Joe Friel is the author of The Cyclist's Training Bible — the most-read English-language coaching book in endurance sport — co-founder of TrainingPeaks, and a coach to elite athletes for over forty years. His work on training masters athletes (Fast After 50) is the reference text most cycling coaches quote when an over-40 rider walks in.
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As we age, our bodies change—VO2 max declines, muscle atrophy accelerates, and body fat creeps up. But Joe Friel, legendary cycling coach and author of Faster After 50, proves these aren't reasons to slow down. Instead, they're signals to train smarter. In this conversation, we explore the specific physiological shifts that happen after 40, and the practical strategies—from strength training to nutrition to goal-setting—that let you ride faster and stronger than ever.
"If you're not enjoying it, you're going to have a problem with it. Start trying to find things that help you enjoy it—it could be a new bike, joining a new group, a new training partner, or hiring a coach."
"My mother was a very active person her entire life. She fell on ice at 87, broke her hip, and two years later she was blind. That's one of the worst things that can happen as you get older. That's why I suggest lots of weight training to prevent it."
"There's a lifespan and there's a health span. Of these two things, the health span is most important. I hope to die having just ridden my bike—still healthy but something got me at the last second, as opposed to a 30-year loss of health like most people do in Western Society."
Untrained adults lose VO2max at roughly 10% per decade after age 30; consistently trained masters athletes lose closer to 5% per decade when high-intensity work is preserved.
Source: Pollock et al., longitudinal master-athlete studies summarised in Joyner & Coyle reviews
One short high-intensity session per week is sufficient to preserve the bulk of VO2max in masters athletes who maintain volume on the easy side.
Source: Joe Friel
Protein targets of 1.6–2.0 g/kg/day across the day are required to offset reduced muscle-protein synthesis response in older endurance athletes.
Source: Phillips, Moore et al., protein synthesis literature in masters athletes
Trying to peak more than twice a year typically produces neither peak — recovery and base re-build cycles cannot fit.
Source: Joe Friel
“lifting weights also makes the bones stronger so that when you fall eventually you're going to fall down you're gonna have a crash on that bike um if you fall when you're 25 years old it's probably not going to be a problem you're going to lose some skin you're gonna be about bounce right back up and probably get right back and saddle again but you take a fall even a fairly minor fall when you're 65 years old big difference now you've got a huge chance of having broken a bone”
“I would say twice a week is the minimum I wouldn't say there's a time it's not like riding your bike or you have a time you sell like an hour and a half or two hours that time doesn't mean anything in the gym well the main thing that means anything here is how many reps are you doing what what are the loads”
“the first thing that athlete becomes very aware of as they get older is their VO2 max is declining the aerobic capacity is going down you may not be aware of it at first it's actually starting someplace probably in your early to mid to late 30s depending on your your training but it's going to go down there's no question about it”
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The written companion to this episode.
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