The Time-crunched Cyclist, Book Review
Book: The Time-crunched Cyclist: Fit, Fast, and Powerful in 6 Hours a Week, 3rd Edition
Author: Chris Carmichael
Link: https://www.velopress.com/books/the-time-crunched-cyclist/
When it comes to the sport of triathlon, my bike has always been my weakest leg. The simply fact is, I have simply not focused my energy on my bike leg. I was always a strong runner, and to turn my swim into the weapon it now is, I simply dedicated sufficient time and focus to make sure it became a strength. So for this winter, I decided it was going to be the winter where I made my cycling a priority, and with limited time the title of Chris Carmichael's book "The Time-crunched Cyclist" definitely caught my attention.
Don't think its going to be easy though, the programs outlined in the book still ask for 6 to 8 hours of dedicated bike training a week, so you need to make sure you can commit if you are thinking of seeing progress.
The book is separated into four parts. Part 1 discusses the theory and science behind his training plans and discusses how high intensity training will be able to replace the long distance traditional training. Part 2 gives you the details and training plans and outlines plans for different types of racing including cycle cross, grand fondo, criterium, etc. Part 3 gives you a wealth of information on weight loss and nutrition with respect to endurance sports. The final part of the book discusses making the most of your fitness by timing training blocks and implementing a strength training regime.
I think this book has a lot of positives, but I just one to get the one main negative I have out of the way. The book is called "The Time-crunched Cyclist", so why would a time crunched cyclist have time to read a 400 plus page book. This thing is almost like an old fashioned encyclopedia and has so much information in it. With this point in mind, I almost think a lot of the content is probably too drawn out and the author seems to readdress the same information over and over again. But if you have read this far, you are probably more interested in theory and workouts presented in the book.
Well, I am actually think the information presented is pretty good. It gives clear step by step process on how to work out your training zones, then gives you clear guidelines on how to implement them in a 12 week training plan, specific for your cycling sport, all of which, backed by current scientific research. The best thing about this book though, in my opinion, is the fact that it provides details on how to implement the plans both with power meter and heart rate. A lot of information around these days is centered around power meters, and I acknowledge this is the current standard, but for me personally, I prefer heart rate training and know a lot of people who would feel a power meter is still a bit of a luxury.
With regards to the training plans, I have found them to be clear and flexible, allowing for changes and alterations to be made and I do feel like I am getting stronger. I would like to reserve and comments on weather or not the training plans work to when I have completed the training plans at least twice though. The training sessions are tough but due to the shorter length are doable and I do feel like I am improving.
Summing it all up
I think the book is worth the read, even if you want to skip to Part 2 and read the rest of the book during your leisure time once you have your training plan underway. Even though the author does discuss the need for higher intensity training, I do find there to be a lot of easy endurance training as part of the plans, but like I said, the plans do seem flexible enough to adjust and not loose any structure or direction.
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