Home Podcasts The Time-Crunched Cyclist Podcast by CTS
The Time-Crunched Cyclist Podcast by CTS

The Time-Crunched Cyclist Podcast by CTS

CTS 308 Episodes Oct 12, 2026

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 podcast is brought to you by 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 through the noise of training information and implement proven training strategies.

Episodes

The Best and Worst Ways to Spend Money on Cycling Performance
The Best and Worst Ways to Spend Money on Cycling Performance Oct 12, 2026 863 ​​Free Cycling Training AssessmentCyclists can spend an extraordinary amount of money chasing performance. Supplements promise better recovery. Wearables promise better training decisions. Ketones promise another fuel source. Ceramic components and aero equipment promise free watts.But which purchases actually provide enough benefit to justify the cost?CTS Head Cycling Coach Adam Pulford evaluates
Your First Gravel Race: What You Actually Need to Know
Your First Gravel Race: What You Actually Need to Know Oct 5, 2026 717 ​​Free Cycling Training AssessmentPreparing for your first gravel race can quickly become more complicated than it needs to be. What bike do you need? How wide should your tires be? What pressure should you run? What happens if you flat? How much should you eat? And how fit do you actually need to be?CTS Head Cycling Coach Adam Pulford strips gravel racing back to the essentials. He covers the bik
Should You Trust Your Recovery Score?
Should You Trust Your Recovery Score? Sep 28, 2026 1514 Your wearable gives you a recovery score every morning, but how much should that number influence your training?Adam Pulford breaks down the information coaches actually use when evaluating readiness, including subjective feel, life stress, recent training load, sleep, resting heart rate, and HRV. He also explains why he pays far less attention to proprietary readiness scores and detailed wearable
Strength Training That Follows Your Cycling Season
Strength Training That Follows Your Cycling Season Sep 21, 2026 1532 Strength training has a place in a cyclist’s program year-round, but that doesn’t mean doing the same lifts, loads, and routines for 52 weeks.Adam Pulford explains how he periodizes strength training alongside cycling throughout an athlete’s season. He covers annual planning, how strength priorities change as racing approaches, the anatomy of a well-designed gym session, and why tracking your lift
The Five Self-Coached Cycling Mistakes That Keep You Stuck
The Five Self-Coached Cycling Mistakes That Keep You Stuck Sep 14, 2026 1095 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.HOSTAdam Pulford has been a CTS Coach for nearly two decades and ho
Twenty Coaching Lessons That Make Athletes Better
Twenty Coaching Lessons That Make Athletes Better Sep 7, 2026 608 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
The 100-Mile Ride Playbook
The 100-Mile Ride Playbook Aug 31, 2026 983 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
How to Train Torque Without Just Grinding Bigger Gears
How to Train Torque Without Just Grinding Bigger Gears Aug 24, 2026 1279 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-ca
Why Crit Racers Need More FTP Than They Think
Why Crit Racers Need More FTP Than They Think Aug 17, 2026 1335 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!
Stop Fearing The Recovery Week
Stop Fearing The Recovery Week Aug 10, 2026 1124 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 y
Behind the Scenes Before the Tour with Alison Jackson
Behind the Scenes Before the Tour with Alison Jackson Aug 3, 2026 2332 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 cyc
Are Your VO2 Workouts Training The Wrong System
Are Your VO2 Workouts Training The Wrong System Jul 27, 2026 1143 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 seque

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