For a limited time I'm offering my book, 101 Cycling Workouts, for just $8. ebook or paperback (plus shipping). cyclesportcoaching.com/101.h…
Watching the World Championships yesterday brought back memories of being there in 1974 watching Merckx, Poulidor and Gimondi battle it out. Merckx won and Poulidor got second of course. Yesterday Poulidor's grandson got third.
Cyclists, take a couple minutes to fill out this training readiness survey. Thanks.
pcg-readiness.scoreapp.com/
Cycle Coach retweeted
Importantly, these, just like the objective metrics (HRV, RHR etc) should be relative to the athlete's individual norms e.g.
If the athlete's normal mood is "ray of sunshine", marginally less bright ray of sunshine demands attention.
If the athlete's normal mood is "grumpy asshole", grumpier than usual asshole demands attention. 😊
And...
The top 4 predictors of workout readiness in my athlete database aren’t the fancy metrics.
They’re the simple subjective ones.
1/ Mood
2/ Stress
3/ Soreness
4/ Fatigue
Only then do the objective metrics show up:
5/ Resting HR
6/ HRV
7/ TSB
8/ CTL
The athlete’s perception of their body often detects the signal before the wearables do.
Cycle Coach retweeted
Zone 1 is an investment.
It builds your fat-burning engine and expands your energy reserves.
Zone 3/4 is a withdrawal.
It spends from that reserve.
Want your hard training to actually work?
Build the reserve first.
#Base
After watching winter Olympics for all these years, it has only just occurred to me that all sports involve some aspect of sliding. If they include cyclocross that would be the only one that doesn't although I expect there would be some sliding involved unintentionally.
Cycle Coach retweeted
For about a decade, I’ve been showing these two slides at conferences.
Two hunter-gatherer populations (Hadza and Tsimane), likely the closest living humans to our Paleolithic ancestors.
Diet:
• 65–70% carbohydrates
• 15-20% protein
• 10–15% fat
• ~13% lower daily caloric intake than the US population
Daily movement:
• 115–135 minutes per day
• 6–12 km of walking
Health outcomes:
• Obesity: ~2%
• Type 2 diabetes: ~1%
• Cardiovascular disease: among the lowest ever observed
This is not a low-carbohydrate population. The difference is metabolic fitness.
When mitochondria are continuously stimulated by daily movement, carbohydrates can be oxidized (burnt).
When movement disappears, fuel oxidation fails and metabolic disease emerges.
The debate should not be low-carb vs high-carb. That debate has failed to solve obesity or type 2 diabetes for decades.
The real question is:
Can your mitochondria still do their job?
#MitochondrialFunction #MetabolicFitness #MetabolicFlexibility #PhysicalActivity
I see a lot of folks setting up substack accounts. I thought about it but then realized that I already have all my writings compiled on my own website where they are absolutely free. Enjoy! cyclesportcoaching.com/Train…
Cycle Coach retweeted
Everyone wants the shortcut to longevity.
Pills, powders, boosters, activators, molecules that promise to “hack” aging.
But let’s be honest:
👉 There’s no solid scientific evidence that almost any of these supplements extend human lifespan or healthspan.
Most studies are mechanistic, in mice, or rely on surrogate markers, not real-world outcomes.
And here’s the paradox:
The people who live the longest on this planet have never heard of NMN, NAD⁺, or rapamycin.
They walk daily, eat natural unprocessed food, have purpose, strong community ties and low chronic stress.
Longevity doesn’t come from a capsule.
It comes from metabolic health, movement, connection, and consistency; the same foundations that modern science is still trying to replicate in pill form.
Longevity isn’t hacked. It’s earned.
Cycle Coach retweeted
“I cut out carbs and lost fat! Therefore carbs make you fat!”
The foods they cut out…
Fast foods like:
Pizza 🍕
Burgers🍔
Fries🍟
Doughnuts 🍩
Desserts 🎂🍰🍪🧁🍦
These are not foods high in carbs or sugar. They are high in fats too with around 50% or more of calories from fat
You cut out high calorie foods & reduced your calorie intake. Carbs didn’t make you fat. Eating junk did
Cycle Coach retweeted
Does creatine help or hinder endurance performance? Creatine is a popular supplement among strength athletes, but could creatine be beneficial for endurance athletes too? Read the blog for more: bit.ly/4emnfPn
Cycle Coach retweeted
Your lifestyle is the most powerful drug you’ll ever take.
Every choice you make—what you eat, how you move, how you sleep, how you handle stress—sends a message to your body.
Cycle Coach retweeted
This is it - our final Training Blog for RAGBRAI LII. Here are some last minute tips from @Cyclecoach David Ertl to help you have your best experience on RAGBRAI, whether you're trained, or could have had a few more miles.
🛫 ragbrai.com/last-minute-trai…
Cycle Coach retweeted
Essential tips for using CGM (continuous glucose monitoring): bit.ly/492iUg4
Exercise influences the glucose response to a meal, making a difficult to determine the impact of dietary components on the glucose response measured via CGM... read the blog for more!
Cycle Coach retweeted
Do I need to take protein with my carbohydrate during exercise? We are all aware of drinks and the gels that are commercially available as carbohydrate sources. But should we be thinking of protein as well? Read the blog for more: bit.ly/tipper23
Cycle Coach retweeted
This week on the RAGBRAI Training Blog, @Cyclecoach David Ertl ponders, “is cycling the fountain of youth?” How cycling can bring health and fitness in adulthood, and beyond.
ragbrai.com/cycling-is-it-th…
Cycle Coach retweeted
Energy bars, drinks, or gels for endurance performance? There are many sports nutrition products that provide fuel during exercise, is one better than the other? Read the blog to find out: bit.ly/3n9UfBY
Cycle Coach retweeted
Slow carbs are in fashion. There are slow carb diets, slow carb sports nutrition products, and just slow carbs. But do they live up to the hype? This blog describes the theory and evidence around slow carbs bit.ly/3kVh0Ww
Cycle Coach retweeted
This week on the Training Blog, @Cyclecoach Ertl reminds us that thinking big will help you ride far.
ragbrai.com/thinking-big-hel…


















