Latest articles by James Spragg
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Ask a coach: 'Can gravel riding replace impact sports like running and weightlifting?'
Your bones need a certain amount of stress to stay healthy - could the impacts of gravel riding be sufficient?
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Ask a coach: 'What's the ideal heart rate to burn fat while cycling?'
We take you through the biomechanics of weight loss - and the most effective approaches you can take
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Ask a coach: 'Does cycling improve muscular strength?'
And, on the flipside, just how much would a focus on developing muscular strength improve your cycling?
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Ask a coach: 'Does a high cadence burn more calories?'
What difference does 'spinning out' make to those looking to lose a little bit of weight as part of their workouts?
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Ask a coach: 'How fit can I get if I only ride at the weekend?'
Fitter than if you don't ride at all, of course, but your progress will be capped. Still, there are actions you can take to raise that cap...
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Ask a coach: 'Why do cyclists have bigger legs than runners?'
Both endurance sports rely on the legs as the main driver of movement, but there are some crucial differences between them...
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Ask a coach: 'What happens if I only do high intensity workouts?'
If you're time-crunched, it's easy to choose a quick 30 to 40-minute workout on the night. Here's what will happen to your fitness if you do this time and time again...
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Ask a coach: Can 'panic training' ever actually help ahead of a big event?
Life happened and you missed a chunk of training; your event is nearing, and you don't feel ready - we take a look at if last minute training can be utilised to make a positive difference come event day
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Ask a coach: ‘What should I do if I miss a workout from my training plan?’
Here's why 'chase training' is something that should be avoided - and what to do instead
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Ask a coach: ‘If I’m shattered from work, am I better off reducing the power targets or skipping the session?’
How to work out if you should push through the fatigue or take some all-important recovery time
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Ask a coach: ‘Most training plans are too specific – how can I improve all areas of my cycling?
What's the best training you can do if you don't want to be railroaded into being a pure sprinter, time trialist or ultra-distance cyclist?
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Ask a coach: 'Big days and rest days or riding every day - how should I structure my training camp or vacation?'
Is it best to just stick to base miles or should you be sprinkling intervals into most rides?
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Ask a coach: ‘I have trouble sleeping after a late-night turbo session – any tips for better recovery?’
For busy athletes balancing work and family life, sometimes training has to include late-night sessions - so what can be done to make the best of the situation?
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Ask a coach: ‘Is there a difference between the number of calories you’d burn indoors versus outdoors for a comparable effort?’
We break down the numbers on cycling and calorie expenditure – but, sadly, there is no such thing as a free lunch in biomechanics
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Ask a coach: ‘Should I be doing my Zwift sessions in ERG mode?’
Is ERG mode a shortcut to watt-perfect workouts? Or are you losing out on gain by relinquishing control?
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Ask a coach: 'How can I tell if I should ignore my power meter and just go on feel?'
Although a potent training tool, there's much more you should consider than just your finite watts
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Ask a coach: ‘Are there any actual fitness benefits to doing winter miles on a heavier bike?’
The answer depends on your summer goals and how you like to train – there’s more to it than just a binary yes or no
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Ask a coach: ‘If I can’t go on a bike ride, is it worth going running instead?’
Whether it’s a busy work/life schedule, a trip away from home or the dark winter evenings, there’s a host of reasons why fitting in a ride might be a struggle – but how good an alternative is running, really?
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Ask a coach: ‘How fit can I get training just on feel – or only with a heart rate monitor?’
Power meters are expensive – how much progression can you expect to make when training on a budget?
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Ask a coach: 'What causes café legs, that heavy feeling after a short break?'
Leaving the comfort of a café is made doubly worse by that feeling that you've lost all your fitness - here's what's going on in your body...
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Ask a coach: 'Are some methods of calculating FTP more reliable than others?'
From training to time trials, an accurate estimate is vital for getting the best out of yourself
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Ask a coach : ‘Why doesn’t riding to exhaustion in every bike ride bring the greatest fitness gains?’
Riding hard is a lot of effort, and it’s not even the best spent effort. Here’s why you really shouldn’t just go full-blast all the time
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Ask a coach: ‘How fit can I get on a 10-mile commute to work?’
Here’s how to best go about mixing up your commute for maximum fitness gains
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Ask a coach: ‘What are my chances of bonking if I wait for the cafe stop to fuel my long rides?’
We often hear the advice ‘little and often’ - but what is really going on inside our bodies when we fuel just the cafe stop versus throughout the whole ride?
