Training Concepts

Periodization, polarized training, interval workouts—your performance depends on how you train. Master the key training concepts in endurance sports and you will look at every workout with new eyes.

Featured

A group of cyclists rides through forest

Forget Marginal Gains and Focus on the Fundamentals

In an age when athletes often focus on the specifics, we address the importance of focusing on the fundamentals: training, recovery, and functioning gear—the things that will bring you the greatest return for your investment of time, sweat, and energy.
Fast Talk Episode 153
Go slow to be fast.

Go 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.
Trevor Connor
training bible

Demystifying Periodization, with Joe Friel

Cycling coach Joe Friel explores endurance periodization and its four core concepts: overload, specificity, reversibility, and individualization.
Fast Talk Episode 66
Dr. Stephen Seiler

Applying the Polarized Training Model, with Dr. Stephen Seiler

Dr. Stephen Seiler breaks down the application of the polarized training model, addressing what is meant by the two thresholds — LT1 and LT2 — how to determine yours. We also discuss why it’s important not to over-estimate LT1 or LT2, and how to use them to determine your zones in a three-zone model.
Fast Talk Episode 54

Latest

How to Heat Train

World-leading environmental physiologist Dr. Stephen Cheung shows how to practice heat training in your own home and how to incorporate it into your annual training schedule.
Dr. Stephen Cheung
tabatas

Workout of the Month: Tabata Intervals

Head Coach Ryan Kohler shows the right way to do a Tabata Intervals workout, based on the research of Dr. Izumi Tabata, and when to do Tabata workouts during your season.
Ryan Kohler
Coach Neal Henderson Apex Coaching

T-Minus Four Days: Prep for Race Day Success with Neal Henderson

Your training is done. It’s only a few days to your big event. This is when many athletes unravel months of training with a few bad choices. Top coach Neal Henderson discusses with us how to avoid the pitfalls and get the most out of those final days.
Fast Talk Episode 213

Trevor Connor’s “Training Book”

When Trevor Connor was racing against the pros, he got the idea of keeping a “success list” from a top athlete. As his list grew, it turned into a book that he took with him to every race.
Trevor Connor