Anatoly Solodov: off-season, cramps, gym and preparation for the Tsar Grader

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• Issue #35 · April 9, 2025 · 59 minAnatoly Solodov: how a coach without a diploma builds the progress of amateurs

Useful from the issue

1. Two weeks without a bike, but active

   After a busy season, take a break from cycling for at least two weeks, but switch to hiking, running, swimming, or playing games. Complete inactivity is also stressful for the body.

2. Start of preparation count from the first start

   If an important race is in March-April, it's too late to start in December. For the Tsar Grader on June 19, 2027, it is worthwhile to go out for training no later than December 1, for beginners — from November 1.

3. Cramps are often not about salt, but about unpreparedness

   Real salt deficiency is rare. More often, legs cramp because of a hot start without a warm-up, muscle overload due to landing and missed recovery.

4. Test for the need for a gym

   If at a weight of 70 kg you do not give out 1000 watts for at least 5 seconds, the strength or technique of the effort limits you. With FTP below 250 Watts, the classic gym is not needed — take up mobility and OFP.

5. Massage is more important than a bath

   Regular massage, not even sports, gives more than a bath or cryocamera. Do not put a bathhouse before a hard workout and immediately after a hard race.

6. On the plateau — first the tests

   Before you change your plan or bike, take a biochemistry, a general blood test and male hormones, compare with the old results and look at nutrition and stress.

7. Normal progress is about 10% per year

   Anatoly considers the increase in capacity by about 10% per season to be a good average result. For those who have been training for less than three years, it is usually higher.

8. Age is not a sentence

   Anatoly's ward, at the age of 50, played more than five minutes on the rise during the season due to an increase in power. The main thing is discipline and time to recover.

9. Unload your head

   Massage, after which you feel full of sleep, and evening walks help to restore not only your legs, but also your nervous system between starts.

Moscow and its own team

For a year, Anatoly, as planned, moved from Smolensk to Moscow: from here it is easier to go to the races. In April, he created his own AST team, named by first and last name. Its shape is graphite on top and yellow on the bottom, the elements can be combined as you like, the color is not related to the level of the rider. There are already 58 people in the club, and its riders regularly get on the podiums.

Besides the club, Anatoly trains riders from other teams, including Nikolai Zemlyanoi, who showed the best result at the Russian Championship. He does not see a conflict of interest: the person himself and his goal are interesting. It happens that an athlete wants an FTP of 330 watts, and the coach sees the potential at 360 — and does not let go until the figure submits.

Stars or ordinary people

To the reproach that results are noticeable only among ready-made stars and girls, Anatoly responds with the example of Dmitry Dudchenko: at 50 years old, weighing about 80 kg, he gained more than five minutes on the climb of the second stage of the 'Three Mountains' in one season. Age, according to the coach, is no obstacle if a person enjoys training and organises their life to have enough time for recovery.

The main problem of newcomers is discipline, not talent. He considers about 10% of capacity per year to be a good average progress, beginners with up to three years of training experience usually have more growth. Another observation from Krylatsky: women train in any weather, and men curl up at the first rain.

Assistants, AI and the coaching market

Now Anatoly has about four permanent assistants and an initiative group in the club. He promises to present the main training assistant after the October training camp in Fethiye, which will be held from October 11 to October 25. He is not jealous of the former wards who have become coaches: the work seems simple only from the outside, but whether it suits you, you understand, only after trying.

Most of the wards are engaged remotely, and among them are not only Russians — there are people from the USA, Europe, Africa, the Philippines, Australia and New Zealand. There is only one difficulty — time zones. He still does not use ChatGPT in his work, but has implemented his own AI-based development, which removes some of the routine issues from him. Every fall, he polls the wards what to improve.

Offseason and Tsar Grader 2027

For those who raced almost every weekend, Anatoly advises to take the bike away for at least two weeks, but not to lie on the sofa: a sharp transition to passivity is also stressful. Hiking, running, swimming, and team sports are suitable. The off-season is the time to take care of your health, teeth, and pending tasks. The main thing is not to extend the break too long: it's easy to find that it's already December. The start of training depends on the first important start: if it's in March-April, starting in December is too late.

For the Tsar Grader of 2027, which will be held on June 19, he advises to start preparing no later than December 1, and for beginners — better from November 1. He likes the high-speed circular format of the Tsar more than "picking": this is closer to the fast gravel of Europe and the USA and adds teamwork, and it is more difficult to win against a strong team alone. He himself did not make it this year due to illness, although he had already bought tires.

Why does your legs cramp and who needs a gym

On Tsar, many, including strong riders, had cramped legs. Anatoly finds a real shortage of salts, according to him, in about one case out of ten to fifteen. Much more often, unpreparedness for a strong start, poor warm-up, a hot start with attacks, overloaded muscles due to landing and missed recovery are to blame. Then neither water nor isotonic will help.

A simple test of the need for strength work: if you are consistently in the top five at the finish line among your own and do not lag behind on short hills, strength does not limit you. If you can't give out at least 1000 watts for 5 seconds at a weight of 70 kg, either you don't have enough standing effort or strength, and then you should go to the gym. With an FTP below 250 Watts, a classic rocking chair is an untimely waste of time: mobility and general physical fitness are better. You need to start in the gym with an adaptation period, without heroic squats.

Recovery, plateau and doping

Anatoly does not put the bath and cryocamera in the first place among the restorative procedures: we do not know how to do something a little bit, and the bath easily turns into extra stress. Regular massage is more useful — even regular massage. If there is no way without a bath, it should be coordinated with the coach, do not walk immediately after a hard race and before a hard workout, and if the HRV indicators have sunk, sit less. He himself goes for a massage twice a week this season and walks a lot in the evenings.

If progress has stopped, you first need to check your health: pass biochemistry, a general blood test and male hormones, look at nutrition, regime and stress — the main limiter of an amateur. About doping in the amateur peloton, he says that systematic training gives more, and it's easiest to hurt yourself. The boost is replaced by a rollback, and the person ceases to believe in his own strength. It is better to be tested and develop in your specialization: a sprinter should not try to beat miners.

Thirty races and plans for 2027

This season, Anatoly almost abandoned his personal ambitions and drove 30 races. Once he started three times in two days: the Gravel Instinct gravel race, the night road race in Krylatskoye and in the morning — the grandfondo in Malevich Park after three hours of sleep. He calls it survival mode and advises no one to repeat it. The most difficult part was the logistics: washing the bike and drying the gravel shoes. Favorite races are hilly granfondo in Tula, Tsar Grader, Gravel Instinct with its route and the starting race of the season in Kemer.

He doesn't train himself and he doesn't have a coach: he spends all his time on his wards. For 2027, the priority is the development of the club, spring training camps and team preparation for the "Three Mountains" and the race on the Garden Ring, as well as coffee rides and technical training in Krylatskoye for those who do not need racing. The ideal ward, according to him, is a disciplined person who performs tasks and honestly writes feedback.

Timestamps

1. 00:00Introduction
2. 02:06The second issue with Anatoly Solodov
3. 02:39Moving to Moscow
4. 03:19AST command and new form
5. 07:2558 people in the club and the results of the season
6. 10:40Stars or beginners
7. 12:16Progress after 50
8. 16:09Assistants and quality control
9. 18:23Fees in Fethiye
10. 22:07The coaching market and wards around the world
11. 28:16Artificial intelligence in the trainer's work
12. 31:14Offseason
13. 35:09When to prepare for the Tsar Grader 2027
14. 37:41High-speed gravel or "kovyryalovo"
15. 40:45Why does it cramp your legs
16. 43:16Who needs a gym
17. 46:44Sauna, cryocamera and massage
18. 52:32Plateau: what to check first
19. 57:49Doping in the amateur peloton
20. 1:01:26Plans for 2027
21. 1:05:31Favorite races and three starts in two days
22. 1:12:35How to unload your head
23. 1:14:54Who trains Solodov himself

Mentioned in this episode

AST · Tsar Grader · Three Mountains · Cycling Race · Gravel Instinct · Granfondo Tula · Russian Gravel Series · Krylatskoye · Fethiye · Intervals.icu · Gobik · Hutchinson Caracal Race