Shannon Sovndal

Definitely an intermediate/advanced book but builds from the basics so it is fine for beginners.
Brief sections on goal setting, hydration & nutrition.
Plenty of diagrams, charts and pictures to help explain the data.
Lots of specific workouts giving: Total time, Warm-Up, Terrain, Training Zone, Workout Time, Cool-Down, Effort, Rest, a description and some tips. Then at the end of these chapters it gives a calendar of a sample interval program.
Near the end it has a whole section on off season training with lots of core exercises.
It also does briefly cover gear selection, bike fit and medical.… (altro)

This will have to suffice for my review for a bit. I received the book a few months ago and had planned to start a bicycling regime. Well, life did not follow my plan but I still want to get into fitness cycling. I have looked through and read parts of the book and it seems very well constructed as a way to increase your stamina as a bicyclist, moving through areas I never would have thought of as a recreational rider, including interval workouts, sprints, exercises for your core and more. I don't know if this book can make you into a competitive rider, not my goal, but it seems geared toward getting you in top shape and then taking your training to the next level. It also includes a section for those who want to mix it up with stationary bike training. I recommend this book and plan to slowly put start using it when I'm able (I am planning a move to a new area and will have to find some areas to ride away from traffic).… (altro)

I’ll admit it; I found this book a little intimidating when it came in the mail. Fifty six workouts, quotes from professional cyclists introducing many of the chapters. Several chapters at the beginning focus on technical explanations of cycling performance such as the science of lactate threshold and oxygen uptake efficiency.

But as I continued to turn the pages, I was charmed. Shannon Sovndal gives you the information, but does not condescend if you are, like me, at best a weekend warrior who wants to be in a little better shape for the longer rides. This book IS for you -- along with serious competitive cycling enthusiasts and everyone in between.

The workouts are practical, organized by sections based upon training goals. Accompanying the description of each workout is a little sidebar, which might be a hint to improving a specific area of performance, to bicycle maintenance tips, to anecdotes warning against common mishaps, often related by cautionary tales told at the author’s own expense.

The book also includes helpful and practical advice on equipment (frames to pedals to shoes to water cages), bike fit, and trouble shooting. Definitely a useful reference to keep around.

After reading through Fitness Cycling, I still don’t think I’ll be training to ride in the Tour de France. But I would love to go for a Saturday afternoon ride with Dr. Sovndal.… (altro)