Top 10 Most-Read Posts of 2010

Following are the 10 blog posts from this site which were the most read in 2010. #1 below never ceases to amaze me as it’s #1 every year and shows no sign of slowing down. Only three posts from 2010 made it to the top 10 of all-time (#4, #7, #10).

I still have a long list of topics that interest me waiting in the wings. If you have a topic you’d like me to write about please feel free to post it as a suggestion in the comments section below. I can’t guarantee I’ll write about it, but I may.

Thanks for following my blog in 2010. It was viewed 685,265 times and continues to steadily grow. I look forward to seeing what’s ahead in 2011.

#1 Cleat Position (January 2007)

This was the first blog post I ever wrote and it continues to be the most read of all having been #1 four years in a row. Here I discuss a midsole alternative to the traditional forefoot cleat position for cycling shoes. There have been 143 comments posted to this blog by readers, many of which describe their experience after moving their cleats. There have also been follow-up posts to this blog which you can find by doing a search on “cleat position” on the home page.

#2 Road Bike Posture (September 2009) 

This is a post from September, 2007. I’ve never figured out why it turned out to be so popular. It discusses hip position in a seated position and shows examples of two riders, one with a position I like and another that’s not quite as nice.

#3 Foot Strike in Running (March 2007) 

Written in March, 2007 this is a perennially popular post making the top five for the fourth consecutive year. It provides pictures of two runners at Ironman Hawaii 2006—one with a relatively flat-foot strike and the other with a heel strike. It briefly discusses the advantages of minimizing an initial heel-first foot strike.

#4 Core Strength (March 2010) 

From March of 2010, this post includes frame captures from two videos of runners on treadmills. I’ve had people say that the top pictures of the female runner are fakes—that she has her shorts pulled down on the left side thus exaggerating her poor postural muscles. That’s not the case. I’ve seen the entire video. Had I shown a right-foot landing you would see a mirror image with that hip sagging just as much. These videos changed much of what I thought I knew about the subject.

#5 Estimating TSS (September 2009) 

Training Stress Score (TSS) is a concept Dr. Andrew Coggan came up with that is at the heart of WKO+ software, which I and many other coaches and athletes use quite extensively. It’s simply a way of “scoring” the difficulty of a workout based on power (bike), pace/speed (running) or heart rate (any endurance sport). If you don’t use a power meter, GPS/accelerometer speed-distance device or heart rate monitor (e.g., swimming) this post helps you estimate TSS for a workout so you can manually enter it into WKO+.

#6 A Quick Guide to Setting Zones (November 2009) 

As suggested in the title, this post takes you through the step-by-step process of setting up your training zones (heart rate, power, pace) for cycling, running and swimming.

#7 Physiological Fitness – Lactate Threshold (March 2010) 

Posted in March of this year this topic continues to attract readers. And with good reason. If you improve your lactate threshold you will be faster. And it’s highly trainable.

#8 Heart Rate and Training (March 2009) 

This is a quick, personal history of using a heart rate monitor along with how to determine your lactate threshold heart rate.

#9 Can Your Socks Make You Faster? (October 2007) 

I believe it was 2005 when I first saw compression socks being used in a triathlon. Now it’s a common sight. This is perhaps the most notable change in athletic apparel in the decade. But are they beneficial? This post takes a look at that question? I need to return to this topic soon as there has been some recent research on the topic.

#10 Physiological Fitness – Aerobic Capacity (March 2010) 

This was part 1 of a three-part series on “what is fitness.” Part 2 of the series was #7 above. Part 3 had to do with economy. This aerobic capacity post describes a term—VO₂ max—used by every serious athlete but understood by few.

Comments

[Madeleine]

My own ‘most viewed’ post of yours is from Dec 2009, on pedaling skills, efficiency and economy. Any new thoughts in this area? For instance, do you find WKO+ quadrant anaylsis to be useful in short term or long term evaluations of the pedaling skills of athletes you coach? If so, would you care to share an example or two of how it can be used to identify a problem (or should one call it an inefficiency?) and evaluate subsequent workouts for improvement? Thanks, Madeleine

[Joe Friel]

Madeleine--Thanks. Nothing planned for that topic right now but perhaps later.

[Travis Thompson]

Joel, I've been a long time follower of your books and blog. My personal favorite from this year was your entry on the Key to Athletic Success. (http://www.joefrielsblog.com/2010/07/the-key-to-athletic-success.html) This entry ignited a complete overhaul in my training style. While many athletes argue quantity vs quality, you pointed out that consistency trumps all.

I applied this simple, proven, yet ignored philosophy to my running this season and transformed from a 4+hour marathoner to a 3:09 Boston qualifier. FIve years and six marathons without any improvements till I dropped the monster workouts and just focused on consistency. I cut back my mileage unti I could run six days a week. I never ran so hard that I couldn't run the same workout at the same intensity on the very next day. I stopped any workout when I hit the "decoupling" point. As a result, I was never injured and could slowly tack on more miles and better workouts (quantity and quality).

Of all the potential areas for improvements that athletes can choose from, this in retrospect was the easiest and had the greatest impact on my performance and enjoyment of the sport.

Thanks Joel and keep up the great writing.

[JasonPanzer]

Would be interested in some updated thoughts on compression socks. You see them everywhere these days. They aren't cheap I have yet to see any real science behind them.

[KK]

I bookmarked the July 2010 post (which is several posts actually). ALL of the entries are terrific but I urge readers to focus on Redemption Race post. This competitive athlete learned (the hard way) that to add in a race to redeem your self-worth may sabotage your entire season. Entering a race w/ the proper fame of mind is underestimated. I would love more posts on this...

[dave]

Not that it has much with this BLOG but was wondering how things would change if I was just racinjg crits. They are 45 mins long. I usually do about 500hrs/year. should I ajust my distance and reduce the amount of climbing I do. Do I need to do any on the bike strength training.

[Joe Friel]

Dave--In Base develop aerobic endurance, muscular force, skills, muscular endurance. In race-specificity period (Build) make workouts increasingly like the goal races. See case studies in Cyclists Training Bible for example.