
FasCat Cycling Training Tips Podcast
The official podcast of FasCat Coaching, based in Boulder, CO. Coach Frank "Big Cat" Overton shares his extensive experience as a cycling coach to help you ride faster through training and racing tips, nutrition, and beyond.
Latest episodes

11 snips
Feb 7, 2025 • 57min
How the pros are training now & what YOU should do
Discover how professional cyclists train and what amateur riders can learn from them. Coaches Andrew and Ricky break down the significance of zone 2 training for endurance and the evolving methods in performance optimization. They highlight the role of technology and self-awareness in monitoring progress. Plus, explore low cadence training's benefits and the necessity for personalized strategies to maximize results. Stay flexible with your training approach and embrace innovative techniques to enhance your cycling performance!

Feb 4, 2025 • 50min
Strength training for cycling - what the latest research says
If you're a longtime FasCat podcast listener, then you know we're big believers in strength training in the offseason. The science has long proven the benefits for endurance athletes. But what's new? What's the latest science? That is exactly what Coaches Andrew and Sierra get into in this pod, as Sierra brushes up on her master's degree studies with the latest research. -- Want to add weight lifting to your cycling training and get Coach Sierra or Andrew's help? Please visit https://fascatcoaching.com/pages/hire-a-coach to learn more about them, fill out a new athlete questionnaire and to schedule a coaching consultation with them! Not ready for a Coach yet but still want to improve under the guidance of a coach? Try CoachCat! Its like hiring a Pro Coach for a fraction of the price of personal coaching. Getting started is as easy as 1,2, 3 and the 1st month is free, go here ➡️ https://tinyurl.com/47rr7em4 Then follow Coach Frank's Top 4 Tips: #1 Create a Custom Plan using unlimited training plans #2 Use CoachCat just like you would a real coach for a fraction of the price. #3 Sync all your devices: Whoop, Wahoo, Zwift, Garmin, Hammerhead, Oura, Apple Watch and more! # 4 receive Instant Data Analysis + 💥 Custom Workout Recommendations 🧠 Training Plan Revisions 🚀 Auto FTP Detection 🤓 Plus we have connected your activity and wearable data to our AI Coach (CoachCat) to analyze your training-to-recovery balance.

Jan 31, 2025 • 42min
Come Sweet Spot with us on Zwift! Saturday group rides!
FasCat friends, we invite you to join us on Zwift for our Saturday Sweet Spot group rides, where Coaches Jake and Frank lead A and B groups and we chat on Discord. In this podcast, we talk about why so many riders love this wintertime format of getting high-quality, semi-structured work in with a social group. The time flies by, the kJs shoot up, and you can feeeeel yourself getting faster. Join the FasCat club on Zwift and then join our Saturday ride. (If you are already on Zwift, there is no additional cost.) Learn more and sign up here: https://fascatcoaching.com/blogs/training-tips/sweet-spot-saturday-base-rides -- Take your training to the next level by hiring Coach Jake: https://fascatcoaching.com/collections/coaches/products/jake-rytlewski -- Try CoachCat Free for a month - with no credit card required ➡️ https://tinyurl.com/47rr7em4 😸 Use CoachCat just like you would a real coach for a fraction of the price. 📆 Create a Custom Plan using unlimited training plans ⏰ Instant Data Analysis 💥 Custom Workout Recommendations 🧠 Training Plan Revisions 🚀 Auto FTP Detection

Jan 24, 2025 • 1h 10min
The Remco Effect: Junior development is completely different now
FasCat Coaching has been working with riders of all ages for 20 years, and while the fundamentals of training are the same, the science and technology and culture have changed tremendously. Nowhere are these changes more dramatic than what is going on with younger riders. In this podcast, Coaches Justin and Frank delve into what's changed and why, and what the best ways are for helping young riders develop in a healthy, fun, sustainable way. -- Take your training to the next level by hiring Coach Justin: https://fascatcoaching.com/collections/coaches/products/justin-bowes -- Try CoachCat Free for a month - with no credit card required ➡️ https://tinyurl.com/47rr7em4 😸 Use CoachCat just like you would a real coach for a fraction of the price. 📆 Create a Custom Plan using unlimited training plans ⏰ Instant Data Analysis 💥 Custom Workout Recommendations 🧠 Training Plan Revisions 🚀 Auto FTP Detection

Jan 17, 2025 • 45min
Train better by measuring with OTS: Optimized Training Stress
If you want to improve something, measure it. This applies in life and on the bike. Whether you're talking blood pressure, finances, or FTP, how can you know something is improving if you are not accurately measuring it? The same principle applies to training stress, a key summative metric that quantifies the total load of your training. As coaches and as athletes, we can measure how much work you are doing each day, each week, each month and each year. We balance this with measurements of your recovery metrics, and make prescriptions from there based on your goals. Training Stress Score has long been used to measure training load, and it's a great metric. There are two problems, though: TSS gives you credit for coasting, and it gives you the same amount of credit for a certain amount of wattage in hour one as the same amount of wattage in hour four. As you have probably noticed doing a two-hour ride on Zwift vs a two-hour ride outside, not coasting at all for two hours makes a big difference in how much work you are doing! Similarly, you know how much harder - how much more stressful - a 250w effort feels late in a long ride compared to when you first start. Now, Zwift is a great tool, but don't misunderstand - we aren't advocating that you do all your rides inside! We are simply advocating that you accurately measure your training wherever you do it, so together we can precisely apply the right training load to make you better! At FasCat, we address these issues and other improvements with Optimized Training Stress, which is found exclusively in the CoachCat app. Learn more inside this podcast with Coach Andrew Giniat and FasCat Founder Frank Overton. --- Take your training to the next level by hiring Coach Andrew: https://fascatcoaching.com/collections/coaches/products/andrew-giniat -- Try CoachCat Free for a month - with no credit card required ➡️ https://tinyurl.com/47rr7em4 😸 Use CoachCat just like you would a real coach for a fraction of the price. 📆 Create a Custom Plan using unlimited training plans ⏰ Instant Data Analysis 💥 Custom Workout Recommendations 🧠 Training Plan Revisions 🚀 Auto FTP Detection

Jan 13, 2025 • 1h 11min
How to Plan the Perfect Race Calendar
So you're signed up for a couple big races this year - now what? Coaches Andrew and Ricky break down the planning process on this podcast, including: -how to set your A-race goal (process and power are usually better than time) -how to fill in B and C races -how to determine the optimal number of events -classic planning mistakes to watch out for (we've seen a lot of them! and done a few ourselves...) -- Take your training to the next level by hiring Coach Andrew: https://fascatcoaching.com/collections/coaches/products/andrew-giniat Or by hiring Coach Ricky https://fascatcoaching.com/collections/coaches/products/ricky-arnopol -- Try CoachCat Free for a month - with no credit card required ➡️ https://tinyurl.com/47rr7em4 😸 Use CoachCat just like you would a real coach for a fraction of the price. 📆 Create a Custom Plan using unlimited training plans ⏰ Instant Data Analysis 💥 Custom Workout Recommendations 🧠 Training Plan Revisions 🚀 Auto FTP Detection

Jan 6, 2025 • 1h 7min
You CAN have it all: Fun, flexible AND effective training
Normally in cycling, it's a two-out-of-three situation: strong, light, cheap; or aero, light, inexpensive... And the same often applies when it comes to training: you can't blow off structure and expect to get fast and stay fit. However! On today's podcast FasCat Coaches Frank and Andrew explain how you can have fun, be flexible, and still achieve effective results by training with the FasCat method. -- Take your training to the next level by hiring Coach Andrew: https://fascatcoaching.com/collections/coaches/products/andrew-giniat -- Try CoachCat Free for a month - with no credit card required ➡️ https://tinyurl.com/47rr7em4 😸 Use CoachCat just like you would a real coach for a fraction of the price. 📆 Create a Custom Plan using unlimited training plans ⏰ Instant Data Analysis 💥 Custom Workout Recommendations 🧠 Training Plan Revisions 🚀 Auto FTP Detection

Dec 13, 2024 • 50min
Strength training for cycling - what the latest research says
If you're a longtime FasCat podcast listener, then you know we're big believers in strength training in the offseason. The science has long proven the benefits for endurance athletes. But what's new? What's the latest science? That is exactly what Coaches Andrew and Sierra get into in this pod, as Sierra brushes up on her master's degree studies with the latest research. -- Want to add weight lifting to your cycling training and get Coach Sierra or Andrew's help? Please visit https://fascatcoaching.com/pages/hire-a-coach to learn more about them, fill out a new athlete questionnaire and to schedule a coaching consultation with them! Not ready for a Coach yet but still want to improve under the guidance of a coach? Try CoachCat! Its like hiring a Pro Coach for a fraction of the price of personal coaching. Getting started is as easy as 1,2, 3 and the 1st month is free, go here ➡️ https://tinyurl.com/47rr7em4 Then follow Coach Frank's Top 4 Tips: #1 Create a Custom Plan using unlimited training plans #2 Use CoachCat just like you would a real coach for a fraction of the price. #3 Sync all your devices: Whoop, Wahoo, Zwift, Garmin, Hammerhead, Oura, Apple Watch and more! # 4 receive Instant Data Analysis + 💥 Custom Workout Recommendations 🧠 Training Plan Revisions 🚀 Auto FTP Detection 🤓 Plus we have connected your activity and wearable data to our AI Coach (CoachCat) to analyze your training-to-recovery balance.

Nov 27, 2024 • 1h 31min
What the latest nutrition research means for cyclists, with performance dietitian Alex Winnicki
Between mainstream media reports of national obesity and cycling media reports of pro riders consuming huge amounts of carbohydrates, we cyclists are bombarded with often-conflicting information about food. What's a cyclist to do? On this new monthly series, FasCat Coach Andrew Giniat digs into the latest sports nutrition research with the help of an expert to help guide you in your training, your fueling, and your overall pursuit of a healthy life. On this episode, Andrew is joined by performance dietitian Alex Winnicki, a board-certified specialist in sports dietetics and founder of Second Arrow Nutrition. Together, Andrew and Alex discuss particular examples of what healthy eating and fueling for hard training means for you. Alex argues that there aren't 'good foods' and 'bad foods' - a lot of nutrition is condition-specific. "Our environment tells us that salad is the healthy choice," Alex says, giving an example. "But if you're not eating enough and your health is falling apart...eating salad and then riding for five hours is not the way to health." -- Take your training to the next level by hiring Coach Andrew: https://fascatcoaching.com/collections/coaches/products/andrew-giniat or Save 50% on CoachCat from now until Dec. 2nd, 2024! https://app.fascat.ai/promo?sale=true Then follow Coach Frank's top 4 tips to ride faster! #1 Create a Custom Plan using unlimited training plans #2 Use CoachCat just like you would a real coach for a fraction of the price. #3 Sync all your devices: Whoop, Wahoo, Zwift, Garmin, Hammerhead, Oura, Apple Watch and more! # 4 receive Instant Data Analysis + 💥 Custom Workout Recommendations 🧠 Training Plan Revisions 🚀 Auto FTP Detection 🤓 Plus we have connected your activity and wearable data to our AI Coach (CoachCat) to analyze your training-to-recovery balance.

Nov 22, 2024 • 1h 12min
3 things that make Tadej Pogacar fast - including 1 you can do
Tadej Pogacar is a talent of a generation, able to watlz away from the world's best riders seemingly at will in both one-day and stage races. But why is he so good? Sure, his natural gifts play a huge role, as do years of elite training. But on this podcast, we present a different view. Three things make Tadej fast: his upbringing, his mental outlook and his genetics. While you can't change your genes, you can steer your mental outlook. And, you can influence the upbringing of the next generation of cyclists. Listen in to learn how. -- You may Hire Coach Justin here https://fascatcoaching.com/collections/coaches/products/justin-bowes or Save 50% on CoachCat from now until Dec. 2nd, 2024! https://app.fascat.ai/promo?sale=true Then follow Coach Frank's top 4 tips to ride faster! #1 Create a Custom Plan using unlimited training plans #2 Use CoachCat just like you would a real coach for a fraction of the price. #3 Sync all your devices: Whoop, Wahoo, Zwift, Garmin, Hammerhead, Oura, Apple Watch and more! # 4 receive Instant Data Analysis + 💥 Custom Workout Recommendations 🧠 Training Plan Revisions 🚀 Auto FTP Detection 🤓 Plus we have connected your activity and wearable data to our AI Coach (CoachCat) to analyze your training-to-recovery balance.
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