Quick Tip - How Hard Should You Be Riding? (Cycling Tips)

[@azurecoast45]

Next time I'm on a 'hard' day I'm gonna ask myself the question: "Am I going out of my face?". If no, go harder. Repeat.

[@Armenian]

illizard8 good

[@SpeedbeetleV2]

Great info. I didn't realize I fell into the "tempo" group, but that's exactly me. Thank you!

[@fares3651]

Sounds like the same mistake everyone does in running.. but I dont know about smashing dudes on Saturdays! you cyclists are weird! 😂

[@4726trav]

Farès lmao

[@andrewclarke65]

Always great to be reminded of this. I used to obsess about weekly mileage, then got a power meter and Training Peaks software and started being driven by getting my CTL ever higher, and stressing every recovery or rest day as CTL falls much quicker than it rises. Now I try and focus on workout wattage targets and not worry about CTL.

[@malikleighesq.forwatsonlei8695]

this totally spoke to me. I am the zone 3 King!!!

[@cyclingvideoes]

Really need to practice going easier... this is what I struggle with.

[@yuppp5885]

Same👍 Recovery rides end up being tempo rides with me

[@CRLAMB]

Strava is always pushing me to ride harder lol. Great video and very relevant points 👍👍

[@PedalProse]

I'm nodding while you're talking, and maybe I'm hearing things about easy and hard rides, but all I can focus on is the YARRRRR! bandaid on the thumb...

[@investireocaminho33]

Awesome.In my opinion,training without power meters can only work when training sprints(6,12 or 30s MAX) because you just do your best.But intervals and long rides you can be riding on zone 2 thinking its zone 3 because you are a little bit tired,or you think youre on zone 3 but are on zone 2 because the wind is on youe favor.It makes the total difference

[@wms201]

At first glance, VC would seem plain-jane boring same old same old...BOY OH BOY do I love your work. I found myself (NY vegan athlete enthusiast ;) I found myself here and at 'Worst Retirement' about 4 weeks ago and never left. Your library, family, editing, demeanor, and swag are topnotch. I ride mountain, road and urban, but I am definitely upping my road game (new bike) and planning a Yosemite bike trip in the near future. Thanks and see ya, brah!!! at least for a second or two after you coast by me. no matchstick needed, yet!

[@mndyD9]

Really helpful as a mostly solo rider 👍🏻

[@walnut5603]

Great advice. I’m not sure which is harder though, riding really really easy or really really hard.

[@durianriders]

Some good tips here VC. I smash out one TT a week of 5-30mins and thats all Ive found is needed. Im fitter at age 40 than when I was 18. I feel like I can keep up this routine for ever.

[@TheVCAdventures]

Do you still have power goals or fitness goals you try to hit or do you just maintain your fitness right now?

[@stressreliefoldguy1415]

I go all out on a 30 minute ride, once a week...one day off (depends on work/life issues) 2 days standard training, 2 days hard training (7 to 10 minute intervals) and one day just spinning, maybe working on higher cadence or a lower grind. For me, it has been working well, I can hold 25mph/40kph for that 30 minutes. (not sure if that is good or now, I pretty much ride alone...wife is not a fan)

[@cycletrade2276]

I used to measure and train for racing but now ride perceived effort. I agree with what you say. Especially in off season I tend to about 80% of the time a Maffetone, zone 1-2 crazy easy effort and 20% of the time crazy hard, but not on same days as easy. However come summer I tend to ride to hard most of the time which tends to cripple the really hard days for sure. I think I do this because I love it sure but because its plays to my strength which is neither the sprint or the climb but the ability to go hard a long time and drop most. However if there are 2-3 strong climbers I'll be the one getting dropped, or 2-3 strong sprinters, I could finish off podium

[@James_R_]

Did I inspire this video? I asked last vid with no response "Is tasting the iron from your blood going to hard?". To be honest I do easy or not ride days allot due to responsibilities and Mohave Desert heat, but My hard days are about 75-85% max HR for my average distance ride of 40ish miles, easy days are 25-60 miles around 120-125 HR. I average 200 miles per week. Thanks again VC, I know you go over and over this, but it helps to drill it in so we can think back on our riding, and not leaving out the new Subs.

[@MishMash95]

I personally spent a few months plateau'd. I had no problem riding kind-of-hard tempo rides at 85% FTP for ~2hrs almost every day, but I was never really pushing the boat out. When it then came to doing Z4 and Z5 work, despite knowing I had the power, I could never push it and intervals were hell. As a specific example, despite having a decent power record for 5 minutes (350w - set during a hill climb event), i was struggling to do 5x5 minute at 300w, which should have been reasonable for me to do. Not super easy, but doable. I realised this was a problem in my training and dropped this mindset where I was convincing myself that I had to ride hard and instead replaced the "tempo" rides with either pure Z2 rides (for 2-3 hours) or, a Z2 ride with a 20-30 minute sweetspot tempo block in the middle, rather than riding at an inbetween pace for the whole duration. Since then, i've felt unlocked. Since then, my hard sessions have actually been quite fun! Two weeks ago, I did a hill rep session of 4x4 minutes at maximal effort, I averaged 350w for those 4 efforts, then last week I somehow did 3x8 minutes @ 305w, despite just 3 weeks prior to that I was struggling to do that 5x5 minutes workout. This has been incredibly eye opening for me because of how I seemed able to significantly increase the quality of my hard workouts. The biggest factor I found was that in the hard sessions, I seemed to recover far better between intervals. In that 8 minute workout, I was pretty broken after each effort, but after just a few minutes my legs were ready to go again. This is a feeling I haven't had in a long time. Normally, i'd do one interval a little too hard and then fade through the rest. I've also found that true maximal efforts are a lot more repeatable. I seem to be able to much more easily get into the mindset to bosh out a maximal effort for whatever duration and actually do it without my legs pooping half way through. Whereas in the past, i'd always feel dissatisfied after intervals because I never felt like I could get near my max, unless the conditions were just right. It basically boiled down to me always being kind of fatigued. As it stands, I'm currently aiming for 2 hard days (at the moment interval sessions, but planning on mixing in some races), then 3 easier days riding at endurance pace. One thing I do find quite hard though is to get a decent amount of low intensity volume in. I really need to join a new cycling club, but am moving away soon. As it stands, I have plenty of time to cycle, but find riding for more than about 2hrs 30 to get a bit dull on my own :P and given I feel I definitely need 2 days off a week to keep the intensity up, this amounts to around 10-11 hours a week (where hard days tend to be a bit shorter). I guess I feel my top end has gotten quite reasonable now, but I fear that i'm going to be a bit capped because i've not done much endurance or base work, or don't really feel I do enough.

[@geoffreyanderson4719]

tldr; what now?

[@MrUsernameUk]

good tips; since following a structured plan i now tend to focus as much on scheduling recovery days and recovery rides during the week. Volume is something to also be mindful of and needs to be factored in; you can do back to back hard rides of say 1hr but you wouldn’t do back to back 5hr hard rides unless the event you are training for is multi day event, but even then those rides are unlikely to be full gas. it is a constant Balance of intensity, volume, recovery.

[@SuperOCHomes]

Tough subject to articulate. Great job, heard it many times but this time I digested it and can repeat it. Thanks

[@dothat15]

I enjoy the info you give without all the foul language. Keep up the good work

[@liambarber9036]

My Training Week: Mon. Off the bike. I will do some core training though. Tues. Hard! Wed. Weights and an easy ride, Thurs. Easy ride and more core. Fri. Hard! As in "out of your skull" hard. Sat. Sweetspot and form work. You want to recover from Fri. training but also get some benefits. Sun. Long Ride. Starting with z. 2 then usually going into some type of interval (but not to hard). Ending with a few long Sprints!

[@rsneto81]

My Week: Mon. Very easy and short ride (1h) + Weight training (Road Bike) Tue. Hard, Intervals (2h) + Core (Road Bike) Wed Z2 and Sweet Spot (2h) + weight training (Road Bike) Thu. Hard, Intervals (2H) + Core (Road Bike) Fri. Completely Off, some times just a long session of stretching Sat. Long Tempo + intervals (4h+) (MTB) Sun. Tempo 2-3h This is my basic program, Race weeks are diferents, and after target races i do a recovery week, and every 5 weeks i usualy do a big load week, with 20h on a bike.

[@yak_town9277]

Liam Sangaku what kind of core training

[@liambarber9036]

Nicholas Ross It's good to do core training that will suit your specific environment and weakneses. So a Time Trialist might do different movements than, say, a sprinter. Personally i do Planks for overall core strength. They're great for T.T bike conditioning. AALRs, for lower back. Leg raises. Side planks with a dumbbell. Pushups, in a sprint you need upper body strength. Stretching. Lots of stretching will help a ton on the bike.

[@yearingolf]

Wow that's fascinating

[@TheRoshan89]

Hey VC do you prefer to have your stem slammed? Do you flip it so it's angled up or down?

[@favecycling4141]

more people need to know this. Thanks for the advice.

[@mixmasa]

Great tips! Loving Bass Lake area. Going for a road ride tomorrow. It's a hot day today.

[@disc0383]

Can you do a video about volume progression starting from 0 hours of training per week?

[@jordywilliams]

GodShot increase 10% per week, Week 1 0 hours Week 2 0 hours Week 3 0 hours etc.

[@James_R_]

Instead of time, since you might be strapped for that, increased intensity. This would be difficult either way because everyone is different.

[@cchanc3]

starting from 0 you shouldn't have an agenda. go out, do what you want, have fun. I was lucky. I rode every day for years before it even occurred to me to race.

[@TheFitDragon]

Gets real tricky as a triathlete. I do a longer ride with some race efforts 150+ minutes and another ride with intervals or if its a fun week then a zwift race and a third ride threshold like 150-160 bpm for 20-50 minutes depending on when the race is. When you do the efforts is based on when you are running hard etc. Tricky as I said.

[@denvergriffin5555]

Great video. Concepts true for any sport. Specific adaptation to imposed demand is the most important, overriding law of physiological training.

[@markgilder7757]

I enjoy watching these vids. Could you do something on breathing. I watched the “Breathe” video and found it awesome, went out next day and did 100k. Every time I hit a climb, and say to my self Breathe.

[@KingAngelo23]

You are the best your my coach, always watching you and your enjoyable videos, I wish I know more English to be able to understand English, but I love your videos because everything that you said make sense and every time that’s u give us advises are very professional, thanks of you my cycling life is better and u motivate me everyday with your awesome videos. KEEP IT UP MY FRIEND, I hope you keep making videos, your videos are the best and the uniques cycling strategy I ever heard. Thanks so much for making this videos that helps me. Your the best, your my coach😂👌🤘🚴🏽‍♂️.

[@andrewdeck7945]

Thanks, I need to be reminded about this. I can't even remember the last ride I felt relaxed on! Need to chillax evr onc ina whilllllll

[@TheVCAdventures]

So what I do, is do a "t-shirt" ride. I put on a casual t-shirt and my bibs and go for a spin. By having a t-shirt on it's sort of forces me to take a chill. Plus it just feels really good to be riding in a T-shirt. Try it man, you'll be surprised at how chill you ride but also how fun it is

[@dieterbierman9803]

@@TheVCAdventures I've recently been contemplating to do just that! Invest in some baggy mtb clothes, use my flat bar bike and no helmet (I'm Dutch, that's common here); that should slow me down. Might even take a coffee break! Tempo/sweetspot on the roadbike and all-out intervals on the skillbike at my club.

[@GrantSpoon]

Great advice. I never fully appreciated how long my rest periods should be and was usually over training. Highly motivated athletes don't like to rest.

[@cchanc3]

just to clarify...you went on a club ride and asked your mates to slow down? you are now uninvited to the ride. 3 months after I started club riding I went on a break with the local pro. he got pissed and slammed it down. I could see my eyeballs going up one hill...I was straining so hard they came out of the sockets a bit. maybe half an inch. also, the front and back half of my thigh muscles were separating like an expansion joint. I kept up with no injuries. Do not be afraid to go HARD. A year later I did 2 repeats up a steep hill in my 52x15 (oak hill south of cleveland, maybe 20%ish). took me 30 minutes to go half a mile and tore my frame into 7/8 pieces in the process. Anyway...my definition of hard: if I can reproduce the effort I just did within 24 hours, it wasn't hard. 98% or so of your riding falls into this category. you need to get creative to seek out challenges.

[@garthly]

Very useful. Exactly the trap I had fallen into!

[@Bleepins]

Thanks, bud. I needed this.

[@jamese8508]

Hello Vegan, I just discovered your channel, and I think the content is awesome! Thank you! I also just purchased an Eliel jersey because you and I have similar builds and it seems to fit you well. Indeed, it fits me really well too. Thanks again. By the way, I know you don't like to be preachy about your veganism, but congrats on adopting a diet that greatly reduces greenhouse gas emissions!

[@briandarnell1809]

I found the answer this week to ride easy on my easy days. I went for a ride with my wife. She is super casual and I just went at her speed. It was difficult to ride that slow, but when it was over I thought "now that's a Z1 recover ride."

[@KirbyZhang]

I thought so too but wife runs an electric bike and we're all hills here. she wouldn't wait for me!

[@angeloviray4916]

Great Tips IDOL.. Very inspiring Videos Thankz Ride Safe

[@PreFontaineRC76]

I was rattling my brain about this very issue during my 2 hour ride that felt right in the zone 3 abyss and I couldn’t figure out why. This is the answer. Yuhhh

[@condorito93swe]

Hey man loving the vids! This sounds like polarised training, I just recently started applying it to my own training a couple months ago, I was previously doing threshold work way often. I’m doing 4x8min efforts 2x a week for my current 4week cycle. Do you have any tips of intervals for the base2 or build phase? Not very experienced with this training approach so I’d love to hear how you’d apply it!

[@backYARDbanter13]

Stop looking for "the secret", endurance sport is about consistency over long periods of time. Every week you need to ride a moderately high amount of mileage, with a few very intense days/ tempo days, and then just repeat over and over. Get comfortable with being bored and tired if you want to get good

[@stuartdryer1352]

One of your best videos.

[@CritWhit]

Thx for sharing this great and highly overlooked information. I do find it hard to do those really hard rides-solo. I want to do more intervals, but catch myself pulling back into more of a "Tempo Ride" effort. As a New Cat 4 racer, the information you shared is truly vital, and again as always-THX 4 Sharing!!! #critwhit

[@TheVCAdventures]

Yeah bro, it happens to everyone. Its SOOOOO easy to fall into the zone 3 abyss. Keep up your work bro, im watching you grow your channel and hope you stick with it.

[@tommykarate6226]

when I try for easy days i`m always worried somebody will overtake me and think i`m slow, my ego is fragile I need to go hard all the time so if someone does pass me they have my respect.......please help me and say its ok to be passed..!

[@sprightlyrandom1550]

Haha it's ok to be passed and your egos safe cuz people will understand that your not going full gas when your being overtaken, especially if ur shredded and look fit

[@Erindale]

I always feel like if I'm out of breath, I'm going too hard. I'm proud of my slowness.

[@MrJaycobsen]

How do you like your saddle, is that å ISM? Can you give a little review of it in a video?

[@2ndAveScents]

Harder than last time! - Coach Greg

[@MalcolmOSB]

My biggest problem is that on easy rides I always push to get an okay avg speed and now I have a power meter it's Avg power. Always chasing numbers!

[@TheVCAdventures]

Dude, I feel ya. What helps me is I play the low numbers game. I will try to hit say 180 watts avg on the noise. So it gives me a goal and is kinda "fun". Or like I CANT go over 200 watts.

[@GoustiFruit]

I did my second "forced" easy day yesterday... it's so hard not to push sometimes :-) I was constantly checking my numbers, trying to keep my power below 220W and my HR below 140bpm... Really a chore when going up a hill, grinding at 50 rpm :-D The good thing is that I've never watched the nature around me as much as when I was riding that slowly !

[@masondanner6481]

Word - I have been working on doing 2 hours were only the weight of my legs and shoes turns over the pedals. I zoom the wahoo so I only see power and RPM. Spin 100 RPM at less then 200 watts is kind of a trip.

[@LambGiles]

Average speed is the devils work ! With all your mates looking at Strava, putting in a ride that is say 15mph is unthinkable!! But you need to do that if you want to recover. If you're doing those recovery / easy days, turn off average speed and don't even look at it!!

[@timeslowingdown]

Just don't post to strava on easy days. problem solved, lol

[@sylvaina.2455]

Your vidéos are awesome and you are very inspiring ! I m not vegan but I enjoy your channel ! We have to work on all the power spectrum ! I use the Coggan 9 i levels with wko4 and it's very usefull to work on specific qualities ( recover to P max) wko4 gives your zone and best time range to work on it ! More vidéo on theses topics ? Thinx

[@mikehenry872]

Any advice on getting over the mental part of 2 bad crashes within a month of each other I'm really mentally screwed up after hitting my head hard both times broken clavicle on the first and 4 broken ribs on the second. Both crashes due to stupidity of another rider in group rides. Both crashes were at about 30 mph. Last one really has me uneasy

[@PazLeBon]

i was unfit at xmas. i have done about 2500km this year all at ftp, is that threshhold? shit or bust, the only way i can play games :)

[@crisjim3789]

Great video man !! so helpful. Thank you so much :)

[@metamurph]

Tempo -- just for those 100K (for me) days, trying to stay in L2 and increase what I can do there, but I have slacked off on intervals. Then again, it hit 111 today...pool time getting ramped up for a bit

[@luannedimaggio7025]

Sprinkling of all with a recovery day. Got it.

[@costasmandylor1565]

Good reminder to keep it mellow some days! On another note, what kind of bibs are you wearing in the vid?

[@TheVCAdventures]

Eliel cycling, link in the bio for the new kits

[@mr._wattzon]

so Im a Cat 2 racer... whats your thoughts about taking a full week off training halfway through the season? (currently in day 2 of the off week)

[@TheVCAdventures]

dont...dont do that. Unless you need a mental break, just take a recovery week and ride easy, explore, go hiking, find a dirt road, but still ride. 6 days off the bike will drop your fitness pretty quick and for me at least, getting back into training after a big block of nothing is super hard.

[@anibaljesusdelgadillo2091]

Thanks for the information, VC👏

[@donjagoe]

That was helpful-and do-able. Thx

[@fontane007]

I tend to plan an easy ride out, say 20 miles then find I'm pushing hard on particular segments, then go easy again. I guess most of my rides are like this.

[@jamesong1316]

That is so me. Outdoor or zwift always at zone 3. There is no breakthrough for a long time.

[@jameseby8207]

are there videos on spiraling and intermittent fasting coming out?

[@cleggycyclist]

"the zone 3 abyss" but you also say you personally get a lot from your sweetspot (z3) rides... so which is it? An abyss or a good zone to spend a lot of time in? Like you I find I have to be very disciplined to ride slow enough on my easy days.

[@TheVCAdventures]

It's all about time in zones. Times people will ride too hard all the time and so then they're hard efforts are actually just in Zone 3. As of wear when you go hard you need to be in zone 4 or 5 for a set duration. Doing sweet spot workouts and Zone 3 workouts are great but you can't always be doing that and expect big gains

[@MalcolmAber]

Awesome video bro! very informative! :)

[@yak_town9277]

What kind of POC glasses do you own?!? I want to get a pair but I have seen you wear two different kinds I believe!

[@TheVCAdventures]

POC aspires are what I currently rock. I have 3 pairs LOL

[@aisti1234]

lets assume i go hard two times a week. do easy rides inbetween add some benefit? or could i achieve the same gains with the rest of the week being rest-days?

[@benanderson9551]

GCN added a video recently which I found helpful which they said to use the rest rides as times to train at a higher cadence e.g maybe going from 80 rpm to 100 rpm but in a smaller gear and at about 50 ish percent effort. Hope this helps.

[@msaulid]

If one only has 3 days a week to ride. Is there still a point to riding super easy? What is the benefit that one gets by riding super easy instead of just taking the day off?

[@KirbyZhang]

it's supposed to aid recovery and keep your muscles loose for the next hard interval. I've skipped a lot of easy rides because I couldn't be troubled with the get dressed, ride around, undress, shower and wash process. I'm going to try with my electric bike where I just hop on and go like when we were kids.

[@briangrissom9115]

Weird. Woke up this morning with this exact question in my head. Should I go harder on hard days and easier on easy days? Answered. I’m off to go out of my face...

[@art.mfi.3603]

Just what I needed PS : awesome background musics

[@poowqnp]

Isn't there one particular case where constant zone 3 abyss training is a good thing? As in training for those super endurance ultra distance races like trans continental, paris brest paris or trans am?

[@craigwilson118]

As a base mileage for these events yes... because you need to let your body get used to long time in the saddle... but also no. I think you need a reserve of power: many events will have hard climbs/perhaps days into a headwind and you will have extra weight on the bike. Suddenly, your zone 3 becomes very slow. I think training harder raises the bar and makes the zone 2/3 you want to restrict to for the ultra race ultimately faster and the hard parts don't take so much out of you. I used to do ultra-running and I definitely didn't do enough HARD hard or EASY easy training as I got into big events. Funny, I did my first marathons on a week of tabata sprints one day, a 40 min tempo, and an easy 5k commute run and home again... but somehow got caught up with putting in miles and fell into the abyss. I'm now signed up to one ultra ride (Japanese Odyssey) and don't want to make the same mistake: the intervals are back!

[@zzhughesd]

I have this problem but can KOM regular 3 rides in a row going for it odd climb. I'm defo too easy on hard, tempo ish on hard. On easy I'm always just tempo. I'm largely zone3 every other day

[@eamonn9882]

Did you notice major difference in fatigue levels from your Olympic Tri last Saturday versus a standard bike race? . .

[@TheVCAdventures]

OMG! Every muscle that wasn't my typical cycling muscles are sore AF. But it's so strange that it doesn't affect me riding at all. But give me a set of stairs to walk down, and holy moly, I'm in for a struggle

[@eamonn9882]

I did my first tri last Sat by co-incidence , sprint distance and I’m a dreadful swimmer. Open water was scary at times and I’m in bits too, like you said, had to go on my back a few times like you did last year. Your triathalon videos are really good, got me looking to attempt one , will you be putting up another tri video? that would be cool.

[@SuperOCHomes]

Eamonn check out total immersion swimming. KZbin good, the book taught me to swim. It boils down to slip streaming in the water, the same as on a bike (drafting). Be like torpedo, keep head down, raises legs. It feels like cheating. Check it out I'm 6 years into at 47 years old

[@123456bmx]

I've got no structure for my riding and have thrown up after several rides,Sucks a lot.

[@4879daniel]

Very hard to ride easy - takes a lot of discipline, especically in urban areas where you want to beat lights and overtake. I try to stay at

[@miltw3]

Good stuff! Thanks!

[@planetmongocommoditiesexch9079]

Thanks for this. Dr. Steven Seiler is the leading authority on this subject, several videos on KZbin. Dylan Johnson has some good ones, too. What you're describing is how the highest level elite athletes train.. If time allows there is great value in high volume, low intensity training. If you have unlimited time to watch videos, Trainer Road podcasts are great.

[@cchanc3]

highest level?.....not even close

[@pattencycling]

Love your work

[@RobBastien]

Question: I'm 51, FTP 180. I need to be able to hold 300 watts for 10 minutes. Is that doable? Any training tips?

[@TheVCAdventures]

Very doable. You will need to do short intervals like 5 x 5 mins at say 250-300. Then once you can hold 300 for 5 mins for a few sets. Push the time out to 6 min. Then maybe 8 mins. You will be able to bump your 10 min power quickly. But short, intense intervals will be trick.

[@dh7314]

Problem is often ego. People don't like doing those zone 1 & 2 rides because Strava makes it all public and they don't want to look slow, so they end up trying to impress their followers. Chasing kom's and segment times all the time is counterproductive, Strava is responsible for a lot of average athletes out there. When I used to train properly all my workouts were private for this very reason.

[@graeme8934]

Good info bud

[@jean-louisnolastname7882]

Merci beaucoup. Thank you very much.

[@wspmjw]

What's a zone?

[@anibaljesusdelgadillo2091]

"Perceived exertion" Interesting term👍👊

[@jordywilliams]

2 days efforts at threshold or above 3 days z2 endurance 2 days super easy

[@MishMash95]

This is what I have been doing for the last 5 weeks, and have gone from being plateu'd for 3 months to seeing some juicy gains again. Perhaps some as a result of actually not being fatigued when doing hard workouts, but still encouraging :) Defo a good structure.

[@geoffreyanderson4719]

a faster day needs to be added to that list. threshold is not fast enough budddy

[@MatthewLaubach]

How tall are you and what size VC kit do you wear? Thanks Tyler :D

[@honeybadger3599]

Matthew Laubach xxs

[@TheVCAdventures]

I am 6'2 , 155, and wear a small. But a medium works as well

[@MatthewLaubach]

lol so I order a women's medium... Any chance I can change my order to a small??

[@BenAroundo]

Cycling is a science and an art. You need a good coached background (did your coach create champions?) , around twenty years of experience and College for the theory to consider coaching.

[@louisvangaelen313]

What saddle are you running?

[@thomasegan4212]

Yo random question VC: I have unruly hair like yours but you manage it well. What hair product do u use?

[@geoffreyanderson4719]

great vid content

[@RealMarcosMiranda]

Always go too hard. Guilty. Great vid

[@RickyScoles]

Good video 👍

[@kay19833]

average speed is a beast! totally obsessed. Can't help myself. and you better not spin past me, I will catch up and leave you in the dust, Roadoes, groups,MTBs, urban or even grandpas. Am I the only one?

[@stonez1212]

Great! BUT... When are you doing your next triathlon?? :D

[@TheVCAdventures]

JUST DID LAST WEEK! VIDEO WILL BE UP TOMORROW. FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM TO SEE MORE

[@MultiBallchinian]

I'm forever stuck in the zone 3 abyss. Any time I try to do hard intervals, I can't finish them.

[@TheVCAdventures]

That's where you gotta start riding really easy for a week, then come back and do intervals that aren't wildly out of your reach. Like take your best ever 20 min power, and hold that for 5 mins x 5 sets. You should be able to complete it, yet it will be very difficult.

[@MultiBallchinian]

@@TheVCAdventures Thanks for the reply man! I'm definitely gonna try this! I love your channel and all your content

[@amorinfinito6500]

great video!GO VEGAAN!!!

[@Jannic91]

I ride 2-3 times a week on average and 2 of those are at least perceived really hard. Like I’ll get a headache and destroyed legs and after the ride I have to lie down in Bed all day and basically die. Next morning I feel like shit and can’t even think straight which I need to do a lot in my job. I wanted to reconsider my training and only do sweet spot but I only have heart rate and don’t even know my zones. Any advice?

[@marchimedian]

Do a month of Strava premium for free and try out one of the structured programs they offer. I was doing the same shit as you are and not really seeing any gains, but a real schedule has me doing way shorter rides more often, so I'm actually getting more (and quality) hours in on the bike per week. Also I feel wrecked after an over under session, but really good on the easier days/at work/school. Also, you can sign up for all the programs you like the look of, screenshot them, then when your free month runs out you still have the workouts lol

[@marchimedian]

P.S. The very first thing they have you do is a fitness test to establish your zones, its like back to back 8 min max efforts taking the highest average power/HR from one and using percentages of that to set zones.

[@GoustiFruit]

My advice: if you're not already, go vegan :-) Seriously, everyone who has tried will tell you that your recovery improves 10x on a vegan diet. More generally, recovery is key: if you go hard one day, you need to give rest to your body for the next few days so that it can adapt. When you're fresh, you can go for a hard ride again.

[@rinhu8864]

DirtyHarry sounds like you are chronically dehydrated, get some electrolyte tablets for your bottles. You shouldn't be getting headaches the day after dude

[@James_R_]

I have never had headaches the day after but getting some electrolytes after a ride when I have had a headache always fixed it.

[@jonpoon3896]

I use easy days to work out bike handling

[@rinhu8864]

How do you know when you're recovered fully? Body just feels really fresh?

[@cleggycyclist]

For me i go by my resting HR.

[@rinhu8864]

Derek Clegg that's a good shout

[@cleggycyclist]

It is because many a times the legs (really the head) is telling you that you are not rested enough to do another hard session, but you know from resting HR that you are recovered and fresh so you push on and the legs do actually "waken up" and start working

[@rinhu8864]

Derek Clegg do you factor in life stress and caffeine into your HR? HR just seems something that can fluctuate for so many reasons, but I guess it's just another helpful bit of data in the whole picture of recovery. Being 'recovered' just seems so ephemeral

[@cleggycyclist]

yes you are correct lots of life stresses etc affect HR make the judgement call yourself based on the training data you have from your riding - works for me

[@brandoiver7619]

Hey everyone, getting into cycling and purchasing a bike soon ( Giant contend three ), and was wondering how I should be training and there is any helpful websites or tips from anyone who is a cyclist. Thanks!

[@GSatiFan]

Brando Iver Subscribe to GCN. Get Strava. Start slowly and try to figure out how you feel. Then start to increase the effort. Example: 25km. Next time 30km. When you have endurance try to become faster or adding climbs. Like: 25km with an av. of 1kmh faster. Set a goal. Join a cycling club. And have fun fun fun.

[@skream2397]

Brando Iver giant contend 3 user here I suggest you to change your wheelset.the stock wheelset are lil heavy for me.

[@brandoiver7619]

DR.IFTER what would you suggest changing to (I don't have a lot of extra funds to throw at my bike), so any alternatives would be appreciated

[@skream2397]

Brando Iver maybe rs11s they're good I've tested them in my friends bike also they are kinda lighter than the stock one. Upgrade your groupset maybe to 105s or tiagra and your'e good to go

[@coleshinnick3637]

Do you think the colnago strada SI 105 is good?

[@robertgreiner4703]

jep thats definitely something i ran into the first years of roadbiking. and my largest gauge was a 26. periods of recovery were fucking long.

[@jyflyn]

suh dude

[@Walk.InHisWays]

What model poc’s are those brah?

[@TheVCAdventures]

Aspires, LOVE THEM!

[@Stephensry]

4th camp: don't ride enough... This guy...

[@runsintheforrest1364]

I'm having a hard time going slow. It always feels like the workout is pointless.