OVERVIEW
Should you perform your interval efforts at the beginning or end of your workout? In most cases, doing hard efforts early, when you are freshest, increases power output and time-at-intensity for those intervals. In this episode, Coach Adam Pulford provides the rationale behind this structure and shares the three specific scenarios when he has athletes ride in Zone 2 for most of the ride and execute hard efforts at the end.

TOPICS COVERED

• Why you should do intervals in the first third of your workout.
• How early intervals improve Zone 2 training effect afterward
• Intervals at the end for competition specificity
• Intervals at the end for fatigue resistance training/durability
• Interval timing advice for Time-Crunched Athlete

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LINKS/RESOURCES

• Workout & Interval Structure: Decoding Interval Workouts: How to determine the number and duration of intervals
  
  
• The Science of Training Your Durability and Fatigue Resistance: https://youtu.be/8-RRwmlErDI or https://www.buzzsprout.com/813266/episodes/15275108
  
  
• Fatigue Resistance Training and Testing: https://youtu.be/556YzqceA9E or https://www.buzzsprout.com/813266/episodes/15507165
  
  
• Knowledge is Watt: DURABILITY: THE FOURTH DIMENSION OF ENDURANCE PERFORMANCE:

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

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Website: trainright.com
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Overview: In this insightful conversation, Coaches Jason Koop and Adam Pulford pull back the curtain and reveal the ways they navigate the creation, planning, and execution of athlete goals - and their own goals as coaches and professionals. It's a new perspective on traditional narratives about goal setting, one that is sure to be thought-provoking for athletes and coaches alike.

Topics covered in this episode:

• Who's goals are these, anyway?
• Why coaches and athletes are terrible at forecasting
• Why a granular annual plan can be counterproductive
• How a broadly-based annual plan is essential
• How to guide an athlete with two or more A-goals in a season

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Guest: Jason Koop
Jason Koop is the Head Coach of CTS Ultrarunning, author of "Training Essentials for Ultrarunning, 2nd Ed", creator of the "Research Essentials for Ultrarunning" monthly newsletter, and host of "The Koopcast" podcast. He is one of the most sought-after coaches in ultrarunning, and for many years he was the CTS Coaching Director in charge of coaching education and ongoing mentoring of CTS Coaches across all sports. Find Jason on Instagram, Twitter, or his website: https://jasonkoop.com

Host
Adam Pulford has been a CTS Coach for more than 15 years and holds a B.S. in Exercise Physiology. He's participated in and coached hundreds of athletes for endurance events all around the world.

Links

• Long Range Planning Link: Book — Coach Jason Koop
• My Go-To on Periodization: Periodization Theory and Methodology of Training
• Article on Goals: Three Types of Goals for Cycling Success

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Overview: Coach Renee Eastman joins Adam Pulford to provide wisdom, guidance, and actionable tips for thriving through the week between Christmas and New Year's. For some, it's an opportunity for a big training block (e.g., Rapha's Festive 500). Others struggle to train at all because of family trips. And still others get anxious about indulging in holiday meals. Renee and Adam have common-sense tips for all these scenarios and more.

Topics Covered In This Episode:

• Strategies for Time-Crunched vs. Time-Rich Athletes
• Will taking two weeks off hurt your fitness?
• Alternative exercises that count for training
• Healthy perspectives on Holiday eating
• Are week-long fitness challenges a good idea?
• How to execute a week-long challenge if you choose

Guest:

Renee Eastman is a CTS Premier Level Coach and has been coaching with the company for more than 20 years. She has been a professional bike fitter for 15 years and was one of the first fitters to use the Retül bike fit system. She has a master's degree in exercise science, has worked for USA Cycling, and is a 6-time Masters National Champion.

Show Links:

• Renee Eastman bio: https://trainright.com/coaches/renee-eastman/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/renee.eastman/?hl=en
• Detraining Effects Prevention: A New Rising Challenge for Athletes - PMC
• (PDF) The Effects of Detraining on Cardiovascular Parameters in Distance Runners
• Vacations: Remarkably Valuable for Athlete Fitness and Life-Balance
• The Rapha Festive 500
• Detraining Episode: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-time-crunched-cyclist-podcast-by-cts/id1494799053?i=1000583323375

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Host
Adam Pulford has been a CTS Coach for more than 14 years and holds a B.S. in Exercise Physiology. He's participated in and coached hundreds of athletes for endurance events all around the world.

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OVERVIEW
Warmup routines change based on the physical and mental demands of a competition or training session. There are general rules of thumb like, "The shorter the race the long the warmup", but Coach Adam Pulford dives deeper and describes exactly how long to warm up on the bike and with what range of intensities, along with dynamic activities cyclists can do off the bike - or in the start corral - to compete or train at your best.

TOPICS COVERED

• Warm up rules of thumb
• The Short warmup (7-10 minutes)
• Medium warmup (20 minutes)
• Long warmups (30-45 minutes)
• Example: Long warmup before hard training (25-30 minutes)
• Example: Race warmup (45 minutes)
• Example: Alternative short race warmup (20 minutes)
• Dynamic Warmup and Activation Exercises
• Do Masters athletes need a longer warmup?
• Creating a good dynamic warmup
• Time-Crunched Warmups and Race Start Corrals

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RESOURCES

1. EXAMPLE Warm up before hard Training: ~25-30min
   1. 10-15min of easy endurance spinning
   2. 3x1min FastPedals (high cadence, moderate power) with 1min RBI, spin easy for 2-3min then move on to
   3. 2x20s openers with 2-3min RBI
   4. Build into your main set, and have at it!
      1. Good for a 90min session with hard, zone 4+ intervals
2. EXAMPLERace Warm Up: 45min
   1. 10-15min of easy endurance spinning
   2. 3x1min FastPedals (high cadence, moderate power) with 1min RBI
   3. 2x4min Threshold efforts with 3min RBI
   4. 2x20s openers with 2-3min RBI
   5. 5-10min easy spinning
3. EXAMPLE Simple Race Warm Up: 20min
   1. 7-10min easy endurance spinning
   2. 3min build from Tempo to Threshold
   3. 2min easy
   4. 1x20s Opener
   5. 3-5min easy spinning

LINKS

• NSCA General and Specific Warm Up
• Golden Rule of Running: Never Skip the Warm-up
  
  

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

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

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

OVERVIEW
Sometimes your exercise heart rate seems higher than normal for a given power output and perceived exertion. Beyond the standard variables that affect heart rate, like caffeine, dehydration, anxiety, and fatigue, there are other training and nervous system related factors that may elevate exercise heart rates for a few days or up to two weeks. Coach Adam Pulford examines three common scenarios that can temporarily jack up your exercise heart rate.

TOPICS COVERED

• What influences heart rate
• Scenario 1 - first indoor trainer session
• Heat training for indoor cycling
• Scenario 2 - time away from training
• How to mitigate elevated HR issues when returning to training
• Heat exposure to mitigate elevated HR
• Scenario 3 - long steady rides vs. hilly rides
• HR response to cold vs. heat
• MTB Tip - using hrTSS to evaluate technical terrain

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LINKS/RESOURCES

• Evidence and possible mechanisms of altered maximum heart rate with endurance training and tapering - PubMed
• Do You Have An Elevated Heart Rate After Exercise? Here's Why
• Effects of Exercise on the Resting Heart Rate: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Interventional Studies
• Unlocking Peak Performance: Heat Training Science with Lindsay Golich (EP #214)
• Autonomic Nervous System: What It Is, Function & Disorders
• Recovery from sauna bathing favorably modulates cardiac autonomic nervous system - ScienceDirect

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

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

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Website: trainright.com
Instagram: @cts_trainright
Twitter: @trainright
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OVERVIEW
In a recent episode (#220), Coach Adam Pulford covered how much Zone 2 training is too much or no longer productive. At the other end of the spectrum, there were questions about the minimum dose of Zone 2 training necessary to achieve positive adaptations. The minimums depend on whether athletes are beginners, intermediates, or advanced riders, along with other factors. Coach Adam explains how to categorize yourself and how to find the appropriate minimum ride length to make Zone 2 sessions effective.

TOPICS COVERED

• Classifications of athletes for Zone 2 work
• Minimum doses of Zone 2 for Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced riders
• Why different athletes have different minimum doses of Zone 2

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

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

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Website: trainright.com
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OVERVIEW: The Breck Epic is the premier mountain bike stage race in the United States, and Race Founder and Director Mike McCormack is a legendary for the ethos and environment he's cultivated around the race. He and Adam Pulford go beyond Breck Epic to talk about what riders get out of doing truly epic endurance events, how to prepare for them, how to have fun during them. Don't miss this inspiring and motivating conversation, and then go sign up for your next big adventure!

Key topics in this episode:

• How Breck Epic works
• The value of creating a great racing experience for riders
• Balancing MTB skills and fitness training
• The effect of Breckenridge's altitude (9400 ft) on performance, nutrition, and recovery
• Preparing for racing at altitude when you live at sea level
• Managing race week efforts to maximize fun and success

Guest
Mike McCormack founded the Breck Epic MTB Stage Race in 2009, treating its field to a high-alpine tour of Colorado’s secret stashes, hidden gems and historical ghost towns. Committed to big routes with good friends, Epic’s 220-plus miles and 40k of vertical establish its 6 stages as the gold standard of endurance backcountry riding. With a unique cloverleaf format allowing riders from 25 countries and 40+ states to start and finish each day within a mile of the the historical Victorian mining town of Breckenridge, Colorado, Epic is the mountain bike experience of a lifetime.

Links

• IG: https://www.instagram.com/breckepic/
• X: https://x.com/BreckEpic
• https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=breck%20epic
• https://breckepic.com/

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

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Website: trainright.com
Instagram: @cts_trainright
Twitter: @trainright
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OVERVIEW
Unravel the mystery of "junk miles" with as we redefine the controversial concept and dismantle myths surrounding Zone 2, Zone 3, Tempo and Sweet Spot. This episode will help you transform aimless fatigue-inducing rides into purposeful, performance-enhancing sessions. Understanding the art of periodization and the value of each training zone, you’ll learn to strategically align your rides with your fitness goals and maximize your cycling potential.

TOPICS COVERED

• What "Junk Miles" really means
• Weekly training pattern to avoid junk miles
• Tips for planning effective workouts
• Making good use of group rides

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LINKS

• Periodization Theory and Methodology of Training
• Macrocycles, Mesocycles, Microcycles: Periodized Training Explained
• What Are Junk Miles and Are They Ruining Your Training? The Science
• Chris Carmichael's 5 Most Important Rules for Cycling Training - CTS
• Block Periodization for TC Athletes: https://substack.com/home/post/p-139717997

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

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

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Join our weekly newsletter

CONNECT WITH CTS

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