Fast Talk

Fast Talk Labs

The Fast Talk podcast offers the best guides to cycling performance and endurance sports training from world-class experts.

Cohosted by cycling coaches and sport scientists Trevor Connor and Rob Pickels, Fast Talk episodes feature fascinating conversations with world-class experts discussing the endurance sports topics they know best: the best ways to train, effective workouts, questions on polarized and interval training, sports nutrition, physiology and recovery, and sport psychology.

Fast Talk guests and regular contributors include Dr. Stephen Seiler, Joe Friel, Dr. Asker Jeukendrup, Sebastian Weber, Jim Miller, Dr. Andy Pruitt, Dr. Timothy Noakes, and elite professional athletes like Kristin Armstrong, Sepp Kuss, Brent Bookwalter, Kate Courtney, and many more.

Fast Talk is part of Fast Talk Laboratories, a new endurance sports knowledgebase for endurance racers and adventurers.

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474 episodes
Updated Thursday

Episodes474

Newest first

Jan 14, 2021 · 1 hr 9 min
146: Cardiovascular Drift, with Dr. Ed Coyle
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
Jan 7, 2021 · 56 min
145: Q&A on Time-Crunched Athletes, Zone 1 Rides, and Unstructured Intervals with Hannah Finchamp
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
Dec 31, 2020 · 1 hr 44 min
144: The Best of 2020
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
Dec 24, 2020 · 1 hr 11 min
143: The Art and Science of Yoga, with Sage Roundtree
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
Dec 17, 2020 · 44 min
142: Nutrition Myth Busting on Macros, Carbs, Food Allergies, Cramping, and Hydration
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
Dec 10, 2020 · 1 hr 48 min
141: How to create multi-year training plans, with Dr. Stephen Seiler and Sondre Skarli
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
Dec 3, 2020 · 1 hr 15 min
140: How to set training and performance goals
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
Nov 26, 2020 · 34 min
139: A New Coaching Model: Creating Better Athletes Through Our Virtual Performance Center
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
Nov 19, 2020 · 59 min
138: Q&A on Training Without Power, Optimizing Time at Your Desk, “Lunch Ride Syndrome,” and the Benefits of Fixies, with Amos Brumble
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
Nov 12, 2020 · 1 hr 41 min
137: An Introduction to Ultra-Cycling, Bikepacking, and Randonneuring, with Matt Roy, Nick Legan, and Jose Bermudez
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
Nov 5, 2020 · 48 min
136: Q&A on crank length, power imbalance, injuries, and CBD, with Colby Pearce
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
Oct 29, 2020 · 1 hr 19 min
135: The Importance of Sleep, Monitoring Devices, and Changing Your Routine with Dr. Shona Halson
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
Oct 22, 2020 · 49 min
134: Favorite Workouts of Fast Talk All-Stars
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
Oct 15, 2020 · 1 hr 35 min
133: Mastering indoor cycling, with Joe Friel, Jim Rutberg, and riders on the eSports Team Saris-The Pro’s Closet
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
Oct 8, 2020 · 57 min
132: How to set Strava PRs, with The Pro’s Closet  
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
Oct 1, 2020 · 1 hr 31 min
131: Balancing science and experience in your training, with Cameron Cogburn
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
Sep 28, 2020 · 2 hr 1 min
CA 19: How to Pedal a Bike, with Colby Pearce and Chris Case
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
Sep 24, 2020 · 1 hr 28 min
130: The science of breathing, with Dr. James Hull
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
Sep 17, 2020 · 36 min
129: Q&A on weight loss and metabolism, MTB descending, and 5x5 interval types, with new head coach Ryan Kohler
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
Sep 10, 2020 · 1 hr 22 min
128: Roundtable on coaching beginner athletes versus veteran athletes
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