Customer Reviews

The Time-Crunched Cyclist: Fit, Fast, and Powerful in 6 Hours a Week (The Time-Crunched Athlete)

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I started cycling again a few years ago after having ridden a bunch in high school and college. I had always ridden for transportation and a little fun on the weekends, but I started going on some group rides and found that I was pretty fast. So, I started riding with the "fast" guys. I made a lot of progress (got faster) two seasons ago without any specific training plan, and decided to try my hand at racing. So, I decided I needed to have an actual training plan. I read and tried to follow Joel Friel's Training Bible and made progress last season, but felt that there was something that wasn't quite right. I felt like the prior season had been much more beneficial. I was training smarter, but I wasn't progressing like I thought I should. The training often seemed way too easy. I read this book, and it all started to make some sense. I was rarely able to train more than 8 hrs/wk. When Friel's plan started calling for 10-13 hrs/wk, I just wasn't able to make it happen. I think I just wasn't stressing my body enough last season.

The TCTP (Time Crunched Training Plan) replaces volume with intensity, so you don't have to try to put in 10-12 hrs/wk. Based on my experience of the last two seasons, this should work.

The book is well written. He talks about making it short because he knows the readers are "time-crunched". I felt he could have shortened it a bit more, but it is way better than other books on training that are way too wordy. The three real life examples of CTS clients that have successfully used the TCTP are very motivational and effective as to how to use the plan.

I respectfully disagree with Peter Krogh's review that the book is only for century rider. I think he must have missed some of the book if it came as a surprise that you could be racing during the training plan. pg 5 - "Rutberg put Sterling on the TCTP six weeks before the start of the 2007 spring races in the Carolinas. He rode four times a week, never more than 7 hours total, raced four times in 8 weeks, and finished fourth, eighth, first, and third." pg 17 - "The TCTP is a high-intensity, low-volume training program that produces the fitness and power necessary to push the pace in local group rides and to be competitive in local and regional criteriums, cross-country and short-track mountain bike races, and cyclocross races." pg 17 - "However, there are limits....although the program lets Sterling race for the win, there's a reason he's focusing on the spring and fall series instead of trying to win races throughout the entire season." The book also goes on to detail Taylor Carrington's use of the plan to prepare to race Cyclocross Nationals and describes how he starts racing early in the plan to work on skills even though his fitness isn't very far along. Anyway, I don't get what Mr. Krogh is talking about.

At first read, I didn't understand what you are supposed to do in the 4-6 weeks between sessions. He explains it early in the book and calls it "Maintenance". It is so far in front of the actual plan that I had forgotten about it by the end of the book. When I went back through it, it was plain as day. The maintenance period should probably be briefly touched on again in relationship to the plans.

I'm looking forward to using the TCTP to prepare for the 2010 season. I've set it up to be peaking in April, July, and November. I wanted to write a review now because it is likely that I won't get back to it after I'm done racing next December.

Best of luck to all of you wanting to be "Fit, Fast & Powerful"

"The TCTP isn't about reclaiming your youth so much as it is about reclaiming your identity. Being a cyclist is an important part of who you are, and it's a lot easier to proudly identify yourself as a cyclist when you're good at it." [pg. 52]

Finally, a book that speaks to us "retired racers" who are in our late 30's and beyond, with a career, family, and obligations that do not lend themselves to 4+ hour training rides. Admittedly, the training plan is intense, but that's the point.

"Our relationship with our sport may have changed, but our desire to be fit, fast, and powerful hasn't diminished."

And how does he address that? By recognizing (finally) that all of the training plans out there do not lend themselves to the average athlete who wants to balance being an attentive parent and husband, a responsible employer/employee, and get in the training hours required to be competitive either in a race series or simply during intense weekend rides. His answer - high intensity, low volume, taper, recover, start over. Do no more than 2 to 3 cycles of this per year.

And his rationale -

"Initially I had a lot of trouble with the relatively short-term nature of the fitness gained using this program. Coming from the old-school mindset of endurance training, I struggled with the idea of a top-heavy training program that build high-end power without the deep aerobic fitness necessary to support it long-term. But for athletes with limited time to train, the alternative is sticking with old programs that can't possibly generate the fitness necessary to be a successful cyclist. Again and again I kept going back to the value proposition: Would you want to be really good for about 2 months at a time, even if it meant having to back off for 4 to 6 weeks before starting again? Or put another way: Do you want to be really good a couple of times a year or mediocre all year long?"

I only gave the book 4 stars because I have not tried the training program yet, but the fact that an internationally-recognized coach has finally put pen to paper to speak to the issues confronting the overwhelming number of athletes who fit into this category is worth the read alone.

I am a CTS client and fit into the "Time crunched" category. I am 43 and started biking later in life (early 30's). I have been involved in other competitive sports growing up, but when I started biking, I wanted to race. I was fortunate enough to hook up with a CTS coach and told him my work and family schedule. He said let's try something a bit different. I was a bit skeptical at first because I had read so many books on training and knew I did not have the 15 hrs/ week to devote to become a competitive racer. I gave this method a try and have put up some very good results because of it. I am no pro but on my way to a CAT 3 upgrade and recently won a NorCal criterium by soloing off the front for several laps. I have to say, the training really simulates the efforts that you put forth in criteriums or cyclecross. I also have been able to get a win in a road race by using this method. The book is a fairly quick and easy to understand read. If you don't have the time, you need to crank up the intensity. They just show you how to structure it. My first race of the season was in early April and last race was this past weekend, so it got me through the entire season.

This is the first book I've read on structured training. I've been racing for over 15 years with varied success. Now, with 3 kids and a career, I was excited to find a program to be get the most out of my limited time to train and race.

As others have noted, the book does waffle a bit on setting expectations. At one point it will talk about being able to get to a place where you are successful at a cat 3 racer (which is no small achievement) and then will provide an example of someone using the plan to compete in a national championship event. So, it does try to set realistic expectations (that you won't likely be racing at a professional level on this plan), but sets a broad range of what the limitations may be.

It was easy to follow and it did seem valuable that they included an 11 week training plan for different types of cyclists (exp racer, new racer,exp century rider, and new century rider). I also like the explanations about LT and the field test to calculate it.

However, as other reviewers have noted, it is not clear where racing fits into the program. During you 11 week plan, you can be racing, but it isn't clear how these are substituted for the prescribed workouts. Also, there is a required 6 week 'break' between 11 week blocks. However, it also wasn't entirely clear if you could race at all during that time (with lowered expectations), or if you should refrain from racing all together.

In summary, the book was valuable to gain knowledge of structured training and the plan can be used as a starting point for building a training plan. Unfortunately, it isn't entirely clear what kind of adjustments to the plan can be made without impacting the results.

I grabbed TTCC because I signed up for a metric century and was not in any shape to do it. When I started the program, I could do about 20 miles over roughly 1 hour of riding before I was done. I followed the program pretty closely, but sometimes missed the 1 or 2 midweek rides and was still able to complete my metric century in 3hrs and 15mins after 9 weeks.

What I really appreciated is that the book explains the method behind the madness. I changed my pedaling style to a higher cadence and was able to keep my lactic acid buildup to a minimum. I have focused on the using my heartrate as a gauge for effort and that made a huge difference.

My only point of disappointment was that I started gaining weight (especially around weeks 3-5) as I added muscle mass. It was discouraging, but I did see a change to my physique as my legs got bigger and my stomach got smaller. At week 9, my weight is down 5lbs from the start, but my body has changed and my clothes fit much looser, especially around the waist. This book won't make you drop pounds quickly, but it will make you quicker on the bike.

I was very impressed that Chris & Jim have been very responsive to questions i asked via Twitter ([...]) about the program. It is very unusual for an author to answer individual questions like that.

I have a friend who is training for a true century and I've already bought him a copy. I would recommend you pick up a copy, too.

I enjoyed the book but felt it had flaws which possibly could be explained by my level. I've just started riding 3 times a week this year. I'm 57, one year removed from being nationally ranked in another sport and formerly nationally ranked in another sport. BUT, I'm an older, in-shape, beginner cyclist with no interest in racing. What does that really mean? It means I've spent my first year getting dropped by solid riders and enjoying every minute of it. But, take my information from that frame of reference.

From my perception, this book could have been written in 15 pages. The tenet of the book, "you don't have time so we're going to give you the secret to enjoy and be competitive even with as low as 6 hours of training a week. Ready? Train incredibly intense in intervals." OK, that's the secret. But there are 200 pages in the book as you have to have some bulk to make it a book to sell.

While I described the purpose of the book I will admit that this book has great discussion and other little nuggets of information that for a beginning cyclist like me were very helpful. So, while I'm somewhat negative on the book descriptor, I really enjoyed the book and learned quite a lot.

This plan is exactly what is needed by amateur racers who dont have the money for individual coaching, and/or the time to put in high volume training. While the book is not high literature, is straight forward in its explanations and descriptions. I am in the second week of the program and can already see and feel improvment, I'll be sure to post an update of how I do in the race I am peaking for.

Chris goes into a great deal of detail about the reason for and the theory behind this workout plan for those who still enjoy cycling but cannot dedicate more than a limited amount of time to training. Seems solidly based on experience and gives a plan for a number of different skill levels and goals for riding. Can't wait to see if it results in the fitness level I am looking for in my cycling.

I'm currently on my second go-round at week 8 of pure unadulterated torture...

If you have limited time, this is a great workout, if you have endless time available for training, a higher volume workout will be more beneficial. The book is small enough to read in a few days, and big enough to give some good insight on the body's reaction to workouts and fuel intake. Just don't expect to have too much fun riding, the workouts are rather high intensity and you'll feel fatigued for a few weeks in the beginning (and jelly legs after workouts!). Although I like the high intensity workouts and feel like I get quite a bit in, in a short amount of time... The one thing I don't like is that how to incorporate this workout into a race series is left out and leaves you guessing.

About 6-10 hours a week in 4 days. Workouts usually are an hour or so of short intervals and rest periods, followed by 1/2hr to 1 1/2 hr of just regular riding (below threshold). 1 day a week is 120-150 minutes of regular riding, which you'll really appreciate ;)

The workouts seem to work well for racing up to 3 hours or so, and longer lower intensity rides. I've been racing CX this fall again and getting top 5 in CAT3 if I start in the front, and believe me I'm not gifted genetically. Not great placement(don't think I'd ever do well in CAT1-2 even with any amount of training), but not bad for training 6-8 hours a week. If you were given a V02 max higher than most, I think that you would have no problem racing CAT2 or MTB Expert/Pro upper-midpack.

You are obviously reading the words of a world expert with this book.

The information is concise, current and structured in a logical manner so that you are confident that his training method for 'time crunched' cyclists will work.

The training programs are tough but the amount of hours required is very realistic for the real world cyclist who has a full time job and family.

I recommend this book to anyone with the motivation to ride well and who is 'time crunched'. Isn't that all of us?