The Time-Crunched Cyclist Podcast by CTS

Jaksot

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  The Five Self-Coached Cycling Mistakes That Keep You Stuck 14.09.2026 18min

  Self-coaching gives you freedom, but it also makes it remarkably easy to reinforce your own biases. Coach Adam Pulford breaks down five mistakes he repeatedly sees in self-coached cyclists, from avoiding field testing and inflating FTP to under-recovering, failing to plan long-term, and chasing equipment gains before training gains. HOST Adam Pulford has been a CTS Coach for nearly two decades and holds a B.S. in Exercise Physiology. He's participated in and coached hundreds of athletes for...
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  Twenty Coaching Lessons That Make Athletes Better 07.09.2026 10min

  After 24 years of coaching athletes, Adam Pulford has seen enough training plans, races, breakthroughs, failures, and comebacks to recognize which lessons continue to matter. In this episode, Adam steps away from the charts and physiology to share 20 observations from his coaching career: why fitness isn't performance, why recovery matters as much as workload, why perfect training doesn't exist, what winning and losing can teach us, and why long-term development requires more patience than mo...
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  The 100-Mile Ride Playbook 31.08.2026 16min

  A successful 100-mile ride is rarely the result of one thing going exceptionally well. It's what happens when your fitness, fueling, pacing, and execution all come together on the same day. Coach Adam Pulford breaks down how much to eat and drink, why the opening miles should feel easier than you think, what to prioritize with one week versus six weeks to prepare, and how to use your training data to guide your effort. And Adam's fourth piece of advice might be the simplest: bring your friend...
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  How to Train Torque Without Just Grinding Bigger Gears 24.08.2026 21min

  Torque training has become almost synonymous with low-cadence riding. But simply dropping to 60 RPM doesn't guarantee you're producing more force or creating the adaptation you're after. Coach Adam Pulford breaks down the relationship between torque, cadence, power, and force production; explains why the gym may be the best place to raise your strength ceiling; and shows where low-cadence work actually belongs in a cyclist's training year. HOST Adam Pulford has been a CTS Coach for nearly t...
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  Why Crit Racers Need More FTP Than They Think 17.08.2026 22min

  Does FTP actually matter for criterium racing? Coach Adam Pulford breaks down why your aerobic engine plays such a big role in an explosive race, how a higher FTP can reduce the cost of repeated attacks, and why sprinty "crit dawgs" and breakaway riders should approach their training differently. Plus, why none of those watts matter if you haven't developed the race craft to use them! HOST Adam Pulford has been a CTS Coach for nearly two decades and holds a B.S. in Exercise Physiology. He's...
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  Stop Fearing The Recovery Week 10.08.2026 18min

  Recovery isn't the break between training. Recovery IS training. In this episode, CTS Head Cycling Coach Adam Pulford explains how he structures recovery blocks with everyone from beginners to elite athletes. Learn why recovery doesn't always need to last a full week, how to know when you've earned one, and why the athletes who recover best often perform best. If recovery weeks make you anxious, this episode is for you! HOST Adam Pulford has been a CTS Coach for nearly two decades and holds...
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  Behind the Scenes Before the Tour with Alison Jackson 03.08.2026 38min

  Days before the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, Coach Adam Pulford caught up with professional cyclist Alison Jackson to talk about the final phase of preparation. From altitude camp in Boulder and heat training to tapering, race strategy, joining a new team, and life behind the scenes, this conversation offers a rare look inside the final build-up to one of the biggest events in professional cycling. HOST Adam Pulford has been a CTS Coach for nearly two decades and holds a B.S. in Exerci...
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  Are Your VO2 Workouts Training The Wrong System 27.07.2026 19min

  With the Tour de France wrapped up, conversations about Tadej Pogačar's VO2 max are everywhere. But what actually increases VO2 max? In this episode, CTS Head Cycling Coach Adam Pulford breaks down the two interval strategies he uses with athletes to develop aerobic power. Learn the difference between long, sustained VO2 intervals and short on/off efforts, when to use each one, and how to sequence both leading into your biggest events. If you've hit a plateau or want to maximize your aerobic ...
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  Fitness Isn't Performance: The Truth About CTL 20.07.2026 15min

  Cyclists often treat CTL like the ultimate measure of fitness, but that's only part of the story. In this episode, CTS Head Cycling Coach Adam Pulford explains what CTL actually measures, why performance and fitness aren't the same thing, and how to use your training data to peak for races instead of chasing a bigger number. HOST Adam Pulford has been a CTS Coach for nearly two decades and holds a B.S. in Exercise Physiology. He's participated in and coached hundreds of athletes for enduran...
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  A Scalable Carb Fueling Plan Based On Effort 13.07.2026 19min

  Fueling advice has never been more confusing. One expert recommends fasted rides, another says 120 grams of carbs per hour, and every nutrition brand seems to have a different answer. In this episode, CTS Head Cycling Coach Adam Pulford introduces a practical fueling framework that scales carbohydrate intake to the demands of your ride. Using kilojoule output, ride intensity, and duration, you'll learn how to build a fueling strategy that's individualized, repeatable, and easy to apply for ea...
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  A Simple Framework For Raising Cycling FTP 06.07.2026 13min

  Want to increase your FTP? Many cyclists assume the answer is simple: do more FTP intervals. While that can help, it's only one piece of the puzzle. In this video, CTS Head Cycling Coach Adam Pulford introduces a simple coaching framework, Push vs. Pull, to explain how FTP is really built. You'll learn why aerobic training lays the foundation, how VO₂ max work raises your ceiling, and how to combine both throughout the season for your strongest FTP yet. HOST Adam Pulford has been a CTS Coach ...
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  Everything Cyclists Get Wrong About Normalized Power 29.06.2026 22min

  If you've ever wondered what Normalized Power is actually telling you, this episode is for you! Normalized Power has become one of the most common metrics in cycling, but it's also one of the most misunderstood. In this episode, CTS Head Cycling Coach Adam Pulford explains what Normalized Power was designed to measure, how it differs from average power, and why context matters when using it to evaluate training and racing. HOST Adam Pulford has been a CTS Coach for nearly two decades and ho...
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  The Masters Athlete Playbook 22.06.2026 20min

  Do masters athletes really need more recovery, or are they simply balancing more life stress and responsibilities? In this episode, CTS Head Cycling Coach Adam Pulford breaks down the realities of training and racing as a masters athlete. We discuss recovery, consistency, intensity, strength training, race preparation, and how training priorities should evolve with age. The conversation explores both the physiological realities of aging and the habits that allow many athletes to continue impr...
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  Can AI Actually Make You Faster? 15.06.2026 18min

  AI is rapidly changing nearly every industry, and endurance coaching is no exception. In this episode, CTS Head Cycling Coach Adam Pulford explores where AI can genuinely help athletes improve, where it falls short, and why the future of coaching may be more collaborative than competitive. We discuss training data, prompting, bias, TrainingPeaks, Claude, ChatGPT, Vekta, Kristin Faulkner's use of AI, and the areas where experienced coaches still provide value that algorithms struggle to replic...
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  Active vs Passive Heat Training: Which Works Better? 08.06.2026 22min

  Heat adaptation can improve performance, comfort, and recovery in hot conditions. But many athletes make the mistake of treating heat training as free fitness. In this episode, CTS Coach Adam Pulford breaks down the differences between active and passive heat training, how each method works, and why heat should be viewed as a training stressor in its own right. We discuss plasma volume expansion, sauna protocols, heated trainer rides, hydration, recovery considerations, and how to integrate h...
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  How to Climb Faster Without Increasing FTP 01.06.2026 14min

  Climbing faster isn’t always about increasing FTP or producing bigger power numbers. In this episode, CTS Coach Adam Pulford breaks down the pacing strategies, tactics, fueling, and key workouts that help cyclists climb faster with the fitness they already have. HOST Adam Pulford has been a CTS Coach for nearly two decades and holds a B.S. in Exercise Physiology. He's participated in and coached hundreds of athletes for endurance events all around the world. The Problem with Chasing Data ...
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  Why Data Alone Won’t Make You Faster 25.05.2026 14min

  Endurance athletes have access to more data than ever before, but data alone doesn’t guarantee better decisions. In this episode, CTS Coach Adam Pulford breaks down the role of Rate of Perceived Effort (RPE) in training and racing, and why internal awareness remains one of the most important skills an athlete can develop. We cover pacing, training zones, effort calibration, common mistakes athletes make with RPE, and how to integrate subjective feedback with power and heart rate for better lo...
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  These Habits Are Quietly Killing Your Recovery 18.05.2026 16min

  Recovery isn’t just about what happens right after training, it’s about all the little things between sessions that add up. In this episode, CTS Coach Adam Pulford breaks down the habits that quietly interfere with adaptation and leave athletes carrying more fatigue than they realize. We cover sleep, fueling, easy day intensity, stress management, post-workout recovery, and why the basics matter far more than expensive recovery gadgets or trends. HOST Adam Pulford has been a CTS Coach for nea...
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  What “High Quality Training” Actually Means 11.05.2026 8min

  Quality training is often reduced to intensity, but that’s only part of the picture. In this episode, CTS Coach Adam Pulford breaks down what high-quality training actually looks like and why it’s often misunderstood. We cover the three pillars of high-quality training: the process, the result, and yes, the FUN! You’ll learn why pushing harder isn’t the answer, how to close the intention–execution gap, and how to structure rides that actually move your fitness forward. HOST Adam Pulford has...
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  You Don’t Have a Fitness Problem, You Have a Durability Problem 04.05.2026 14min

  Most athletes focus on how strong they are when fresh. But performance is defined by what holds up as fatigue accumulates. In this episode, we break down durability: what it is, how to measure it through fatigue resistance, and why it’s one of the most overlooked performance variables in endurance sport. We also cover how to train it effectively so you can maintain power, make better decisions late in races, and perform when it matters most. HOST Adam Pulford has been a CTS Coach for nearly...