Measuring power, blood glucose, and fatigue: Hunter Allen on bike training

Hunter Allen has been coaching cyclists since the mid-1990s and went on to co-found TrainingPeaks in 2004. He was an early proponent of using power data to inform training, and today his company, Peaks Coaching Group, helps athletes around the world.When you retired from pro cycling in the mid-90s and decided to become a coach, why did you start with mountain bikers specifically?When you first looked at power meter data from cyclists, was it obvious that this data could be useful for training? How did you analyze it?What are mountain bikers missing with an informal approach to getting faster/stronger/fitter?How does the way you coach a mountain biker in their 40s differ from how you'd coach the same rider at 25?How do we know if a fitness metric — like heart rate, power, or HRV — is useful or not?How do you know how much recovery you need after any given effort?What does measuring blood glucose levels tell you about an athlete?If someone's listening right now and wants to become more intentional about improving their fitness for mountain biking, where would you tell them to start?What is your most popular training plan for mountain bikers?What's got you most excited right now in the world of fitness and coaching?Follow Singletracks on Instagram @singletracksAn automated transcript will be available at Singletracks.com later today.