Tag: Cycling Physiology
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The Lactate Clearance Secret
Why Some Cyclists Can Attack Again and Again While Others Explode There are secrets in cycling. No, I’m not talking about doping. Every time someone mentions “secrets” in endurance sports, that’s where people’s minds immediately go. What I’m talking about are the things that the best riders understand, either consciously or unconsciously, that many cyclists…
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Power Is Not Absolute
Why Watts Scale to the Athlete—and Why Cycling Still Gets It Wrong There’s a persistent myth in cycling that refuses to die: “Bigger riders are faster on the flats because they produce more power.” It sounds like physics. It isn’t. There is no law of physics—none—that says higher absolute watts make you faster without considering…
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The Long Ride Myth: Cost, Context, and Why Volume Isn’t the Same as Development
For as long as endurance sport has existed, athletes have been told that long rides are the foundation of fitness. Three, four, five hours at a time. Regularly. Religiously. The logic feels intuitive: more time must equal more endurance. But intuition isn’t physiology. And for trained athletes, that belief has quietly outlived its usefulness. The…
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Zone 2 Cycling Guide: Why It’s a State of Adaptation, Not Just a Percentage
What is the true purpose of Zone 2 training? “Zone 2 training is a metabolic state where the body builds aerobic capacity without triggering a stress response. Unlike percentages, true Zone 2 is defined by parasympathetic dominance, allowing for mitochondrial growth and better fat oxidation.” Lab Notes: Quick Summary • The Content: • Zone 2…
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Experience Doesn’t Mean Your Training Makes Sense
Most training mistakes aren’t made by beginners. They’re made by experienced cyclists doing what feels familiar, disciplined, and responsible. The problem isn’t a lack of knowledge. It’s that experience creates confidence — and confidence creates momentum. And momentum can carry you in the wrong direction for a very long time. Experience teaches you how to…
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The Science of Steady
How Real Endurance Is Built — SMART Rider Series, Part 2 Last time, in Base: Where Slow Becomes Fast, we explored why patient base work builds the foundation for every season that follows. Now, in Part 2, we move beyond patience and into precision — the difference between logging hours and creating adaptation. Ride Slow…
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BASE: Where Slow Becomes Fast
The Forgotten Art of Building the Engine — SMART Rider Edition Part 1 Most riders know how to train hard. Few know how to train smart when the season’s over. The base season — that quiet stretch between rest and rebuild — is where champions are made, even if nobody’s watching. It’s when the ambitious…
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Masters Misguided: Why Older Athletes Need More Rest, Not More Intensity
Every fall, the same message starts circulating through Masters cycling circles: “You can’t afford to take too much time off.” The reasoning sounds logical — “Older athletes lose fitness faster,” “it’s harder to rebuild base after 40,” or “you need to keep the engine running.” It’s become an accepted truth in modern endurance culture: that…
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Why the Smartest Cyclists Rest When Everyone Else Trains
Every fall, the same conversation starts circling through group rides and coaching groups: “Don’t take too much time off.” Some programs even claim the off-season is where you “get ahead,” or that you can only afford one real break a year if you want to keep progressing. It sounds logical. It feels productive. But it’s…
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Durability Wins Races — The Untapped Power After FTP
Why the real advantage starts when your FTP stops working. The Race That Taught Me What Really Wins It was the final lap of the 2025 Canadian Masters National Road Race — an attritional day stacked with climbs, heat, and surges that felt more like trench warfare than sport. By the third hour, everyone was…