Knowledge Base

Training

Cycling training is a science and an art. How endurance athletes train, when they train, and the intensity and duration of that training all affect the gains and adaptations they see.

Proper interval execution is essential to see the expected progress. How you analyze and interpret all that data is equally valuable. Of course, training needs to be planned so it fits into any given season, race schedule, and lifestyle. Off the bike, the importance of strength and conditioning is often neglected.

This is training. This process is what athletes live for.

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Training > Polarized Training

External Load vs. Internal Response

External Load vs. Internal Response

Load, stress, strain—they’re terms we hear a lot in sports science, but what do they mean? Dr. Stephen Seiler explores how your internal response to external load will change as you become fitter and more durable.

The Science Behind Going Slow to Be Fast

The concepts of central and peripheral conditioning help explain why an effective training base period leads to speed and durability in the race season.

science vs. practice

Polarized Training Science vs. Practice

Scientists have worked closely with athletes and coaches to define the polarized model and explain how it works. Who leads the way? Dr. Seiler talks about the scientific process playing out in valuable ways in both research and the real world.

athlete-needs-to-rethink-training

Do You Need to Rethink Your Training?

Intensity can be a slippery slope for endurance athletes—there is a temptation to push harder and longer. The real recipe for performance might entail some new priorities.

overreaching polarized training

How Polarized Training Can Save You From Overreaching

It can be very easy to train at a moderate intensity all the time, which can be a surefire way to land in an overreached state. Polarized training can help prevent that—and in this video, Dr. Seiler explains how.

Polarized training guide

Polarize Your Training Stress

Dr. Stephen Seiler explains why polarized training is a winning strategy for the long game of endurance sports. By balancing the stress of training, athletes see bigger gains over time.

3 workouts to polarize your training

Three Rides to Polarize Your Training

To truly polarize your training, you need to focus your training in two key zones. Coach Trevor Connor explains how this works for the sport of cycling, but the physiology applies to all endurance sports.