness goals are only one of your many priorities, social eating around the holidays can be a challenge to your ideal training and athletic body weight. Having well-defined, motivating goals can help avoid excess and junk food, but even with …
- Tips for Athletes for Surviving the Winter and S.A.D.
The dark days of winter are a tough time of the year to stay focused on fitness and nutrition. Holiday activities, end of the year work demands, lousy chilly and gloomy weather, and shorter, darker days all play into this. …
Tips for Athletes for Surviving the Winter and S.A.D. Read More »
- Strength Exercise Instruction: Leg Curl
Lying, Seated or Standing Leg Curl The leg curl that Wenzel Coaching includes in its lifting routine is intended to strengthen muscles, tendons and ligaments of the lower body. The primary muscles that are activated are the hamstrings. Secondary muscles …
- Wednesday Workout: Barreless Barre
Gym Class for People Who Don’t Like Gym Class This article is a part of Wenzel Coaching’s Wednesday Workout tips: I am not a gym person and am definitely not a group class person because I feel out of step …
- Ironman Arizona 2017 Race Report
Coach Phil Timothee shares his experience of what it’s like to do an Ironman triathlon when the training goes right, all the way up to 10 days to go, when it takes a turn for the south…. race preparation / …
- Speed vs PURE SPEED on the Bike
“Fast” is a vague term in cycling that means different things in different contexts. We might say that someone who can hold 29 mph for an hour is fast, or say the same thing of someone who can sprint to …
- The Five Disciplines of Triathlon – A Balanced Approach
Everyone knows about the three main disciplines of triathlon: Swimming, cycling and running. Diversity of activities and cross training multiply the benefits while dividing the risks. Swimming, a physical activity done weightless, reduces stress on the bones and joints, while …
The Five Disciplines of Triathlon – A Balanced Approach Read More »
- Six Tips for Safer Solo Backcountry Mountain Biking
Sometimes we have that elusive day off from all our responsibilities and a hankering to get away from it all with a ride on rarely used trails, but no buddy to play hooky with us. Riding alone in the backcountry …
Six Tips for Safer Solo Backcountry Mountain Biking Read More »
- The Basics of Cyclocross Training for Roadies and Mountain Bikers
Of all cycling events, cyclocross has to be the most fun to train for. In addition to building fitness for a 40- to 60-minute effort, racers must prepare to ride short rolling hills and steep ascents and descents, negotiate off-camber …
The Basics of Cyclocross Training for Roadies and Mountain Bikers Read More »
- Healthy Weight Loss Part I: Shedding Fat to Make Race Weight
For a cyclist, appropriate weight is just as important as aerobic fitness, strength and skills. However, many riders under-perform in hilly races because they carry too much body mass. They hope to ride off their excess weight in time for …
Healthy Weight Loss Part I: Shedding Fat to Make Race Weight Read More »
- Healthy Weight Loss Part II: Shedding Excess Muscle to Make Race Weight
Keith has great aerobic power. He can ride a flat 40-kilometer time trial in less than 56 minutes, making him quite competitive in his master’s category. He’s been training an average of 12 hours per week on a periodized plan …
Healthy Weight Loss Part II: Shedding Excess Muscle to Make Race Weight Read More »
- Can You Do These Essential Road and Off-Road Cycling Skills?
How good a cyclist are you? You may or may not be super fit, but skills can make riding more fun and can make you a safer, faster, more victorious cyclist or a better ride buddy no matter how fast …
Can You Do These Essential Road and Off-Road Cycling Skills? Read More »
- Recovery Tips for Stage Races, Omniums & Multi-Race Weekends
When racing twice or more over a weekend, your between-race recovery activities will determine how well you feel and perform in the later races. Follow this guidance to improve both. Wenzel Coaching Head Coach Scott Saifer, M.S. raced over 300 …
Recovery Tips for Stage Races, Omniums & Multi-Race Weekends Read More »
- Strength Exercise Instruction: Cyclists Deadlift
The cyclists dead lift is a multi-joint exercise that is intended to strengthen muscles and ligaments and improve flexibility in the lower body — primarily the hamstring and gluteus maximus muscles at the hip and secondarily the quadriceps at the …
Strength Exercise Instruction: Cyclists Deadlift Read More »
- How to Throw Your Bike
How to Execute a Bike Throw: Let the final pedal stroke lift your butt barely off the saddle if you are not already standing Drop the shoulders Straighten the arms forcefully Push the butt off the back of the saddle …
- Choosing the Right Cycling Socks
Who doesn’t love cycling socks? We get them free with race entries, they make wonderful gifts, they let you wear your heart on your… ankle, and, they’re just plain fun. But seriously, what makes a good sock worth its weight …
- Strength Exercise Instruction: Seated Leg Press
The leg press in Wenzel Coaching lifting routines strengthens muscles, tendons and ligaments of the lower body. Muscles that are activated include the gluteus maximus, quadriceps and hamstring muscles. The lower reps and higher weight are intended to work on …
- The Basics of Training and Competing at Altitude
Tips for Altitude Training and Racing Preparing for an event or racing an event at altitude can be intimidating to the sea level athlete. Fortunately, the science is quite definitive on the tactics for the best chances of success in …
The Basics of Training and Competing at Altitude Read More »
- How to Equip to Ride a Fat Bike in the Snow
Preparation is Key for Keeping it Fun in the Cold on a Snow Bike Baby, it’s cold outside; but I want to ride. Those of us living in environments where the earth is white for several months and the pavement …
- Your 2017 Season Starts Today! With…Resting?
by Jami Min That’s right. You’re going over your season in your mind, reviewing all those spots where if you’d just been a little stronger, a little faster…if you’d had just a tiny bit more endurance it would have made …
- How to Recognize Burnout in Your Sport and Regain the Passion
Relighting the Flame After Burnout in Cycling In June of 2016 I went on a road ride by myself and noticed a pleasant change: for the first time in a long time I enjoyed riding my bike. It wasn’t until …
How to Recognize Burnout in Your Sport and Regain the Passion Read More »
- Strength Exercise Instruction: Partial Squat
The partial squat that Wenzel Coaching includes in its lifting routine is intended to strengthen muscles and ligaments and improve flexibility in the lower body —particularly the hamstring, quadriceps and gluteus maximus muscles. Cyclists tend to have underdeveloped hamstrings and overdeveloped …
- Understanding Fitness Peaks and Troughs
Peaking is a cyclist’s nirvana. If training has gone well, you are strong on the bike, riding fast with little effort, recovering quickly enough to attack several times in a race or race several days per week and your head …
- Identifying Perceived Effort: Choosing the Right Words & Thoughts to Improve Performance
How you talk to yourself about your training and racing performance, especially with regard to exercise intensity, matters more than you might think. There’s a number for everything these days: ride time, cadence, distance, heart rate, power, you name it. …
Identifying Perceived Effort: Choosing the Right Words & Thoughts to Improve Performance Read More »
- Whoa There! Don’t Skip That Cooldown
Cooling down after a race isn’t cool any more. I mean, when The New York Times has pointed to studies showing that cooling down doesn’t reduce muscle soreness, it’s likely the practice won’t survive for long. If it doesn’t reduce …
- Going the Extra Mile: The Costs and Benefits of Supplemental Training
Racing, especially stage racing, favors those willing to train long and hard and to suffer intensely, so serious bike racers exercise in ways that sound crazy to non-racers. Occasionally, some racers train to such an extent that even us cyclists …
Going the Extra Mile: The Costs and Benefits of Supplemental Training Read More »
- Beyond the Intervals: The Deeper Benefits of Power Meters
Power meters are great tools. They assess current physical ability, track training progress and improve performance, but those benefits are only the beginning. These devices allow for comparison of your physical abilities to competitors’ before signing up for a race. …
Beyond the Intervals: The Deeper Benefits of Power Meters Read More »
- Improve Mountain Bike Skills through Your Points of Contact
Your body position on the mountain bike and how you use your points of contact with the bike make a huge difference when you hit the tricky sections of a course: the switchbacks, the dive-bomb descents, the wall-climbs. For inexperienced …
Improve Mountain Bike Skills through Your Points of Contact Read More »
- How Not to Be Crushed When Competing at High Altitude
I grew up at 7000 ft. altitude in New Mexico, spent my early adult life living in Utah where I trained and played in elevations above 8000 ft. regularly, but I now live in Oregon at 3000 ft. and am …
How Not to Be Crushed When Competing at High Altitude Read More »
- The Cutting Edge: When Cycling Technology Can Make a Difference in Winning Performance
Depending on your goals, you may enjoy riding bikes that are heavy and inexpensive or that were modern decades ago. If you want to win races, you need a bike that is close to the cutting edge. Being an early …
The Cutting Edge: When Cycling Technology Can Make a Difference in Winning Performance Read More »
- How Was Your Ride? The Importance of Attitude to Recovery and Success
Effective recovery only happens if you relax. Without recovery, training gains are minimal, and you can even weaken despite working hard. The blissful rush felt when sitting calmly after hard training corresponds to a hormonal shift from work mode to …
How Was Your Ride? The Importance of Attitude to Recovery and Success Read More »
- What Are You Really Trying to Do? Prioritize Performance
Mike races bikes. He has been getting faster on all sorts of terrain and has become competitive on flats and descents, but not on climbs. A photo of Mike shows beautiful mountains behind a rider cornering aggressively on a long …
What Are You Really Trying to Do? Prioritize Performance Read More »
- See You Next Year? Knowing When to Stop Racing
The end of the road-racing season has arrived. Even the most serious roadies are relaxing, having the annual beer, and taking a few easy weeks before resuming training. In the coming months, they will connect with teams and coaches as …
- Cycling Body Weight Chart
Last updated 2023 Racing cyclists often want to know what their optimal weight range is for their height. The below are taken from height and weight data of professional cyclists with national or international wins. Keep in mind that these …
- Accepted Truths Are Sometimes False
For convenience, riders and coaches accept certain truths regarding bike fit, tactics, training and health. Some popular beliefs include: Athletes need plenty of sleep; they must use the right equipment for the job; set the saddle straight and level; bike …
- Ready for the First Races of the Year?: How to know and why not to race too soon
This article is for people who haven’t trained as well as they might have for the new season. It is also for anyone with underprepared friends. Good friends won’t encourage the undertrained to race or do hard club rides. Read …
Ready for the First Races of the Year?: How to know and why not to race too soon Read More »
- It’s Okay to Make a New Year’s Weight Loss Resolution
So many people approach the New Year with diet resolutions that it often becomes a joke, with the long-term fitness crowd viewing their gyms and classes full of “resolutioners” as a temporary annoyance before those folks give up on their …
It’s Okay to Make a New Year’s Weight Loss Resolution Read More »
- Endurance Training is Boring? Are You Kidding?
More and more scientific evidence piles up in favor of training programs that are heavy on high-volume, sub-threshold endurance work and light on harder efforts. Studies of elite and world-champion runners, cyclists and cross-country skiers show that they typically spend …
- The Art of Triathlon Transitions
Technically, transitions are the two breaks between the three sports in triathlon when you stop to change clothes and gear. They are an integral and often overlooked aspect of the sport. T1 is the transition between the swim and bike. …
- Discipline: Good and Bad Habits and Why We Mess Up
It’s 9 p.m. on Friday. Mary got home from a long workweek several hours ago, had a quick dinner and showered. She’s ready for bed. She’s also excited about a club ride she’ll be attending for the first time early …
Discipline: Good and Bad Habits and Why We Mess Up Read More »
- Optimal Cadence for Cyclocross Obstacles
Tips for choosing the right cadence within each portion of your cyclocross race Cyclocross courses demand a variety of pedaling styles because of the highly variable terrain. On a flat road, an ideal pedaling cadence would be between 90-105 rpms. …
- How to Team Time Trial
Tips for making your team time trial a success, with 2015 US National Team Time Trial Gold Medalist Brianna Walle. Optimal performance in a team time trial requires attention to lots of details. Wenzel client and professional racer Brianna Walle …
- Total Preparation: Fitness is Not Enough
What does it mean to prepare as well as possible for a big race? You’ll want to develop your physical abilities such as aerobic and anaerobic endurance along with sprint speed to peak for the event. That means accumulating many …
- Bike Racing 102: Tactics to Win With
Each competitor starts a race with unique physiological abilities. Some people are better at sprinting or at climbing, while others ride better in the wind. Some are just plain stronger and better at everything, while others aren’t outstanding at anything …
- Seven Steps to Improve Time Trial Performance
How to Win a Time Trial — or at Least Set a PR! As a pure test of cycling athleticism, little compares with the time-trial. Every roadie will want to have a decent TT in their repertoire if they want …
- The Vocabulary of Road Racing: A glossary of tactics
Racing without a fundamental understanding of tactics is like going to a joust without a lance. You’re going to get skewered. In the absence of tactics, the strongest riders would win all bike races. Strategy and tactics are the tricks …
The Vocabulary of Road Racing: A glossary of tactics Read More »
- Upstart Wins Nationals: How Did Jade get so good so fast?
On May 25, 2013, Jade Wilcoxson was crowned National Champion at the USA Cycling Pro Road Race in Chattanooga, Tennessee. She has been racing only five years altogether, and only two years as a pro. That’s a pretty quick trip …
Upstart Wins Nationals: How Did Jade get so good so fast? Read More »
- The Big Picture: Today’s Performance Reflects Years of Diet and Training
In nature we never see anything isolated, but everything in connection with something else which is before it, beside it, under it and over it.- Johann Wolfgang von Goeth Several years ago, the training blogosphere was atwitter with posts from …
The Big Picture: Today’s Performance Reflects Years of Diet and Training Read More »
- Life is Not Fair, and Other Good News About Being an Athlete
This article by Scott Saifer, M.S. first appeared in ROAD Magazine in April of 2014. “Nobody grows old by merely living a number of years. People grow old by deserting their ideals. Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give …
Life is Not Fair, and Other Good News About Being an Athlete Read More »
- Mark Your Calendar – Planning for Performance
Aspiring elite bike racers must prepare for success over several years. Elite-level performance requires numerous specific skills and aspects of fitness, each of which takes time to develop. Some, such as aerobic power or descending skills, will develop gradually over …
- Learn to Ride in the Drops
“Hands in the drops, please!” As the Head Mentor for the NCNCA (Northern California/Nevada Cycling Association), this is a phrase I find I have to repeat over and over as I am instructing beginning racers. Riding in the drops (the …
- Do You NEED to Win?
A strong drive to win is a necessity for bike racing success. Something has to make one keep training, keep eating right and keep pedaling no matter what happens. Some riders have plenty of motivation, while drive is a limiter …
- Overcoming Fear of Descending on the Bike
Road riding and racing season is here, and with this may come some anxiety. Many riders, already nervous descending on the road bike, are really frightened by the prospect of descending in a peloton or group. Use these tips to …
- Peaking – Reaching Your Competitive Best
A peak is a period within a racing season when a rider is at his or her competitive best. Most serious riders plan to do many races during a season, but have a few particular races or periods of racing …
- The Ugly Truth About Training Zones
Exercise physiology textbooks generally devote several chapters to the three energy systems that power muscle contractions and how the three systems interact to support various intensities and durations of exercise. They tell us that adenosine tri-phosphate or ATP is the …
- Tips for Relieving Sore Hands on the Bicycle
Learning to Ride without Hand Pain It’s not unusual for a cyclist to experience sore hands from time to time. It may be the muscles of the palm, the complex and delicate bones of the wrist, or the nerves and …
- Good Sportsmanship and the Meaning of Competition: Why Following the Rules Matters
Riders and teams enter bike races because they want to see how they stack up against the competition. For that to make sense, riders must believe that the playing field is level. The competition must be fair to be meaningful. …
Good Sportsmanship and the Meaning of Competition: Why Following the Rules Matters Read More »
- So You Want to Become a Cycling Coach
For more than 15 years, my colleagues and I have been hiring and training cycling and other coaches and then watching them develop. In that time we’ve had a chance to see what makes for a successful coach and what …
- Hey Kid! Wanna Get Lucky? – Defending Against Misfortune in Bike Racing
This article has been updated from an article previously published in ROAD Magazine. Coaches often say that racing success requires genetic talent, hard work and luck. You get the talent from your parents and there’s not much you can do …
Hey Kid! Wanna Get Lucky? – Defending Against Misfortune in Bike Racing Read More »
- I Guess You Had to Be There: What you need to know about bike racing but can’t learn from a book
Riders take certain things for granted. We believe the bike will go where we steer it, that we’ll pedal harder when we want to go faster and if we pedal hard enough, we’ll be able to catch the group or …
- How to Train for Your First XTERRA Triathlon
By Rob Butner Ever thought of riding a triathlon on a mountain bike or running a rocky trail instead of pounding pavement? When I tell people I’ve raced triathlons for the past 10 years, many of them imagine the Hawaiian …
- Coach Toolbox: When an Athlete Reaches a Performance Plateau
Wenzel Coaching works to help our athletes and coaches find the best resources for their overall fitness and competitive games, no matter their level. This month we feature mental skills expert and therapist Melinda Halpern of Grit Performance as she …
Coach Toolbox: When an Athlete Reaches a Performance Plateau Read More »
- Quadricep, Hamstring, and Calf Stretches for Cycling Performance
The Quadriceps, Hamstrings, and Calves are the major muscle groups that directly power the pedals of a bicycle. When Quads and Hams are not in balance (one group is tighter than the other), a number of bio-mechanical problems can occur, including …
Quadricep, Hamstring, and Calf Stretches for Cycling Performance Read More »
- Core Strength for Cycling
Core strength is the tie that links the arms stabilizing the handlebars with the power going into the pedals on the bike. When your core is strong, both everyday and dynamic movements feel more natural and empowered. The exercises in …
- Does Your Coach Make You Angry?
Most people are averse to change. That is, in part, why so many people knowingly continue unhealthy habits. Rare is the person who likes to hear that he or she is making self-defeating choices and needs to think or act …
- What It’s Like to Do Your First Cyclocross Race
Though we first posted this video earlier this year shortly after it premiered Outside Explorer, now is a great time to revisit it as many cyclists take that first step and consider entering their first cyclocross race! A cyclocross race …
- Hip Flexor and Low Back Stretches for Cycling
The positions and movements of cycling stress certain muscle groups, which can create muscular imbalances and dysfunction. The hip flexors (iliacus and psoas, sometimes together called iliopsoas) are muscles responsible for pulling the thigh towards the abdomen and are used …
- Do You Need a Cycling Coach? — A Testimonial for Coaching
We always welcome testimonials and honest feedback from our clients, and we often post them on our coach profile pages. Sometimes a review is just so helpful and thought provoking that we like to share the whole thing as a …
Do You Need a Cycling Coach? — A Testimonial for Coaching Read More »
- Returning from a Major Cycling Accident
On April 2nd of 2011, I was racing the criterium stage of a regional stage race in The Dalles, Oregon. It was a nighttime criterium, and I was feeling positive about my chances of achieving my goal of winning the …
- Q & A Coach Forum: Running with a Weighted Vest
“Hey guys, read your articles in ROAD Magazine… nice. I was wondering what you thought of running up stadium stairs with a weight vest on during the winter to build strength in lieu of weight lifting. I lifted for about …
- Preparing to Improve Your Descending on the Bicycle
This is a pretty straightforward exercise that can be done in front of your computer, laptop, or smaller device. It’s most effective if you can pay uninterrupted attention to the screen and sounds, so if possible find a place where …
Preparing to Improve Your Descending on the Bicycle Read More »
- Q & A Coach Forum: Why Have I Stopped Making Progress on the Bike?
Hello, I have stopped making progress despite a regular and highly structured training program supervised by a very well regarded coach. At first (after the first 3-4 months) I made huge progress, now a year and a half later, I …
Q & A Coach Forum: Why Have I Stopped Making Progress on the Bike? Read More »
- Composing for the Bicycle – Achieving a Relaxed State Before Riding
This article isn’t about writing music directly; I’m referring to composing oneself for optimal calmness, balance and efficiency when riding a bike. Most of us are probably pretty good at this most of the time, but a relaxed state can …
Composing for the Bicycle – Achieving a Relaxed State Before Riding Read More »
- “You Go Where You Look” – Visual Skills for Cyclists
One path to better bike handling skills starts with your eyeballs. Whether you want to learn to negotiate technical sections and punchy climbs on the mountain bike or have more confidence and control through corners and descents on the road, …
“You Go Where You Look” – Visual Skills for Cyclists Read More »
- Gluteal Stretches for Hip Flexibility
Looking to add some effective stretches to your routine? Stretching the gluteal muscle complex allows for greater flexibility of the hip area, a common area of soreness and tightness for cyclist and runners. This progression of stretches is a fluid …
- Learning to Race Cyclocross – A First Person Perspective
Though cyclocross racing may seem far off in the calendar from April, it will be upon us soon enough! As a beginner, taking that first step to learn cyclocross skills and try a race can seem daunting, but it doesn’t …
Learning to Race Cyclocross – A First Person Perspective Read More »
- What It Really Means to Be a Professional Cyclist
What does it mean to be a professional cyclist? From the outside it may seem simple: you ride your bike well and get paid to do it. But being truly professional is much more than just pedaling. A professional bike …
What It Really Means to Be a Professional Cyclist Read More »
- The Fine Art of Self Talk in Cycling Performance
This week I took part in a bike race that didn’t go quite how I wanted. I didn’t win, felt I could have done better, and although I finished reasonably well, I was left with some ‘what ifs,’ which have …
The Fine Art of Self Talk in Cycling Performance Read More »
- Peeing in the Peloton – Tips for when you have to “go” in a bike race
Having to pee during or around a bike race is one of those bothersome yet necessary tasks that likely won’t improve performance, but can ruin it if you don’t address it properly. One year at a popular opening season race in …
Peeing in the Peloton – Tips for when you have to “go” in a bike race Read More »
- Diet Soda Makes People Fat. Here’s Why.
Here’s an interesting bit of science. There are taste receptors that are sensitive to “sweet” substances in the intestine (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/08/070820175426.htm). They are similar to the ones on your tongue. When the intestinal receptors interact with sugar in consumed foods, they …
- I Think I Can, I Know I Can – Using a Major Setback as Inspiration to Bounce Back
“I think I can, I know I can” – a personal story and reflection of overcoming obstacles and being safe by Coach Kori Seehafer Some of the best educational experiences occur during major setbacks. The biggest lessons come …
I Think I Can, I Know I Can – Using a Major Setback as Inspiration to Bounce Back Read More »
- Defining a Meal vs a Snack
As you continually optimize your fueling needs for performance and daily energy demands, chances are that your main meals just aren’t going to be enough to get you through the day happily and productively. That’s where snacks come in. Let’s …
- Practice Makes Perfect? Practicing good athlete habits and avoiding bad ones
There is a widely quoted old adage that says that practice makes perfect, and like most old adages, especially when applied to bike racing, this one is a gross oversimplification. What practice really does is make habits. Practiced habits become …
Practice Makes Perfect? Practicing good athlete habits and avoiding bad ones Read More »
- Tips for Weight Loss Success
Performance in most sports depends on getting your body weight into an optimum range. While some athletes need to gain weight to get to that range, the need for weight loss is much more common. Weight loss success for athletes …
- Will You Win Your Races or Your Training Rides? Control Your Competitive Drive!
Joe stomped hard as the light changed. It was supposed to be an easy day, but a few hundred yards ahead he spied prey, another rider. Accelerating, he dropped into an aero position, elbows deeply bent and knees in close …
Will You Win Your Races or Your Training Rides? Control Your Competitive Drive! Read More »
- Understanding the Rate of Weight Loss for Athletes
Question: What is reasonable weight loss within an active racing season where a rider is racing 1-2 times per weekend? Answer: If you are within 15 pounds of your target weight, aim for consistent weight loss of about ½-1 pound per …
Understanding the Rate of Weight Loss for Athletes Read More »
- How to Climb Better on a Mountain Bike – Long Extended Climbs
Climbing on a mountain bike is hard for everyone. Your bike is heavy, your suspension and squishy tires steal power from your legs and your wide handlebars are better suited to working the front end through corners and over rocks …
How to Climb Better on a Mountain Bike – Long Extended Climbs Read More »
- The Art of the Slide – Getting the Most Out of Skidding on a Mountain Bike
Looking for a fun way to build your bike handling skills and improve your balance? Try skidding. I’m not talking about the stuff we did as kids on our BMX bikes, I’m talking about purposely finding the limits of traction …
The Art of the Slide – Getting the Most Out of Skidding on a Mountain Bike Read More »
- 5 Steps to Get Started in Cyclocross
Cyclocross (or ‘cross, or even just CX) has been around for over a hundred years, and it has long been a popular Fall and Winter sport in Europe. Though cross has had loyal followers in the US for years, its …
- Eight Qualities of a Good Coach
A knowledgeable coach can be a great asset for any athlete, but in order for you to get the true value of the coaching relationship, your coach needs to be a good communicator and respect the client/coach business service relationship. …
- Pistons, Potatoes and Bullets: Energetics and Pedaling Technique
Cyclists’ muscles metabolize chemical energy, stored mostly as glycogen and fatty acids, and convert it to contraction forces that accelerate the legs around the pedal circle and drive the pedals. Metabolic capacity alone does not determine cycling success. The amount …
Pistons, Potatoes and Bullets: Energetics and Pedaling Technique Read More »
- Time to Train for Cyclocross? The conflict between road and cross seasons
Cyclocross, which started as a way for road racers to have fun, add some variety to their training programs and avoid racing withdrawal in fall and winter has recently become a major sport in its own right. Where wrecking road …
Time to Train for Cyclocross? The conflict between road and cross seasons Read More »
- Shades of Red – The Blurred Line of Mental Limits
Grassroots British cyclists have an obsession with the 25-mile time trial. By the end of their first season, every racer knows two things: 1. How long it takes him or her to cover the 25 miles, and 2. The existence …
Shades of Red – The Blurred Line of Mental Limits Read More »
- Ride Safer: Pretend You Are Invisible on Your Bike
With kids back at school and more people on the road, it’s a good time to recall this tested riding tip: We’ve all heard too many stories of bike-car collisions and near collisions. In the majority of those bike-car crash …
Ride Safer: Pretend You Are Invisible on Your Bike Read More »
- The Elephant in the Room: Getting Enough Sleep
Sleep is the elephant in the room when it comes to training plans. If you want to be a champion cyclist, your training hours need to roughly match those of your strongest competitors. It is possible to tweak training to …
- Blister Prevention for Runners
As your runs get longer, the chance of getting blisters goes up. Blisters happen when some part of your shoe or foot or sock rubs hard enough to tug on skin again and again until the top layer of skin …
- Q & A Coach Forum – The Advantage of Float in a Pedal System
Question: What is the advantage/disadvantage (purpose) of “float” in SPD-SL cleats? Head Coach Scott Saifer responds: Knees are designed to work beautifully for tens or even hundreds of thousands of miles of cycling provided that they are treated with respect. …
Q & A Coach Forum – The Advantage of Float in a Pedal System Read More »
- Could an Older Rider Win a Pro Race? The Effects of Aging on Cycling Performance
Most professional cyclists retire in their mid-30s, but all around the country there are guys in the later 30s and into their 40s and 50s who still compete with the 1/2/pro fields. Some of them occasionally show at the front …
Could an Older Rider Win a Pro Race? The Effects of Aging on Cycling Performance Read More »
- How to Corner in a Criterium
One of the most common issues for bike racers of all levels is how to corner fast in a criterium. While confident cornering takes practice at varied speeds on various types of corners, there are a few basic principles of …
- Q & A Coach Forum: Speeding the Healing on a Saddle Sore
Question: New (and badly made) cycling shorts combined with a 62.5 mile ride resulted in two nasty wounds along the crease (between the inner thigh and scrotum) on either side of the crotch. The PCP prescribed some betadine spray and …
Q & A Coach Forum: Speeding the Healing on a Saddle Sore Read More »
- Sports Psychology Q & A: Finding Focus on Race Day
Q: I find in races that my mind wanders. I’m right in the race one moment, and then the next I’m worrying about work tomorrow or thinking about something else, and by the time my head is back in the …
Sports Psychology Q & A: Finding Focus on Race Day Read More »
- Tips for Becoming a Bike Racer – Making the Transition from Rider to Racer
If you have been riding for a while and enjoy going fast or sprinting with your buddies for landmarks or racing to the tops of climbs, a race may be in your future. Here are some tips for making a …
Tips for Becoming a Bike Racer – Making the Transition from Rider to Racer Read More »
- Understanding Velodrome Racing
Although not everyone has a velodrome located nearby, almost every cyclist can benefit from the skills that are gained from racing and training on the track. Velodrome track racing is a unique sport in which the bikes are different and …
- Keys to a Successful Training Program and Coach Relationship
Many factors will affect the effectiveness of your relationship with your coach and your success in reaching your fitness goals. While natural talent and the training itself play important roles in athletic success, many other details can impact how your …
Keys to a Successful Training Program and Coach Relationship Read More »
- Self Massage as a Tool for Recovery
You have followed all the suggested post ride recovery procedures such as stretching, glycogen restoration, hydration, and more but your legs still feel tired and heavy post training. As a result of intense exercise, there is an accumulation of fluids …
- The Unwritten Rule – Why cheating must be punished
Professional bike racing is a big business where money considerations often trump athletic ones, but we fans maintain the fiction of the purity of sport. We get to believe that bike racing identifies riders who are somehow superior. A race …
The Unwritten Rule – Why cheating must be punished Read More »
- Q & A: Heart Rate Maximum and Threshold Testing Outside of a Lab
Question: I’m reading Bike Racing 101 by the Wenzels, and I don’t see an alternate method of calculating Max HR, and threshold HR besides a lab. Can you suggest something I can do without going to a lab? ~Erich Shofstall …
Q & A: Heart Rate Maximum and Threshold Testing Outside of a Lab Read More »
- Lactate Threshold Test
The lactate threshold heart rate is the central datum when setting up heart rate training zones. There’s no magic required to determine the LT heart rate though. Below you will find two different lactate threshold test instructions for measuring ventilatory or …
- Q & A Coach Forum: Training for Climbing in a Flat, Busy City
Question: I’m looking for some training advice regarding hill climbing. I live in Tokyo which has few decent size hills and I’m looking to go into a couple of 160 kms and 4,000m climbs over the northern hemisphere summer (June …
Q & A Coach Forum: Training for Climbing in a Flat, Busy City Read More »
- Q & A Coaching Forum: Training on a Commute
Hello, I have been cycling seriously for a little over a year now. My racing goals focus mainly around triathlons (Olympic distance) but I would like to give straight cycling races a try. As a result of the time commitment …
- Stretching: The Truth – It’s about flexibility, recovery and preventing injury
Updated for 2013 by Kendra Wenzel, with contributions by Jeremy Nelson. Because the gains from stretching aren’t always immediately obvious, it’s easy to put off stretching or forget it altogether. But before you put off reading this article, consider this: …
Stretching: The Truth – It’s about flexibility, recovery and preventing injury Read More »
- Q & A Coach Forum: Ask Your Training Question Here
Got an issue you can’t seem to resolve on your own? Wenzel Coaching offers responses to training, nutrition, strategy and mental skills questions submitted below. We don’t promise to answer every question, but if the answer to your question is …
Q & A Coach Forum: Ask Your Training Question Here Read More »
- Q and A Coaching Forum
Wenzel Coaching offers responses to interesting questions submitted in the comment space below. We don’t promise to answer every question, but if the answer to your question is likely to be interesting or useful to a lot of people, we’ll …
- Bicycle Gear Chart
Often cyclists ask us how they can tell the true size of the gear on a bicycle. The size of a gear corresponds with how far the bicycle will roll with one complete revolution of the pedal. Keep in mind …
- Pre-Riding a Cyclocross Course on Race Day
I like to arrive at the course early to watch one of the other races and do a pre-ride. Pay attention to the starting process. Are they doing call-ups? If not, make sure you arrive to the start line in …
- Making the Most of Indoor Trainer Rides
by Associate Coach Taitt Sato (Updated 2013. Originally published in January 2007) Gotta ride but it’s dark, sleeting, raining, snowing or ridiculously terrible weather outside? You may not love it, but it’s trainer time. Now, you may be eying your …
- Hey Coach, How Can I Climb Faster?
The fastest climbers may not always be the fastest Granfondo riders or the winningest racers, but climbing speed is an honest measure of fitness. You don’t make a good time on a long climb by sucking wheels or otherwise taking …
- Post-Ride Recovery
Over the years, watching hundreds of athletes train, it’s become clear that for most, the limiter for performance is how much training they can handle. The upper limit is not based purely on how many hours they have available to …
- Is Your Bike Fit as Good as Your Bike?
You’ve dropped several grand for your all-carbon superbike with all the latest features and another grand to upgrade the wheels and the shop fit the bike for you so your bike is fast, right? Maybe and maybe not. How the …
- Got Video?
One of the major frustrations for coaches of bike racers is not being able to watch all our clients race. We tell them how to train and get their files or training logs back so we have a decent idea …
- Cyclocross Tips: How to Ride in the Sand
By Coach Rhonda Morin and Coach Elaine Bothe Sandy areas are a way to add difficulty to a dry, flat cyclocross course that otherwise might not be very technical. It’s usually the place where all the spectators and photographers collect …
- Why Get on a Team?
What would happen if Speedy, a professional racing star with a palmares full of podium finishes in classic races, somehow slept through recruitment season and ended up on a local, amateur team instead of a ProTour team? Speedy would not …
- Rest for Road Racers – Should You Take an End-of-Season Break
Fall is finally here, and for many of us roadies this means the end of the racing season has also arrived. It’s time to take a well-deserved break from all the hard work you’ve been doing on the bike. The …
Rest for Road Racers – Should You Take an End-of-Season Break Read More »
- Keeping Training Effective
Training is an integral part of bike racing. Bike racers train to get better, so if training is not making them “better” they should obviously change something. The question is how to measure the effectiveness of training so one can …
- Surviving the Hotter ‘n Hell
By Jim Argabright There are a number of American “classics” in cycling that have gained near cult status and become a “must ride” for any amateur cyclist worthy of their salt. One of these classics is the “Hotter ‘n Hell …
- Winning in the Heat – Tips for Racing in High Temperatures
In the spring and summer, internally generated heat limits training intensity and affects the outcomes of races. Only about one fifth of the energy released by a athlete’s body during cycling ends up as useful work, with the other four-fifths …
Winning in the Heat – Tips for Racing in High Temperatures Read More »
- Stay Calm, Stay Safe, Win
The first few criteriums for a new racer are often a humbling or even terrifying experience. I remember speaking with the manager of a national level pro squad about goals for each of his riders in a downtown crit. One …
- Winning – It Could Happen to You
Many riders enter races for which they are not suited. Skinny little climbers enter flat crits with huge fields. Big-muscled sprinters enter hilly road races. For the most part the results are as expected. One needs powerful legs to win …
- Managing Pre-Race Anxiety
Associate Coach Feeling nervous in the lead-up to a race is a common experience and appropriate for many athletes. After all, a race is a test in which the conditions, fellow competitors, and unpredictability will challenge the athlete. Sports psychologists …
- Getting back to training after an injury
By Anne Linton MD When your hopes of strong results are challenged by an injury from a crash, a mis-use or unresolved muscle imbalances, you may fear losing the fitness you’ve gained through your training, or worry about performance at …
- Got P.E.L.D.? Anticipating and Managing Post Event Let-Down
Athletes who focus on one or a few events per year often experience a particular pattern of emotions around the event. The last few days before a long-course triathlon, marathon or endurance bike ride there is a mix of anxiety …
Got P.E.L.D.? Anticipating and Managing Post Event Let-Down Read More »
- Spoke Trivia – The Hour Record
The Hour Record is the world record at any given time for the longest distance traveled by a solo rider on a bicycle in one hour not assisted by wind, hill or another vehicle or power source. Hour records are …
- Close Riding Drills – Improving Your Ability to Move Up In Tight Spaces
The ability to move up in a tight group or pass on a narrow trail can often make the difference between a podium and a mid-pack finish in a road or MTB race. Some people seem to have the knack …
Close Riding Drills – Improving Your Ability to Move Up In Tight Spaces Read More »
- Honing Your Victory Salute
It’s midway through your racing season and you are in top form. You are accelerating effortlessly through the downtown streets of your hometown criterium. Friends and family have come to watch and cheer you on. Coming out of the last …
- Dressing for Cold Weather
By Associate Coach Ron Castia Dressing for cold weather racing is a balance between wearing enough clothing so that your energy is used for performance rather than warmth without overdressing and overheating. This requires some planning before race day. Here …
- Stretch for Success: Hamstring and Quadraceps Flexibility
Muscle groups behave reciprocally – that is, hamstrings (large muscles at the back of the thigh) and quadriceps (large muscles at the front of the thigh) exchange information about their activity. For example, when hams flex, a signal is sent …
Stretch for Success: Hamstring and Quadraceps Flexibility Read More »
- Cornering & Descending Without Anxiety – Slowing It Down to Speed It Up
Fear as it relates to cycling can be categorized into three main types: 1. Fear that one experiences when danger is present 2. Fear of the unknown or loss of control 3. Phobia – an extreme or irrational fear When …
Cornering & Descending Without Anxiety – Slowing It Down to Speed It Up Read More »
- Tip of the Month: Find More Time to Train
The biggest challenge for most non-professional endurance athletes is simply finding enough time to train and recover on a daily basis. Here are some tips to help you save a few minutes here and there that can add up to …
- Training Camps at Altitude. Should You “Go High?”
Altitude and the effects of altitude on performance and physiology have been a part of my career, training, and everyday life since my arrival in Denver eight years ago. For that reason, many athletes at the elite, master and amateur …
Training Camps at Altitude. Should You “Go High?” Read More »
- First Races
Experience is what you get when you don’t get what you want – Dan Stanford As warmer weather and bike racing return to the Northern Hemisphere this Spring, racers will again be making errors and learning from their mistakes. Many …
- Cross Training for Cyclists
Cyclists sometimes seek other forms of exercise, even those who love riding and live to race bikes. Wanting to do something else is not necessarily a sign of weakness or lack of devotion. There are valid reasons to do something …
- Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Peloton?
Fear; we’ve all felt it. When face-to-face with a mountain lion, or riding in the peleton, fear elicits the “fight or flight” response. It’s a source of motivation. When humans were a part of the food chain, fear motivated you …
- Season Planning – “Okay Go, Adam Sadowsky, and the Yearly Training Plan”
By Sean Scott You may have heard of the immensely popular music video This Too Shall Pass, which has had nearly 24 million hits on YouTube. Believe it or not, the creation of this video by the group Okay Go …
Season Planning – “Okay Go, Adam Sadowsky, and the Yearly Training Plan” Read More »
- Training and Racing La Ruta de los Conquistadores
The annual La Ruta epic mountain bike stage race in Costa Rica traces the coast-to-coast route traveled by the Spanish Conquistadors in the 1500s. It’s a route that took the Conquistadors over 20 years to complete, but today’s racers do …
Training and Racing La Ruta de los Conquistadores Read More »
- Improving Your Cyclocross Start
By Anne Linton MD A cyclocross start requires an all out sprint to establish a good position that can impact the remainder of your race. You may have a great start and end up in the lead pack for the …
- How Much Recovery Is Enough In the Rest Period?
All Wenzel cycling and triathlon programs include annual extended recovery periods, usually about a month in length, though cross racers might break the month into two chunks, one before training for cross and one before training for road or MTB. …
- The Value of Self Belief
By Joe Landry As an athlete, your beliefs dictate your behavior and, consequently, your performance. When an athlete truly believes something, he or she tends to perform in a way that reflects that belief. Your capabilities are governed by beliefs …
- Tip: Choosing Your Exercise Drink
Research clearly shows that drinking fluids during extended exercise sessions improves performance, and that taking on calories during exercise enhances endurance in events lasting more than an hour. The research comparing different exercise drinks shows that if you like your …
- Descending and Cornering on a Bicycle
Most racers want to climb better. Climbing is a measure of worth for many even though climbing speed alone wins very few races. Unless the finish is at the top of the mountain, a climber who doesn’t descend well will …
- Guidelines for Successful Pacelines
As a race breakaway starts to organize, it forms a group working together to succeed in their escape attempt. However, when not all the riders in the group are working smart and cohesively, the group will almost always fail or …
- Should I Eat Gluten Free?
by Heather D’Eliso Gordon, CSSD Question: A teammate of mine was recently diagnosed with celiac disease. She has been eating a gluten-free diet for about a month and is riding much stronger during her training rides and races. Would you …
- Training Tip – Riding In the Heat
It’s getting to the hot time of year, which adds another tactical dimension to your training and racing. Since I’d like to see you all beating the competition, here’s the scoop on how to turn the heat into an advantage: …
- Dealing with End-of-Season Burnout, and How to Remedy It
By Head Coach Kendra Wenzel If you’ve been racing consistently since early spring, it’s very likely that you’re reaching some kind of burnout now, especially if you don’t have major late-season goals or don’t plan to race cyclocross this fall. …
Dealing with End-of-Season Burnout, and How to Remedy It Read More »
- Spoke Trivia: Ironman Origins
“Ironman” Triahlon: The first Ironman triathlon (2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, 26.2 mile run) was held on Oahu, Hawaii in 1978 to settle an argument between the Mid-Pacific Road Runners and the members of the Waikiki Swim Club about …
- The Benefit of Yoga for Cyclists
by John O’Brien Years of yoga have convinced me of benefits of this 5000 year old practice. The word yoga derives from the Sanskrit root “yuj” meaning “‘to yoke,” referencing the body-mind union. The exercise associated with Hatha branch of …
- The Good Teammate – How to Be Positive Part of a Team in Cycling
Cyclists mostly know at some level that bike racing is a team sport and that we need good teammates to help us win. Sometimes listening to the stories and complaints of club racers, though, I wonder if most riders know …
The Good Teammate – How to Be Positive Part of a Team in Cycling Read More »
- Don’t be a rat
I first got seriously into bike racing when I was 23, after a decade of bicycle touring. I was young enough to dream of turning pro and riding in the Tour de France. I had great base from thousands of …
- Let’s Get Real: In season training and tactics
The racing season is here. Racers are hitting peak fitness and doing their best racing of the year. In some districts there are opportunities to race six or seven days per week including the track, mid-week TTs and twilight criteriums. …
- Nutrition Q & A Vitamin D – The Sunshine Vitamin. Do I need to supplement?
Question: I’ve heard a lot lately about the prevalence of Vitamin D deficiencies and the need to take supplements. Should I be taking Vitamin D? As an athlete, is there any harm to being deficient or any positive benefits in having …
Nutrition Q & A Vitamin D – The Sunshine Vitamin. Do I need to supplement? Read More »
- The Barefoot Running Phenomenon
So what is with all this barefoot running? While I believe that we can thank Christopher McDougall and his book Born To Run as the reason for much of this latest craze over running un-shod, barefoot running is really not all …
- Death Stalks the Peloton
When one takes up cycling, one gets more than a healthy activity, an outlet for competitive urges, an excuse to travel and a hole in one’s wallet. One can also choose to become part of the community of cyclists. There …
- Nutrition Q & A: In-Season Weight Loss
Q: I want to lose 10 pounds to improve my racing performance. Is that possible during my race season? A: This question is much more difficult to answer this time of year because most riders are in their pre-race or …
- Pressed for Time – Making the Most of Your Limited Winter Training Hours
With the amount of day light hours fading and economic pressure increased, work just seems like more work lately. Many athletes find themselves riding less and working to make the most out of it. When your training time is limited …
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- Cornering on Dirt – Three steps to better cornering for mountain bike and cyclocross riders
By Coach Martin Baker With cyclocross and short-track mountain biking increasing in popularity, many riders new to off-road riding are entering races relatively unfamiliar with cornering on dirt, mud, and other slippery surfaces. (Snow and ice, anyone?) Some come from …
- Enhancing Recovery with Cryotherapy
By Nitish Nag The ice-bath recovery technique has been in the culture of performance sports for many years. Few up-and-coming racers use this technique, and many professional athletes that use this technique do not know the scientific efficacy of the …
- Don’t Overdo the Hills – The Value of Training on Flat Terrain
Many cyclists rightly observe that riding hills is more challenging than riding flats and then wrongly interpret that to mean they should ride hills on the majority of their rides. Riding hills can be a useful part of a road, …
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- Sleep: The ultimate recovery tool and performance enhancer
By Anne Linton MD As an athlete you are always looking for ways to improve your performance and recovery so you can train harder and get faster. You have access to great coaching with training plans, nutrition secrets, and strength …
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- The Power of Protein – The Power of Knowledge
Nutrition Spotlight by Heather D’Eliso Gordon, RD, CSSD It’s nothing new to athletes that protein is an important nutrient for training and recovery. Scientific studies abound about the benefits of protein in the diet. What’s missing for most athletes are …
- Sports Psychology Q & A: Fear of Slick Turns and Fear of Taking a Spill in Cyclocross
by KC Wilder PhD What a great question. How does one get past the fear of taking a spill in a cyclocross (CX) race? First of all, most novice and elite racers may experience a similar fear. The key is …
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- The Shoe, Pedal, Cleat Connection — A Circular Relationship
Over the course of human evolution the body’s made dramatic adaptations as we’ve evolved from creatures that rarely stood upright to ones who nearly always stand that way. Much of that adaptation is in the foot. Most of these changes …
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- When You’re Feeling Low… Guidelines for Training While You’re Sick
While cyclists tend to think that their cycling makes them the fittest and healthiest people on Earth, they do still occasionally get sick or injured. Regular exercise does boost the immune system and make one more resistant to illness generally, …
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- Sports Nutrition Coaching — What It’s Worth
by Heather D’Eliso Gordon RD, CSSD Consider for a moment all that it takes to be an athlete. Physical ability, mental capacity, motivation, commitment, drive, time demands, family-life balance, money, skill, a vision, not to mention blood, sweat and tears. …
- The Things We Do For Love – The Costs of Bike Racing
Forward thinking riders sometimes ask me about the costs of bike racing. I tick through the list: A racer needs a racing bike and an extra set of wheels. Then there are special foods, tires, tubes, pumps, shorts, shoes, socks, …
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- Ride Clean – in the dirt
“Ride Clean” to most cyclists means staying drug free. While all athletes should stick to this sort of riding clean, there’s another kind of “ride clean” in ‘cross racing that truly is performance enhancing. The “ride clean” I’m talking about …
- How to Dial in Your CycloCross Ride
Cyclocross season is just around the corner and the time has come to dust off last year’s mud from your trusty ‘cross bike that’s been itching to be ridden. Let’s not waste time here; this article is about the bike …
- Joe Racer Vs. The Bad Guys
Many bike racers with the talent to be super heroes have terrible enemies in the peloton who repeatedly thwart their ambitions. In a bike race, the good guy doesn’t always win. If the good guy has to waste energy dealing …
- Nutrition Q & A: Getting real with pre-event meals
Question: “I understand that my pre-race meal should contain a balance of carbohydrates, protein and fat, but it’s difficult to find concrete examples to follow. What are some real food examples that I could eat before my race?” Answer: Eating a …
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- Nutrition Q &A: When is a calorie just a calorie? Gluten-free and other foods and their effects on ideal weight
by Raynelle Shelley My roommate and I are trying to bring our weight down. My strategy is to simply cut back on portions, though I haven’t really changed the makeup of what I eat. Although my roommate hasn’t really cut …
- Passion and Cycling: An Interview with Melissa Sanborn
By Dr KC Wilder, Sports Psychologist As a sport psychologist and researcher, I chose to interview racing cyclist and Wenzel Coach Melissa Sanborn of Vanderkitten Racing for this issue of the newsletter. The article is simply a transcript with questions …
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- Training Tips: Save Your Matches in a Criterium
Many riders are under the impression that successful criterium riding is all about repeated explosive accelerations. Nothing could be farther from the truth, at least if you want to win. In fact, the most successful crit racers minimize accelerations, doing …
- Don’t Hate Them For Winning
There are riders who never work at the front prior to the final few laps in a criterium, and yet consistently get on the podium. These riders are often not aerobically powerful. Some can’t time-trial their way out of a …
- Road Trip!!! It’s Stage Racing Time!
It’s summer in the Northern Hemisphere. Cycling fans are focused on the 21-day Tour de France while bike racers are heading to their own shorter stage races for sustained doses of suffering, and nearly guaranteed good times. Stage races can …
- Remotivating when you’ve fallen behind in your goals
By Patrick Wilder, LCSW Q: I was on a good pattern of training, eating and resting about a month ago, but work and personal pressures have knocked me off the wagon. It seems I’m on a downward spiral of frustration …
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- Zen and the Art of Bike Racing – Relax, Focus and Enjoy the Contradictions
By Head Coach Scott Saifer This article was originally published in ROAD Magazine in May 2009. What takes place… is believed in only after it has been accomplished. There will be great progress and success. Advantage will come from being …
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- Finding Motivation in a Down Economy
We’ve all been impacted by it, in one way or another; whether personally, professionally or financially every one of us has been hit in some way by the global downturn in the economy. We’re dealing with less money in our …
- Sports Psychology Q & A Returning to Confidence After a Major Crash
by KC Wilder, PhD Question: I had a pretty major crash in a criterium two years ago. I cracked my helmet in two and separated my left shoulder in the crash. I took a year off from cycling so that …
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- Traveling with Bikes
by James Hibbard The time of year is fast approaching when many athletes will fly to their annual target events. When competing at a major event, it is critical to arrive not simply physically prepared, but also psychologically calm. Critical …
- From Couch to Podium: The Road to Fitness and Why It’s Not Too Late to Get Started
Bike racing is fun and exciting. Bike racers are generally happy, healthy people. They have things to do on weekends. They have goals that give meaning to their daily lives. This is all great for people who already race bikes …
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- Training While Traveling for the Busy Business Person
by Mike Henderson How many times have you gotten to your hotel during a business trip, looking forward to a workout only to realize you didn’t have your clothes. Or, maybe you had your clothes but it was late at …
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- Healthy Rivalry versus Obsessive Rivalry: Where do You Draw the Line?
By Dr. Kathryn C. Wilder You may have a rival in your area whom you are focused on beating. When you beat your rival you may be pumped up, even if you didn’t win the race. On the other hand, …
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- Extreme Cold. What’s Your Limit?
By Coach MC Jenni T’was the week before Christmas and all through the castle Not a wheel was spinning, it seemed such a hassle The trainer sat all alone by the tv It’s so cold outside, “I’d freeze” thought the …
- Winter Base Training Q & A
This month rather than expound for several pages on a single topic, I’ll present short responses to some frequent questions in winter training. If you race you probably have thought of some of these yourself and applying these answers will …
- Riding at Night
By Associate Coach Jenni Gaertner Every year in November and December I mourn the waning daylight hours. Motivation gets harder to maintain when I find myself driving to work in the dark and returning home the same way. Unfortunately, the …
- The Importance of Little Things
Little things matter. Bike races are won or lost by fractions of an inch or almost immeasurably small differences in average speed. Cyclists focus on training and tactics, but small changes in equipment, body weight, clothing, position, cadence and even …
- Nutrition Q & A: The addictive powers of diet soda
by Wenzel Coaching Experts Heather D’Eliso Gordon, RD, CSSD and K.C. Wilder PhD Q: Help! I’m addicted to diet soda, the bubbles and the taste. I know it’s bad for me, but it’s become a crutch during my workday. Any …
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- Oh No! Not Junk Miles! – Understanding what makes a quality training ride
Racers must ride quality miles and avoid junk miles to succeed in competition, but how can one distinguish junk from quality on a given ride? Many racers do junk training thinking they are doing quality, and then avoid riding that …
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- Conscious Training
Just as there’s power in training your body, there’s power in training your mind. Having clear intent for each and every ride in your training plan is an important part of becoming the rider you are aiming to be. You …
- Is Your Lifestyle Consistent with Your Goals? You Must Live Like a Racer to Ride Like a Racer
Bike racing is an extremely demanding and unforgiving sport. Unlike baseball, soccer or football in which half of the few dozen players in any given game will win, only one rider gets to take the top step on the podium …
- There’s no “We” in “Team”
Bike racing at the professional level is very much a team sport. While individuals get credit for winning races and tours, they cannot do so without the support of a strong team. Sometimes the support is obvious, such as when …
- Tactics 101 – Road Racing Strategy
by Brian Forbes For every action in the race by a competitor or teammate, there is always a choice of reactions by every other rider in the race. In the excitement of being in a racing pack, it is important …
- Back Pain – Is It About the Bike?
By Lee Shuemake We have all had those long or tough days on the bike when our body is telling us it would rather be sitting on the couch watching cycling videos. I’m not talking about the normal pain in …
- Enough Already! How to make a mid-season break work for you
Picture this: It’s summer and races are frequent and fast. You’ve been training consistently since the fall and have been racing strong for the last several months. You have been feeling particularly strong and have had several good races in …
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- Eat Like a Pro — Eating enough carbohydrates is a key to success
Q: Now that I am in full swing with my racing season, I am noticing that I am not recovering well after races or hard training days. My legs are heavy and I just don’t have that edge I need …
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- Breaking the Law of Specificity
The single most powerful concept in training plan development for all sports is the “Law of Specificity.” This rule says that the greater the similarity between practice and the desired performance, the more effective it is. Training exercises should resemble …
- Dial in Your Warm-up
The warm-up is a mystery to many athletes. Too little warm-up and the body may protest under the fire of a high beginning race pace. Too much warm-up, and valuable energy and calories may have been wasted before race crunch …
- Don’t Just Be Dust in the Wind
Winds can play a major role in the outcome of any race. From conserving energy to advancing position in the pack, wind can be a valuable ally or unwelcome foe. Come race day, knowing how to read and position for …
- The Power of a Good Bike Fit
by Earl Zimmermann During hard moments in a race, the cyclist experiences different levels of pain in those muscles that power the bike down the road. This short-term discomfort is inevitable and will vary in intensity at different points during …
- Nutrition Q &A: Fluid Needs During a Time Trial
Q: Do I need to drink fluids during a time trial that lasts longer than 20 minutes? A: The answer to this question lies in the answer to this: Do you know your sweat rate? Generally speaking, you probably know …
- Bad Weather? No Problem Late Winter Riding Tips
It is okay to look at the weather report and rearrange your riding calendar to put the long rides on the nicer-weather days. Ask your coach for help. Ride outdoors as much as you can, even if there is a …
- Plan Your Season Using SMART Goals
by Associate Coach Melissa Sanborn Goal-setting is a common weakness for struggling athletes and a common strength for successful athletes. Good goal setting will improve your motivation and self confidence, while poor goal setting or avoiding goal setting altogether will …
- A Case for Base
by Jonathan Puskas It’s January and you’re being dropped by your team on a weekend group ride while attempting to keep your heart rate under control. Your teammates begin to egg you on: “Can’t you pick it up?…You aren’t riding …
- The Unique Needs of Novice Racers
Novice racers working their way up through the amateur ranks are not little professionals. Advice that is appropriate for professional riders is often inappropriate for novices. While developing riders share many characteristics with seasoned pros, they also differ in important …
- Do You Know How to Juggle?
It never fails: every time I try to sit down to do some work, whether it’s checking the emails that flood my inbox or catching up on some phone calls, I hear “the call.” “Mom! Where’s my _______ ?: (fill …
- Lose Weight This Winter with Purposeful Eating
by Raynelle Shelley, RD Fall is the start of the “off-season” for many road cyclists, mountain bikers and triathletes. Off-season, as we all know, does not mean ceasing all forms of exercise but it is the time to reduce the …
- Holistic Racing Preparation
How many times in a career does an aspiring racer get a new piece of equipment, a new training plan, or a new magic food and figure, “this is it, now I’m on the short path to the big time”, …
- Flexibility is Key to Performance
For most of us who hold down jobs and family commitments, stretching gets placed on the “to do” list that never seems to get done! Oftentimes it’s easy to put off stretching because the gains are relatively small, and long …
- Finding the Time to Train in Your Life
We all know that the lives of professional cyclists revolve around training. They get up in the morning, eat, rest, go for a ride, eat, rest and then go to bed. It sounds like the dream life, one in which …
- Shooting the Moon: Will You Be the Next Cycling Superhero? – The Importance of Setting Performance and Outcome Goals
Only one person will win the next Tour de France or U.S. Men’s Professional Road Race. No one knows who it is yet, but we do know some important things about him: He is a hard-working, goal oriented rider between …
- Heart Monitor? Power Meter? Don’t Forget the Brain! – Perceived Exertion as a Measure of Effort
Bike racers train to gain physiological adaptations that will allow them to ride faster, farther or more aggressively. The response to training depends on the details of the training and on the condition of the rider beforehand, but not on …
- Take 5: The Annual Rest Period
Should riders take a break from training after one season before starting to train for the next? Most professional riders do. Some argue that anyone who doesn’t take a post-season break will more or less burst into flames and fall …
- Mental Training and Self-Talk
You spend hours training your body. You carefully plan what you will eat, what supplements to take and how you will fuel and hydrate – all to ensure optimal performance. You dial in your race bike, probably spend way too …
- Working Overtime – Minimizing stress is key to balancing racing and a full time job
(Originally published in Velonews Magazine in 2007) by Head Coach Kendra Wenzel Two racers follow a nearly identical, demanding training pattern. They have similar goals, racing schedules, talents and strengths, plus a common team. One is a full-time athlete; the …
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- Nutrition Q &A: Protein Intake
Q: I read with interest your Diet Guidelines Handout. Your summary of daily intakes and so on makes a lot of sense. I did have one question about your recommendation of 1/4 to 1/3 g protein per pound of body …
- Bike Racing: The Game
By the time you read this the Northern Hemisphere racing season will be in its waning months. Chances are that you’d still like to earn a few more upgrade points or attract attention from a bigger team and that you …
- Win or Go Blind Trying
You have to be tough to succeed as a bike racer. If you don’t like pain, this is not the sport for you. This doesn’t mean that bike racers deliberately seek pain, but simply that success frequently requires doing things …
- Beat the Heat
by Associate Coach Joe Cieszynski Anyone who has raced Superweek in Wisconsin knows firsthand how the heat and humidity of a typical Midwest summer can make any training session or race miserable, unproductive, or even downright life threatening. Like many …
- Relax, it’s
nota big deal: Recovery behaviorsLatest Survey: Training Makes Riders Weaker! “The majority of bike racers surveyed say they come back from training rides and gym sessions weaker and more tired than when they leave, contradicting the popular perception that training makes one stronger. ‘At …
- The Skinny on Climbing
Racers don’t expect to win hilly races carrying bricks or riding 33-pound bikes. Extra pounds are a huge disadvantage. Unless a weighted-down rider’s talent or training is far superior to that of the competitors, he would be dropped on any …
- Quiz: Racing is the best training – or is it?
Underline the best answer and discuss: Racing is the best training: a) Always b) Sometimes c) Never I’m sure you’ve heard or read that racing is the best training. What does that mean? Should you pile on race miles to …
- Tactical Toolbox: The Attack
An attack is an acceleration initiated with the goal of getting a tactically significant gap. A well planned attack is often the tactical turning point of a race, but many attacks are ineffective: Some don’t result in a gap. Some …
- Cadence: Art or Science?
by Earl Zimmermann Several years ago one man (you know who he is) changed our perception of how to climb a mountain by “dancing” on the pedals. Since then countless articles have been written about how to optimize cadence. Lance …
- Maintaining Motivation Through a “Dry Spell”
by Laurel Green Most riders will experience a “dry spell” at some time in their athletic careers, and I am not referring to Global Warming here. A dry spell in athletics is a period of time in which you are …
- How to win a bike race
Many riders who race but don’t win assume that they need to train some weak area of physical ability. One can train in specific ways to improve the power that can be sustained for mile after mile, for a few …
- Cyclists Who Ride Too Much: Exercise Addiction as a Cause of Overtraining
Most racers will say they train to improve performance, but many ride in ways that do not support that goal. Sometimes from ignorance and sometime for more insidious reasons, they undertake excessive volume or intensity for their current experience, fitness, …
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- Overcoming Your Race Anxiety
by Michelle Cleere Anxiety is something all athletes deal with at some level. What’s important to know about anxiety is where it comes from, its effects, and what to do about it. Defining anxiety Anxiety is a negative emotional state …
- Training While Pregnant
Well, I went and did it again. I had another baby. And while she’s the cutest thing in the world, the extra fifteen pounds she left me with aren’t so cute. You might be tempted to think, “So much for …
- Attacking the Early Season
by Rich Cramer Depending on where you live, the 2007 race season has started or soon will. You may or may not be prepared to race, whether due to fitness, mental state or schedule. If you find yourself on the …
- The Making of a Champion
There is a lot of variety in race preparation programs. Plans followed by national teams are different from plans recommended by books or by individual coaches. Coaches recommend particular exercises not found in the programs of other riders. Are national-team …
- When You’re Sick
by Liz Varner I used to think that I was blessed with a superhuman immune system. I managed to avoid illnesses year after year. I could train high volume, race week after week and still remain healthy. My teammates and …
- Emigrating to Bike-World
Involvement in club racing can be extremely rewarding. Besides excitement and challenge, one gains physical fitness, confidence, self-knowledge and a social network. For many, bike culture is the background for life’s journey of self-discovery or provides a structure that gives …
- How Long Will You Keep Your New Year’s Resolutions
by Scott Saifer, M.S. This article first appeared in ROAD Magazine in December 2006. Bicycle racing does not favor whiners. Competition requires willingness to do what needs to be done even if it is hurts, as it often does. Muscles …
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- You have to want it: The emotional component of racing
Preparation for athletic performance is like a three-legged stool. All three legs must be equally long and strong if the stool is to be stable and support you as your race to victory. The first two legs relate to physical …
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- Simple Diet Tips for Cyclists and Endurance Athletes
If you are heavier than your ideal race weight, this is the time of year to do something about it. When you are racing or doing higher intensity training you need plenty of good quality food to support rapid recovery. …
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- Physiology of Performance and Periodization
Physiology is the science of how the body works: How muscles contract; how the heart, lungs and blood vessels deliver oxygen and fuel to the body; how the energy in food is converted into muscle power; how training affects muscles …
- Aerobic Base Training: Do your homework
If it’s fall and you are preparing to race next Spring, it’s time to be working on your base. Quoting the old cliché, it is time to lay a big foundation for the harder training and racing in the months …
- Double Reality Check – Identifying a tactical race plan that suits both your talents and the course
There are as many potentially successful strategies for winning bike races as there are courses and categories. However, only a few strategies are likely to be successful in any given race. Strategies that work beautifully on one course or with …
- Light a Candle, or, Race the Race You’ve Entered
See if you can figure out the common factor in these five situations: Riders are stretched out single file on a wide straight road as the leader weaves back and forth, pedaling furiously, occasionally looking over his shoulder, and frantically …
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- Quiz: Racing is the Best Training (underline the best answer and discuss)
a) Always b) Sometimes c) Never I’m sure you’ve heard or read that racing is the best training. What does that mean? Should you pile on race miles to the exclusion of all else? Is racing really the best training …
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- Race Your Strengths
Each rider is more suited to particular aspects of racing and less suited to others. Some riders have tremendous speed for a short distance, some can ride all day at a good clip and some can climb away from a …
- Your Ride: Dynamic Bike Fit
The fit of the bike is essential to the performance of the rider. A properly chosen frame and properly fitted bike will allow you to ride the drops for many miles in comfort, corner with confidence and lay down the …
- Training Toolkit: PowerCrank Review
by Karl Etzel With so many electronic gadgets out there to help you get faster I thought it would be interesting to write about a totally un-electronic product I have been using over the past few months in my …
- Learning from the Tour de France: Rider Roles
When we watch pro races on television, the roles of racers all look so well defined. Robbie McEwen is a SPRINTER and Fred Rodriguez the LEADOUT MAN that takes Robbie to the 200m mark. Michael Rasmussen a CLIMBER who will …
- My Kung fu is stronger than your Kung fu: The Science of Training
Even well informed coaches and riders can argue frequently, and sometimes angrily, about training methods. Enough research has been published, one might think training would be reduced to a science: That there would be one proven and accepted training plan …
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- Restarting from zero – When coming back from injury, take it slow
Athletes often get sidelined in the early season, whether from overtraining, an overuse injury or a crash. Most miss a week or two, then get back in the game after a week of rebuilding. The unlucky ones — or the …
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