Anatoly Solodov: how a coach without a diploma builds the progress of amateurs

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• Issue #66 · September 18, 2026 · 1 h 20 minAnatoly Solodov: off-season, cramps, gym and preparation for the Tsar Grader

Useful from the issue

1. Do not overestimate the power in the intervals

   Adding 30 watts to intervals on a good day is the most common mistake of wards. This breaks the plan and slows down progress.

2. Short efforts — from the power curve

   Anaerobic intervals should not be counted as a percentage of FTP, especially overestimated after the ramp test. It is more reliable to rely on a personal power curve.

3. Not everyone needs a gym

   Strength limits about one amateur out of 15-20. The rest of the off-season is more useful to spend on an aerobic base, flexibility and stretching.

4. Don't replace the trainer with running

   Without a running base, it's easy to get injured, and two months without a bike will bring down the form. Running is good to keep the already gained shape on trips.

5. In the spring, double-check FTP on the street

   Power output on an indoor trainer rarely matches outdoor riding. Allow yourself about two weeks to adjust and don't blindly transfer winter figures to outdoor training.

6. Be ready for two or three years

   For an ordinary amateur, the first year brings minimal changes, and noticeable growth comes in the second. A gain of 10–20% is already a huge success.

7. Two race weekends a month

   For most, this is a sufficient load, for experienced — three. Four in a row usually lead to burnout after 6-8 weeks; Delhi starts on the main and passing.

8. Basic supplements without fanaticism

   Multivitamins in the background, protein for lack of muscle mass and quality food, BCAA in the competitive period — and only from trusted manufacturers.

9. Stream key training sessions

   Recording a race or training session, where you can see the screen and you, helps the online trainer to understand if there was a stock, and more accurately adjust the plan.

Coach without a certificate

Anatoly lives in Smolensk and plans to move to Moscow for the summer to work with his athletes on their technique in person. In the fall, he is considering a camp in Turkey: he would choose Alanya for road cycling and Fethiye for gravel.

He has no official coaching education — only self-study and a large amount of reading. He wanted to get a diploma, but the teachers, after talking with him, advised him not to waste time themselves: the university would give knowledge twenty years ago. According to him, there are no complaints due to the lack of a diploma: in a conversation with a person, you can see if you know the topic. He does not have any template wards, each training session is going to suit a specific person and his capacity.

How to become a coach and do I need a gym

When asked where to learn coaching, Anatoly honestly answers that there is no single place: resources are usually built around one system. He does not publish a selection of literature — explanations are needed for each source, and without them it is more likely to confuse. He transmits knowledge in a targeted manner: now he is teaching an assistant.

In his experience, a gym is needed by a minority: the strength capabilities actually limit about one in 15–20 amateurs. The rest are hindered by endurance, technique, or discipline. In addition, amateurs often don't know the technique of exercises, and fitness trainers don't know the specifics of cyclic sports and pull the blanket over themselves. For those whose strength is a limiting factor, the off-season is just right for calm strength work; the rest should spend it on aerobic base, flexibility, and stretching.

Anatoly does not recommend running as a substitute for cycling in winter for those who did not run in their youth: without proper technique, injuries can occur, and fitness will decline significantly in a couple of months without an indoor trainer. However, running plans during business trips help maintain already gained fitness for a month or two.

Hard worker versus talent

The coach has a lot of work to do with psychology. Some strong people do not overburden themselves: they do seven intervals, of which five are essentially warm-up, and they are sure that they have done their best. Anatoly raised the number to twelve for one such ward, and progress began when the head accepted a new norm.

When asked from the chat who is better, a talent or a hard worker, he answers unequivocally — a hard worker. Talent is easily given volumes and intensity, but in order to move on, he needs discipline in nutrition and sleep, and not everyone is ready for this. To a person with average data, he honestly says: the first year the changes will be minimal, the second will surprise. An increase of 10-20% for an adult amateur who works hard, he considers a huge success.

The main value of a coach, according to him, is not a plan, but feedback and operational adjustments. The "just do" plan for the month works worse.

Errors with FTP and intensity

The most common mistake is to overestimate the power in training, for example, add 30 watts to the intervals, because the day is good. This is how the talents that have to be restrained systematically break the plan in the first place.

The second problem is an overestimated FTP after the ramp test. Up to some point, it is possible to pull plans to raise the threshold, but on short anaerobic efforts a person fails: everyone's anaerobic system is developed differently. Therefore, Anatoly builds short intervals not from FTP, but from the power curve of a particular person. Among the trainers, he distinguishes those who work according to the proven old offline scheme, and those who try a new one, for example, the Norwegian approach with lactate measurement — the latter are closer to him.

Indoor trainer, personal numbers, and plans for the season.

In his own development, the indoor trainer played a key role: he started with an FTP below 200 watts, and at his peak he rode a time trial for about 50 minutes at 345 watts with a weight of 68–69 kg. He calls his best start the sixth place at the Belarusian Cup in the 30 km time trial with an average speed of about 46.7 km/h — right after the amateur world championship. It's not victories that motivate him, but experiments with techniques, equipment, and tyres.

Winter on a trainer, according to Anatoly, is ideal to train by structure and not to overestimate the intensity, as in summer in groups and races. In the spring, it's important to remember: FTP on a trainer and outdoors rarely coincides, for some it's higher outdoors, for others it's lower. This season, he focuses on gravel: more than twenty of his trainees are going to Tsar Grader. He himself plans 'Three Mountains' and group races in Moscow.

Assistant, rates and online work

The assistant collects data for analysis and offers options for plans for simple cases, but control remains with Anatoly: two views are better than one. He has three tariffs, and those who want to assemble a cheaper "designer" for themselves and redo his principles of work, he can refuse. According to an anonymous survey of the wards, there was no sharp negative to his work, and he receives new people mainly by word of mouth.

The coach, according to Anatoly, saves years of trial and error: the path he took himself in five years can be completed in two. In addition, the coach helps to choose races and teaches thinking within the race, and this is also possible online — race streams and key training sessions, where both the screen and the person are visible, are very helpful. The spring camp he planned with a colleague was canceled so as not to do it in a hurry; in a week at the camp next to the coach, he says, you can leave as a different person.

Vitamins, protein and race frequency

If it is not possible to take tests often, Anatoly advises to take multivitamins in the background, because most people's nutrition is far from ideal. When the tests appear, the set is adjusted. Protein is needed for those who have little muscle mass and not enough quality food; he does not recommend cheap cans from marketplaces, a product from a European or American manufacturer or ordinary good food is better. BCAAs work at the right dosage and during the competitive period, but it's easy to buy a pacifier with dubious manufacturers.

Parting words are to be interested in your business, clean your bike, sleep, rest and eat normally. And don't go racing too often: for most, two race weekends a month is enough stress, for experienced three. Four weekends in a row, in his experience, lead to burnout after 6-8 weeks, so the races should be divided into main and passing races.

Timestamps

1. 00:00Introduction
2. 00:47Plans for Moscow
3. 01:53Holivar question: Alanya or Fethiye
4. 04:29Coach without education
5. 07:53How to train properly and do I need a gym
6. 18:31Talent or hard worker
7. 22:14Frequent mistakes of athletes
8. 25:39Competition among coaches
9. 27:22Helpers and refusals to students
10. 35:38Higher achievement and motivation
11. 39:25Indoor training
12. 47:51Why do I need a coach
13. 50:12Camps
14. 52:28Dietary supplements and vitamins
15. 57:36Parting words

Mentioned in this episode

Tsar Grader · Three Mountains · Zwift · Intervals.icu · Cycling Race · Krylatskoye · Belarus Cup