It stands to reason that if you follow a proven, methodical training plan, you should see results. Those results should be measurable objectively and felt subjectively. Since opening Global Ride Training Center, I’ve been following steady Heart Zones® and Cycling Fusion Power training routines. Results translated to doing the Giretto in 2009 (4 back to back stages of the Giro – over 400 miles and a ton of climbing in the alps) with 85% of that training indoors. Not just my results, but results abounded all around me in my students and team members – this stuff works!

Adding my race schedule to the extensive winter training and teaching schedule kept me enjoying life on two wheels like never before. For almost three years I was in the best shape of my life, and both race results and training rides were at their peak. Then it happened… the combination of getting sick in the middle of winter training this year and deciding to spend 100% of my time building a new Indoor Cycling franchise took my training to an all time low. Basically, I returned to what I did before I met Sally Edwards and the Keiser m3… I just rode. As I saw my abilities decline, I fell into an old way of thinking; to wit… I better ride more, I’m starting to get worse out here.

This is what I and most of my riding buddies did to “get better” before Cycling Fusion. We just rode more, or did more climbing. Unfortunately, it never really translated into very big improvements, yet it was all we could think of. So guess what happened. Past patterns translated into past results – no significant improvements and a return to pre-Heart Zones®, pre-Power training levels. I have a saying I stress to my students and team members. If you train right, the results will be easily seen and felt – you will either go faster, or suffer less. My riding in France… let me start that again. My attempting to ride in France for Global Ride (see pained rider in photo) was the event that forced me to admit the truth: I’m neither going faster, nor suffering less, even when I go slow… basically, I just suck right now.

For a while, I tried to explain it (translate blame it) away on a variety of situational factors. Truth be told, I just stopped training. Training does indeeed take hard work, and committment. You can’t cheat your training and hope everything will turn out alright, like some kind of workout fairy will sprinkle performance dust on you while you sleep at night. It’s simple… start training again, or stop crying in your beer. The fact is, I’m going to suffer in the hills, and keep getting dropped by my buddies until I decide to start working for it again. Argh… I hate starting over like this, but this stuff works in both directions – conditioning or DEconditioning. The choice lies before me.