Threshold or VO2 Max? Decoding My Highest 30-Minute Power with AlphaHRV and SmO2

Graph showing SmO2 muscle oxygenation decline and heart rate drift during 30 minutes of cycling threshold intervals.

Training is rarely perfect, especially when I am wearing two hats at once. Today’s session was a 30-minute block of 3/3 Over-Unders—three minutes just above threshold wattage, followed by three minutes at 95% of FTP. I designed this session to challenge the metabolic limits of my oxidative system through focused SmO2 threshold training while staying […]

Garmin Load Focus Decoded: Mastering Your 28-Day Metabolic Shadow

A cumulative stacked bar chart showing 42 days of training load volume (EPOC), categorized by Low Aerobic, High Aerobic, and Anaerobic debt layers.

The Rolling Debt of Fitness: How I Use Garmin’s “Load Focus” to Build Better Athletes As a cycling coach with over 20 years of training history, I’ve seen every metric come and go. I used to believe “Power is King,” but my coaching philosophy has evolved into something far more precise: Physiology is King. Your […]

My Morning Ritual: The 3-Minute Test That Dictates My Entire Training Day

Garmin Connect Sleep Stress timeline showing high stress spikes during the first half of the night and subsequent recovery.

After over 20 years of chasing wattage and focusing on what my power meter says I can do, I’ve realized the real secret to long-term gains is knowing when to pull back. It’s about listening to the engine. Today, I’m breaking down one of the most underutilized tools in the Garmin ecosystem: the HRV Stress […]