Coach John Hughes

By Coach John Hughes I live in Colorado and I Nordic skied on Tuesday and Wednesday, and then my buddy and I enjoyed ourweekly ride on Thursday. As I write this, a fire in my wood stove is keeping me warm. This is the time of year when I outline my clients' training plans for the year ahead. For the next 3 - 5 months I plan base training, whether the client lives in … [Read more...] about 9 Top Tips for Winter Cycling Training

By Coach John Hughes Aging damages the cells in your muscles, which is especially severe, because they do not regenerate easily. They become weaker as their mitochondria, where energy is produced, diminish in vigor and number. An interesting new study tested the effects of different training protocols on the cells of younger and older sedentary individuals. The Study To … [Read more...] about How Intensity Helps Repair Effects of Aging on Your Muscle Cells

By Coach John Hughes I had my annual physical recently, and my doctor said that I’m the healthiest 68-year-old he’s ever seen! And I’m consistent – last year I was the healthiest 67-year-old he’d ever seen! People’s health and fitness start to decline irrevocably about age 50, and as they get older their health and fitness decline more rapidly. This is called the … [Read more...] about Anti-Aging: How to Slow the Aging Process

By John Hughes Riding on the road is fun! Riding on the trainer is not fun (unless you’rea masochist!). As a roadie, you’re always looking for ways to improve (or at least, maintain): better equipment, smarter training, losing weight, etc. Add your time on the trainer to this list of potential ways to improve. Your trainer is tool you can use to tune up your … [Read more...] about Maximizing the Value of Your Trainer Time

By Coach John Hughes Last week’s column was about the importance of Year-Round Base Training. This column discusses how one pro does his own base training this time of year. Peter Sagan’s Training Program Cycling Weekly recently published Peter Sagan’s training program for a week. Sagan is a triple world champion who has won a total of 101 races, including 8 stages in the … [Read more...] about Intervals? In December? Lessons From Peter Sagan