Fast Talk

We often mention scientific research articles within our podcast episodes. That said, Coach Trevor Connor laments how little time he is able to spend reviewing the data, in the context of the greater discussion. Therein lies the basis for a new type of Fast Talk episode, which we have affectionately dubbed "Nerd Lab." In this episode, we take our time to review four recent studies from the scientific literature. We address the hypotheses, methods, and conclusions of each study to give you a greater sense of the latest findings in endurance sports. We're joined by longtime Fast Talk Labs contributor and Brock University professor Dr. Stephen Cheung, who literally reads articles as part of his day job. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I’m not going to pretend to know much about time trials. I’ve done one. I also did an Hour Record on the track. That was fun, ahem. On the other hand, our main guests today are arguably the greatest athlete-coach duo in the history of time trials. Kristin Armstrong won three Olympic gold medals and two world championship titles in her gilded career, and Jim Miller was her coach the entire time. The pair have a fascinating story about the way they dissected the discipline and dominated their competition. It wasn’t necessarily the most traditional method, as you’ll hear, but it was undoubtedly effective. Throughout our conversation, there are a host of fascinating and fruitful messages about how they looked at and broke down the race of truth. On a more practical note, we also hear from one of the greats on the men’s side, Svein Tuft, as well as Sebastian Weber, who coached four-time world champion Tony Martin during his illustrious career. Finally, we get some sage advice from tech guru Nick Legan about how to bring speed to time trials even if you have a small budget. All that and much more as we explore both the art and science of time trials, today on Fast Talk. Let's make you fast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We receive a lot of questions about very specific topics—fasted training, supplements and recovery products, breathing techniques, and so forth. (By the way, we love them, so please keep them coming.) In this episode, however, we step back and discuss what we feel is most important, and frankly what is going to give you the biggest return for your investment of time, sweat, and energy. If those specific things are the 5 percent, today is all about making an argument for focusing on the 95 percent. We are in an age of marginal gains, where many athletes have firmly latched onto the idea that seemingly insignificant changes have the potential to incrementally add up to substantial gains. The trend started within the ranks of the pro peloton. The thing is, pro riders are so developed physiologically to win that they have to find these little things to make the difference. In fact, they've likely spent 10 years developing the 95 percent and have it dialed. More importantly, the secret truth is that pros don’t focus on the 5 percent as much as you'd think, and we give several examples of this, from Kristin Armstrong (who you'll hear from in episode 154), Brent Bookwalter, and others. So what should you focus on? What comprises that 95 percent? It's simple: Training Recovery Functioning gear We'll go into much more detail in the episode about what we mean, specifically, about these topics, and the fundamental principles underlying all of it. Finally, we close with a cautionary tale: The 5 percent can take up 90 percent of your time and distract you from what's truly valuable. Because they're trendy, there is nearly an unlimited number of things that fall into that "5 percent bucket" to explore. They are all debated and based on partial science—forcing you to spend energy asking what works and what doesn't. All of this adds up to a whole lot of mental energy and fatigue. Thus, instead of helping you improve, too much focus on the 5 percent can actual hinder you in many ways. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

They say age is just a number. That’s exactly it: Age is nothing more than digits, and certainly shouldn’t be seen as a barrier or a dirty word. We can age successfully, but it requires changes to how we train and perhaps to the types of races we target. Of course, there are some physiological changes—you might call them declines—that come with age. Yet, there are also things that improve as athletes get older. Sometimes they are truly physiological and psychological adaptations, and at other times they are a matter of perspective, mentality, or choice. We begin the episode with a deep dive by Trevor into some recent research on the effects of age and performance. Then we jump into a great conversation with the timeless Rebecca Rusch, a seven-time world champion, mountain bike Hall of Famer, and ever-evolving, age-defying cyclist and adventurer. As we speak, the 52-year-old Rusch is taking on her third Iditarod Trail Invitational in Alaska. In that conversation, we touch upon everything from training changes to nutrition tips, from off-the-bike work to the work it takes inside the mind to stay motivated, energized, and ready to push. We also hear from Dr. Andy Pruitt, the world-renowned sports medicine consultant, and Colby Pearce, coach, athlete, bike fitter, and host of the Cycling in Alignment podcast. All that and much more, today on Fast Talk. Let's make you fast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Coach Lindsay Golich is a sports physiologist who has worked with the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee in Colorado Springs at the Olympic Training Center for the past five years. She works closely with USA Cycling and USA Triathlon in areas of environmental physiology, including altitude, heat and humidity, as well as data analytics for performance modeling. With Lindsay’s help, today we tackle several questions related to her areas of expertise, including heat acclimatization, sweat rates, altitude effects, regulating temperature, FTP testing, and fasted training. All that and much more, today on Fast Talk. Let's make you fast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It wasn't long ago that most athletes, in the grand scheme of training, neglected the importance of nutrition, prioritizing time spent on the bike. Now, nutritional periodization and other methods of manipulation are rapidly rising in popularity. Many people strongly believe that significant performance gains are being left on the table if they neglect nutritional manipulation. Today, we sit down with one of the top sports nutrition experts to discuss the potential performance gains from modifying the amount of carbohydrate made available at a given time relative to training load. What are the benefits of low and high carbohydrate consumption and manipulation? What are the potential dangers? We’ll explain four distinct approaches: First, we’ll talk about the fasted workout—easily done by skipping breakfast. Second, we’ll discuss two-a-day workouts to reduce muscle glycogen. Third, we’ll consider low-carbohydrate diets. And, finally, we’ll dissect so-called “train-high, sleep-low" approaches in which an athlete will intentionally skip the recovery meal after a hard workout in order to ride the next morning under low carbohydrate conditions. The leading expert I mentioned earlier, who returns to Fast Talk, is Dr. Asker Jeukendrup, known for his work with many elite athletes, in particular the cyclists of the Jumbo-Visma WorldTour team, and the Dutch Olympic Federation. We’ll also hear from a host of other great coaches and researchers, including Dr. Brian Carson, Joe Friel, Jim Rutberg, and Sondre Skarli. Put that bag of popcorn down! Let's make you fast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we first take on the complex subject of coaching junior athletes, including everything from building aerobic base in a healthy manner to dealing with overbearing parents. We tackle a very interesting question on the base/intensity relationship from Danielle in Monument, Colorado: “Does aerobic output after intensity still have the same effect? Or does it have an even bigger effect due to substrate depletion and muscle fiber recruitment change? How does this change how I plan my training rides?” We also discuss how long aerobic rides need to be, based on a question from Ashley in Sherbrooke, Quebec: “How long do aerobic rides need to be to get benefits? And does this change throughout the season, or as I improve as a cyclist from season to season?” Then we turn our attention to this question from Jeff P. on heart arrhythmias: "Do you know if Whoop can ignore or tolerate or take into account premature ventricular contractions? PVCs are pretty common in the population and I started getting them about two years ago. I do get more PVCs when I have more stress but it doesn't seem to have a great correlation with exercise—more so with life stress and caffeine intake." Finally, we address the potential for cumulative effects of supplements, a question from Dan S.: "My question is regarding the nutritional effects of the flavonoids in dark chocolates and the nitrates (?) in beetroot. Are the effects of these type of “supplements” cumulative? In other words, if you do them together do you get a greater buffering effect than taking more of either of them in isolation?" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Unfortunately, concussions and traumatic brain injuries, or TBIs, are far too common in cycling. Whether training on open roads, racing at high speeds, or facing off with rush-hour traffic on your bike commute, cyclists often place themselves in vulnerable situations. Head injuries are becoming increasingly diagnosed among the two-wheeled crowd. What’s more, there’s a good deal of misunderstanding about what exactly the terms concussion and TBI mean. Are they the same or very different? How should you manage each condition? What are the potential long-term repercussions of concussions, if any? We’ll tackle all of these questions, and many more, in this episode. We turn to Dr. Steven Broglio, the director of the University of Michigan Concussion Center and the director of the NeuroTrauma Research Laboratory, for guidance on this complex subject. Dr. Broglio has spent much of his adult life studying the causes of concussion, the effects of concussion on the brain, the short- and long-term concerns, the best course of management, and the use of helmets, of course. His experience and knowledge on the matter make for a compelling discussion. Add to that the conversations I had with Timmy Duggan and Hannah Finchamp, two athletes who have each suffered head injuries. Timmy’s story is well-known: While racing at the Tour of Georgia, he was involved in a horrific crash which led to a severe traumatic brain injury. He shares his experience, from the injury to the acute aftermath and rehabilitation, to the long-term and psychological impact the injury had on his life. You’ll hear from him throughout the episode. And Hannah walks us through how being hit by a car led to her concussion, and how that impacted training and life. All that and much more on today’s episode of Fast Talk. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We can learn a lot by looking back. And one of the best parts of being an athlete is planning ahead, setting goals, and choosing your next adventure. [For more on this, check out episode 140: How to Set Training and Performance Goals.] In this episode, the Fast Talk team, plus frequent guests, share the lessons they learned from a challenging 2020, and then declare their big, scary goals, races, and rides for 2021. First, looking back. We ask ourselves this question: Despite 2020 being an "off" year in terms of most racing and riding plans, were you still able to set goals and hit personal achievements in 2020 that you can look back on with satisfaction? What did you learn from these experiments? Then, looking back. Chris Case aims for the TransAtlantic Way bikepacking race. Trevor Connor aims for the Joe Martin stage race. Our Head Coach Ryan Kohler heads for the hills of the Breck Epic. Producer Jana Martin is gunning for Crooked Gravel. We also hear declarations of adventure from Dr. Stephen Seiler, Hannah Rae Finchamp, Julie Young, Dr. Stephen Cheung, Jen Sharp, Grant Holicky, and Colby Pearce. What did you learn in 2020? How did you make the most of a challenging year? And what are your adventure or race plans/goals in 2021? Join the conversation in the forum. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you’ve listened to Fast Talk for a while, you’ve likely heard us mention “cardiac drift” or “decoupling” in several episodes. It's a favorite topic of Coach Connor's. The terms refer to cardiovascular drift, which is a "drifting" in heart rate and stroke volume over time. On the bike, we measure it by looking at a rise in heart rate relative to power. Many causes have been theorized including dehydration, muscle damage, cutaneous blood flow, and mitochondrial efficiency. We’re very excited to have as our featured guest today Dr. Ed Coyle, the University of Texas exercise physiology researcher who published the definitive articles on cardiovascular drift in the 1990s. In that research, Coyle, who is also the director of the Human Performance Laboratory at the university, and his colleagues demonstrated that even when hydration is maintained, CV drift can be experienced. This increase in heart rate reduces the time the heart has to fill with blood, and this is the main reason for a drop in stroke volume, or the amount of blood pushed out by the heart with each beat. The drop in stroke volume is a hallmark of CV drift, and historically it has been attributed to blood pooling in the skin and less blood returning to the heart. Coyle and his team found no evidence that blood flow to skin is increased or that venous return is compromised. In a practical sense, when a person becomes dehydrated during prolonged exercise, they also get hotter and experience a greater increase in heart rate and a lower cardiac output and circulation of blood: CV drift. The exercise becomes very hard when it should not be hard at all. Competitive cyclists interpret this to mean they are getting a “better workout” because it’s more stressful. It certainly is more stressful, but that type of cardiovascular drift is a negative stress. It does more harm than good. We’ll dive into all of this and much more today on Fast Talk, as we hear from Dr. Coyle and a host of other incredible guests who share their thoughts on cardiovascular drift. Now, let's make you fast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to 2021. And what better way to kick off the new year than to answer some questions from our devoted listeners. Today we take on a series of questions that deal with a dilemma many athletes face: deciding which rides or workouts to sacrifice when you’re short on time. We tackle a question about zone 1 rides and whether you get them on the mountain bike. We also discuss how to change the type of rider you are, and if it can be done, based on a question from a listener who wants to become a punchy rider. Finally, we field a question about the differences between structured and unstructured intervals. Are there any downsides to getting your intensity in so-called unstructured ways? Our guest coach today is Hannah Finchamp. You may know her as a member of the Orange Seal Off-Road Team, but she is also a board-certified athletic trainer and a certified USA Cycling coach. She has degrees in both athletic training, focused on injury prevention, and in exercise science. Let’s dive into the discussion. Let's make you fast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to the best of 2020. What a year it’s been. In so many ways, 2020 was a challenge—sometimes big, sometimes small, but always a bit more challenging. The same goes even for this humble podcast. But we stay connected, virtually, across time zones, across international borders, and despite waves of pandemic disruptions to bring you what we think are some incredible conversations with exceptional minds in the worlds of physiology, medicine, nutrition, sports psychology, and, of course, cycling. Who, specifically, will you hear from today? I’ll drop some names: First, there’s world-famous physiologist Dr. Iñigo San Millan, who also happens to be the head of the training staff of UAE-Team Emirates, the team of Tour de France winner Tadej Pogacar. We’ll hear from the coach of America’s most talented cyclists, Jim Miller. A “best of” episode wouldn’t be complete without the incomparable Dr. Stephen Seiler. We’ll also hear from outspoken, sometimes sassy Sebastian Webber of INSCYD. We’ll get words of wisdom from the legend, Joe Friel. We’ll hear from Fast Talk Labs contributor Julie Young, and we’ll catch up with incredible athletes, including climbing sensation Sepp Kuss and national champ Ruth Winder. All those guests and many more, today on Fast Talk. There are several themes that come out in this episode, a function of the fact that we kept revisiting these topics throughout the year. One thing Fast Talk has taught us, and we hope you as well, is that by discussing these topics with intelligent guests, we develop a better understanding of where training science and practice converge, and where it’s headed. Some of the themes we’ll touch upon include leaving complexity out of your intervals, the execution of workouts and using feeling versus data, and ranges versus specific numbers. And much more. The Fast Talk team has enjoyed every minute of creating this show for you—likewise, we’ve loved sifting through our collection of episodes from the past year to gather the best of 2020. Thank you for your continued support. We couldn’t do it without you. So here’s to 2021 and... a return to bike racing?!? Let's make you fast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is yoga just fancy stretching? Nope. Today we’re going to go into the specifics of why cyclists should consider yoga, from the physical literacy it can provide, to the strength and conditioning element it offers, from the potential for an improved inflammatory profile to better recovery and relaxation. It turns out yoga is far more than fancy stretching or breathing techniques, it can be a powerful tool to aid health and performance. No episode about yoga would be complete without an overview of the many varieties of the practice. It often comes down to a simple question: How do you like your peppers: mild, medium, or hot!? We walk through the six major types of yoga and when each is the most appropriate, given the time of year, your ability, and your training load. Finally, we’ll discuss the risks of doing yoga. There are some, but thankfully they’re minor and can be easily avoided. Our featured guest today is Sage Rountree, an internationally recognized authority in yoga for athletes and an endurance sports coach with certifications from USA Triathlon, USA Cycling, and the Road Runners’ Club of America. She is the author of The Athlete’s Guide to Yoga among serval other books on yoga. We’ll also hear from eSports racer Jen Real, racer, Paralympian and coach Jen Sharp, and our very own Colby Pearce for more thoughts on the benefits of yoga for athletes. Now, select your pepper... Let's make you fast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Time to bust some myths about nutrition. Head coach Ryan Kohler and Coach Trevor Connor both have degrees in nutrition and decades of experience working with athletes on all manner of sports nutrition topics. Together, they discuss some of the major misconceptions that regularly enter any conversation on what to eat when training and racing. Are macronutrients all that matter? Do carbs make you fat? Do you need fancy race food? How do you know if you have a food allergy? What really causes cramping? Is a pasta party the best pre-race dinner? Can you “train” how your body hydrates? We answer all these questions and many others as we explore some of the most common misconceptions in sports nutrition. Let's make you fast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What a strange and chaotic year it’s been. Despite the disruption to our lives, times like these afford us an opportunity to look farther ahead. It just may be that, from a training and racing point of view, this is just what some of us have needed. That’s because, sometimes, you can see greater gains by looking not just at next year, but by gazing two or three years up the road. Whether you’re just starting in endurance sports, or unsure of what 2021 holds, looking through a telescope rather than a microscope can help you develop in new and powerful ways. There are certain physiological gains that take mere weeks to develop. We’ve touched upon those elsewhere. On the other hand, some very important changes will only take place over the course of years: your aerobic engine or stamina, for example, which involves structural changes. So if you have the opportunity to look farther ahead than ever before, how do you create the right training plan? Must you give up racing? How do you measure progress on this timescale? How big a role does trust in the plan play in proper execution? How much volume can you safely add over the course of two or three seasons? Those questions and so much more on today’s episode. Today’s guests are the renowned Dr. Stephen Seiler and one of his Norwegian colleagues, Sondre Skarli. You’ve heard Dr. Seiler on the program many times before, but Sondre will be new to this audience. Formerly an elite speed skater, Sondre is now a sports scientist consultant at the Norwegian Olympic Committee and Federation of Sports—basically he’s a great coach on the Norwegian national team, working with a diverse set of endurance athletes. Of note, he became the head coach of the Norwegian speed skating team at the age of 28. This episode is very conversational; we’ll take our tangents. But there are a great number of important points throughout the show. And with that, let's make you fast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The off-season can be one of the most productive times of the year: It offers the opportunity to reflect on last season—to assess what went well and what could be improved—and then to look forward, and strategize about how to progress, both in your training and racing. Today we’ll focus on the art and science of how to set goals and incorporate them into your training. Coach Connor starts us off with a discussion of how to determine your goals, first by performing a season assessment, which feeds his gap analysis, which in turn yields a goal-setting strategy. Coach Ryan Kohler joins us for the second half of the show to describe his SMART analysis—that’s S for Specific, M for Measurable, A for Achievable, R for Realistic, and T for Time-bound—before explaining his method for incorporating that information into macrocycles and then into mesocycles. The offseason isn’t just about sitting back and relaxing, although you should do a bit of that too. This time of year is perfect for putting in some homework, being honest with yourself about where you’ve been and where you want to go, so that the coming season can be as successful as possible. And with that, let's make you fast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We believe modern coaching doesn’t optimally fulfill the needs of the modern athlete. That’s why we’re introducing our community, education, and coaching membership, Fast Talk Laboratories. So often athletes are given templated training plans. But what if he or she gets sick? Or work gets stressful? That athlete will likely do more harm than good simply pushing through and sticking to the plan. In response to that methodology, we’ve created a virtual performance center, a place for the insightful athlete to be guided to their best self. We have collected the many tools available to modern athletes in one place, offering curated and validated knowledge—through articles, videos, workshops, webinars, forums, and the list goes on—from some of the finest minds in sport science: Dr. Stephen Seiler, Dr. Stephen Cheung, Julie Young, Colby Pearce, Grant Holicky, Jess Elliott, to name a few. We’ll be adding new contributors all the time, and you can be sure they’ll also bring clarity and sophistication to their contributions. Let’s detail our Listener, Library, Live, and Laboratory member levels. Listener: We are now producing transcripts of every new Fast Talk podcast episode—plus our catalog of over 135 existing episodes and 27 Cycling in Alignment episodes. What does that mean for Listeners? Searchable podcast episodes, references, and resources. And, of course, you can read along or scan ahead, if you happen to be a faster reader than listener. Listeners will also begin to receive our weekly newsletter, which will keep them up to date on new episodes, special guests, and opportunities to send in questions for new Q&A episodes. We also have plans to periodically release a few of our most popular training science videos and articles—but only for members. Our next membership level unlocks a whole library of content, which is why we’re calling it our Library Membership. For our Library Members, we have created training science articles, a whole library of video content, and a moderated forum. This is content like the fundamentals of sports nutrition from Head Coach Ryan Kohler and a workshop on why cold temperatures affect performance from Dr. Stephen Cheung. The Forum is a place to discuss recent episodes, ask questions, and get answers from Trevor, Ryan, and our very smart members. Live membership is really the heart and soul of what we’re offering. This level includes all the features we’ve already introduced, plus a whole suite of Live Events including social group rides, structured live workouts, live Q&A sessions, and live webinars. Trevor’s and Ryan’s experience in training centers and the group-style approach will shine. This level also includes group coaching and a monthly question answered. Our Laboratory Membership will open in January. This is our premier coaching level, and of course it includes all the benefits of the lower levels. We believe it’s a vast improvement over existing coaching programs. Our athletes and listeners are not typical. They are intelligent, motivated, and they don’t need email nannying, which is what we often see in endurance coaching. They also don’t really need templated training plans, which we believe are counterproductive for higher-level athletes. Instead, our Laboratory Membership is a new concept that we call Endurance Mentorship. What does that mean? Well, it’s based on the idea that you already know the basics—but wouldn’t it be great to have an elite coach to answer your questions? Plus, with periodic testing and guidance, you’ll experience the best of what Fast Talk Laboratories has to offer as a virtual performance center. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Amos Brumble is a New England legend. Is it because of his racing palmarès? His charm? His collection of guinea pigs? Or all of those things? We find out, and then we dive into some listener questions. David H. of Seattle, Washington asks: “Suppose a 55-year old athlete is training with a heart rate monitor and perceived effort and recovery scales and is able to train between 10-16 hours/week. No power measurements. The athlete's goal is to maximize performance on gravel races—about 100 miles and about 10,000 feet of climbing—which, with the exception of the first 20 miles or so, basically means a long time trial effort. Given that goal and training context, how would you recommend that a training plan be structured? I ask this question because so much of the discussion on your podcast references power. I understand why, but I don't have a power meter in part, for cost, and in part because heart rate is enough 'quantification.' I'm interested in the meaning and aesthetics of riding hard.” The next series of questions on low-cadence work comes from Ray Farris: “My impression from your podcast is that the low cadence sessions talked about in the session were fairly short efforts at high power. However, Steve Neal of the Cycling Gym, whom you have had on Fast Talk a couple of times, seems to like to give his athletes sessions of several intervals of 20-40 min at low cadence at tempo power, generally 83% of FTP, subject to an 83% of max heart rate limit on power. And I just watched a Lionel Sanders YouTube video in which his coach had him do multiple sessions of 40 minutes at 50-60rpm at what I roughly estimate is about 80% of FTP. What’s the thinking about these types of interval workouts? 1) Do these build FTP? 2) Are these “hard” workouts in the Seiler polarized model? Do they have a place in a polarized model and if so what is it and when is it in terms of periodization blocks? 3) Do these raise the athlete toward his theoretical VO2 max, but at the cost of lowering VLa max? Does this trade-off even matter for anyone other than pro level sprinters?” Our next question comes from Russ Sanka, in Bristol, Tennessee. And it’s a good one for anyone who has a desk job. He asks: “What can I do at a desk job to aid in training/recovery? I have been using a stand up desk and a desk cycle I would like to hear your opinions and the research on the subject.” This next question comes from Ivan S. from Milan, Italy. He asks: “I love to ride my fixie in the ‘off-season’ to train on. I feel like it helps me with training and strength that I can’t get on a geared bike. Is this true? If so, what am I gaining and how does that help me when I go back to the geared bike?” Our final question comes from Peter Burghardt. He asks: “Can you address 'lunch ride syndrome'—the tendency to go out the door and immediately hammer down because you've only got 45 minutes. Do you have suggestions for lunch ride workouts of an hour or less?” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Are you ready to go long? Today we want to introduce you to the fascinating world of ultra-distance cycling. While there isn’t a true definition of what “ultra” means, and some of our guests like to say it is a state of mind more than anything else, for the sake of this discussion we’re talking about multi-day bikepacking events; randonneuring events which range from 200 kilometers up to 1200 kilometers, as in the case of the granddaddy of them all, Paris-Brest-Paris; and ultra-cycling races like RAAM, the 12- and 24-hour Time Trial World Championships, cross-state records, and the list goes on. What are these events? How do you prepare, physically and psychologically, for these feats? What’s it like to ride when sleep-deprived? What should you eat out there on the lonely road? That, and so much more on today’s show. Our featured guest is Matt Roy, someone who has been competing at ultra events of all kinds for over a decade. Some of his accomplishments: Matt holds both the Maine north to south and west to east cross-state records, he holds the Saratoga 12-hour course record, he won the Trans-Atlantic Way pairs division in 2018, finished the Paris-Brest-Paris in 2019 and has completed more than 27,000 kilometers of brevets since 2007. His list of accomplishments goes on. I’d also be remiss if I didn’t mention the fact that also holds his Ph.D. in immunology from Harvard and now works in CRISPR and gene editing technology... a conversation for another episode. Joining Matt on the show today is his friend and colleague Nick Legan, the road brand manager for Shimano, who is also an accomplished ultra-distance cyclist, having completed Tour Divide and the 12-hour Time Trial World Championships, among other races. He’s also a tech and gear guru, having formerly served as the tech editor of VeloNews magazine as well as a professional mechanic for WorldTour teams. We also hear from Jose Bermudez, another accomplished ultra-distance cyclist. As he says, his modest claim to fame is that he’s the first, and still the only, person to have completed RAAM, the Tour Divide, and the TransAm, a self-supported bikepacking race across the U.S. He’s also raced the 350- and 1000-mile Iditarod events in winter. Not only does he race, he also coaches: Jose is a USA Cycling Level 2 coach. Irrelevant though still interesting is the fact that he is a professor of philosophy at Texas A&M University. I’ll ask it again: Are you ready to go long? Let's make you fast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we bring back a former frequent guest, Colby Pearce, who has since graduated to his own show, Cycling in Alignment. We start with a discussion on crank length, determining what you need, and how consistent you should be across your, presumably, fleet of bikes. That leads to a discussion on power imbalances, what constitutes an issue when it comes to imbalances, and what you can do to correct them if they arise. Next we turn our attention to CBD, and address its claimed anti-inflammatory effects. Is this something we want, or something we want to avoid, so the body’s natual inflammatory process can take place. We discuss. Finally, we’ll take on the topic of returning from injury, both the psychological and physical ramifications of that long process. All that and much more today on Fast Talk. Let's make you fast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ah, sleep. I love it. Do you love it? If only I could get more of it, and get better at it, and wake up each day well rested. Somes days it works, many times it doesn’t. Sleep can be hard, but does it have to be? Sleep is critical, so are you getting enough? And are you getting the right kind? We all know we need sleep, but knowledge is not enough. The focus of this episode is not to convince you why sleep is important, but how to monitor and change your sleep, to get the most out of every night. In particular, for athletes who stress their bodies, sleep is critical. How do we make sure we get what we need, and avoid some of the disruptions and issues that can lead to sleep impairments? We’ll dive in. When it comes to monitoring sleep, there are a host of new gadgets that tell us both about our sleep volume, and the stages we’ve hit. Do they work? We’ll discuss the latest findings on sleep monitoring—what works, what doesn’t, and what to do with that data. Finally, we discuss how to take all that information and change our behavior—easier said than done. But hopefully today’s guest will help us all sleep more soundly tonight. Dr. Shona Halson is an associate professor in the School of Behavioural and Health Sciences at Australian Catholic University. Prior to her current research on sleep, she was a senior physiologist at the Australian Institute of Sport for 15 years. She has a Ph.D. in exercise physiology and has over 100 peer-reviewed publications in the areas of sleep, recovery, fatigue, and travel. Dr. Halson has served as the director of the Australian Olympic Committee Recovery Centre for three Olympic Games. She has helped countless athletes better understand the importance of sleep, and we’re excited to bring her knowledge to you today. In this episode, we’ll also hear from Dr. James Hull, a respiratory physician, who touches upon the importance of sleep when it comes to fighting infection; and Cameron Cogburn and Erica Clevenger both detail their sleep hygiene and routines to improve sleep quality. Time to put on your PJs. Let's make you fast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Whenever we speak with a guest of Fast Talk—coach, athlete, or scientist—we always ask them their favorite workout. In this episode, we share the favorite workouts of Cameron Cogburn, Joe Friel, Jim Rutberg, Neal Henderson, Payson McElveen, Amos Brumble, and Petr Vakoc. You’ll hear each guest discuss the specifics of the workout itself. You’ll also gain a sense of the guest’s philosophy—based on how he or she describes the workout—and the “style” that they bring to the execution and prescription. As a bonus, Trevor, Coach Ryan Kohler, and I also share our favorite workouts. Get ready to take notes. Let's make you fast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It wasn’t long ago that riding inside was something most of us did only when the weather was bad, or the days too dark, or we were pressed for time. Flash forward to today and indoor cycling is quickly becoming a discipline many people focus on for its own sake. It’s no longer a second-rate alternative. And that’s why, today, we’ll focus entirely on indoor cycling and its many nuances. The author of the famous “The Cyclist’s Training Bible,” Joe Friel has now co-written a new book with Jim Rutberg. “Ride Inside: The essential guide to get the most out of indoor cycling, smart trainers, classes, and apps” is the basis for our discussion today. Friel, with decades of experience coaching athletes, indoors and out, and Rutberg, who has long worked with coaches on disseminating their training philosophies, share their thoughts on the future of the sport and why we’re seeing more indoor cycling. They also discuss the specifics of indoor workouts, and why what works outside isn’t always the best practice inside—and vice versa. That and much more from Joe and Jim. We also hear from three riders from Team Saris-The Pro’s Closet. Jennifer Real, Holden Comeau, and Matt Gardiner, all members of this eSports cycling team, have been racing for years almost exclusively on Zwift, and they help us understand the intricacies of this gaming-like platform: How to use the draft; why knowing the courses makes such a difference; how to set up your trainer, and much more. We also touch upon the all-important training aspects of indoor cycling. Time to ride inside. Let's make you fast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today’s episode, we catch up with our friends at The Pro’s Closet, Spencer Powlison and Bruce Lin, to discuss their recent four-week Strava PR Challenge. In the lead up to their attempts, we helped them with training advice and “race-day” strategy tips. No doubt, this has been an unusual year for cycling. Many of our favorite races were postponed or canceled. And while bikes aren't the most important thing in the world, and public health and safety should always be our priority, as cyclists we thrive on the motivation that comes from training for a big race or event, or setting our sights on a particular challenge. Thus, The Pro’s Closet Strava PR Challenge was born. To reinvigorate their competitive juices and get a dose of competition, Bruce and Spencer turned their attention to local Strava segments in Boulder, Colorado. Trevor gave them some training tips on how to prepare most effectively given their timeline (a mere six weeks), and we also coached them on “race-day” strategy. Today we recap all the tips, tricks, and training advice, and talk about how their attempts went. Let’s make you fast! Check out the series of videos produced by The Pro’s Closet: https://www.theproscloset.com/blogs/news/the-four-week-strava-pr-challenge-pt-1 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How do you, as an athlete, combine your understanding of sport science and your training and racing experience to most effectively map out your training? That question is the basis for today’s episode, one in which we drift between the philosophical and the practical. Essentially, we’ll dissect the different ways science and experience can influence how we train. Where does the science shine? Where does experience come into play? How do we best balance the two? And how can we use so-called scientific thinking to improve how we digest and analyze each and every experience we have in our training and races to become a better athlete? Remember that even when we’re talking about your experience as a rider, you are essentiallyJame experimenting on yourself – it's just an N of 1. We’ll talk about all that and much more, on today’s episode. Our primary guest today is former pro racer turned Ph.D. student Cameron Cogburn. After years of racing for teams including Smart Stop and Jelly Belly, Cameron took an academic turn. He’s now a Ph.D. candidate in theoretical physics at Boston University. We also hear from physician Dr. James Hull, who appeared in our last episode on breathing; pro racer Erica Clevenger; and our friends from The Pro’s Closet, Spencer Powlison and Bruce Lin. Let's make you fast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today’s episode, Colby Pearce, a Steve Hogg Certified bike fitter, sits down with Chris Case, host of Fast Talk, to dissect the minutiae of how to pedal a bike. Saddle position, ankling, dead legged drills, plantar and dorsal flexion of the foot, all of this and much more is unpacked in today’s episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You’re breathing, I’m breathing. But neither of us is probably thinking about our breathing right now. Do you ever think about your breathing during your workouts or races? Do you ever wonder if you should be "training" the act of breathing as a skill? Or whether you should do something differently during rest and recovery, or between intervals, or even on long endurance rides? In some ways, breathing is a much-discussed topic—often, however, that’s in the context of meditation or in the practice of yoga or other such disciplines. Breathing for performance, in the context of training and racing, however, is not something that gets a whole lot of attention. And that’s the focus of today’s episode. While Trevor was sitting in Toronto and I was in Boulder, we caught up with a leading expert on the science of breathing, Dr. James Hull, who joined us from London. Dr. Hull ‘s experience is vast and varied, and all of it focuses on breathing. He is a respiratory physician at Royal Brompton Hospital in London and the clinical lead looking at unexplained breathlessness during exertion. He also works at the Institute of Sports, Exercise, and Health at University College London. He also works with elite athletes, both as part of the English Institute of Sport working with British Olympic athletes, and as a contributor to the International Olympic Committee’s respiratory guidance committee. Dr. Hull takes us through the science of respiration, from the state of the system—is it overbuilt or underbuilt?—to pathological concerns for athletes. Think you have asthma? There’s a good chance that’s a misdiagnosis. Finally, we discuss the things you can do to improve performance through breathing. Not to be forgotten, also on today’s episode, we talk with several guests about the meditative side of breathing, as well as the practice of breathing. We hear from coach Colby Pearce—catch him on his own podcast, “Cycling in Alignment” if you haven’t already. We catch up with Erica Clevenger, a member of the Tibco-Silcon Valley Bank women’s pro team, and someone who suffers from asthma. And we also hear from two elite coaches: Julie Young and Neal Henderson. Inhale, exhale. Let's make you fast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today’s episode, we formally introduce our new head coach, Ryan Kohler, and put him in the spotlight for a classic Q&A. (Don't worry, Trevor is not going anywhere! He’s merely stuck in isolation amid the tundra of northern Ontario at the moment.) Ryan brings a wealth of experience as both coach and nutritionist after years of working at Carmichael Training Systems, as manager of the University of Colorado Sports Medicine and Performance Center, and while coaching several MTB development teams, as well as working with individual athletes. We have exciting new offerings in the works that Ryan will be spearheading, so sign up for our newsletter for the latest developments. Today, however, we’ll stick to your questions. First, we tackle a complex series of questions from Ryan Bates in Ann Arbor, Michigan: “I have read that cutting more than 500 calories per day from the total needed to maintain your current weight will actually slow down your metabolism, and make weight loss harder overall. Is this true? If so, does it matter, for the purposes of potential slowing of your metabolism, if the deficit is produced by exercise versus calorie restriction? If true, how many days of 500+ calorie deficit (approximately) are needed to trigger metabolism slowdown?” Next we take on a mountain bike question, specifically about descending, heart rate, and ways to improve recovery during descents. Finally, we follow up on our discussion on recovery periods between intervals by answering a question on the different ways of executing 5x5-minutes intervals. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today’s episode, we’ve assembled a fantastic group of coaches to discuss the differences, similarities, nuances, and challenges of coaching beginner athletes versus veteran amateurs. This episode is filled with myriad topics, all related to the coach-athlete relationship. And it starts by defining some terms. What constitutes a beginner, and a veteran? Can you be a beginner if you’ve ridden for 10 years but don’t know much about how to train? We’ll discuss. What should beginners focus on most? What should veterans focus on most? How does a good coach most effectively work to identify each athlete’s needs? How can an athlete get the most out of working with a coach, and how does that differ if you’re a beginner or a veteran? These questions and so many more, today on Fast Talk. Our guest coaches today include Grant Holicky, someone you’ve heard many times before on Fast Talk; former pro triathlete and XTERRA world champion turned coach, Melanie McQuaid, who appeared in episode 99; and Ryan Kohler. Ryan is the former manager of the University of Colorado Sports Medicine and Performance Center and—exciting news here—the new Head Coach here at Fast Labs. With Ryan on board, we have exciting things coming, so don’t miss it – get our email newsletter by signing up at fastlabs.com. You’ll be first to know what Coach Kohler is up to. Now, get ready to roundtable, let's make you fast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, our favorite physiologist Dr. Stephen Seiler is back on the program to talk about something that many of us get wrong: the distinction between overtraining, overreaching, and burnout. Often these terms are used synonymously, but there are many nuanced differences between these conditions, and that’s what we’ll explore in today’s episode. We’ll dispel any myths about these terms, point out the scenarios that lead to each, and talk through how to avoid the worst outcomes. While research on overtraining syndrome is still in its nascent phase, we now know more about the complex hormonal and physiological complications that can lead to this debilitating condition. On the other hand, while the term hasn’t long been defined in the science literature, overreaching is a training method with a long history. We’ll differentiate between functional and non-functional overreaching, and how to differentiate between the two. Then there’s burnout, that lack of motivation or mental fatigue that most likely all of us have experienced at some point. Is burnout an inevitable part of being a bike racer? We’ll discuss. In addition to Dr. Seiler, we’ll hear from a host of great names in the endurance sports world, including Seabastian Weber from INSCYD, Jim Miller at USA Cycling, pro mountain biker Payson McElveen, and coach Neal Henderson from Wahoo. One final note before we dive in. In this episode you’ll hear Coach Connor describe his bout of overtraining syndrome. When we were recording the show, Trevor thought back through the haze of 25 years to try and remember the training volume that led to his Issues. You’ll hear him say it was only 10 hours. On later reflection, he feels it was more like 15 hours per week. And that’s a massive difference, given how he was training at that time. Stay tuned for that discussion. And with that, let's make you fast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We have another fantastic Q&A episode for you today, with a diverse range of questions. Our guest coach this week is Julie Young, who has appeared before on Fast Talk—episode 91, to be exact. Julie is a former professional cyclist turned coach. Her road racing career stretched over a decade with teams including Saturn and Timex. She continues to race today at a very high level across multiple disciplines, and is currently part of the talented team behind the Kaiser Permanente Sports Medicine Endurance Lab in California. On to the questions: Erik Olsen from Aarhus, Denmark asks about time to exhaustion and the true definition of fatigue. Luis Arrondo in San Jose, California, wonders if there is a “currency exchange” between adaptation and recuperation. Reuben Kouidri, in Bristol, in the UK, has some goals far in the future, so he wants to know when the goal is a long way away and he doesn't need to peak until 3 years from now, is there a more optimal way to train for maximizing fitness than, for example, that 80:20 polarized ratio? Klemens Plasser in Vienna, Austria asks about glycogen use during exercise, the different exogenous and endogenous sources, and how each is utilized. Dan Draper in Salt Lake City, Utah ponders whether he’d be faster if he cut back or eliminated grains from his diet. James McKay in Yorkshire, England wants to know if a greater fat intake will help him improve performance and health. And finally, Tom Maher in Horwich, the UK, has questions about changes to heart rate in relation to power as he makes his way back from injury. All that and much more today on Fast Talk. Let's make you fast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You’ve heard us talk about so-called “big gear” training on the program before. Many of you probably incorporate it into your riding, and for a variety of reasons. What’s surprising is how little research has been done on this low-cadence, high-torque riding. Even the definition of what constitutes “low-cadence” remains hazy. And there are as many ways of incorporating this into your workouts as there are coaches. Threshold, sub-threshold, five minutes, or 20 minutes. There are many possibilities, and as many philosophies. Today we take a closer look at big gear work. What does the research literature say about performance gains and adaptations? What have elite coaches discovered through practice? Are coaches employing something their gut tells them works, and the research has simply yet to catch up? Our guest today is Neal Henderson, head of sport science at Wahoo, and, in his spare time, an elite coach to several WorldTour riders. Neal is one of those coaches who routinely uses big gear work with most of his athletes—from track riders to time trialists, including world champion Rohan Dennis. We also hear from Sebastian Weber of INSCYD and Jim Miller at USA Cycling, two other highly experienced coaches who utilize big gear workouts with their athletes to great success. Finally, we hear how pro Petr Vakoc incorporates big gear work into his training. Alright, put it in the 53x11. Let's make you fast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hello and welcome to Fast Talk, your source for the science of cycling performance! I'm your host Chris Case. Today, we’re digging into the archive for some season-planning knowledge. Why now when our seasons have been demolished? Because it’s never too early to start soaking in the wisdom of seasoned veterans on how to best map out any season, particularly next year’s. Trevor did several great interviews with four top pros—Toms Skujins, Kiel Reijnen, Joey Rosskopf, and Larry Warbasse—for an article he was writing several years ago, and now we want to share their full wisdom. There’s no other agenda, they just had a lot of good things to say, from starting your season right to picking your moments in that season to peak; from fending off fatigue and overtraining to ending your season right. All that and much more on today’s episode. Let's make you fast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Have you ever woken up early in the morning to go for a ride, skipped breakfast, and thought, “I wonder if that was bad for my training? Or maybe it was good?!” In today’s episode, we try to decipher if there are any advantages or disadvantages to occasionally riding, or exercising in general, in a fasted state. What does “fasted” actually mean, in this context? How’s that help, or hurt, my training? How conclusive is the evidence? And how often should I do it? Those are just some of the questions we’ll try to answer today. Fasting is one of those subjects that many of you have likely heard mentioned in passing, but whether or not it can lead to true performance gains is another matter. To fast or not to fast, that is the question. Today, we go particularly deep into the details of fasting, from the different types of fasting you can use for both health and performance benefits, to the genetic and cellular mechanisms which could play a role in adaptations. In essence, there are two overriding questions: Does fasting have health benefits? And does it help in training and performance? The science is pointing towards clear health benefits, but performance and training are less clear. We’ll explore all of that and much more today on Fast Talk. Our primary guest is someone who has spent his research career looking into these very questions. Dr. Brian Carson, of the University of Limerick, in Ireland, is a leading expert on the effects of exercising in a fasted state, as will become patently clear when we dive into the science. We’ll also hear today from longtime USA Cycling coach Jim Miller, pro roadie Petr Vakoc and pro mountain biker Payson McElveen, leading physiologist Dr. Iñigo San Millan, and neurologist Dr. Dale Bredesen. Put down that cookie. Let’s make you fast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today, Coach Connor and I discuss something that comes up nearly every time we receive an email from one of our devoted listeners, from you. (By the way, please keep sending us questions and voice memos—we love them.) So, what is it that is nearly universally included in every piece of correspondence we receive? Well, it’s some indication of a listener’s “threshold.” Often that figure is stated as if it is an absolute or as if it’s 100-percent accurate. And that’s what we want to address today: How accurate are these numbers, really? It turns out, not very. And as an extension of that, we also discuss just how difficult it is to get an accurate figure, for myriad reasons. We’ll discuss several of the most common ways to determine your threshold, and the advantages and disadvantages of each. Coincidentally, we were already planning to record this episode when Trevor received an unpublished review by a team out of Auckland, New Zealand, led by researcher Ed Maunder at the Sports Performance Research Institute of the Auckland University of Technology. The review is a fantastic summary of this very concept, but since it isn’t yet published, we can’t discuss the findings just yet. That said, the group had a lot of great points that helped shape this episode, thus we do need to give them full credit for those ideas in this show. Once the review is published, we’ll do a second episode in which we’ll interview the researchers and discuss their review. One of the fascinating concepts we look forward to discussing with them is how “durability” factors into threshold measurements. Stay tuned. Now, let's make you fast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hello and welcome to Fast Talk, your source for the science of cycling performance! I'm your host Chris Case. I’ll set the stage for today’s episode with an analogy. And apologies to those of you who don’t enjoy our car engine analogies; alas, we’re sticking with it on this episode. We ask the simple question: Which has the greatest chance of consistently producing the best performances: a powerful, finely-tuned, race-inspired engine—take your pick from Ferrari, Porsche, BMW, and especially if you’re an F1 fan, Mercedes—or a heavily modified Honda Civic that you hope can compete at that goal race you’ve been preparing for? Bringing it back to cycling terms, is it more beneficial to build a robust, complete physiological engine and then apply it to, or activate it for, different race situations, or is it better to work on specific attributes of your engine given the specific demands of a particular race? The answer, it turns out, has as much to do with training philosophy as it does to physiological principles. In today’s episode, we analyze which is more appropriate for you, and which leads to the best performances, and the best athletes. It’ll likely become pretty clear where Coach Connor and our main guest, Jim Miller, stand on the matter. Jim, as Chief of Sports Performance, leads USA Cycling’s Athlete Development programs. In his previous role with USA Cycling, after a two-year hiatus took him to TrainingPeaks, Miller helped the United States earn 14 Olympic medals and numerous world championship titles since 2001. The list of athletes Jim has coached over the years is too long to read here, but notably includes Tejay van Garderen, Kate Courtney, Kristin Armstrong, and Lawson Craddock, to name a few. His coaching experience isn’t solely focused on the elite of the elite, however. Jim also works with athletes whose backgrounds or goals are unique, and they’re often from the amateur or master’s ranks. Not surprisingly, Jim has found the most success with the amateurs he coaches by applying the same principles he does to world champions. We’ll hear about those successes today. We’ll also take a compelling tangent into the importance of psychology and mental capacity to success. On today’s episode, we’ll also hear from American pro Kiel Reijnen, data analyst and coach Tim Cusick, and WorldTour physiologist Inigo San Millan. All that and much more, today on Fast Talk. Let's make you fast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hello and welcome to Fast Talk, your source for the science of cycling performance! I'm your host Chris Case, and today Coach Connor and I are joined by Coach Steve Neal of The Cycling Gym, which now resides exclusively in the virtual world: https://online.thecyclinggym.com/. Let’s get into the questions. Our first question comes from Dan S., as a follow-up to episode 113 on recovery period lengths: “What do you make of the FTP test protocols that call for a 5-minute maximal effort followed by a 5-minute recovery followed by a 20-minute FTP measurement effort? Is the 20 minutes representative of what an athlete could do for a 60-minute FTP test and, thus, what their FTP training power zones should be?” A second question from Dan S. on body fat and hypothermia: “First, are athletes with lower body fat composition more susceptible to hypothermia? Second, is there a notable difference in chilling effect when either wetness or wind are added?” James K. wants to know how to structure a rest week: “How should I structure the rest week to get the most from it? Should I have multiple days completely off? Any opener intervals?” Our next question comes from Ellis P. of Rugby, England. He, like many this year, has had to pivot after his target event was cancelled. He wants to know how to adjust his training: “Can you ‘build’ forever?” he asks. “I need both a very good aerobic and anaerobic system to be at the sharp end of the field. Initially my events were far enough apart that I could peak for U23 Nationals, take a break and then base/build/peak for the National Hill Climb Championships. With my original goal not taking place, can I base/build/base/build until September when I will start racing Hill Climb TTs in prep, or should I still take a break and reset? I don’t and won’t need a mental break, it’s only a physical break I’m concerned with. Given I haven’t ‘peaked’ yet this year do I need to take time off? Essentially, what I’m asking is do you need to change your training regularly/can your body get tired of one type of training even if you’re progressing that type of training (e.g. longer intervals)?” Israeli coach Dror H. asks about rest between VO2max efforts: “During your recent episode on rest periods between intervals with Sebastian Weber (FT113), you raised a point about the impact of recovery time between intervals on lactate removal and performance in the next intervals. Specifically, you mentioned Dr. Seiler’s article which showed no difference between 2 minutes and 4 minutes rest period. According to Dr. Weber, the reason why there was no difference is that in both cases the ATP-Phosphocreatine system recovered to the same level and the lactate levels were pretty much the same. So, from a physiological perspective 2 minutes and 4 minutes rest are almost the same. Now comes the question: In the case of 8-minute VO2max efforts, should we recover much longer to be able to generate similar power each time?” Finally, Devin K. wants to know: “What is happening when you ‘blow up’ on a ride?” Let's make you fast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Which cycling shoes should I buy? This may seem like a straightforward question. But the better thing to ask is: Which shoes are right for my feet? If you’ve been a professional cyclist with extensive experience as a bike fitter, like show host Colby Pearce, the answer to that more complex question becomes an hour-long podcast, filled with the nuances of human anatomy. There are several questions about your physiology and biomechanics that need to be answered before you can select the ideal shoe for you, and for the purpose of your rides. Dial that Boa in—but not too tight. There’s much to be learned in today’s episode of Cycling in Alignment. REFERENCES Lake 403s – https://lakecycling.com/products/cx-403?variant=30307106029662 Device that expands toe-box – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07B4SKS82?tag=duckduckgo-osx-20&linkCode=osi&th=1&psc=1 Cycling Tips Podcast about Bont shoes: https://cyclingtips.com/2015/05/bont-vaypor-s-shoe-review/ Bont Helix – https://www.bontcycling.com/products/road/helix/index.html Bontrager XXX – https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en_US/bike-clothing/cycling-shoes/road-bike-shoes/bontrager-xxx-road-cycling-shoe/p/25000/ Lintamen – https://www.lintaman.com/ Hanseeno – https://hanseeno.com/collections/performance/products/u100g-shoes www.feetfreex.com/ Treadlabs orthotics – https://treadlabs.com/ Superfeet orthotics – https://www.superfeet.com/en-us Icebug orthotics – https://icebug.com/insoles G8 orthotics – https://www.g8performance.com/ Colby’s Site – http://www.colbypearce.com/ Email – [email protected] Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/cyclinginalignment/ Twitter – https://twitter.com/CyclinginAlign_ Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/cyclinginalignment-110271017351743 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we’re taking a good long look at training metrics. We’ve released previous episodes on how to use different numbers, what many of them mean, and how they’re calculated. Today, we tie it together into one package, with a master of data analytics, Tim Cusick, who is not only the product leader for TrainingPeaks’ WKO platform, but also an elite cycling coach of athletes including Amber Neben and Rebecca Rusch. As Tim likes to say, if each ride you do is a single note, to get the most out of your training, you want to string those rides together in the most elegant way. That is, you want to make music. I love that analogy for the art of training and coaching. To set the stage for our conversation, it’s helpful to understand that even a data aficionado like Tim fully understands that metrics are not the be-all-end-all—the power of numbers is in their ability to effectively inform the decision-making process. Athletes and coaches should use data to learn more about how best to train, but the data cannot be the solution unto itself. It’s also helpful to define some terminology. Most of you will have heard of stress, or external load; then there’s strain, the internal load applied to a system; and finally TSS, or training stress score, which we will define and dissect. Likewise, you’re likely familiar with the PMC in TrainingPeaks. The performance management chart shows trends in your season. Finally, Tim often mentions the “content” of the work used to generate these different metrics. What he means by that is the composition of the training rides, whether they’re intense or easy, long or hard, and so forth. To tie it all together, today’s episode is about utilizing a training philosophy to design the right type of workouts—the content—then using the metrics as a guide to inform how much, how often, and how difficult those rides should be. Voila, you’ve got some Mozart, hopefully. Maybe if you’re Trevor is more like Celine Dion or Shania Twain. (They’re Canadian) On the program today, we also hear from a host of other prominent figures about how they use, or don’t use, all the metrics we have available today. Guests include physiologist Jared Berg, pro mountain biker Payson McElveen, the legend himself Ned Overend, WorldTour veteran Brent Bookwalter, and Xert creator Armando Mastracci. Time to crunch some numbers, and fill out the all-important comments field. Let's make you fast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today’s Q&A episode we invited coach and co-owner of Forever Endurance, Grant Holicky, to join us for a lengthy discussion on a myriad of topics. First, we converse about sweat rates. Ernest Boskovic references our discussion in episode 111 with Dr. Cheung, and asks several intriguing questions. (It makes us believe we’ll soon invite Dr. Cheung back to the program for a full episode on the subject.) Here are a few of Ernest’s questions: What is the relationship of sweat rate to intensity? What is the relationship of sweat rate to intensity? Is it a linear relationship? What is the relationship of sweat rate to core temperature? What is the relationship of sweat rate to dehydration? We then discuss how to use polarized training for cyclocross. Can it be done? Should you stop polarizing at some point and bring in more specificity? Or should you become even more polarized as the season approaches? Next, we discuss ROS and the differences between pros and amateurs. Then we jump into VLAmax. Devin Knickerbocker asks why it is that having a higher VlaMax means your endurance performance suffers? We then chat about big gear work on the flats: there is value in high-torque intervals, so how does one execute such intervals properly, particularly in flat areas of the world or on the trainer? Finally, we converse about recovery tools—when and how to use them most effectively. All that and much more in today’s episode. Let’s make you fast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Long-time friends, training partners, and competitors, Jonathan Vaughters and Colby Pearce have a deep racing history and relationship. With decades of experience in pro cycling, they have gained many insights about training, coaching, and the trajectory of the sport. Colby and JV first discuss their early training techniques, taught to them by their first cycling coach, Adrie Van Diemen, a Dutch exercise physiologist now with UAE Team Emirates. Many of the techniques are now considered to be standard practice. The pair reminisce about how they were ahead of their time, in many ways, even though they didn’t realize it. Vaughters, who has coached many pro cyclists over the years, then gives examples of experiments gone right—and wrong—and how certain training regimens should be applied to certain types of athletes. He also openly discusses the conflict of interest in coaching athletes while also serving as their team manager. The discussion then turns to the finer details of cycling technique, including a detailed explanation of how crank length affects a rider’s ability to climb, sprint, and win. JV even describes the time he swapped cranks behind the back of his former team manager, Johan Bruyneel. Next, the conversation turns to Rigoberto Urán, who finished second in the 2017 Tour de France. The Colombian’s diet at that year’s race included bananas and… bananas. Vaughters uses that example to illustrate how the natural and simple solution oftentimes bests all of the “advanced” nutrition expertise in the world—and how athletes often discover what works best for them and “solve their own equation.” That, and much more, in today’s episode of “Cycling in Alignment.” REFERENCES Book: “One-Way Ticket: Nine Lives on Two Wheels” https://www.amazon.com/One-Way-Ticket-Nine-Lives-Wheels/dp/0143134140 Coach Adrie Van Diemen http://www.webtrainer.com/nl/ Colby’s Site: http://www.colbypearce.com/ Email: [email protected] Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cyclinginalignment/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/CyclinginAlign_ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cyclinginalignment-110271017351743 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we’ll hit the subjects of cornering and descending from many sides. Our main guest is Emile Abraham, who has racked up numerous wins because of his cornering and descending prowess, having grown up riding the twisty, steep roads of Trinidad and Tobago. Also in today’s episode, we hear from our friend and podcast colleague Colby Pearce, Petr Vakoc of the Alpecin-Fenix pro team, professional mountain biker Payson McElveen, and Kristen Legan, a coach and former cycling tech editor. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today’s episode, we’ve invited Rambleur Rising coach and elite gravel racer Kristen Legan to help answer your many insightful questions. To give you a broader range of coaching opinions, Kristen joins Trevor and me to talk about the art of listening to your body, ketogenic diets, glucose transport, and much more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're all about off-road today! Our all-star MTB lineup includes: - Payson McElveen, 2x cross-country marathon Ntl. champ & host of The Adventure Stache podcast - Geoff Kabush, 3x Olympian, 9x World Cup podium finisher & 9x Canadian cross-country Ntl. Champ - Joe Lawwill, raced MTB as a pro for 10 years & is now Shimano’s North American MTB marketing manager as well as an MTB skills coach - Steve Neal, former Canadian Ntl. MTB coach & co-owner of The Cycling Gym (online.thecyclinggym.com/) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s Q&A episode, we cover a broad spectrum of topics including sugar consumption and its health effects, safe rates to increase volume, the pros and cons of group rides, the efficacy of topical bicarbonate products, and much more. Reminder, you can record a question for us on a voice memo app on your phone and then email it to us at [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’ll start today’s show with a simple question, one that few athletes ask themselves: why do we have rest periods at all? Then Trevor and I will discuss the metabolic milieu that is “perturbed” during intervals. Our main guest is Sebastian Weber of INSCYD, and we’ll also hear from national champion Ruth Winder, Dr. Stephen Cheung, and Jared Berg. Sebastian is creating a webinar that will complement this episode as well, so please visit fastlabs.com/fasttalk113 for that once it's available. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Colby Pearce interviewing Dr. Allen Lim, founder of Skratch Labs, is today’s esteemed philosopher. REFERENCES: LUX camp is June 15th to July 15th. Dr. Allen Lim https://www.doctorallenlim.com Skratch Labs https://www.skratchlabs.com/ Dr. Stacy Sims https://www.drstacysims.com/ Chek https://chekinstitute.com/product/holistic-health-and-performance-for-women-e-learning/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cyclinginalignment/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cyclinginalignment-110271017351743 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today, we’ll address several questions that we received from listeners via email, voicemail, and Twitter. The first question Coach Connor addresses is about interval work and HIIT exercises, which we use as a springboard to talk about the difference between HIIT and HIT workouts. Please take a moment to take our survey. As we consider the potential for new subscription offerings, we want to hear from our devoted listeners. Visit https://fastlabs.com/subscriptionsurvey! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I’m your host, Colby Pearce. My goal is to help people express their highest potential by illuminating a path that enables alignment with truth. Ultimately, through this podcast, I aspire to provide a platform for useful insight and discussion around cycling and holistic health. Resources: www.industrytap.com/knowledge-doubling-every-12-months-soon-to-be-every-12-hours/3950 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re joined by Dr. Stephen Cheung, a professor in the kinesiology department of Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario. He is one of the world’s preeminent environmental physiologists, and studies how humans perform in extreme conditions. We’ll also hear from Nick Legan, Shimano’s road brand manager, and Whitney Garcia, former pro triathlete. In this time of online symposiums, Dr. Cheung is organizing a “Virtual Environmental Ergonomics” series. For more info, visit www.icee2021.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices