Plain-English definitions of the terms we use when we coach performance cyclists — from FTP and CdA to rate of force development and periodisation. If a word on this site sends you to the dictionary, it should be here, explained the way we would explain it on the gym floor.
Also known as: S&C, Off-bike training.
A coaching discipline focused on developing strength, power, mobility, and resilience to improve performance and reduce injury risk. For a cyclist, S&C is the off-bike work — structured, progressive, and periodised around the riding calendar — that the bike alone cannot deliver.
Source: www.nsca.com
Also known as: Threshold power.
The highest average power, in watts, a cyclist can sustain for roughly an hour. FTP is the anchor most cycling training zones are set from, and a primary marker of how a rider is progressing. Raising it — or your power-to-weight ratio — means going faster for the same effort.
Source: en.wikipedia.org
Also known as: Drag area, Aerodynamic drag.
A measure, in square metres, of how much aerodynamic drag a rider and bike create at a given speed — the product of the drag coefficient and frontal area. At speed, air resistance is the single biggest force a cyclist fights, so lowering CdA (largely through position and the strength to hold it) can be faster than raising raw power.
Source: en.wikipedia.org
A dimensionless number that quantifies the resistance an object meets moving through a fluid such as air. In cycling it is one of the two ingredients of CdA, and explains why aerodynamic position and equipment matter so much as speed rises.
Source: en.wikipedia.org
Also known as: Explosive strength.
How quickly you can produce force, rather than the maximum force you can eventually produce. For a cyclist it underpins the snap of an attack, the response out of a corner, and a powerful sprint — qualities built with specific, well-coached strength work, not endurance riding.
Source: en.wikipedia.org
Also known as: Maximal oxygen uptake.
The maximum rate at which your body can use oxygen during hard exercise — a key ceiling on endurance performance. It is trainable, and a meaningful target for cyclists who want to raise their sustainable output across longer durations.
Source: en.wikipedia.org
Also known as: Periodization, Structured planning.
The structured, cyclical planning of training across an annual calendar — dividing the year into phases with different goals so that fitness peaks when it matters and recovery is built in. It is how off-bike strength work is sequenced around a rider’s racing or event season.
Source: en.wikipedia.org
The principle that the body adapts to a demand only when that demand is gradually and deliberately increased over time. Add load, reps, or quality intent in measured steps and strength keeps climbing; leave the stimulus flat and progress stalls.
Source: en.wikipedia.org
The specific demand a session places on the body — the signal that tells it to adapt. The right stimulus, applied consistently and recovered from properly, is what drives adaptation; too little does nothing and too much outpaces recovery.
Source: en.wikipedia.org
The physiological changes the body makes in response to repeated training stimulus and recovery — stronger muscles and tendons, better aerobic capacity, more efficient movement. Adaptation, not the workout itself, is the point of training; it happens during recovery, not during the session.
Source: en.wikipedia.org
Also known as: Muscle growth.
The growth of muscle in size through training. For most performance cyclists the aim is targeted, quality hypertrophy that adds usable strength and durability without unnecessary mass, kept in proportion to power-to-weight goals.
Source: en.wikipedia.org
Also known as: 1RM.
The most weight you can lift for a single repetition of an exercise with good technique. It is a benchmark for maximal strength and a reference point for setting training loads — often estimated rather than tested directly to manage fatigue and risk.
Source: en.wikipedia.org
Also known as: Perceived exertion.
A simple scale for rating how hard an effort feels, used to regulate intensity when day-to-day readiness varies. RPE lets a programme flex around how you actually show up, rather than chaining you to a fixed number that ignores fatigue, stress, and sleep.
Source: en.wikipedia.org
The study of how forces act on and are produced by the body in movement. In cycling S&C it informs how we coach the pedal stroke, the position on the bike, and the lifts off it — so force is applied efficiently and without unnecessary strain.
Source: en.wikipedia.org
Also known as: Muscle soreness.
The muscle soreness that typically appears a day or two after unfamiliar or hard training and settles within a few days. It is a normal part of starting or progressing a programme, not a measure of how good a session was, and it eases as the body adapts.
Source: en.wikipedia.org
Also known as: Fatigue resistance, Resilience.
In endurance sport, the ability to resist fatigue and hold power and good form deep into a long ride or race — staying strong in the final hour, not just the first. Off-bike strength and resilience work are central to building it.
Source: en.wikipedia.org
How ready your body is for the demands you are about to place on it — the combination of strength, mobility, capacity, and resilience that lets you train hard, ride hard, and absorb the load without breaking down. Building it is the off-bike job S&C exists to do.
An approach built around getting the most meaningful adaptation from the limited hours a time-poor rider actually has. It prioritises the work with the highest return — well-chosen strength sessions and the right stimulus — over simply doing more, so progress fits a demanding life rather than competing with it.