The Time-Crunched Commuter Programs were created in response to questions and requests from readers of “The Time-Crunched Cyclist” book by Chris Carmichael and Jim Rutberg. For the most time-crunched athletes, commuting to and from work is the only way they can fit weekday rides into their schedules. For other athletes, commuting is their chosen form of transportation every workday, and they are looking for a way to incorporate a training program with the time they are already spending on the bike. If you commute to work every day, the Time-Crunched Everyday Commuter is the program for you. If you are only planning on commuting on the days when the training program calls for a workout, you should choose the standard Time-Crunched Commuter Program.

The Time-Crunched Programs are further broken down into “New” and “Experienced” programs. The differences between the “New” and “Experienced” programs are subtle, but reflect the fact that more experienced riders are generally able to handle a higher workload because they have more years and miles in their legs. If you’re an experienced cyclist who has been riding for 5, 10, 15 or more years, you’ll be happy to know that even if you’re currently not riding very much, the training adaptations from all those years of riding haven’t completely disappeared. Your current fitness may be quite low compared to what it once was, but riders who have several years of training behind them are able to handle greater workloads when they initially return to more structured training, and they adapt quickly and regain a greater percentage of their former fitness more quickly.

Experienced Everyday Commuter Program

This is the program that is best suited to experienced racers whose accumulated years of training meant they can handle a higher initial workload. Experienced riders also adapt quickly, so the progression in this program is more rapid than in the New Everyday Commuter program. If you’ve been riding and/or racing for 5 years or more, this program is for you. That being said, if your current fitness is particularly low because you’ve done very little training (1-2 rides a week) or haven’t been training at all in the past six months, you may be better off working through the New Everyday Commuter program once before moving on to this program (following a 4-6 week recovery/maintenance period, of course). If you have any doubt about whether you should use the New or Experienced Commuter program – like you’ve been riding for 10 years but you’ve barely trained or raced in the past two years – it’s wise to start with the New Everyday Commuter Program.

This program features 5-6 training days per week (5 weekday, 0-1 weekend) and a maximum of 8:00 hours a week on the bike. The weekday training days feature two rides each (going to work and going home), although in some cases there’s only a structured workout for one of the two. Due to the increased frequency of rides (10 during the weekdays), the weekly training hours for this Time-Crunched program are somewhat higher than normal. However, no week exceeds 8:00 hours. The program’s progression builds through the first 8 weeks, and then there is a 3-week period during which the workouts are designed to enable you to ride at your best during these weeks. The Time-Crunched Training Programs are more intense than most programs, and generate more overall fatigue than other programs of similar duration. We recommend taking a recovery week after the program ends, followed by 4 weeks of moderate-intensity, aerobic endurance building rides before either restarting this program or any other Time-Crunched Athlete Training program.

The Time-Crunched Commuter Programs were created in response to questions and requests from readers of “The Time-Crunched Cyclist” book by Chris Carmichael and Jim Rutberg. For the most time-crunched athletes, commuting to and from work is the only way they can fit weekday rides into their schedules. For other athletes, commuting is their chosen form of transportation every workday, and they are looking for a way to incorporate a training program with the time they are already spending on the bike. If you commute to work every day, the Time-Crunched Everyday Commuter is the program for you. If you are only planning on commuting on the days when the training program calls for a workout, you should choose the standard Time-Crunched Commuter Program.

The Time-Crunched Programs are further broken down into “New” and “Experienced” programs. The differences between the “New” and “Experienced” programs are subtle, but reflect the fact that more experienced riders are generally able to handle a higher workload because they have more years and miles in their legs. If you’re an experienced cyclist who has been riding for 5, 10, 15 or more years, you’ll be happy to know that even if you’re currently not riding very much, the training adaptations from all those years of riding haven’t completely disappeared. Your current fitness may be quite low compared to what it once was, but riders who have several years of training behind them are able to handle greater workloads when they initially return to more structured training, and they adapt quickly and regain a greater percentage of their former fitness more quickly.

New Everyday Commuter Program

If you’ve been riding fewer than five years and you want to prepare for criteriums, cross-country or short-track mountain bike race, cyclocross races, or road races up to about 60 miles in length, this is the program you should choose. The weekly workload is more appropriate for cyclists who have fewer years of miles in their legs, meaning it’s slightly lower than the Experienced Everyday Commuter program. There will be some riders, especially those who have been riding 3-4 years, who may be able to handle the workload of the Experienced Commuter program, but we encourage you to use the New Everyday Commuter program at least once before you decide to complete the harder one. Due to the intensity featured in these programs, it’s wise to be conservative with your choice.

This program features 5-6 training days per week (5 weekday, 0-1 weekend) and a maximum of 7:30 hours a week on the bike. The two weekday training days feature two rides each (going to work and going home), although in some cases there’s only a structured workout for one of the two. Due to the increased frequency of rides (10 during the weekdays), the weekly training hours for this Time-Crunched program are somewhat higher than normal. However, no week exceeds 7:30 hours. The program’s progression builds through the first 8 weeks, and then there is a 3-week period during which the workouts are designed to enable you to ride at your best during these weeks. The Time-Crunched Training Programs are more intense than most programs, and generate more overall fatigue than other programs of similar duration. We recommend taking a recovery week after the program ends, followed by 4 weeks of moderate-intensity, aerobic endurance building rides before either restarting this program or any other Time-Crunched Athlete Training program.

The Century programs include fewer maximum-intensity intervals and focus more on building power at lactate threshold. The primary goal of these programs is to increase the pace you can comfortably sustain for your long rides, meaning you’ll be doing more SteadyState and OverUnder workouts and fewer PowerIntervals. The OverUnder workouts are especially important because they will help you handle the changes in pace and power demands that come with riding in pacelines and over undulating terrain.

The categories are further broken down into “New” and “Experienced” programs. The differences between the “New” and “Experienced” programs are subtle, but reflect the fact that more experienced riders are generally able to handle a higher workload because they have more years and miles in their legs. If you’re an experienced cyclist who has been riding for 5, 10, 15 or more years, you’ll be happy to know that even if you’re currently not riding very much, the training adaptations from all those years of riding haven’t completely disappeared. Your current fitness may be quite low compared to what it once was, but riders who have several years of training behind them are able to handle greater workloads when they initially return to more structured training, and they adapt quickly and regain a greater percentage of their former fitness more quickly.

Experienced Century Program

There are a lot of new and experienced racers out there, but there are lot more of you who have been cyclists for many years and either have no interest in racing or are quite happy being former bike racers. This is the program that will give you the ability to complete your favorite long rides at higher average power outputs, or bump up your average speed for your next century. If you are preparing for a multi-day tour, like a Tour de France camp, this is also the program we’d recommend. The workouts in this program are designed to increase your sustainable power output, and even though it includes a healthy dose of PowerIntervals, compared to this program, the structure of the Competitor programs will develop a greater ability to handle repeated maximal efforts.

This program features 4 workouts per week (2 weekday workouts and 2 weekend workouts) and no more than 6 hours on the bike each week.

The Time-Crunched Climber Programs are designed for athletes who are looking to improve their strength and speed for uphill efforts, whether you’re facing short and steep climbs or longer mountain passes. As time-crunched training programs, these schedules consist of only four workouts per week and a maximum of 6:30 hours on the bike (all but 1 week is 6 hours or shorter. The programs leverage the proven high-intensity training methods featured in “The Time-Crunched Cyclist” book by Chris Carmichael and Jim Rutberg, tweaked to focus more on optimizing power for climbing.

The Time-Crunched Climber Programs are further broken down into “New” and “Experienced” programs. The differences between the “New” and “Experienced” programs are subtle, but reflect the fact that more experienced riders are generally able to handle a higher workload because they have more years and miles in their legs. If you’re an experienced cyclist who has been riding for 5, 10, 15 or more years, you’ll be happy to know that even if you’re currently not riding very much, the training adaptations from all those years of riding haven’t completely disappeared. Your current fitness may be quite low compared to what it once was, but riders who have several years of training behind them are able to handle greater workloads when they initially return to more structured training, and they adapt quickly and regain a greater percentage of their former fitness more quickly.

Experienced Climber Program

This is the program that is best suited to experienced racers whose accumulated years of training meant they can handle a higher initial workload. Experienced riders also adapt quickly, so the progression in this program is more rapid than in the New Climber program. If you’ve been riding and/or racing for 5 years or more, this program is for you. That being said, if your current fitness is particularly low because you’ve done very little training (1-2 rides a week) or haven’t been training at all in the past six months, you may be better off working through the New Climber program once before moving on to this program (following a 4-6 week recovery/maintenance period, of course). If you have any doubt about whether you should use the New or Experienced program – like you’ve been riding for 10 years but you’ve barely trained or raced in the past two years – it’s wise to start with the New Climber program.

This program features 4 workouts per week (2 weekday, 2 weekend) and a maximum of 6 hours a week on the bike. The majority of the 11 weeks in the program feature fewer than 6 hours of training, and there are only one week that reaches 6:30. The program’s progression builds through the first 8 weeks, and then there is a 3-week period during which the workouts are designed to enable you to ride at your best during these weeks. The Time-Crunched Training Programs are more intense than most programs, and generate more overall fatigue than other programs of similar duration. We recommend taking a recovery week after the program ends, followed by 4 weeks of moderate-intensity, aerobic endurance building rides before either restarting this program or any other Time-Crunched Athlete Training Program.

The Time-Crunched Commuter Programs were created in response to questions and requests from readers of “The Time-Crunched Cyclist” book by Chris Carmichael and Jim Rutberg. For the most time-crunched athletes, commuting to and from work is the only way they can fit weekday rides into their schedules. For other athletes, commuting is their chosen form of transportation every workday, and they are looking for a way to incorporate a training program with the time they are already spending on the bike. If you commute to work every day, you should choose the Time-Crunched Everyday Commuter Programs. If you are only planning on commuting on the days when the training program calls for a workout, you should choose the standard Time-Crunched Commuter Program.

The Time-Crunched Programs are further broken down into “New” and “Experienced” programs. The differences between the “New” and “Experienced” programs are subtle, but reflect the fact that more experienced riders are generally able to handle a higher workload because they have more years and miles in their legs. If you’re an experienced cyclist who has been riding for 5, 10, 15 or more years, you’ll be happy to know that even if you’re currently not riding very much, the training adaptations from all those years of riding haven’t completely disappeared. Your current fitness may be quite low compared to what it once was, but riders who have several years of training behind them are able to handle greater workloads when they initially return to more structured training, and they adapt quickly and regain a greater percentage of their former fitness more quickly.

Experienced Commuter Program

This is the program that is best suited to experienced riders and racers whose accumulated years of training meant they can handle a higher initial workload. Experienced riders also adapt quickly, so the progression in this program is more rapid than in the New Commuter program. If you’ve been riding and/or racing for 5 years or more, this program is for you. That being said, if your current fitness is particularly low because you’ve done very little training (1-2 rides a week) or haven’t been training at all in the past six months, you may be better off working through the New Commuter program once before moving on to this program (following a 4-6 week recovery/maintenance period, of course). If you have any doubt about whether you should use the New or Experienced Commuter program – like you’ve been riding for 10 years but you’ve barely trained or raced in the past two years – it’s wise to start with the New Commuter Program. This program should be used to prepare for centuries, criteriums, cross-country or short-track mountain bike race, cyclocross races, or road races up to about 60 miles in length.

This program features 4 training days per week (2 weekday, 2 weekend) and a maximum of 7:30 hours a week on the bike. The two weekday training days feature two rides each (going to work and going home), although in some cases there’s only a structured workout for one of the two. The majority of the 11 weeks in the program feature fewer than 6 hours of training, and there are only three weeks that reach between 6:30 and 7:30. The program’s progression builds through the first 8 weeks, and then there is a 3-week period during which the workouts are designed to enable you to ride at your best during these weeks. The Time-Crunched Training Programs are more intense than most programs, and generate more overall fatigue than other programs of similar duration. We recommend taking a recovery week after the program ends, followed by 4 weeks of moderate-intensity, aerobic endurance building rides before either restarting this program or any other Time-Crunched Athlete Training program.

The Time-Crunched Cyclist Competitor programs focus not only on building greater aerobic fitness, but also preparing you for the repeated high-power efforts of racing. To be a successful competitor you need the ability to accelerate and handle rapid changes in pace. You need the power for all-out efforts and the ability to recover from those efforts while still riding at a high speed. As a result, these programs focus more on maximum-intensity PowerIntervals that build greater power for all-out efforts and help your body learn to process and tolerate more lactate.

The categories are further broken down into “New” and “Experienced” programs. The differences between the “New” and “Experienced” programs are subtle, but reflect the fact that more experienced riders are generally able to handle a higher workload because they have more years and miles in their legs. If you’re an experienced cyclist who has been riding for 5, 10, 15 or more years, you’ll be happy to know that even if you’re currently not riding very much, the training adaptations from all those years of riding haven’t completely disappeared. Your current fitness may be quite low compared to what it once was, but riders who have several years of training behind them are able to handle greater workloads when they initially return to more structured training, and they adapt quickly and regain a greater percentage of their former fitness more quickly.

Experienced Competitor Program

This is the program that is best suited to experienced racers whose accumulated years of training meant they can handle a higher initial workload. Experienced riders also adapt quickly, so the progression in this program is more rapid than in the New Competitor program. If you’ve been riding and/or racing for 5 years or more, this program is for you. That being said, if your current fitness is particularly low because you’ve done very little training (1-2 rides a week) or haven’t been training at all in the past six months, you may be better off working through the New Competitor program once before moving on to this program (following a 4-6 week recovery/maintenance period, of course). If you have any doubt about whether you should use the New or Experienced Competitor program – like you’ve been riding for 10 years but you’ve barely trained or raced in the past two years – it’s wise to start with the New Competitor Program.

This program features 4 workouts per week (2 weekday workouts and 2 weekend workouts) and no more than 6 hours on the bike each week.

The Time-Crunched Time Trial Programs are designed to prepare you for the specific demands of racing time trials using only four workouts per week. The majority of the 11 weeks in the program feature fewer than 6 hours of training, and there are only two weeks that reach 6:30 and 7:00, respectively. The programs leverage the proven high-intensity training methods featured in “The Time-Crunched Cyclist” book by Chris Carmichael and Jim Rutberg, tweaked to focus more on optimizing power for time trial competitions.

The Time-Crunched Time Trial Programs are further broken down into “New” and “Experienced” programs. The differences between the “New” and “Experienced” programs are subtle, but reflect the fact that more experienced riders are generally able to handle a higher workload because they have more years and miles in their legs. If you’re an experienced cyclist who has been riding for 5, 10, 15 or more years, you’ll be happy to know that even if you’re currently not riding very much, the training adaptations from all those years of riding haven’t completely disappeared. Your current fitness may be quite low compared to what it once was, but riders who have several years of training behind them are able to handle greater workloads when they initially return to more structured training, and they adapt quickly and regain a greater percentage of their former fitness more quickly.

Experienced Time Trial Program

This is the program that is best suited to experienced racers whose accumulated years of training meant they can handle a higher initial workload. Experienced riders also adapt quickly, so the progression in this program is more rapid than in the New Time Trial program. If you’ve been riding and/or racing for 5 years or more, this program is for you. That being said, if your current fitness is particularly low because you’ve done very little training (1-2 rides a week) or haven’t been training at all in the past six months, you may be better off working through the New Time Trial program once before moving on to this program (following a 4-6 week recovery/maintenance period, of course). If you have any doubt about whether you should use the New or Experienced program – like you’ve been riding for 10 years but you’ve barely trained or raced in the past two years – it’s wise to start with the New Time Trial Program.

This program features 4 workouts per week (2 weekday, 2 weekend) and a maximum of 7 hours a week on the bike (all but 2 weeks of the program are 6 hours or shorter). The program’s progression builds through the first 8 weeks, and then there is a 3-week period during which the workouts are designed to enable you to ride at your best during these weeks. The Time-Crunched Training Programs are more intense than most programs, and generate more overall fatigue than other programs of similar duration. We recommend taking a recovery week after the program ends, followed by 4 weeks of moderate-intensity, aerobic endurance building rides before either restarting this program or any other Time-Crunched Athlete Training Program.

The Century programs include fewer maximum-intensity intervals and focus more on building power at lactate threshold. The primary goal of these programs is to increase the pace you can comfortably sustain for your long rides, meaning you’ll be doing more SteadyState and OverUnder workouts and fewer PowerIntervals. The OverUnder workouts are especially important because they will help you handle the changes in pace and power demands that come with riding in pacelines and over undulating terrain.

The categories are further broken down into “New” and “Experienced” programs. The differences between the “New” and “Experienced” programs are subtle, but reflect the fact that more experienced riders are generally able to handle a higher workload because they have more years and miles in their legs. If you’re an experienced cyclist who has been riding for 5, 10, 15 or more years, you’ll be happy to know that even if you’re currently not riding very much, the training adaptations from all those years of riding haven’t completely disappeared. Your current fitness may be quite low compared to what it once was, but riders who have several years of training behind them are able to handle greater workloads when they initially return to more structured training, and they adapt quickly and regain a greater percentage of their former fitness more quickly.

This is the easiest of the four programs featured in "The Time-Crunched Cyclist" book, and is therefore the best choice for a novice cyclist or a rider who is returning to the sport after several years off the bike. Even though it’s the easiest of the programs in this book, it is still quite challenging. For instance, the workload is considerably higher than in the easier training program options in Chris Carmichael's previous training books (The Lance Armstrong Performance Program, The Ultimate Ride). This program may even be too difficult for some truly novice cyclists (brand new bike, just started riding within the past six months). The ideal candidate for the New Century program is a cyclist who has been riding recreationally for a few years, perhaps completed a century or two, and who is looking for improved fitness and higher average speeds on their long rides.

This program features 4 workouts per week (2 weekday workouts and 2 weekend workouts) and no more than 6 hours on the bike each week.

The Time-Crunched Climber Programs are designed for athletes who are looking to improve their strength and speed for uphill efforts, whether you’re facing short and steep climbs or longer mountain passes. As time-crunched training programs, these schedules consist of only four workouts per week and a maximum of 7 hours on the bike (all but 3 weeks are 6 hours or shorter). The programs leverage the proven high-intensity training methods featured in “The Time-Crunched Cyclist” book by Chris Carmichael and Jim Rutberg, tweaked to focus more on optimizing power for climbing.

The Time-Crunched Climber Programs are further broken down into “New” and “Experienced” programs. The differences between the “New” and “Experienced” programs are subtle, but reflect the fact that more experienced riders are generally able to handle a higher workload because they have more years and miles in their legs. If you’re an experienced cyclist who has been riding for 5, 10, 15 or more years, you’ll be happy to know that even if you’re currently not riding very much, the training adaptations from all those years of riding haven’t completely disappeared. Your current fitness may be quite low compared to what it once was, but riders who have several years of training behind them are able to handle greater workloads when they initially return to more structured training, and they adapt quickly and regain a greater percentage of their former fitness more quickly.

New Climber Program

If you’ve been riding fewer than five years and you struggle to keep up when the group ride or race peloton reaches the climbs, this is the program you should choose. The weekly workload is more appropriate for cyclists who have fewer years of miles in their legs, meaning it’s slightly lower than the Experienced Climber program. The progression also spends a little more time on lactate threshold workouts before moving on to harder efforts. There will be some riders, especially those who have been riding 3-4 years, who may be able to handle the workload of the Experienced Climber program, but we encourage you to use the New Climber program at least once before you decide to complete the harder one.

This program features 4 workouts per week (2 weekday, 2 weekend) and a maximum of 7 hours a week on the bike. The majority of the 11 weeks in the program feature fewer than 6 hours of training, and there are only three weeks that reach 6:30 and 7:00. The program’s progression builds through the first 8 weeks, and then there is a 3-week period during which the workouts are designed to enable you to ride at your best during these weeks. The Time-Crunched Training Programs are more intense than most programs, and generate more overall fatigue than other programs of similar duration. We recommend taking a recovery week after the program ends, followed by 4 weeks of moderate-intensity, aerobic endurance building rides before either restarting this program or any other Time-Crunched Athlete Training program.

The Time-Crunched Commuter Programs were created in response to questions and requests from readers of “The Time-Crunched Cyclist” book by Chris Carmichael and Jim Rutberg. For the most time-crunched athletes, commuting to and from work is the only way they can fit weekday rides into their schedules. For other athletes, commuting is their chosen form of transportation every workday, and they are looking for a way to incorporate a training program with the time they are already spending on the bike. If you commute to work every day, you should choose the Time-Crunched Everyday Commuter Programs. If you are only planning on commuting on the days when the training program calls for a workout, you should choose the standard Time-Crunched Commuter Program.

The Time-Crunched Programs are further broken down into “New” and “Experienced” programs. The differences between the “New” and “Experienced” programs are subtle, but reflect the fact that more experienced riders are generally able to handle a higher workload because they have more years and miles in their legs. If you’re an experienced cyclist who has been riding for 5, 10, 15 or more years, you’ll be happy to know that even if you’re currently not riding very much, the training adaptations from all those years of riding haven’t completely disappeared. Your current fitness may be quite low compared to what it once was, but riders who have several years of training behind them are able to handle greater workloads when they initially return to more structured training, and they adapt quickly and regain a greater percentage of their former fitness more quickly.

New Commuter Program

If you’ve been riding fewer than five years and you want to prepare for centuries, criteriums, cross-country or short-track mountain bike race, cyclocross races, or road races up to about 60 miles in length, this is the program you should choose. The weekly workload is more appropriate for cyclists who have fewer years of miles in their legs, meaning it’s slightly lower than the Experienced Commuter program. There will be some riders, especially those who have been riding 3-4 years, who may be able to handle the workload of the Experienced Commuter program, but we encourage you to use the New Commuter program at least once before you decide to complete the harder one. Due to the intensity featured in these programs, it’s wise to be conservative with your choice.

This program features 4 training days per week (2 weekday, 2 weekend) and a maximum of 7:30 hours a week on the bike. The two weekday training days feature two rides each (going to work and going home), although in some cases there’s only a structured workout for one of the two. The majority of the 11 weeks in the program feature fewer than 6 hours of training, and there are only three weeks that reach between 6:30 and 7:30. The program’s progression builds through the first 8 weeks, and then there is a 3-week period during which the workouts are designed to enable you to ride at your best during these weeks. The Time-Crunched Training Programs are more intense than most programs, and generate more overall fatigue than other programs of similar duration. We recommend taking a recovery week after the program ends, followed by 4 weeks of moderate-intensity, aerobic endurance building rides before either restarting this program or any other Time-Crunched Athlete Training program.

The Time-Crunched Cyclist Competitor programs focus not only on building greater aerobic fitness, but also preparing you for the repeated high-power efforts of racing. To be a successful competitor you need the ability to accelerate and handle rapid changes in pace. You need the power for all-out efforts and the ability to recover from those efforts while still riding at a high speed. As a result, these programs focus more on maximum-intensity PowerIntervals that build greater power for all-out efforts and help your body learn to process and tolerate more lactate.

The categories are further broken down into “New” and “Experienced” programs. The differences between the “New” and “Experienced” programs are subtle, but reflect the fact that more experienced riders are generally able to handle a higher workload because they have more years and miles in their legs. If you’re an experienced cyclist who has been riding for 5, 10, 15 or more years, you’ll be happy to know that even if you’re currently not riding very much, the training adaptations from all those years of riding haven’t completely disappeared. Your current fitness may be quite low compared to what it once was, but riders who have several years of training behind them are able to handle greater workloads when they initially return to more structured training, and they adapt quickly and regain a greater percentage of their former fitness more quickly.

New Competitor Program

If you’ve been riding fewer than five years and you want to prepare for criteriums, cross-country or short-track mountain bike race, cyclocross races, or road races up to about 60 miles in length, this is the program you should choose. The weekly workload is more appropriate for cyclists who have fewer years of miles in their legs, meaning it’s slightly lower than the Experienced Competitor program. The progression also spends a little more time on lactate threshold workouts before moving on to PowerIntervals. There will be some riders, especially those who have been riding 3-4 years, who may be able to handle the workload of the Experienced Competitor program, but we encourage you to use the New Competitor program at least once before you decide to complete the harder one. Due to the intensity featured in these programs, it’s wise to be conservative with your choice.

This program features 4 workouts per week (2 weekday workouts and 2 weekend workouts) and no more than 6 hours on the bike each week.

The Time-Crunched Cyclist Programs were initially tested and proven as cyclocross training programs before they were expanded to become the programs published in “The Time-Crunched Cyclist”. Cyclocross is just about the perfect application for the time-crunched methodology, as the fitness created by the program matches the demands of cyclocross racing perfectly. As time-crunched training programs, these schedules consist of only four workouts per week and a maximum of 7 hours on the bike (all but 1 week is 6 hours or shorter). The programs leverage the proven high-intensity training methods featured in “The Time-Crunched Cyclist” book by Chris Carmichael and Jim Rutberg, tweaked to focus more on optimizing power and performance for cyclocross.

The Time-Crunched Climber Programs are further broken down into “New” and “Experienced” programs. The differences between the “New” and “Experienced” programs are subtle, but reflect the fact that more experienced riders are generally able to handle a higher workload because they have more years and miles in their legs. If you’re an experienced cyclist who has been riding for 5, 10, 15 or more years, you’ll be happy to know that even if you’re currently not riding very much, the training adaptations from all those years of riding haven’t completely disappeared. Your current fitness may be quite low compared to what it once was, but riders who have several years of training behind them are able to handle greater workloads when they initially return to more structured training, and they adapt quickly and regain a greater percentage of their former fitness more quickly.

New Cyclocross Program

If you’ve been riding fewer than five years and you struggle to keep up when the group ride or race peloton reaches the climbs, this is the program you should choose. The weekly workload is more appropriate for cyclists who have fewer years of miles in their legs, meaning it’s slightly lower than the Experienced Climber program. The progression also spends a little more time on lactate threshold workouts before moving on to harder efforts. There will be some riders, especially those who have been riding 3-4 years, who may be able to handle the workload of the Experienced Climber program, but we encourage you to use the New Climber program at least once before you decide to complete the harder one.

This program features 4 workouts per week (2 weekday, 2 weekend) and a maximum of 7 hours a week on the bike. The majority of the 11 weeks in the program feature fewer than 6 hours of training, and there are only three weeks that reach 6:30 and 7:00. The program’s progression builds through the first 8 weeks, and then there is a 3-week period during which the workouts are designed to enable you to ride at your best during these weeks. The Time-Crunched Training Programs are more intense than most programs, and generate more overall fatigue than other programs of similar duration. We recommend taking a recovery week after the program ends, followed by 4 weeks of moderate-intensity, aerobic endurance building rides before either restarting this program or any other Time-Crunched Athlete Training program.

The Time-Crunched Time Trial Programs are designed to prepare you for the specific demands of racing time trials using only four workouts per week and a maximum of 6:15 hours on the bike. The programs leverage the proven high-intensity training methods featured in “The Time-Crunched Cyclist” book by Chris Carmichael and Jim Rutberg, tweaked to focus more on optimizing power for time trial competitions.

The Time-Crunched Time Trial Programs are further broken down into “New” and “Experienced” programs. The differences between the “New” and “Experienced” programs are subtle, but reflect the fact that more experienced riders are generally able to handle a higher workload because they have more years and miles in their legs. If you’re an experienced cyclist who has been riding for 5, 10, 15 or more years, you’ll be happy to know that even if you’re currently not riding very much, the training adaptations from all those years of riding haven’t completely disappeared. Your current fitness may be quite low compared to what it once was, but riders who have several years of training behind them are able to handle greater workloads when they initially return to more structured training, and they adapt quickly and regain a greater percentage of their former fitness more quickly.

New Time Trial Program

If you’ve been riding fewer than five years and you want to prepare for time trials up to 40km in length, this is the program you should choose. The weekly workload is more appropriate for cyclists who have fewer years of miles in their legs, meaning it’s slightly lower than the Experienced Time Trial program. The progression also spends a little more time on lactate threshold workouts before moving on to harder efforts. There will be some riders, especially those who have been riding 3-4 years, who may be able to handle the workload of the Experienced Time Trial program, but we encourage you to use the New Time Trial program at least once before you decide to complete the harder one.

This program features 4 workouts per week (2 weekday, 2 weekend) and the longest week of the program requires 6:15 hours on the bike. All other weeks are under 6 hours a week. The program’s progression builds through the first 8 weeks, and then there is a 3-week period during which the workouts are designed to enable you to ride at your best during these weeks. The Time-Crunched Training Programs are more intense than most programs, and generate more overall fatigue than other programs of similar duration. We recommend taking a recovery week after the program ends, followed by 4 weeks of moderate-intensity, aerobic endurance building rides before either restarting this program or any other Time-Crunched Athlete Training Program.