Hey guys do you read books?
Wich book was most valuable for you to make progression ?
Wich book was your best inspiration source?
Hello Martin,
I am not into cycling training (only cycling for fun), but I am taking trail running more seriously.
The books recommendation I have are mostly in French, but one that is available in English is Training for the Uphill Athlete by Scott Johnston, Steve House, KĆlian Jornet Burgada
Thereās a lot depending on what youāre interested in.
Some often considered āMust readā books are:
- Joe Frielās Training Bible(s) Cyclist and/or Triathlon
Library Archive - Joe Friel - Training and racing with a Power Meter by Allen and Cogan
Good read on Aerobic base:
Tend to stick to biographies only, although I do have a number of reference books for education purposes as a young coach.
I love all kinds of books. Textbooks are my favorite, with technical manuals coming in at a close second. Iāve been recently enjoying Endure by Alex Hutchinson.
Hereās a small portion of my exphys library. I have about 30 ebooks and 100+ academic journal papers in my Zotero library thatās not shown here. My engineering library is even larger, but thatās what I used for work.
But your work is related to physiology/training, right?
It is very interesting, if you had to recommend one or two books to prioritize, which one would they be?
Nope. Iām just a dumb engineer with an exphys hobby. I like gadgets, so any hobby where data is invoked, Iām into.
For example, I recently bought a multi band GPS with RTK so I can practice GPS surveying on my own time. I can get within 1inch of professional surveyors with a $300 device. Itās amazing.
If I had to prioritize one or two booksā¦ā¦that depends. For which priorities? Testing? Training? Philosophy of training? Thereās so much out there.
I recognize myself in some way. I am a Materials Engineer as well, I graduated 5 years ago and I have been working in the aerospace since them. In my case, I struggle to get really deep into training data because I am just too bad at following a plan and the metrics in trail running, which is my main sport, are not all relevant, unless you carry HR belt + Stryd all the time and even thenā¦
Something applicable to Intervals data maybe? Like the metrics to plan a training using the ATL and CTL curves? Otherwise, he 2 that you would pick if you could choose only these 2
Nice, well done!
Gave up reading books over ten years ago, when people I knew were writing books (on web development, which was my trade) and by the time they were released they were out of date.
I do own and even occasionally flick through for reference:
The Cyclists Training Bible - Joe Friel
Training and Racing with a Power Meter - Allen and Cogan
but both are ten years old and out of date, good for generally understanding of principles, but need to check current research and practices before implementing.
Training and Racing with a Power Meter was the book that got me training seriously, found The Cyclists Training Bible a bit heavy for a beginner.
I have read about 200 cycling books (I have it on kindle so I could list them but that seems to be a waste of your time ).
Totally agree with @MedTechCD that Maffetoneās books are very insightful to fully appreciate the power of aerobic (below AeT) training. āZone 2ā in modern terminology.
Below is a fantastic book to give you lots of ideas on how to improve performance. It reads like a great story but is full of cycling performance insights.
Faster by pro cyclist Michael Hutchinson
Really all the books people mentioned here are valuable.
IMHO the best uptodate book for endurance training is the SKIBA āScientific Training for Endurance Athletesā book on the bookshelf in the picture above. Harder to get outside the USA but worth the extra for postage if you order direct. Read it, think, design your own training sessions and progression strategy, and get on with it. Quote:āthere are no secretsā.
As i like to read books i have a lot of them
if your are just interested for your own training:
Training and racing with a powermeter, Frielās training bible and Maffetoneās big book of endurance training and racing.
Physology of sport and exercise from Larry Kenney
Those will get you a long way in my opinion.
If your are in to coaching i think books like psychologische typen by Carl Jung and Gifts differing ( Briggs Myers) are overlooked by the most
Fast after 50 by Joe Friel really opened my mind to the idea that training hard into old age has significant health benefits outside of cycling
I agree thatās TFTUA is awesome. Very inspirational
English:
- Fast-Track Triathlete: Balancing a Big Life with Big Performance in Long-Course Triathlon, Matt Dixon
- Well-Built Triathlete: Turning Potential into Performance, Matt Dixon
German:
- TRIATHLON TOTAL, Roy Hinnen
Plus their YouTube Channels or Podcasts are helpful. Those are my sources I use a lot.
Matt Dixons books and sources are great to get into Triathlon and Endurance training business, it helps to understand a different way of training. Once you understood what in detail is going on and what your individual needs are Roys input does help on top of it. But you need to spend a lot of time understanding concepts and seeing the details they are not transparently sharing. Roy also developed great formulas and trainings advice he is sharing on this webpages. Check them out, and see if this is a good inspiration for your endurance training, especially for triathlon.
And yes, please browse through other books or sources you can find and guys are sharing. Can“t imagine how much superficial knowledge is around.
And at the end, isn“t it like I pointed in my essay? My training planning made with love & passion!
Some good inspiration to be found hereā¦
I recently read āEndureā by Alex Hutchinson which is a good read and now āhow bad do you want itā which is more of the same but more anecdotal.
Have just downloaded this book on your recommendation.
Being of a similar vintage, and having watched those TdF grand tours, I enjoyed having a little insight to Lanceās greatest rival.
Hello Johannes,
I had a look at your blog this morning and it was very interesting. I see that you live in Munich area where I worked for 4 years, too bad I did not know your existence , we couldāve gone for a run!
Regarding your #mytrainingplanning, how can I find the resources to try it myself?
Have a nice day!