Cycling packages
- Basic$350Lactate
- Pro$575LactateVO2 max
- Ultimate$675LactateVO2 maxRMR
Cycling
Cycling coach in Santa Monica
Coaching for road, gravel, track and mountain bike riders from Gareth Thomas, coach to world and national champions for more than 30 years. It usually starts with a lactate test on your own bike.
Coaching from
$300a month
Who he coaches
Road, gravel, track
and mountain bike
Gareth Thomas coaches cyclists on the road, on gravel, on the track and on mountain bikes. For more than 30 years he has coached and advised endurance athletes, including world and national champions in triathlon, duathlon and cycling, and his athletes range from complete beginners to Leadville finishers. Every July during the Tour de France, he’s glued to the TV watching the gladiators on bikes traverse the Alps and Pyrenees.
He trains each rider for the riding they do. Writing on speed work, he puts it like this: “all cyclists ride bikes but sprinters are (metabolically) built differently to the climbers and time triallists are different to mountain bikers.” So a Gran Fondo, a Haute Route, a time trial and a mountain bike race each get a program built around the event, and around you.
The lab
A lactate test
on your own bike
Cyclists test on a bicycle ergometer on their own bike, so bring it. The data is only useful if it comes from the movement you actually train.
The test steps up through 4 to 8 stages of gradually increasing intensity, depending on your current fitness. The easier stages are 4 minutes long, which gives lactate and heart rate the chance to stabilise. After each stage a small blood sample is taken from a fingertip or earlobe with a fresh single-use needle, and you stay on the bike throughout. The testing itself takes 30 to 40 minutes.
You leave with your heart-rate training zones, your aerobic and steady-state thresholds, custom workouts built from your own numbers, and a fuelling and hydration plan. The zones come as heart-rate and power ranges you can load straight into your head unit, and Gareth goes through every result with you in person. Retest every 9 to 12 weeks to monitor progress.
The Cycling packages start from the lactate threshold test. Pro adds a VO2 max test, and Ultimate adds an RMR test as well. VO2 max is measured against bodyweight, which is why it is often paired with RMR. Writing on body composition, Gareth puts it simply: “if two cyclists can both produce 300 watts then the lightest one will get to the top of the hill fastest.”
Every price includes the consultation and a full explanation of your results. Call (858) 361-4733 if you are not sure which package to book.
In his words
Power, heart rate
and lactate
A lactate test sets your zones by heart rate, plus power if you ride with a power meter. In his guide to lactate threshold testing, Gareth writes: “From here we can set-up optimal training zones based on heart-rate, power & pace AND determine the types of training that the athlete needs to do in order to improve.” He has been working with heart-rate monitors and power meters for over 25 years.
Progress shows up as lower lactate and a lower heart rate at the same power. His example, from his article on Zone 2 training: “if in month 1 you are at 1.5 mmol lactate and 150 bpm at 200 watts then in month 3 we would expect to see you at 1.2 mmol and 140 bpm at that same power.” New riders are an exception: “beginner cyclists often don’t have the leg strength required to raise their heart rates to high levels, whereas once they are muscularly stronger they can ride at higher heart-rates and power outputs but with lower lactate.” That is why he measures metabolic change in the controlled setting of the lab and uses separate field tests to measure how you perform.
For time trials he adds one more point. A more aerodynamic position can raise your heart rate at a given intensity, and his advice on heart-rate training is “to train in your aero position & be aware of how it affects you.”
Coaching
Monthly coaching
or a 12-week program
Monthly coaching comes in three tiers, Gold, Platinum and VIP, from $300 to $900 a month. Every tier includes a 360° custom program with strength, mobility and core work. The tiers differ in how often Gareth reviews your data, how often you talk and how you can reach him, and VIP adds a one-to-one workout session and custom food and fuel planning. The monthly coaching tiers list every inclusion.
Workouts are uploaded to TrainingPeaks and can be pushed straight to your watch, and your data comes back automatically after each session. Riders need a heart-rate monitor with a chest strap, and ideally a power meter and an indoor trainer.
For one plan built around one event, the 12-week custom cycling program is $295, and Gareth builds it around you from a Q&A he sends after you buy.
12-week custom cycling program
A 12-week custom cycling program built around your goal event.
PDF or TrainingPeaks
$295Buy
Built for you once. It does not include ongoing consulting or interaction with Gareth. That is monthly coaching.
“When I started working with Coach Gareth, I immediately knew his attention to detail & scientific approach was a winning choice. Now 16 years later with a family and limited training time, the precision of Gareth’s training plans allow me to not waste anytime and still chase my dreams.”
Jamey Yanik
Top 5, Leadville 100
Santa Monica
Cycling coaching
in Los Angeles
The lab is ECLYPSE Fitness Lab at 1736 Ashland Avenue, Santa Monica, CA 90405. It serves riders across Los Angeles, the Westside, Venice, Culver City and the South Bay, and it is open Tuesday to Friday 10am to 7pm, Saturday and Sunday 12pm to 5pm, closed Monday. Call (858) 361-4733 or email cg@coachgareth.com.
Riders outside Los Angeles can be coached too. Gareth coaches athletes all over the world. Most come to the lab in Santa Monica for their initial testing, and where that is not possible he arranges testing with a provider local to you.
Can I do a lactate test on my own bike?
Yes. Cyclists test on a bicycle ergometer on their own bike at ECLYPSE Fitness Lab in Santa Monica, so bring it. The test steps up through 4 to 8 stages, with a small blood sample from a fingertip or earlobe after each one, and the testing takes 30 to 40 minutes. A lactate test is $350, including the consultation.
How much does cycling coaching cost?
Monthly coaching is $300 a month for Gold, $600 for Platinum and $900 for VIP. A 12-week custom cycling program, built once around your goal event, is $295. A lactate test is $350. Cycling Pro adds a VO2 max test, $575 in all, and Cycling Ultimate adds VO2 max and RMR tests, $675 in all.
What do I get with the 12-week cycling program?
A custom 12-week program built around your goal event, for $295. After you buy, Gareth sends a Q&A so he can build the plan around you. It has daily sessions for endurance, mobility, recovery and strength, plus articles on nutrition, recovery, mental training and race preparation, delivered as an interactive PDF or straight into TrainingPeaks. It is built once, and ongoing consulting with Gareth is part of monthly coaching, from $300 a month.
Should I train by power or by heart rate?
Use both. Your lactate test gives you heart-rate zones, and power zones too if you ride with a power meter. On long rides at moderate intensity, heart rate often rises with no felt increase in effort. That is cardiac drift. As Gareth writes, “heart-rate is best used in conjunction with power (on the bike) or pace (on the run) and/ or perceived exertion.”
From the blog
Speed, Zone 2 and heart rate, explained
The need for speed
Once the aerobic base is in, speed work comes in three parts: threshold, aerobic capacity (VO2) and peak speed. How to do each one.
What is Zone 2 training?
Zone 2 is low-intensity cardio that builds your aerobic base. Its benefits, how to find your Zone 2, and how often to train in it.
The do’s and don’ts of heart-rate training
Very few athletes know how to get the best out of a heart-rate monitor. What cardiac drift, temperature, fuel, hydration, bike position and race day do to it.
Book a test
Bring your bike
A lactate test on your own bike at the lab in Santa Monica, read back to you in person by Gareth.