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

Dec 21, 2017 · 1 hr 3 min
34: Become a climber (even if you live in a flat place)
In this episode of Fast Talk, we tackle the always-popular topic of climbing. A listener in Iowa asked if he could become a better climber. Not only will we answer his question, we’ll describe ways in which anyone can improve their technique,...
Dec 20, 2017 · 1 hr 17 min
33: Is FTP dead?
In this episode of Fast Talk, we take on a controversial subject. Recently, a big debate kicked up on the Internet. Some cycling experts stated that Functional Threshold Power (FTP) was dead. Many of the big names in training got involved in the...
Oct 30, 2017 · 1 hr 9 min
32: A cyclist’s guide to the weight room
We cyclists can get a little lost in the weight room. That doesn’t mean strength training doesn’t have important benefits though. We are joined by Jess Elliott, who is the sports performance coach and biomechanist at the University of Colorado...
Oct 24, 2017 · 52 min
31: How to avoid illness (or just cope with it)
Illness can be a big setback for cyclists at all levels. What causes us to get sick, and how do we avoid it? If we train too hard, will it ruin our immune system, or can we power through it and ride with the sniffles? We are joined by Dr. Jason Glowney of CU Sports Medicine to answer these questions and better understand the science of illness and how it can make us better, healthier cyclists. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Oct 17, 2017 · 59 min
30: Myth Busters: Why we can’t talk about lactic acid
Ouch, it burns! But what is “it” — the root cause of the pain in your legs when you smash it up a hard climb? For the longest time, we colloquially called “it” lactic acid. It turns out that was wrong. Coach Trevor Connor and Caley Fretz...
Oct 10, 2017 · 1 hr 4 min
29: The future of bikes with Dan Cavallari and Kristen Legan
The VeloNews Fast Talk podcast is your source for the best advice and most interesting insight on what it takes to become a better cyclist. Listen in as VeloNews columnist Trevor Connor and editor Caley Fretz discuss a range of...
Sep 27, 2017 · 55 min
28: Why we need an off-season with Dr. Andy Pruitt
Fast Talk is your source for the best advice and most interesting insight on what it takes to become a better cyclist. Listen in as VeloNews columnist Trevor Connor and editor Caley Fretz discuss a range of topics, including training, physiology,...
Sep 7, 2017 · 59 min
27: Who can you trust for training advice?
Who should you trust? How can you verify? There’s a lot of training advice out there, often contradictory, so what’s the best way for an athlete figure out what to do? We are joined by pro cyclist Sepp Kuss and the founder of FasCat coaching,...
Aug 25, 2017 · 1 hr 10 min
26: Cramping myths debunked
For decades (almost a century, in fact), we’ve been told that cramping is caused by electrolyte imbalance or bad hydration. But new science suggests that this probably isn’t why you cramp during exercise. So why do you cramp? It all comes down to...
Aug 16, 2017 · 49 min
25: A deep dive on tires and pressure
The difference between a fast tire and a slow tire can be ten or more watts. So how should you optimize your tire selection and tire pressure? The science behind fast tires has evolved rapidly in recent years, so Trevor Connor and Caley Fretz called...
Jul 25, 2017 · 1 hr
24: Surviving a long season like a pro
Is it possible to stay fit and fast all year round? We talk to former pro and team director Mike Creed about the toll that cycling takes on a body. He also discusses the mentality required to endure bad days on a bike, which happen far more often than...
Jul 13, 2017 · 1 hr 4 min
23: How periodization works… for your nutrition
Forget what you thought you knew about sports nutrition. New science shows that cyclists should consider periodizing their nutrition, much like they periodize their training. We speak with Dr. John Hawley, one of the top experts in the world about the...
Jun 29, 2017 · 1 hr 4 min
22: Understanding Tour de France strategy
Have you ever turned on a stage and found yourself wondering what the heck is going on? Why are these riders off the front? Shouldn’t that team be chasing? In this special Fast Talk episode, we are joined by Cannondale-Drapac pro rider...
Jun 7, 2017 · 1 hr 1 min
21: Managing Heat with the Illustrious Mr Pickels
Is the heat of summer getting you down? Fast Talk is here to help. Coach Trevor Connor and Caley Fretz are joined once again by Rob Pickels, a physiologist who is currently studying ways to make clothing work better in hot weather. The panel discusses...
Jun 1, 2017 · 59 min
20: Get better at sprinting
You need to sprint faster. Everyone does, except maybe Marcel Kittel and Mark Cavendish. Though sprinting ability is largely a function of genetics, there are still tons of ways to get more out of your finishing kick, from positioning to neuromuscular...
May 20, 2017 · 1 hr 1 min
19: Training as a numbers game
What numbers do you use to describe your rides? Some cyclists keep it simple with mileage and time. Others delve into TSS, FTP, or kJ to quantify a day of training. We talk to Dirk Friel of TrainingPeaks to explain how cyclists can use the data to...
May 4, 2017 · 1 hr 13 min
18: Top tips for pre-race prep
Your body is ready to race, but is your bike ready? We are joined by VeloNews’s tech team of Dan Cavallari and Kristen Legan to dig into the tech side of proper race preparation. What should you do to your bike to make it race-ready? Where can you...
Apr 17, 2017 · 52 min
17: The Art of the Breakaway with Toms Skujins
The breakaway. It is perhaps the noblest form of victory, and the most difficult. Joining and then winning from breakaways is as much art as science, as much tactical awareness as strength. In this episode, we are joined by Cannondale-Drapac’s...
Apr 6, 2017 · 1 hr 3 min
16: Forget what you thought you knew about warm-ups
Everyone has a warm-up routine, which is sometimes simple, and sometimes very complex. But what are we actually achieving with a pre-race routine? Is it helping us or actually hurting our potential to perform? We go in-depth on the science behind...
Mar 23, 2017 · 1 hr 5 min
15: Should you eat gummy bears like Sagan?
Should you eat gummy bears like Peter Sagan? Maybe. In this episode, we are joined by Dan Cavallari and Stacy Sims, founder of Osmo who now works with Nuun, to discuss the difference between food and fuel — what you should be eating on the bike, and...