The Time-Crunched Cyclist Podcast by CTS
Coach Adam Pulford delivers actionable training advice and answers your questions in short weekly episodes for time-crunched cyclists looking to improve their cycling performance. The Time-Crunched Cyclist Podcast (formerly The TrainRight Podcast) is brought to you by the team at CTS - the leading endurance coaching company since 2000. Coach Adam pulls from over a decade of coaching experience and the collective knowledge of over 50+ CTS Coaches to help you cut throught the noise of training information and implement proven training strategies that’ll take your performance to the next level.
Episodes
305 episodes
What “High Quality Training” Actually Means
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 p...
You Don’t Have a Fitness Problem, You Have a Durability Problem
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 o...
Why You Shouldn’t Train Alone All the Time
Training alone might feel productive, but it’s not always the most effective way to improve. In this episode, CTS Coach Adam Pulford explores the concept of social facilitation and how training with others can enhance performance, motivation, a...
Why You’re Overcomplicating Endurance Training
Zone 2 training has become increasingly complicated, with subzones like 2a, 2b, and even 2c being thrown around. But does any of that actually improve your training?In this episode, we break down what Zone 2 really is, why mos...
Why Shorter Rest Periods Lead to Bigger Gains (#300)
Most cyclists think they need more volume or more power to improve. Coach Adam Pulford explains why that’s not always the case and how training density (doing the same work with less recovery) is one of the most effective ways to build durabili...
Is High Carb Fueling Bad for Your Health? (#299)
If you're fueling with high carbs during training and worrying about diabetes, weight gain, or gut issues, this episode will change how you think about sugar. Coach Adam Pulford breaks down why your body handles carbohydrates completely differe...
Build a Bigger Aerobic Engine With These 2 Workouts (#298)
Most cyclists think a massive amount of Zone 2 training is the secret to a bigger aerobic engine, but it's only part of the story. Coach Adam Pulford breaks down two workouts he uses with his athletes, from ProTour riders to time-crunched amate...
Pro Teams Are Doing Zone 2 Intervals. Should You? (#297)
Zone 2 intervals are trending across pro pelotons and training apps, but are they actually superior to steady endurance riding, or just a complicated solution to a simple problem? Coach Adam Pulford breaks down the science, shares real athlete ...
Finding Your Training Rhythm: A Weekly Framework for Time-Crunched Cyclists (#296)
Struggling to fit training into your busy life? Coach Adam Pulford breaks down a simple weekly framework that helps time-crunched cyclists build real fitness — without burning out or blowing up their schedule.Free Cycling Training Assess...
Should Cyclists Use Different Power Zones for Indoor vs Outdoor Training? (#294)
OVERVIEWCyclists almost always report a discrepancy between the power output and/or perceived exertion between indoor and outdoor cycling. Typically, this means struggling to achieve the same power output indoors than can be achieved...
How to Build VO2 max Year Round! (#293)
OVERVIEWShould cyclists incorporate VO2 max work year round or focus VO2 max work on only select periods of the year? Coach Adam Pulford tackles this listener question in Episode 293 of "The Time-Crunched Cyclist Podcast". Key ideas ...
Indoor Cycling: How to Prevent ERG Mode From Ruining Your Workouts (#292)
OVERVIEWERG Mode, or ergometer mode, is a feature on smart indoor cycling trainers that allows the trainer or connected app to set the resistance you experience as a rider. For interval workouts, for instance, ERG Mode will adjust th...
How Training VO2 max Also Increases FTP (and vice versa) (#291)
OVERVIEWIn Episode 291 of "The Time-Crunched Cyclist Podcast", Coach Adam Pulford answers a listener question about the relationship between FTP and VO2 max training, particularly how and why targeting training to improve either will...
How To Level Up With Volume, Recovery, Strength, And Community (#290)
OVERVIEWAlthough this is "The Time-Crunched Cyclist Podcast", we recognize that not everyone is time-crunched. In particular, we hear from lots of older cyclists who have more time to train now that they've retired or cut back their ...
Step-by-Step Guide to Creating an Annual Strength Training Plan (#289)
OVERVIEWEndurance athletes are accustomed to building Annual Training Plans for the phases of their sport-specific training, but are less familiar with building annual training plans for strength training. If this is you, Episo...
Step-by-Step Guide to Building An Annual Training Plan (#288)
OVERVIEWAnnual Training Plans are big-picture, long term plans that map out training phases to bring the athlete into key races, events, or time periods with peak form and freshness, which helps optimize performance. For some, these ...
Down to Earth New Year's Fitness Advice (#287)
OVERVIEWThe Holidays are just about over and the New Year is about to begin. If you had a ton of fun over the Holidays and you're feeling a bit soft around the middle and bit slower than you'd like, Coach Adam Pulford has some good n...
How to Train Anaerobic Capacity to Go Fast and Win, with Coach Tim Cusick (#286)
OVERVIEWAnaerobic capacity is the work you can do above your lactate threshold. Another term for it is Functional Reserve Capacity (FRC), and it acts like a battery that contains a finite amount of energy that runs out quickly and mu...
How Quickly Can VO2 max Increase in Cyclists? with Tim Cusick (#285)
OVERVIEWVO2 max or maximum aerobic capacity is your performance ceiling, but it is trainable and you can not only increase your VO2 max, but also the power you can produce at VO2 max, how long you can sustain that power, and the amou...
How Quickly Can Cyclists Increase Functional Threshold Power (FTP), with Tim Cusick (#284)
OVERVIEWFollowing their episode on aerobic training, CTS Coach Adam Pulford and Tim Cusick (Head Coach at Basecamp and TrainingPeaks WKO Product Leader) dig into Functional Threshold Power (FTP) training in Episode #284 of "The Time-...
How Quickly Can Aerobic Training Make You Fast, with Tim Cusick (#283)
OVERVIEW"How long is this going to take?!" Everyone wants to know how long it takes for the training you do today to result in performance improvements you can see and feel on the road or trail. To find out, we called upon Tim Cusick...
What's Happening In Your Body As You Recover From A Workout? (#282)
OVERVIEWWe all know recovery takes time, but how much time and what is going on internally while "recovery" is happening? How do factors like the duration and intensity of a workout affect the recovery process? What about nutrition a...
Going Pro: The Data Behind Nathan Cusack's Journey From Juniors to EF Education-Aevolo
OVERVIEWNathan Cusack is an emerging talent in road racing, having won his first European race in 2025, racing for Team USA at Tour de l'Avenir, and ending the season by signing on with EF Education-Aevolo. Nathan has been a CTS Athl...
Cycling While Deaf: How This CTS Athlete Trains, Wins, and Prepares for the Deaflympics
OVERVIEWCyclists rely on their sense of hearing more than you might imagine, to hear traffic coming, to communicate with fellow riders during group rides and races, to listen for gear shifts and labored breathing from competitors, an...