The Volume Trap: Why Junk Miles Quietly Kill Fitness | Zach Calton | Ask a Cycling Coach Podcast 575
Ask a Cycling Coach Podcast - Presented by TrainerRoad
Recognizing and Responding to Excess Fatigue
Zach shares signs he’s overreaching: declining key-ride power and rising perceived effort, and why honesty matters.
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// TOPICS COVERED
(00:00:00) How Do I Get Better at the Process of Training?
(00:01:06) How Do You Balance Full-Time Work and High-Level Training?
(00:04:23) When Should I Stick to the Plan vs Adjust a Workout?
(00:07:08) Should I Ever Push Harder Than My Workout Prescribes?
(00:11:43) Is Consistency More Important Than Training Volume?
(00:15:33) Do Big Training Camps Actually Make Me Fitter?
(00:18:11) Why Are My Key Workouts Getting Worse?
(00:22:49) What Does “Listen to Your Body” Actually Mean?
(00:25:26) How Should I Adjust Training on a Bad Day?
(00:26:19) What Metrics Should I Focus on During Workouts?
(00:34:11) How Do I Mentally Handle Hard Intervals?
(00:40:24) How Do I Pace Intervals Outside Without Chasing Watts?
(00:44:06) How Do I Stay Disciplined on Long Endurance Rides?
(00:48:01) Do I Need to Ride Race Distance to Prepare for Long Gravel Events?
(00:53:13) How Do I Survive the Early Attacks in Gravel Races?
(00:56:11) Where Can I Follow Zach + Start Structured Training?
In this episode, Coach Jonathan sits down with gravel pro cyclist Zach Calton for a detailed discussion on how pros approach endurance training differently than amateurs. They break down the specific habits that make professionals better at the process of training—protecting key interval sessions, resisting the urge to add junk miles, prioritizing consistency over massive volume spikes, and using tools like RPE, heart rate, and repeat workout benchmarks to measure real progress. Zach also shares how he adapts structured workouts for gravel racing, manages fatigue, and builds race-ready fitness for long events like Unbound. If you want to train smarter, execute your plan better, and think like a pro cyclist, this episode delivers the blueprint.
// RESOURCES MENTIONED
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