Stamina, Speed, Strength, and Skill – 4 Spokes With a Hub called “Consistency”.

A conceptual bicycle wheel graphic showcasing the four pillars of Online Bike Coaching. A tri-spoke carbon fiber wheel features keywords printed on its blades: STAMINA, SPEED, and SKILL. At the central hub centerpiece, the word CONSISTENCY is printed twice. The full Online Bike Coach logo, as seen in image_20.png, is visible in the background.

Cycling Stamina and Strength: The S4 Framework Building elite cycling stamina and strength is the foundation of the S4 performance framework used by high-performance athletes.In the world of professional cycling, we often get distracted by the latest gear or chasing the highest wattage. But at its core, your performance is a wheel supported by four […]

The Garmin Daily Double Dip: A Stamina and Potential Deep Dive

A zoomed-in data chart overlaying Garmin Actual Stamina depletion with Muscle Oxygen (SmO2) percentage during a high-intensity cycling interval workout.

The Garmin Daily Double Dip: A Stamina and Potential Deep Dive Coach Wharton – May 7, 2026 Understanding Garmin Stamina metrics like Actual Stamina and Stamina Potential has fundamentally changed the way we analyze real-time capacity and athletic recovery. While Potential represents your total “fuel tank” for the entire ride, Actual Stamina reflects what you […]

Physiology First: Navigating a “Red Light” Morning with AlphaHRV

Screenshot of a Garmin HRV Stress test showing a high stress score of 75.

    Physiology First: My Red Light Recovery Ride This morning was a masterclass in why I apply a Physiology First framework to every session, looking at the internal engine before I look at the wattage. Between a late meal and the devastating news about my friend Murray being struck by a motorist—suffering a serious […]

Decoding the Hard-Start: How Ronnestad Intervals Impact Garmin Stamina & Training Effect

A dual-axis line graph showing a tight-scale view of Stamina (%) and Heart Rate (bpm) during three 10-minute intervals.

The “Hard-Start” Evolution: Pushing the Limits of the Rønnestad Protocol Testing the Ronnestad Hard-Start Intervals protocol this week provided a fascinating look at oxygen kinetics and internal load. Before this session, I attempted to link my VO2 Master to the phone for a full metabolic calibration. Despite several attempts, the mask simply wouldn’t handshake. Rather […]

Physiological Threshold Vs. FTP: The Power Illusion

Graph of SmO2, VO2, and power data showing physiological threshold during 4x8 intervals.

The Power Illusion: Resetting 20 Years of Training with Physiological Data After 20 years of cycling, I realized my FTP wasn’t telling the whole story of my actual physiological threshold. My identity as a cyclist was defined by a single, flickering number on a head unit: Watts. If you’ve spent any significant time in the […]

The OBC Dicta

OBC Dicta - Welcome to the Cathedral of Watts

The OBC Dicta (or, The Nine Commandments for Peak Performance In Cycling). *** I wrote the first version of this over twenty years ago, hoping that it would become the foundation for another book, but life and acceleration got in the way, and I just found it again in my Google Drive. A ‘Dicta‘ is […]

Using Ergometer LOAD vs. % SLOPE for DFAA-1 Base Training

DFAA-1 Base Ride Data Using Ergometer Mode

“PerfPro Studio is such a fantastic product for training and analysis. It allows a cyclist to ride at a load based on an ergometer, or a load based on % slope. Yesterday, after assessing my DFAA-1 heart rate, SmO2 and wattage values, I decided to ‘test’ the values….”

Base Ride Analysis Using Published Science

Heart Rate and DFAA-1 from a Base Ride

“In the first part of the video, you can see FatMaxxer being screencast from an Android to the PC window. The second screen is the Vo2master software, which is being screencast to the PC using LonelyScreen app. The rest of the information is being presented through PerfPro Studio. Post-ride analysis was done using PerfPro Studio, PerfPro Analyzer Beta, and Runalyze.”

Pink Noise MIGHT Be Helping Me Sleep….

Pink Noise might help me get to deep sleep.

Sleep Improves With Colder Temps, Heavier Blankets, and… Pink Noise? It’s been a couple of days now, but I’ve been going to sleep with the continuous drone of Pink Noise emanating from my phone. There are a LOT of things that are forcing me awake at times, but I’m trying to mitigate them, one at […]