These libraries can be purchased for $US 49.95 by self-coached users or by coaches that would like to re-use them with their clients and in their own coaching.

The libraries are available immediately for purchase in the TrainingPeaks Exercise Library store. Simply login, click on the “plans, Pods & Store” section on the left, then click “Store”, then “Exercise Libraries” as shown below.

After purchasing a library, it will be available in your Training library within TrainingPeaks.

To use the workouts, simply drag them onto the calendar, then download the attached .erg file and use it with your CompuTrainer for your workout. After the workout, upload your data to TrainingPeaks.com or WKO+.

Quentin is available for questions by email at qfieldboden@gmail.com and you can learn more about his libraries by downloading a short descriptive .pdf by clicking here.

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Would you like to build and sell exercise libraries? Please contact us.

Explaining more about what he will cover, Jim says, “This webinar will be covering how to track fitness patterns and prevent performance plateaus in WKO+ software, using advanced charts and graphs. Many coaches utilize WKO+ software to assess an individual session, but miss the opportunities to track overall fitness, recognize performance plateaus sooner, and make training decisions based on all the data available in a bigger picture, encompassing all sessions.”

“The webinar will show how to create alternative charts, enhance the data given in the Performance Management Chart (PMC), and how to interpret these to make better training decisions. If you are a coach or self-coached athlete, this session will help you to better understand how you or your athletes are adapting to training stresses.”

Learn more on Jim’s blog and sign up for the webinar at Performance Webinars. Coaches, let us know if you’re also planning to give a webinar by emailing us at info@trainingpeaks.com so that we can share the news!

From the 50 mile charity ride, Paul has moved onto even longer events, such as a 24 hour charity ride for children he participated in last year and is looking forward to again this year. “I took part in the 24 hour event last year, riding 5 x 1 hour sessions which with the pre-event warm up meant I rode a total of 164 miles. This year I am aiming for more and what better way to raise money for Children in Need than by doing an activity that I love.”

Describing his love of cycling, Paul points out that it is a very democratic sport that gives participants unusually free access to professional riders. “There aren’t many sports or activities that a normal member of the public can follow in the footsteps of the professionals. I have ridden many of the Pyrenean Tour de France climbs and had the good fortune during last year’s 24 hour event to ride with 2 of the Great Britain Paralympics gold medal winners from Beijing. Imagine asking Jenson Button if I could go for a drive with him. It just wouldn’t happen.”

Despite his busy schedule, Paul has been able to train efficiently for his upcoming charity event through following his plan on TrainingPeaks. “I am only able to commit to around 7 hours a week to my training but have found that by following the schedule on TrainingPeaks that my training has come on especially in the last 4 weeks.”

As a result of this training, Paul has noticed a significant improvement in his fitness. “An example of how my fitness has improved since this time last year is that during the Tuesday track sessions we do an exercise where we take laps on the group. Usually by the end of the season around March I am able to do 6 repetitions of 2 laps. This year on every session I have done 6 repetitions of 2 laps with the exception of one week where I only managed 5 repetitions of 2 laps and 1 of 1 lap. The laps are taken at around 30mph. Massive improvement.”

Paul first began by using the free version of TrainingPeaks but soon switched to the paid subscription services so that he could take advantage of more advanced features, such as the Annual Training Plan. “I started out by using the free version of the TrainingPeaks web site but quickly changed to the subscription service which for me offered the advantage of creating the Annual Training Plan (ATP). I particularly like the flexibility of the ATP and have reduced my weekly hours since the summer and the plan just sorted everything out. The ATP takes out the complexity of deciding which training routines to do during each week leaving me more time to get out and ride my bike.”

In addition to the Annual Training Plan, Paul enjoys the fact that with TrainingPeaks he can record data from many different training devices. “Another very useful thing for me is the ability to upload data from multiple devices. I have Polar and Garmin devices and having the ability to see workouts from the 3 devices in one console is invaluable.”

“I am now enjoying my cycling more than ever before and even after having some injuries early last year feel that I am as fit now as I was 2 years ago. This is backed up by a 50 mile ride I did at the weekend which was the first time in 2 years that I have ridden this route and my time was almost 5 minutes quicker this year with similar conditions. TrainingPeaks has helped me to reach this level of fitness again and without it I would spend most of my time just riding my bike rather than training.”

Get a TrainingPeaks account and start achieving your own fitness goals like Paul did.

The first-ever female coach of a professional Tour de France cycling team, Marion Clignet, says “TrainingPeaks is my saving grace” as she coaches her team to the 2011 Tour. Marion is doing her own mini Tour de France this fall, checking in with all her riders from Team Bouygues Telecom to make sure their off-season winter training is on track. Read on to find out how she’s keeping her team in shape over the holidays, including core strength, stability, running, swimming, and even skiing, and check out Marion’s blog on Velonation to keep up with the team’s progress! Also, sign up for a TrainingPeaks account and a winter training plan to keep your own training on track this holiday season!

Hello from France

Hey there from Toulouse in the southwest of France, where much to my dismay it is pouring and has rained all week! I’m just back from a mini Tour de France that I took to visit several of my riders.  A lot of my boys raced fairly late into October though I do have 2 other groups that finished earlier. Some of the early finishers are racing ‘cross full on while others are training and racing ‘cross just to change a tad from the road.

While visiting with the boys most of what I’m doing is getting them on a solid strength and in particular core strength and stability program with free weights, stability balls and medicine balls. I’m not a machine fan as in cycling we don’t work in the same axis as machines and they don’t allow you to really work on your stability.

Other activities I have them do depending on their skills and weak points are running, (preferably on soft terrain like woods and mountain trails), stairs for some, swimming, cross country skiing, and mountain biking.

As the off season continues and we increase cardio work I’ll also change their lifting cycles including a strength cycle with more weights and fewer reps, always finishing with a fixed gear spin on the trainer, perhaps alternating the trainer and heavy lifts  for those who tend to bulk up when they lift. The last weight cycle before the season really starts is a lift-cardio circuit getting them ready for what’s about to happen.

I started working with the team in November 2008 and for my first year the mission has been to get everyone on the same logistical platform. TrainingPeaks is my saving grâce communication-wise as not everyone has an SRM or a PowerTap but they can still just fill in the blanks which allows me to plan more efficiently.

Our star riders are Fedrigo and Voeckler, both stage winners in the tour this year, as well as William Bonnet and Yuri Troffimov. Up and coming stars are Pierre Rolland, Sebastien Turgot, Cyril Gauthier, and Damien Gaudin, names you’ll be seeing soon enough. We have 3 new additions to the team this year with Vogondy, Chartreux, and Bichot.

As the early off season really is a time to unwind everyone is just off a 2 week break, or if they rode later they are getting ready to take a break now. At this point it’s all about clearing your head and getting your motivation stock ready for action as well as not unwinding completely on cookies, beer, and chips. All of this is just to say that one of the most important times to be careful is during the off season.

Our first camp is November 23 and since we are on new bikes this season – Colnago – we’ll be spending a lot of time on bike fitting, discussions with sponsors on bettering certain products from gels to tires, endurance training, and getting to know the new kids on our block.

Happy training to all !

Cheers

Marion

With the change from summer to fall upon us and winter quickly showing up to the party, it seemed like a good time to look at some tips that will help you complete your workouts now and through this winter. Below are ten suggestions to consider when the seasons throw you off track of your training plan.

In the early season of fall, as available daylight decreases, workouts can suffer during the week. So, overall training time on the bike ends up being crammed in on the weekend. While it’s good that you are getting out, it’s not as good that it’s only on the weekend. Here are some tips to even things out over the week while the fall weather is still desirable enough to be outside.

1. Plan for one day mid-week to leave work an hour early for a bike ride. Start and end your ride at work to allow for more saddle time. This can start to balance out the longer duration weekend rides and recovery days from week to week.

2. Plan for at least one high intensity/short duration ride during the week. This type of ride has a short warm-up phase and then gets right down to the high intensity, finishing with a cool down phase. This workout should be hard and rewarding when done over several weeks, can be as short as an hour.

3. Missed a couple of workouts due to work or traffic jams on the way home and it’s now dark? Then spend a few hard earned dollars on a good set of lights. A helmet mount or handlebar mount style lantern can bring a new meaning to cycling. The sun has set but you’re still able to safely navigate your workout to complete your day. If you’re going to be on the streets also invest in a rear mount safety beacon.

4. Lights can also allow for commuting on your trusty steed which not only allows for the workout to be completed, but you also reduce your consumption of gas. Just be sure to have a collection of warm cycling gear for the colder morning temps.

5. Sometimes it’s not about the bike and you should just go for a walk with your family after a nice dinner and look at the Halloween decorations. The recovery will do wonders for the epic ride planned on the weekend and your family will appreciate the time spent with you.

As winter takes hold with messy streets and cold temperatures, cycling moves to the stationary fashion. This is great for about an hour and then the monotony of the pedaling that goes nowhere kicks in. To stay on track it is necessary to find the strength to lift a leg over the bike and ride without the nice scenery, wind in the face and the dusty singletrack of the summer months. Below are the last five suggestions to help keep the workouts rolling while indoors.

6. Have a designated spot for your bike training, preferably in front of a television that you can play videos or DVD’s on. This way your bike is always ready to be ridden and you have the ability to watch cycling workouts, last year’s TdF or even a movie. The distraction works wonders in helping the time go by.

7. Since you’re not able to create wind across the body for evaporative cooling, be careful not to overheat and drink plenty of fluids. Place a fan in the immediate area to help keep the temperature desirable and a towel handy to capture perspiration.

8. While your bike is mounted in the trainer you can do several things to increase the intensity of the workout. Simulate hills by raising the front wheel up higher than the rear wheel so you engage the leg muscles differently. Increase the resistance on the wheel or shift to harder gears to simulate hills. Last but not least, riding rollers can help maintain balance and core strength.

9. Break a long ride into several parts. Much of the same benefit of continuous exercise happens even when we break it up into smaller parts in a day. So, your three hour ride got snowed out, try two one and a half hour rides with a few hours between them and come away still on track with your plan. Another thing to consider when riding a stationary bike is that not much coasting or resting occurs. This means your duration can be reduced up to 20% and still get the same adaptations as an outdoor ride.

10. Once again it’s not all about the bike and the winter season is a great time to be inside strength training, doing Pilates or Yoga and any other form of exercise you can think of. Break up the routine and you will find that the movement to improvement happens whether you’re on the bike or a mat stretching after a group exercise class.

Hopefully these tips help you to find some balance with the change of seasons and allow for the transition from fun in the sun to making the most of the winter. Stick to a plan that has some alternative choices to mix up the routine and next spring will be full of promising new possibilities on the bike.

Get a training plan and keep track of your workouts in a TrainingPeaks account!

About the author:

Rob Lockey, CSCS, ACSM/HFS and a USA Cycling LII Certified Coach, provides testing and coaching through Optimize Endurance Services. Contact him at 303-356-9893 or rob@optimizeendurance.com