Did anyone read this book and gain anything from it? Seemed pretty generalized to me from such a "elite organization" as them. Oh by the way when was the last time Chris was on a bike?
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Re: CTS book? [Matt Berner]
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Matt,
I think most (if not all) of the CTS books are geared more toward the beginner who saw Lance ride the tour and decided to take a stab at training. I view them as a way to get more coaching business because they all seem of precious little value (at least the ones I have read).
I think most (if not all) of the CTS books are geared more toward the beginner who saw Lance ride the tour and decided to take a stab at training. I view them as a way to get more coaching business because they all seem of precious little value (at least the ones I have read).
I own most of the books that have been published in the last 15-20 years on the subjects of cycling and triathlon, as well as a goodly number of the running books. Having read all of them I will agree with Trimanjay that most are targeted at the beginner to intermediate athlete. I'd think most of us haunting around this forum and others have long ago been introduced to the basic principles involved in our sport and will gain little from the majority of books. Conspicuous recent examples from my collection include the "Lance Armstrong Training Program," obviously a product of CTS. Its no knock on the book to say its not targeted at us. Can it help the beginner to intermediate cyclist? Probably, but no more than many other books. Few of these sort of books dispense patently wrong information. The thing is, people are going to buy this book for one reason: LA. Is it marketing? Hell yes. Is it wrong? I don't think so if it helps bring more people and more awareness to our sports.
Why do I own this book? Because I get questions all the time from people considering getting into the sport. They often ask this or that advice about training, equipment, etc, etc. This is something concrete that I can put in their hands that will at least introduce the basic principles. When I retire from the military in 4 years and enter the coaching biz full time I'll have more time to sit and talk with these people. For now, I can't sit for hours and explain the merits of tri vs road geo or what an interval is. (That would take away time I could better spend trolling this forum [;>] ) For that matter, I'll still continue to buy these books because many people considering the sport buy them and then come asking questions based on what they read.
That said, there are books with real merit for the more serious athlete, written by folks like Friel, Browning, Sleamaker, Evans, Burke, just to name a few. This leads me to another thread on pro coaching that I think I'll go post on.....
Why do I own this book? Because I get questions all the time from people considering getting into the sport. They often ask this or that advice about training, equipment, etc, etc. This is something concrete that I can put in their hands that will at least introduce the basic principles. When I retire from the military in 4 years and enter the coaching biz full time I'll have more time to sit and talk with these people. For now, I can't sit for hours and explain the merits of tri vs road geo or what an interval is. (That would take away time I could better spend trolling this forum [;>] ) For that matter, I'll still continue to buy these books because many people considering the sport buy them and then come asking questions based on what they read.
That said, there are books with real merit for the more serious athlete, written by folks like Friel, Browning, Sleamaker, Evans, Burke, just to name a few. This leads me to another thread on pro coaching that I think I'll go post on.....