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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
  • Sep 3, 2020 · 2 hr 2 min

    127: Overreaching, overtraining, and burnout with Dr. Stephen Seiler  

    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

  • Aug 27, 2020 · 1 hr 10 min

    126: Q&A on fatigue, peaking, returning from injury, and nutrition, with guest coach Julie Young  

    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

  • Aug 20, 2020 · 1 hr 16 min

    125: Put it in the big gear—we explore low-cadence, high-torque training with Neal Henderson

    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

  • Aug 13, 2020 · 58 min

    124: How to map out your season, with Toms Skujins, Kiel Reijnen, Joey Rosskopf, and Larry Warbasse

    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

  • Aug 6, 2020 · 1 hr 58 min

    123: Performance gains and adaptations from fasted training, with Dr. Brian Carson  

    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

  • Jul 30, 2020 · 1 hr 15 min

    122: Mission impossible: determining your true threshold

    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

  • Jul 22, 2020 · 1 hr 43 min

    121: Should you build the best engine or focus on specificity, with Jim Miller

    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

  • Jul 16, 2020 · 1 hr 7 min

    120: Q&A on FTP testing, structuring recovery weeks, and the sustainability of base training, with guest coach Steve Neal

    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

  • Jul 10, 2020 · 53 min

    BONUS: Anatomy of a Good Cycling Shoe, Cycling in Alignment 08

    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 – cyclinginalignment@fastlabs.com 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

  • Jul 9, 2020 · 1 hr 48 min

    119: How to use data to make better training decisions, with Tim Cusick

    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

  • Jul 2, 2020 · 1 hr 17 min

    118: Q&A on sweat rates, going polarized for ’cross, VLAmax, big gear work, and recovery tools, with guest coach Grant Holicky

    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

  • Jun 30, 2020 · 1 hr 41 min

    CA 07: Jonathan Vaughters, CEO of EF Education First Pro Cycling Team

    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: CyclingInAlignment@FastLabs.com 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

  • Jun 25, 2020 · 1 hr 24 min

    117: Cornering and Descending with Emile Abraham

    You might not think of cornering as science—after all, the title of this episode is the art of cornering—but today we’ll try to hit the subjects of cornering and descending from many sides. Obviously, there’s plenty of physics involved in...

  • Jun 4, 2020 · 1 hr 10 min

    114: Q&A on LSD Rides, Topical Bicarbonates, Group Rides, and Sugar

    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. Feeling...

  • May 27, 2020 · 1 hr 37 min

    3: Allen Lim - Cultivating the Environment of Coaching

    Dr. Allen Lim, the founder of Skratch Labs, is today’s esteemed podcast philosopher on Cycling in Alignment with Colby Pearce. With his Ph.D. from the University of Colorado, Lim continues to pioneer new practices in sports physiology and applied...

  • May 21, 2020 · 1 hr 3 min

    112: Q&A on HIT training, gut health, recovery, and CTL

    Welcome to this Q&A episode of Fast Talk! Today, we’ll address several questions that we received from listeners via email, voicemail, and Twitter. Keep those questions coming! The first question Coach Connor addresses is about interval work and...

  • May 19, 2020 · 51 min

    CA 01: Introduction to Cycling in Alignment with Colby Pearce

    Welcome to Cycling in Alignment. I’m your host, Colby Pearce. My passion, dream, and goal is to help people express their highest potential by illuminating a path that enables alignment with truth and coherence in their lives. Ultimately, through...