Hey

Ever walked out of the gym thinking, “I don’t feel wrecked… did I even do enough?”

Or finished a ride with mates and thought, “I should’ve pushed harder — that wasn’t a real workout”?

You’re not alone. There’s this deeply ingrained belief that unless you’re drenched in sweat, crawling out on shaky legs, or aching for days after, the workout didn’t count. It’s the old-school “no pain, no gain” mentality — and honestly, it’s one of the biggest myths holding cyclists back.

The truth? Training isn’t about how broken you feel after a session. It’s about creating just enough stress that your body adapts — and then letting recovery do its job. Too much stress, too often, and you don’t adapt… you just dig yourself into a hole.

And I see this all the time with riders I coach. In fact, one of my clients, Andrew, summed up exactly where this mindset leads:

“I felt awful. I felt empty. I had no energy. My resting heart rate was high. I couldn’t sleep, even when I tried. I didn’t know how to train without burning myself out again.”

That was before we worked together. Andrew had years of “go hard or go home” behind him, but it left him drained and frustrated.

Once we flipped his training approach, the results turned around completely — and the best part is, the science fully backs it up.

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Have a great weekend

Neil

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