How could a mountain biker keep up with a trail runner going up a steep mountain climb? 

You could say Grotts was talented, but there’s more to it than that. Grotts is an aerobic monster from years of training and racing at the top level in cycling. 

Cyclists put in the work–and lots of it. And running uphill doesn’t have the same biomechanical stress as running fast on flat or downhill terrain.

From a cumulative training perspective, cyclists can recover from the work faster than runners, allowing them to build huge physiological capacities. 

Cycling isn’t guaranteed to get you a KOM on the local running hill climb, but it can be a great tool in your training to build endurance and lessen your risk of injury.

How Do Runners Benefit From Cycling?

Runners turning to cycling for fitness often find they are limited by muscle fatigue more than by the cardiovascular system. This is largely because there are key differences in how muscles are put under tension during a running stride and pedal stroke. (You can see exactly what muscles cycling works in this blog.)

Over time, combining both types of exercise into your program can increase muscular endurance, increase overall training availability, and improve performance in both disciplines. 

Lower Impact at Higher Intensities

Many runners struggle to train consistently, increase their running volume, or incorporate higher intensity efforts because of frequent or recurring injuries. Cycling allows you to perform at higher intensity levels without dramatically increasing impact. 

Every time your foot hits the ground while running, your bones, muscles, tendons, and ligaments take up to 3x your body weight in “ground reaction force.”  Impact forces only go up as the speed of running increases.

Aerobic Adaptations

Cycling workouts can improve aerobic development for individuals who are limited by the number of running hours their bodies can tolerate. Training on the bike allows athletes to accumulate more time at a given cardiovascular intensity. 

When it comes to aerobic adaptations like increasing fat oxidation, increasing mitochondrial density, and expanding the capillarization of skeletal muscles, time at intensity matters more than the specificity of running vs. cycling. 

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Getting Started on the Bike

As a runner and running coach with extensive cycling experience, I like to have runners envision cycling workouts as a way to “isolate” the cardiovascular system from the muscular system. 

This is obviously an exaggeration, but it helps runners understand how different cycling and running can be from the standpoints of muscle stress and damage. 

To a runner, cycling at an easy aerobic pace is almost like hooking their heart and lungs up to a machine to get worked out while the leg muscles are over in the hammock taking a chill. 

If you choose, you can then use gears and intensity to add tension to the working muscles through low cadence, high torque workouts.

Cycling Heart Rate vs. Running Heart Rate

A trained runner who is new to cycling might notice a lower heart rate on the bike (by about 8-10 bpm) compared to a similar perceived effort during a run effort. With more time cycling, sport-specific fitness improves and biking and running intensity ranges become more similar. 

The oxygen cost of running at a given intensity is higher compared to cycling, so it will never be a 1:1 crossover. However, as researcher Dr. Stephen Seiler says, “training is an optimization challenge, not a maximization challenge.”  

To improve running performance, we need to increase your capacity to do work across a variety of intensities. Cycling allows you to do this while lessening your risk for injury from mechanical stress. It’s a balance between signal and response over time, and cycling could be part of finding this balance.

Aerobic-Building Cycling Workouts For Runners

If you’re ready to start adding cycling to your training, here’s a few workouts to consider. 

And if you don’t have a bike or access to cycle outside, don’t worry; all of these workouts can be done on an indoor trainer. 

Simple Rides for Base Building

Hopping on the bike is a great way to get your heart rate up without the wear of tear of running. Consider an endurance ride or hopping on the indoor trainer:

1. The Zone 2 Endurance Ride. This is a great way to accumulate a large amount of time in Zone 2 (easy, aerobic, conversational pace). Because the mechanical stress and muscle damage are so much lower compared to long runs, recovery times following 2- to 4-hour Zone 2 rides are much shorter (usually only one day).
   
2. TrainingPeaks Virtual. If you want to get in a great workout without worrying about traffic or your cycling skills, an indoor cycling setup on TrainingPeaks Virtual is a great solution.
   
   The list of routes includes hilly, flat, or long sustained climbs. You can upload your planned workout from TrainingPeaks right into TPV and get to work, making it easy to work in intensity or volume. 

Structured Cycling Workouts

If you’re looking to get a little more work out of your cycling sessions, try one (or all!) of these structured bike workouts:

1. High-Torque “Muscle Tension” Intervals
   The point of high-torque intervals is to pedal relatively slowly (50-60rpm) against a heavy resistance (e.g., big gear) for 5-10 minutes at a time. 
   
   Power is the product of muscular force and cadence. Low-cadence riding places greater emphasis on the “force” component of the equation, which means your legs recruit more muscle fibers to get the job done. The rating of perceived exertion (RPE) for muscle tension intervals is 6-8 out of 10. Over time, this helps with neuromuscular recruitment for high-force efforts. By engaging more muscle fibers, you also improve muscular endurance or durability.
   
   Incorporate this as a double day. AM: Endurance Run 1 hour. PM: Muscle Tension Intervals: 5 X 8 minutes w/ 4 minutes recovery between intervals.
2. VO2 max Cycling Workout
   This can either be a stand-alone workout or part of a double day after a one-hour endurance run w/ 4-6x 20-second strides.
   
   VO2 max intervals on the bike need to be short (3-6 minutes) for the sustained intensity to be high enough. A good starting point is a 7 X 3-minute power interval set with 3 minutes easy spinning between efforts. The rating of perceived exertion (RPE) for power intervals is 9-10 out of 10. This is a great way to incorporate VO2max training into a running program without inducing as much mechanical stress on your joints and muscles. 
3. Triathlete’s Brick Workout
   Runners can borrow a key training session from triathletes: running off the bike.
   
   In a split workout that starts with cycling, athletes can accomplish some specific time-at-intensity work on the bike and transition to an aerobic building endurance run.
   
   Example: 2-hour endurance ride with 4 X 15 minute tempo intervals (RPE 4-5) separated by 8 minutes easy spinning. Immediately transition to a 30-minute endurance run.
   
   The bike might take up the bulk of the time for this session, but the overall session is 2.5 hours with far less mechanical stress than a 2.5-hour run.

Try It Out!

Ready to give these workouts a shot? Try this free, four-week cycling plan for runners. 

(Note: this plan just includes cycling workouts and is designed to complement your run training.)

Pro tip: TrainingPeaks is a great tool to keep track of all your workouts (including cycling, strength training, or any other kind of cross-training) in one, cohesive place. This makes it easy to monitor your training load and avoid overtraining.

Important Caveat

Remember that the bike is a supplement to, not a replacement for, your run training. 

Running is the most important thing you can do to improve your running performance or prepare for a running event. 

In the long term, the goal should be to maximize the volume of run training you can sustain without injury or overtraining. Cycling can play a role in that journey by allowing you to discover new ways to enjoy aerobic activity.

References

Hohmann, E. et al. (2016, May 23). Plantar Pressures During Long Distance Running: An Investigation of 10 Marathon Runners. Retrieved from https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4879438/

Seiler, S. (2024, February 3). Dr. Seiler’s 12 Training Truths for Endurance Development. Retrieved from https://www.fasttalklabs.com/training/seilers-12-training-truths-for-endurance-development/

The post Cycling Workouts for Runners: Build Endurance & Avoid Injury appeared first on TrainingPeaks.

Learn how pro teams leverage lactate testing, hear what metrics WorldTour coaches focus on around functional reserve capacity (FRC), and background on the growing importance of heat training. Nutritionist Nicki Strobel gives us a taste of what meal planning looks like during grueling tours and how data from TrainingPeaks is used to tailor nutrition strategies. Plus, Stephen Barrett explains the significance of durability in today’s WorldTour races, while Liam Holohan shares insights on hypoxic training.

Whether you’re a coach, athlete, or enthusiast, this episode is packed with proven takeaways to help elevate your training to the next level.

Standout Quotes

Stephen Barrett on Breaking Through Self-Imposed Limits: “I think to teach riders actually what they’re capable of doing [is important] because sometimes riders put a bit of a ceiling on themselves. And then [FRC] allows us to actually show them, actually, no. You can go beyond here, and this is the level that you actually can get to.”

Nicki Strobel on Fueling Wisely for Optimal Training: “Most of the time, if you avoid [underfueling] and actually eat more while you’re training, you’ll find that you come back and you don’t feel like you wanna eat the fridge and then you just, manage your weight better.”

Nicki Strobel on Fueling Wisely for Optimal Training: “Most of the time, if you avoid [underfueling] and actually eat more while you’re training, you’ll find that you come back and you don’t feel like you wanna eat the fridge and then you just, manage your weight better.”

Liam Holohan on Dual Benefits of Heat Training: “So the heat training for some guys is more about pairing them for environmental conditions. So, like, to go Tour Down Under [or] UAE Tour, so they acclimate to where they’re gonna be racing. While, some guys are using it a little bit more for hemoglobin mass, which is increasing, the number of red blood cells to increase oxygen carrying capacity.“

Lieselot Decroix on Revamping Training with Technology: “And it’s really great that now we can also use TrainingPeaks to prescribe the strength training because also for us as coaches, we can quickly see what they do, which is much easier than the way that it was before.”

Mattia Michelusi on Maintaining Strength for Sprinters: “For me, it’s really important to do also some gym training, really close to the to the race. So, actually, we are not decreasing the gym session for the sprinters.“

Special thanks to  

FDJ-Suez — https://www.fdj-suez.fr/

Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale — https://decathlonag2rlamondialeteam.com/

Team Cofidis — https://www.equipecofidis.com/uk/home

Israel-Premier Tech — https://israelpremiertech.com/

The post Inside WorldTour Cycling Camps: The Training, Testing and Nutrition appeared first on TrainingPeaks.

The truth is that you don’t need endless hours to make big gains in fitness. Even just 30 to 60 minutes per session can significantly improve your performance–if training is structured effectively.

Make Every Minute Count With Indoor Training

An hour can feel painfully long, like when you’re stuck in traffic or waiting for a delayed train. But in cycling, it flies by. When you consider the warm-up, workout, and cooldown, an hour might not seem like enough time. But it is, and you can still make progress.

For the most efficient use of time, indoor training on a smart trainer with platforms like TrainingPeaks Virtual is ideal. These tools provide precise intensity control, a crucial factor in high-quality training, especially when your schedule is tight but your goals are ambitious.

Train With Purpose: The Key to Effective Workouts

Before jumping on the bike, ask yourself:

• Why am I doing this session?
• What adaptations am I aiming for?
• How will this impact my overall fitness?

When time is limited, training quality and efficiency become even more important. While long sessions are essential for endurance at advanced levels, you can still make major physiological adaptations within a one-hour workout.

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Build Oxygen Capacity With Targeting Training

When you can’t rely on long rides, the key to improving fitness is intensity. To boost maximal oxygen uptake (VO2 max), you need to increase overall oxygen turnover.

Since multi-hour rides naturally enhance oxygen consumption, short sessions must compensate with strategic intensity. Two highly effective approaches include:

1. Threshold (FTP) Training 

Working at your Functional Threshold Power (FTP) or lactate threshold means pushing yourself at an intensity where your body can still manage lactate production. This builds endurance without excessive metabolic stress, reducing the risk of overtraining. This is because threshold intervals don’t cause excessive metabolic stress (e.g., severe acidosis). 

For example, try 4 x 4 minutes at threshold intensity, with 4-minute easy recoveries between efforts. Including warm-up and cool-down, this session fits neatly into an hour.

2. High-Intensity Intervals 

Intermittent exercise (IE) involves rapid alternation between high-intensity effort and low-intensity recovery. A great option is 10 x 30 seconds of hard effort, followed by easy spinning, repeated 2 to 4 times for a high-impact, yet time-efficient session.

Improve Fat Metabolism With Carbohydrate Periodization

Going all-out in every session is not a good idea, even with short sessions of 60 minutes or less. You can still overtrain even though your sessions are shorter. Training both your aerobic and anaerobic energy systems is crucial for long-term improvement.

The anaerobic system (glycolysis) rapidly converts carbohydrates into energy for short, intense bursts like sprints and attacks. However, if your goal is endurance—for long-distance racing, gravel events, or ultra-cycling—you need to train your fat metabolism.

An effective way to train your fat metabolism is with carbohydrate periodization.

• Try skipping a high-carb breakfast before a low-intensity morning ride. Instead, eat a protein- and fat-focused snack (like eggs, nuts, or cheese) with just 20-30g of carbohydrates.
• Your session should stay mostly low-intensity, with structured efforts at 70-85% of threshold to challenge fat oxidation.

By reducing carbohydrate intake before training, your body is forced to burn fat for fuel, improving endurance—an essential skill for long-distance efforts (Tip: you can learn more about training your metabolism to burn more fat or carbs in this article: Boost Your FTP by Mastering Metabolic Flexibility.)

Try a FREE Four-Week Training Plan!

Want to see these strategies in action? Get a free, structured, four-week training plan from HYCYS coach Björn Geesmann, and start making the most of your time and your training.

The post Effective 60-Minute Cycling Workouts for Busy Athletes appeared first on TrainingPeaks.

Fergus draws from his rich background in rugby, powerlifting, triathlons, and concurrent training to explain how athletes can effectively balance opposing athletic goals. From his incredible achievement of squatting 500 pounds and running a sub-five-minute mile in the same day to working with military operatives, Fergus shares insights on biomechanical awareness, periodization, and the mental approach needed for such diverse training programming.

Learn how hybrid athletes can tackle the demands of multi-discipline sports and the benefits of open-mindedness in fitness. Fergus discusses several strategies he uses to coach and accomplish his many challenges that can help you pursue your athletic goals, whether you’re a seasoned triathlete or a strength enthusiast curious about endurance.

Standout Quotes

The Versatility of Training: “And, ultimately, why one of the biggest things I’ve I’ve loved about training this way is when I’ve got an injury or a niggle, I can pivot quite quickly into something else and apply I I can feel like I’m winning day to day whereas if you are a sole swimmer or a sole runner like the examples you gave, if you can’t run, you can’t swim.”

Understanding Hybrid Athletes’ Goals: “We have people that wanna do their first Ironman that come from a lifting background, and they wanna make sure that they hold on to some of their muscle. They might speak to triathlon coaches who don’t necessarily understand that people enjoy lifting for the sake of lifting rather than just as a way of supporting the triathlon. So they put trust in us to be the people [who] understand that we are, I guess, just meat heads at heart really from years gone by.”

What Athletes Get Wrong in Concurrent Training: “A lot of people make the mistake of when getting into this is they’ll take a 100% of running program, 100% lifting program, put the two together and wonder after four weeks why their calves feel like they’re going to explode. It’s because they’re operating at 200% output. Because each of those training plans were designed with 100% of the individual’s application in mind.”

Programming Weekly Workouts for Hybrid Athletes: “Tthe foundation for everything is individuality and what an individual starting point is. Because, as you said, the rate at which those things will adapt — if you get somebody that’s never squatted before versus spent the whole life squatting — the rate of adaptation will be very different. But the core principles of how we approach any goal or any demand that somebody comes to us with or any of the training plans in the marketplace that’s sort of off the shelf, they all follow a similar structure.

Which is, intensity peaks at the start of the week, volume peaks at the end of the week, and they invert as the week goes on. So, the heaviest squatting, hardest effort running comes earlier in the week, and longer, slower stuff comes at the end of the week. Higher reps assistance work comes at the end, the middle is tempo, strength endurance, sets of eight, sets of 10, that sort of stuff. And we do that because within the context of training, a training week or a micro cycle in this context, a seven-day period, consolidating stressors is an effective way of trying to manage the recovery from a high-intensity dosage of work in an area.

So the energy systems aren’t the same, but as uncomfortable as it is, heavy squats and track intervals in the same day is what we found to be the most effective way of getting the most bang for your buck in adaptation over a period of time. Because if you would daily angelic periodization, for example, easy day, hard day, easy day, hard day, you would not be able to recover from a hard day on the lower body to develop top-end strength at the rate at which you wanted to, to then go into a fully recovered hard effort lower body to then recover again sorry, track session to then recover again to go into hard effort lower body. So by consolidating stresses and grouping intensities into similar sort of packages like lower body hard effort, track efforts, track intervals, hard effort, or, heavy upper body and hard effort swimming, 10 by 100, something like that.”

Fergus Crawley Online

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Omnia Performance Online

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The post The Hybrid Athlete: Fergus Crawley’s Approach to Concurrent Training appeared first on TrainingPeaks.

As illustrated below in Figure 1, during exercise, your body control systems increase the activity of the nervous, cardiovascular, respiratory, muscular and integumentary (skin) systems while partially shutting down the gastrointestinal and urinary systems to make more blood available to the working muscles. The precision of such changes allows you to exercise in all the intensity domains and, over time, change your physiology for better performance in your next A-race.

For years, sports scientists around the globe have been studying the physiological adaptations after training sessions or weeks of training. Exercise is a potent disturbance for homeostasis, defined as a self-regulating process by which biological systems maintain stability while adjusting to changing external conditions[1]. To cope with these exercise-dependent stressors, your body is constantly adapting (allostasis[2]) and getting better prepared for the next training session, be it a long endurance ride, a high-intensity workout with VO2_max intervals, or a race. 

Pedagogically, these adaptations can be split into central (e.g., nervous, cardiovascular) and peripheric (e.g., muscular, skin) or, more broadly, acute or chronic, depending on how long you can count on them to remain faster and metabolically fitter. In this article, we will dig deeper into some of the adaptations occurring in the human skeletal muscle.

Boosting Your Powerhouses

A recent systematic review and meta-regression study discussed the effects of endurance exercise training (up to 12 weeks) on mitochondrial and capillary growth in human skeletal muscle[3]. These research studies follow laborious methodological steps to summarize through statistical tests and models all the previous peer-reviewed studies on a specific topic. 

Mitochondria are tiny powerhouses inside the muscle fibers that make more ATP (your energy currency) available for their contractile functions. The powerhouses need a constant supply of energy substrates (e.g., fatty acids and glucose) and oxygen to make ATP at high rates during exercise. The capillary bed (tiny vessels around the muscle fibers) is another piece of the performance equation as they deliver the energy substrate to and remove the metabolic byproducts of the skeletal muscle fibers (Figure 2). According to current research techniques, measurements of mitochondria and capillaries are a good proxy when checking for muscular adaptations or endurance performance after completing a training regimen.

In this study, the authors compared different exercise training methods, including low- or moderate-intensity continuous endurance training (ET), high-intensity interval training (HIT), and sprint interval training (SIT), on their effects on mitochondrial content and capillarization.

Results indicated that mitochondrial content increases similarly with ET, HIT, and SIT, and these increases are not significantly influenced by age, sex, menopause or disease. SIT was found to be more efficient per total hour of exercise in increasing mitochondrial content compared to HIT and ET. This efficiency makes SIT an attractive option for individuals with limited time, as it can lead to significant physiological adaptations in a shorter duration. Capillaries per fiber increase similarly across all training types, but capillaries per mm² increase more with ET[3].

VO2_max improvements were similar across all training types, with HIT showing a tendency for greater improvement. Higher training frequencies and lower initial fitness levels were associated with higher mitochondrial content, capillarization, and VO2_max improvements.

No significant differences in exercise-induced adaptations in mitochondrial content, capillarization, or VO2_max were found between individuals with metabolic diseases, cardiovascular diseases or COPD and healthy individuals. Despite these findings, exercise training is not consistently included in primary, secondary and tertiary medical interventions.

This could be due to a lack of awareness or understanding of the adaptability to exercise across various populations, including those with chronic diseases[4]. The study’s results highlight the potential for exercise training to be a beneficial component of medical prescriptions, as it can lead to significant health improvements regardless of age or disease. The lack of inclusion may also stem from logistical challenges, such as designing individualized exercise programs and ensuring patient adherence, which require more resources and infrastructure than traditional medical treatments[5].

The Key Exercise Regimen Takeaway

How about those New Year’s resolutions for those starting over or beginning an exercise regimen? Individuals with lower initial fitness levels experienced superior percentage improvements in mitochondrial content, capillarization, and VO2_max. The initial training phase can lead to rapid gains, which can be highly motivating for individuals looking to improve their health and fitness.

While exercise initially leads to significant gains, adaptations can eventually plateau, particularly with high-intensity training like SIT[3]. This plateau occurs because the body becomes more metabolic efficient, increasing the relative stress and stimulus for further adaptation. However, even when visible gains slow down, continued exercise is beneficial as it maintains the adaptations achieved and contributes to overall health and fitness. At this point, it’s important to vary the training stimulus by adjusting intensity, volume, or exercise frequency to continue progressing.

Remember the elite-level endurance athletes? There’s a high chance you have heard they train 20 or more hours per week. Higher training volumes, characterized by increased weekly training hours and training weeks, are associated with more training adaptations at the skeletal muscle.

A higher training load provides a more consistent and prolonged stimulus for physiological changes, such as increases in mitochondrial content and VO2max. ET and HIT significantly increased mitochondrial content and VO2_max with higher training volumes, while SIT adaptations plateaued sooner[3]. This suggests high-intensity training can lead to rapid initial gains, but sustained improvements may require a larger training volume.

Applying the Research to Your Training

The Performance Management Chart (PMC) from TrainingPeaks is a tool for tracking and managing training load, fitness, and fatigue over time. It helps athletes and coaches visualize how training volume and intensity affect performance, such as in your power profile. The chart uses metrics like the Training Stress Score (TSS) to quantify the training load and its impact on your fitness and fatigue levels. By tracking these metrics, you can distinguish when you are reaching a plateau in performance and adjust your training plan to continue progressing.

The PMC also helps balance the training load to avoid overtraining, providing that you receive adequate recovery to maximize adaptations (they happen when you’re resting). Remember that higher training volumes lead to more substantial adaptations but require careful management to prevent excessive fatigue and injuries and deliver continued improvement.

Athletes looking to optimize their performance can benefit from personalized training guidance. This is where services like TrainingPeaks’ Coach Match and structured training plans come into play. A coach can help you interpret data from tools like the PMC and your Power Profile to adjust training loads, ensuring that you work at the right training load to promote continuous improvements in fitness and performance. A coach can also help you navigate performance plateaus by introducing new training stimuli or adjusting recovery periods.

Alternatively, you can choose from training plans available on TrainingPeaks. Experienced coaches designed these plans, catering to different goals, fitness levels, and sports. A structured training plan can provide a roadmap, ensuring you progressively increase the training volume and intensity to promote optimal adaptations while minimizing the risk of overtraining. Both options offer structured training approaches to help you achieve your goals more efficiently. They leverage the insights from scientific research and coaching experience on short- and long-term training adaptations.

References:

[1] Billman GE. Homeostasis: The Underappreciated and Far Too Often Ignored Central Organizing Principle of Physiology. Front Physiol 2020;11:200. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2020.00200.

[2] McEwen BS, Karatsoreos IN. Sleep Deprivation and Circadian Disruption Stress, Allostasis, and Allostatic Load. Sleep Med Clin 2022;17:253–62. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsmc.2022.03.005.

[3] Mølmen KS, Almquist NW, Skattebo Ø. Effects of Exercise Training on Mitochondrial and Capillary Growth in Human Skeletal Muscle: A Systematic Review and Meta-Regression. Sports Med 2024:1–30. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-024-02120-2.

[4] Russell AP, Foletta VC, Snow RJ, Wadley GD. Skeletal muscle mitochondria: A major player in exercise, health and disease. Biochim Biophys Acta (BBA) – Gen Subj 2014;1840:1276–84. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbagen.2013.11.016.

[5] Hossri CAC, Araujo FC, Baldi BG, Otterstetter R, Uemoto VR, Carvalho CRR, et al. Association among cardiopulmonary and metabolic rehabilitation, arrhythmias, and myocardial ischemia responses of patients with HFpEF or HFmrEF. Braz J Méd Biol Res 2024;57:e13174. https://doi.org/10.1590/1414-431x2024e13174.

The post Optimizing Performance: Skeletal Muscle Science for Athletes appeared first on TrainingPeaks.

If you’re tired of obsessing over mile markers and chasing exact splits, consider shifting to time-based training. 

As an experienced running coach, I’ve seen firsthand how time-based training helps my athletes stay more consistent, improve the quality of their workouts, and reduce mental and physical burnout. 

Here are five reasons why shifting your training to minutes instead of miles can benefit you in the long run (pun intended). 

1. Takes the Pressure Off

When you focus on mileage, there’s often an unspoken pressure to hit a certain pace, especially if you’re uploading your runs to platforms that display average pace and reward fast times.

This can lead to a mindset where “good runs” are defined by pace instead of effort. This might push you to go too hard on easy days, completely defeating the purpose of the run.

One of the best things about time-based running is how it helps you maintain a consistent effort, no matter the terrain or elevation gain. 

Without the pressure of hitting a certain split, you’re able to focus on steady effort rather than speed. For example, if you’re running 30 minutes over a hilly route, you’ll naturally adjust your effort without feeling overexerting yourself to maintain a certain pace. 

Simply put, running for time allows you to better listen to your body and adjust your pace accordingly without the fear of running “too slow” or “too fast.”

2. Reduces Your Risk of Overtraining 

Mileage-based training can take a toll on you, both physically and mentally. Some days you feel ready to tackle a long, demanding workout; other days, your body is practically begging for rest. 

That’s where time-based training shines. 

Running for time allows you to adapt to your body’s current state instead of forcing it to hit a set distance regardless of fatigue. This can help prevent overuse injuries—a common issue among runners chasing arbitrary mileage goals.

And it’s not just physical stress that takes a toll on your body. 

There’s an often-overlooked mental strain that comes with mileage targets. How many times have you pushed to hit round weekly totals—40, 50, or even 60 miles—or went an extra lap just to make your run end at an even mile? 

This probably wouldn’t happen if you listen to your body’s cues. When fatigue sets in and your form is suffering, those extra steps might reinforce poor mechanics, ultimately risking injury.

Smart, effective training isn’t about grinding to the point of exhaustion. “The grind” pays off when your body can recover and adapt to the workload. 

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3. Shifts Your Focus to Quality Over Quantity

Mileage-based training often comes with a “just get it done” mindset where the focus is solely on covering the distance rather than the quality of each step. But time-based running changes that. It shifts your focus to how you’re running—making form, cadence, and overall running economy the priority. 

This is especially valuable during training cycles that emphasize technique. In my experience, runners who switch to time-based training develop smoother, more efficient strides, contributing to long-term performance gains. 

When you prioritize quality over quantity, you start focusing on what really drives your progress as an athlete. 

Remember, improvement isn’t just about increasing your mileage. 

Adding strides to refine your form and economy, incorporating running drills to establish strong movement patterns, or building strength in the weight room can all bring meaningful results. 

It’s measurable as well–think starting a training cycle by running 4.86 miles in 40 minutes and later covering 5.2 miles in the same amount of time with a lower heart rate. That’s a clear sign of improved efficiency and fitness!

4. Allows for More Effective Workouts

Workouts vary greatly in intensity, speed, and intention. As many know, tempo runs, long runs, intervals, and recovery runs all serve a different purpose. Focusing on intensity with time-based training can help you achieve these goals. 

Take a 30-minute recovery run, for example. The goal isn’t about how far you can go, it’s about keeping your heart rate and output low enough to truly recover. 

When you run for time, you avoid the pressure to hit a certain pace and distance, allowing you to execute the workout’s intended purpose.

5. Encourages Mindfulness & Builds Mental Strength

Unlike mileage-based runs where your mind fixates on counting down to a set distance, time-based training encourages you to stay fully immersed in each moment. 

This mindfulness—attending to each stride, breath, and bodily sensation—shifts your focus from finishing a set distance to being present and intentional.

Time-based training also shines when it comes to developing pacing strategies and mental focus. You’re free to adapt to varying terrains and conditions while practicing how to evenly distribute your effort. 

By listening to your body–tuning into cues like heart rate and energy levels–you can train smarter, not harder. 

Time-based training strengthens what sports psychologists call “mental endurance“—the ability to maintain focus and composure under physical stress. It’s not just about enduring discomfort; it’s about learning how to actively manage your response to it. 

Running for time helps prevent burnout–both physical and mental. It keeps training fresh and rewarding, encouraging you to appreciate the quality of each workout, no matter how you feel that day.

Is Time-Based Running for You?

Embracing time-based training offers a fresh perspective, challenging the standard obsession with mile markers and instead listening to your body’s cues. 

Instead of running loops around the parking lot to his exact distances and stopping your watch to tie your shoe to hit exact paces, running for time encourages you to stay present, tune into your form, and prioritize quality over quantity. 

With time-based running, you can finally let go of hitting round mileage numbers(because who hasn’t felt the itch to round off a 5.89-mile run?), and instead focus on how your body is feeling.

It’ll also help you gain mental resilience, a healthier approach to pacing, and even some cheeky satisfaction from focusing on the journey rather than an arbitrary finish line in your local park or trailhead. 

The post Minutes or Miles? Why You Should Train by Time, Not Distance appeared first on TrainingPeaks.

Nell Rojas is a professional marathon runner and running coach. She attended Northern Arizona University, where she studied exercise science and competed in cross country and track. Nell ran her first marathon in 2018 and became the top American finisher in the Boston Marathon in 2021 and 2022. Additionally, she finished 10th at the 2022 New York City Marathon.

Nell has achieved remarkable success as an American marathon runner, securing top American finishes at the 2021 and 2022 Boston Marathons, a top 10 finish at the 2022 New York City Marathon, and competing in the 2020 Olympic Marathon Trials. She has also claimed a 10-mile US Championship title and won Grandma’s Marathon.

Beyond her athletic accomplishments, Nell advocates for inclusivity within the running community, focusing on empowering people of color and women. With 20 years of coaching experience, she is dedicated to helping athletes of all abilities achieve their own running goals.

Standout Quotes

How She Builds Periodization of a Training Plan: “I do like the gradual trend from general to specific when you’re training for a race, and that doesn’t mean it’s just general to specific. It means, like, it’s mostly general to mostly specific with things added in. So Yeah. I like I like coming off a speed block before a marathon build. So, you know, you’re raising your ceiling during this speed speed block. You’re really making room for that threshold to get higher.

And also feel comfortable — just have a little bit more room in there. And then, I like to touch on speed every two weeks during a marathon plan for a couple of different reasons. First of all, every two weeks, I write in a high-quality long run. Right? So that means 20-plus miles with marathon pace sprinkled in different ways. You can’t just hit marathon pace all the time. You can’t just hit threshold pace all the time.”

Addressing if Coaching is More Art or Science: “I would say the science is built into the art if that makes sense. Like when you come from a background, I’m also an exercise physiology major. I study a lot of science, especially after college when I was getting into coaching. I just devoured every single book there is out there, about the science of the physiology of running. But I would say once that’s ingrained, this the science is in the art.

But when we’re talking age group runners, it truly becomes an art. And the reason is because you’re thinking about how stressed they are because their family is, you know, they have three kids, and you know what’s going on with their kids. You’re thinking about time. You’re thinking about how much they can recover with this huge schedule with their full-time job and kids. You’re thinking about how they only have eight miles on weekdays to get in a run. So, like, where’s the biggest bang for my buck here?”

On How She Integrates Testing Into Coaching: “Basically, it’s just races. I don’t do any, like lactate threshold or blood tests. And I do say, if you want to get one, here’s my experience with them. I’ve had good experiences, and I’ve had bad experiences. And the hardest part about getting testing is that then taking the information that you did on the treadmill and implementing it in your trading plan. Because I’ve had some ludicrous people be like, well, he told me I should run at 12:30 pace to keep my heart [rate low.] And I’m like, no.”

Nell Rojas Online

Website
Instagram
RISE Coaching

The post Achieving Marathon Success with Pro Runner and Coach Nell Rojas appeared first on TrainingPeaks.

However, making sure athletes train at the right intensity remains a challenge. Velocity-based strength training (VBT) provides an effective, adaptive solution to make the most of strength training.

The Drawbacks of 1RM Testing

Many coaches use the one-rep max (1RM) method to prescribe strength training. This involves athletes gradually increasing weight while reducing reps, ultimately lifting the heaviest weight they can with proper form. Coaches then use percentages of the 1RM to target specific adaptations throughout the program.

While useful, this approach has drawbacks. Testing for 1RM poses injury risks, especially if athletes sacrifice form or hesitate to push their limits. Testing also takes time, particularly for multiple exercises.

Even with accurate 1RM values, day-to-day variations in readiness can impact performance. A prescribed load might feel too light, leading to insufficient adaptations, or too heavy, causing excessive fatigue or injury. 

Velocity-based strength training solves these problems by offering real-time feedback and flexibility.

What Is Velocity-Based Strength Training?

Velocity-based strength training (VBT) measures barbell speed to guide training intensity. By tracking lift velocity, coaches and athletes receive immediate, objective feedback. This method allows athletes to lift with purpose, target the right adaptations, and manage fatigue effectively.

VBT Terminology 

If you’re curious about using VBT, you’ll want to familiarize yourself with a few key metrics:

• Mean Velocity (MV)
• Mean Propulsive Velocity (MPV)
• Peak Velocity (PV)
• Velocity Loss (VL)

These metrics help you determine appropriate weights and repetitions for each session. For example, a drop in velocity signals fatigue, prompting adjustments to weights or reps.

How to Use Velocity-Based Strength Training

You can implement VBT using velocity charts that link MPV to 1RM percentages for specific exercises. Depending on the training phase and goals, athletes aim for target velocities to set their initial weight. Velocity loss then determines when to adjust reps or load.

VBT allows a more personalized approach to strength training by creating individual load-velocity profiles and measuring velocities across incremental lifts. These profiles reveal each athlete’s strengths, such as power at high velocities or force production at low speeds. With this data, you can design programs that target weaknesses and maximize performance.

Available VBT Technology for Coaches & Athletes

Technology makes VBT easier by providing real-time feedback, motivating athletes, and fostering competition. Several tools can help you implement VBT:

• Linear Transducers: These devices attach a tether to the barbell to measure velocity. They deliver high accuracy and reliability best for vertical lifts. They aren’t the best for horizontal lifts, and they tend to be expensive.

• Accelerometers or Inertial Measurement Units (IMUs): These sensors attach to the barbell or the athlete and measure both vertical and horizontal velocity, making them an incredibly versatile training tool. Unlike linear transducers, they can measure horizontal velocity, but they aren’t as accurate as other forms of technology since they rely on algorithms to calculate distance and velocity.

• Smartphone Apps: Apps use a video-based approach to track barbell movement. They sometimes require user input after a set of lifts is completed to indicate when a repetition started and finished, meaning that feedback isn’t given in real-time. While affordable, they lack real-time feedback and vary in reliability and accuracy.

Given cost and portability, accelerometer/IMU or smartphone app options are better suited for work for endurance athletes. Accelerometers and IMUs would just edge out smartphone apps For those who struggle with space to set up their phone on a tripod, accelerometers and IMUs are a better option than smartphone apps. They also offer a bit more versatility sincerely they’re able to track velocities of non-barbell movements, too.

Is Velocity-Based Strength Training For You?

Velocity-based strength training offers numerous advantages. By using objective data, you can tailor workouts to each athlete’s needs, account for daily fluctuations in readiness, and reduce the risk of undertraining or overtraining. Real-time feedback also keeps athletes motivated and focused on lifting with intent.

If you decide to adopt VBT, choose technology that suits your needs. Consider reliability, accuracy, and cost when selecting devices or apps. Regardless of the tool, VBT enhances your ability to guide athletes toward peak performance.

References

Flanagan, E., & Jovanović, M. (2014, January). Researched Applications of Velocity Based Strength Training. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/265227430_Researched_Applications_of_Velocity_Based_Strength_Training

The post Velocity-Based Strength Training: A Smarter Approach to Building Power appeared first on TrainingPeaks.

In this article, we’ll give an overview of how to:

1. Access TrainingPeaks Virtual
2. Create a Virtual Team Your Athletes Can Join, With Custom Kits
3. Create Group Rides and Races
4. Customize Your Events
5. Interact With Your Athletes in Real-Time

Get Started With TrainingPeaks Virtual

Getting started is easy and covered in detail here. Just download the TrainingPeaks Virtual app to your computer, smartphone, tablet, or Apple TV and log in with your TrainingPeaks athlete credentials. From here you can create your custom team, or create a group event to invite your athletes to. 

When your athletes log in to TrainingPeaks Virtual, their FTP and zones will automatically sync from TrainingPeaks. Any cycling workouts on their calendar will be available to ride in TrainingPeaks Virtual immediately. Once your athlete has completed their ride, the workout seamlessly syncs back to TrainingPeaks for analysis. 

Create a Team and Custom Kits

TrainingPeaks Virtual empowers you as a coach with advanced customization tools to elevate the athlete experience and strengthen your coaching business.

Build your team and design unique kits to bring your coaching brand to life.  Follow these instructions on creating a custom team and designing your kit. Once you have submitted your kit design, it will be integrated into the game and available to wear in approximately five days. 

You can invite all your athletes to join your team, which will allow them to wear your custom kit any time they ride in TrainingPeaks Virtual. Creating a team is just one more way to offer a sense of connection and community to your athletes year-round.

Create Group Rides and Races

Create dynamic, custom events on TrainingPeaks Virtual to keep your athletes engaged and productive. You can create events that serve you and your athletes best, whether it’s races, group rides, or group workouts. 

Host, race, stream, and review. TrainingPeaks Virtual makes event management seamless, so you offer more as a coach and keep pushing your athletes’ limits.

Customize Your Events

With TrainingPeaks Virtual, you’re no longer limited to hosting group workouts with athletes who live nearby. By hosting group workouts, you can train with all your athletes regardless of location.

You can tailor every aspect of these rides to your coaching brand and your athletes’ experience with in-depth customization. Individualize workouts to your athletes’ specific needs and create custom events with personalized race formats, terrain, weather, and more to meet your athletes’ goals.

Check out the quick video below to see all the ways to customize the TrainingPeaks Virtual experience for you and your athletes.

Spectate an Athlete’s Workout and Chat

Watch your athletes as they ride without having to ride with them and provide feedback from their live data. 

The spectate function allows you to keep an eye on your athlete during a key workout or race, with a live view of their power, heart rate and cadence. Chat with your athlete as they ride to give them pointers or feedback real-time.

Watch This Free Webinar for More Virtual Tips

TrainingPeaks Virtual Founder George Gilbert and TrainingPeaks President Lee Gerakos provided some great insights on how to use TrainingPeaks Virtual in your coaching. Our extensive Q&A covered topics including group rides, team setup, and prescribing Virtual workouts.

The post TrainingPeaks Virtual for Coaches appeared first on TrainingPeaks.