When you upload your ride, it’s easy to think, “Well, that’s done.” But if you’re training for something meaningful — a big event, a personal goal, or simply trying to improve — then what happens after the ride is just as important as the ride itself.
This is where I think my consulting and data analysis background comes in.
A quality review of your workout isn’t just about checking whether you completed the session. It’s about understanding whether the training is working, and whether it’s building towards the goal we’ve set together.
So, what process do I actually follow when I review your session?
Let me show you some of what goes on behind the scenes.
1. Are You Riding in the Right Zone?
First things first — I check whether the time spent in each zone matches the plan. Not just whether the ride felt hard, but whether it hit the specific intensity required for adaptation. An endurance ride ridden too hard, or intervals done too soft, might look fine on the surface — but can derail progress over time.
2. Are You in Control?
Power data reveals more than watts. I look for smoothness and consistency — is the athlete pacing well? Is there control on efforts and restraint on recovery? Spiky data can mean poor gear choice, fatigue, or mental distraction. These are all things we address in training.
3. How’s Your Recovery Looking?
A good indicator of fitness and freshness is how quickly your heart rate drops after a hard effort. I look for that “sharkfin” shape — a fast fall in heart rate that shows the body’s ready to go again. If it doesn’t recover well, it’s a flag for fatigue or stress.
4. Are You Using Your Gears Effectively?
Cadence and force analysis helps me see if you’re using the right gearing. Grinding at low cadence with high torque might feel strong, but often leads to fatigue and inefficiency. A coach sees this and helps you optimise your pedalling economy.
5. Is the Training Stimulus Right?
I check if the intervals were hard enough to create adaptation — but not so hard that they dig a recovery hole. Sometimes athletes overachieve on power but under-recover. That’s not a win. Training is a balance, and it’s my job to manage the load.
6. How Efficient Was the Effort?
Comparing average and normalised power helps identify how variable the ride was. A big gap suggests a session with a lot of stress — possibly more than intended. If every ride feels like a race, we’re burning matches we might need later.
7. Is the Plan Still Right for You?
Every workout tells me something about the athlete’s readiness, progress, and limits. Sometimes we adapt the plan — adjust the load, shift the focus, or prioritise recovery. This dynamic feedback loop is what makes coaching so much more effective than a static plan.
Why This Review Process Matters
You can’t always feel progress — but we can measure it. A good coach reads between the lines of your data, your comments, your trends, and makes smart decisions about what’s next.
I use a framework that balances:
- The demands of your event or goal
- Your ability to absorb training
- The intensity and duration of sessions
- Your long-term fitness and short-term fatigue
And that’s how we keep you improving, without burning out.
Final Thought
Most of this happens quietly in the background. You upload the ride, and the feedback drops into your inbox. But now you know — it’s not just a thumbs-up or a smiley face. It’s a deliberate process. Thoughtful. Experienced. Adaptable.
That’s the value of coaching. It’s not just about what you do — it’s about how we respond to it.
If that sounds like the kind of support you’d benefit from, you know where to find me.