Clarke Boulter Cycling Coach

Are your VO₂ max workouts effective enough?

Most cyclists focus on making their VO₂ max workouts harder.

But there’s something just as important...

How fresh are you when you start them?

If you’re carrying too much fatigue into the session, you won’t be able to produce the power you’re capable of. That means a smaller training effect and less improvement over time.

Sometimes the best way to get more from your hardest workouts isn’t to push harder.

It’s to arrive at them with fresher legs.

Do you plan your workouts so you’re fresh for them, or do you just do them regardless?

Easy rides should feel easy.

Sounds obvious.

But then why do so many cyclists undervalue them?

It might not feel like much is happening, but at a cellular level you're building the aerobic engine every other ride depends on.

Keep your heart rate in Zone 2. Not too hard. Not too easy.

Does your heart rate on your easy rides stay in Zone 2?

Most cyclists don’t need a more complicated training plan. They need better structure.

It’s easy to think every ride needs to be hard to make progress.

It doesn’t.

Most of your riding should be easy, with a small number of genuinely hard sessions. Add in the rides you simply enjoy, and you’ve got a structure that’s both effective and sustainable.

The best training plan is the one you can follow consistently for months, not just a couple of weeks.

How do you currently structure your training week? Or do you just ride when you feel like it?

There's a lot more to this than a 45-watt FTP increase.

Last year, Michael underwent major open-heart surgery. Once he'd been fully medically cleared, we started working together.

Training hasn't always been straightforward. There have been tough races, difficult conditions and plenty of challenges along the way.

But he kept turning up.

Three months into coaching, his FTP increased by 45 watts.

He's now building towards a 150 km Gran Fondo.

That's what determination and consistent, structured training can achieve.

If you'd like to see what structured coaching could do for your cycling, book a free coaching call below.

Most cyclists think an easier week means losing fitness.

It doesn’t.

An easier week isn’t about doing nothing. You still ride, just shorter and easier than usual. It’s about getting rid of the fatigue that’s been building up from the previous few weeks of training.

When you start your next block feeling fresh, you can push harder on your interval sessions and get more from them.

That’s why an easier week isn’t a step backwards.

It’s part of the process of getting faster.

Do you deliberately schedule an easier week every few weeks, or do you just keep training?

Let me know below.

One ride won't make you fitter. But don't underestimate it.

You'll almost certainly finish a ride without feeling any different.

That's because the adaptation from a single ride is tiny.

Every ride is simply another signal telling your body to adapt.

On its own, that signal is almost insignificant.

But stack those signals together, ride after ride, week after week, month after month, and those small changes become significant.

That's why consistency matters so much.

It's not one great ride that makes you faster.

It's hundreds of ordinary rides, completed over time.

If you'd like me to identify what might be holding back your cycling performance, start your free personalised Performance Review here:

https://challenge.incrementel.com/performance-review

Most cyclists judge success by the finish line.

I don't think that's where success is built.

Goals matter. They give us direction.

But success isn't built on race day or when you hit a new FTP.

It's built in the weeks and months beforehand.

Every structured ride.

Every strength session.

Every time you choose to train instead of making excuses.

Sometimes life gets in the way. Injuries happen. Plans change.

When they do, go back to the process.

Because that's the one thing that keeps moving you forward.

If you'd like to identify what's most likely holding back your cycling performance, complete my free Performance Assessment.

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Most cyclists don't plateau because they've reached their potential.

They plateau because their training has stopped progressing.

Look back over the last three months.

Has your weekly long ride gradually increased?

Have your interval sessions become longer, harder or more demanding?

If the answer is no, your body has had very little reason to keep adapting.

Small, planned progression over time is what drives long-term improvement.

If you're stuck, don't just train harder.

Ask yourself:

What has actually progressed in my training?

Get your free Performance Assessment:

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Most cyclists don't plateau because they stop trying.

They plateau because they stop progressing.

Progressive overload isn't about making every workout harder.

It's about systematically increasing the training stimulus over time through better structure, appropriate progression, volume and intensity.

If the training stimulus doesn't change, neither will your fitness.

What part of your training have you deliberately progressed in the last 3 months?

Get your free Performance Assessment:

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