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Training
Latest Blogs
What is Consummate Training? Our Approach
New here? Training to be a Consummate Athlete is about using Cross-training to foster Consistency, Confidence and Community (the 4 Cs !) We also encourage athletes to think about things other than physical training by being prepared, taking care of their equipment,...
The 30-Second Before Bed Habit That Makes Tomorrow Healthier
Everyone talks about the morning routine, but the reality is that it’s nearly impossible to have a good/steady morning routine if you’re not setting yourself up for it the night before. Case in point: I'm in an unfamiliar spot this month, and with a hectic schedule...
Goal Setting & Mental Toughness – Dr. Scott Frey Returns
In this episode of The Consummate Athlete Podcast, Molly Hurford interviews Dr. Scott Frey, who returns to the show for a 2nd time! This interview discusses: Mental Toughness Is Molly tough? Goal Setting for the new year and specifically to build toughness...
Training
An Important Reminder as We Head into the Holidays
It's hard to believe that Thanksgiving is here, which means yet again, the holiday season truly is upon us. And while most fitness articles written around this time of year center around how to stay healthy at holiday parties and how to sneak exercise into your...
Speed Skill and Coordination Drills for Cycling
There are several types of drills that cycling coaches and training plans use to help develop Speed Skill or Coordination. These two terms are mostly the same thing so I am going to use coordination from here on. There are numerous things that could be called...
Indoor Base Training Plan
For the indoor cycling season we offer a 3 months of Indoor-specific Base training plan that will get you fit and ready for the cycling season without burning you out with excessive intensity or monotonous 'junk' miles. The Best Way to Train Indoors for Cycling There...
Racing
Eating During Endurance Training & Racing – Kylee Van Horn
Kylee Van Horn returns to the Podcast to answer Training and Racing Nutrition Questions. Topics include overcoming 'trouble' eating during races, inability to swallow while racing, beet root juice, how much carb to take in, post - workout fueling, stage races and race...
Racing Multiple Cycling Disciplines – Maghalie Rochette
Maghalie Rochette is a Professional Cyclist. She has won a Cyclocross World Cup and is a fan favorite due to her incredible personality and fun projects like CX Fever and the Faces of Cyclocross (to name a few). She talk to Molly about racing multiple seasons and...
Recovery After a Long Race or Adventure
As endurance races of 100+ miles have become the norm, we felt like it was time to repost this old article from way back in 2014, when we were doing a 6-day MTB stage race. Back then a 200 mile gravel race still felt a little wild, not something most people would...
Cross-Training
New Full “Yoga for Cyclists” Sessions Free + Online
Huge thanks to the Ontario Cycling Association for hosting me as we flow through some homebound yoga for cyclists sessions every week! We're doing live sessions for cyclists in Ontario, but anyone can check out the OCA's YouTube for the free replays as well. While we...
Strength at Home, Walking and Training Inside/Outside
Today we discuss Walking, Training inside vs. Outside, Strategies for maintaining fitness and muscle during off periods and some discussion of goals and mindset during off-season or when far away from goal events. DOWNLOAD THIS CONSUMMATE ATHLETE EPISODE...
Video Resources for Yoga, Strength and Bike Skills
We've talked a lot about the importance of establishing healthy habits, and even have a free 7-day email kickstart for healthy habit change... One of the big habits we've established over the years is our morning core, strength and yoga routines. Habit change is hard....
Mindset
December Can Be a Challenge for the Type A Athlete
Personally, I find December to be one of the trickiest months. Often, I feel like I'm being pulled in three distinct directions—which is par for the course, but in December, the feeling is extremely exacerbated. The holiday season makes me want to lean into holiday...
Healthy Holiday Travel Tips and Hacks
Everyone writes about being healthy for the holidays. Heck, I did it about healthy travel over Thanksgiving! But with holiday season upon us, it's never a bad thing to refresh your memory on how to stay active, healthy and happy over the course of the next two weeks....
No Goal for 2025? Do These 5 Things
If you’re in the same boat as I am, you don’t yet have a clear goal for 2025. This can be a weird place to be as everyone seems to be dialing in their calendar for the upcoming season. Maybe you have a vague idea of what you want to do, maybe you have too many...
Nutrition
What’s the Deal with Energy Availability?
Lately, a lot of people—us included—have been tossing around the term 'energy availability,' but for many of us, that phrase might be completely new. You might have a vague idea of what it is: The energy (calories) that you have available in your body to keep it...
Talking RED-S and What Everyone Needs to Know: Video
I teamed up with the Ontario Cycling Association to host a webinar with researcher, coach and former elite triathlete Alex Coates to talk all about RED-S (relative energy deficiency in sport) last week and we went deep! If you remember Alex from the podcast we did...
Staying Healthy to Stay Outside This Winter
Over at Mountain Life, I talked to some amazing local wellness experts from Collingwood, Ontario, about ways to stay healthy this winter, whether you're locked down and stuck inside or can go get some professional help. From yoga tips to the best ways to blend a tasty...
Lifestyle
Molly is on the The Human Kinesome Project
Sometimes, we hop onto other podcasts in addition to our own Consummate Athlete Podcast, and a couple of weeks ago, Molly was on The Human Kinesome Project, a podcast created by the Kinetyx brand to investigate human movement of all types—it's a great show, and if you...
5 Things We Would Bring on Our Next Van Camping/Training/Crewing Trip
We recently spent a few days and nights living out of a van as we crewed for our friend Karen, and I'll be honest, it was not our healthiest few days. We were extremely busy with helping her complete 900 kilometers of trail, and yes, we both ran and hiked a ton in...
Karen Holland’s 900-Kilometer Bruce Trail FKT Adventure: The Gear + The Plan
At Consummate Athlete HQ, you know we love a big scary goal. So we are super excited that we're able to help support our friend Karen for a few days as she attempts one of the biggest, scariest goals ever: the Bruce Trail FKT in Ontario, Canada. She's starting this...
Women Specific
How To Relieve Cramps By Working Out
This is something I talk about a ton when I do women's nights where we talk about all things bike and nether-region-related, so I was stoked that Nylon asked me to write about how working out can kick menstrual cramps to the curb, or at least, make them suck a little...
Saddle, Sore: Ride Comfortable, Ride Happy Launch Party and Interview!
We had a crazy last week hosting three launch parties for my new book, "Saddle, Sore: Ride Comfortable, Ride Happy"! Huge thank you to the Trek Stores in Toronto, Aurora and Barrie for letting us take over the stores (and providing wine and cheese and a copy of the...
Buy “Saddle, Sore: A Women-Only Guide to You and Your Bike”
Buy it here Before you go, get subscribed for a twice-monthly set of tips, tricks + outdoor motivation!
Gear
Organizing Your In-Ride Food and Hydration—Kitchen Cleanout
If you're anything like us, you probably have a random drawer or two or three that houses your in-run or in-ride food and hydration mix. Maybe it's scattered throughout your kitchen and garage and dresser with all your other cycling gear. Because being able to eat and...
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up… Your Athletic Gear
When it comes to establishing strong training routines, one of the best ways to do it is to have your gear easier to access, in good working condition, and actually gear/clothing that you enjoy using. So, here's what you need to make the life-changing magic of tidying...
The Small Gear That Makes a Big Difference on Adventures + Long Races
It’s funny how a small piece of gear can be the difference between having a really enjoyable race day versus a total $hitshow of a race day. A couple years ago, we came up with this list as I was flying to Western States 100 to pace a friend and then heading to Quebec...
Videos
5 Little Things that Make a Big Difference
As an endurance athlete, you are always looking for that little bit extra speed, comfort, safety and/or power. You want to get faster at cycling. While huge changes, fad diets, and crash-cycles of superhard intervals are tempting, it is often the small changes done...
3 Drills to Improve Balance on the Bike
This post will provide you with 3 drills to improve your cycling skills and balance. While they are not presented in the order I would always use and certainly a step (or three) beyond what a beginner may be comfortable doing they do provide you with some ideas and...
Bike Fit and Setup Mistakes
A few common bike setup or positional factors that can cause or aggravate pain On Mountain Bikes you brake with more than one finger (typically the index finger) - modern brakes do not require multiple fingers or middle fingers. Use your index finger. It is possible...