FasCat Cycling Training Tips Podcast

Training camps come in all shapes and sizes from professional-team operations to destination camps for amateurs to DIY camps that you can do at home simply by taking a couple of days off work. In this podcast, Coaches Allie Legg, Elliott Baring and Suzie Snyder share their experiecne with what works well and what doesn't, and explain how you can create your own camp to build up your fitness, improve your skills, bond with teammates and friends, and just have a heck of a lot of fun. These three coaches have all raced at the professional level and now enjoy helping riders of all abilites get the most out of their training. 

Improving doesn’t have to be complicated! Coach Isaiah Newkirk and Ben Delaney walk you through five things that can increase your power output, raise your threshold, help you lose some weight, and perhaps even achieve better balance in your life. When we say simple, we mean simple in concept. And, frankly, they aren’t too hard to do in practice, either; you just need to be mindful and commit to them. THE FIVE FUNDAMENTALS FOR GETTING FASTER ARE: Be consistent & flexible  Ride more Do zone-based training Rest Practice good nutrition

Good news, FasCats! Belgian Waffle Ride announced today that we are the Official Coaching and Training Plan Technology Partner of their excellent series, which includes events from Arizona to Canada this year. We are honored to have Belgian Waffle Ride founder Michael Marckx as a guest on the podcast today. For 2023, we have 6 and 12 Week Training Plans created specifically for the BWR events in Arizona, California, British Columbia, North Carolina, Utah, and Kansas. Hand in hand with this great news, this podcast episode is all about how to train for long gravel and other long endurance events. Plug in and get ready for a great 2023!

As much as we'd all like to be Wout van Aert — who is seemingly able to be on flying form year-round — most of us can only peak a couple of times a year. Further, real life prevents us from attending every single event on the calendar that looks fun. So, we need to prioritize. But how? This podcast comes with an interactive homework assignment to walk you through how you can set up your event and training calendar for 2023.

The new year is right around the corner, and quality events abound in 2023. Chances are, you already have a few events on your calendar. But do you have your training plan or training plans dialed in? In this episode, we explain how you can set up your training now, going through various timing scenarios for target events that are in the spring, the summer, and the fall. We also explore how you can build some flexibility into your training to maximize both good athletic results and a happy family life. Happy holidays and happy new year! 

Improving as an endurance athlete requires two things: training and recovery. The better you recover, the more effective training you can do, and the more improvements you can make. But how to recover better? Here are 9 ways. They're all pretty easy to understand; some are easy to do, and some take a bit of work. But all are very effective, and we know this because we are using HRV (heart rate variability) as the metric. A high HRV means you're primed for good training; a low HRV means you might need some more recovery. Similarly, if you have a wearable device like an Oura or a Whoop, you can track how things like alcohol and poor sleep lower your HRV. And you can track how improving your diet, your sleep habits, and your stress level can raise your HRV. Tune in for 9 ways to up your HRV, up your recovery, and up your endurance athletics game.

Indoor training has its time and place, particularly in the winter, but riding outside is what we love to do, right? On this episode, Coach Isaiah Newkirk and Ben Delaney talk through what you need to get outside and train comfortably and effectively when it's cold. We talk clothing tips (hats and jackets and booties and fabrics we love), we talk nutrition strategies (hello, hot drinks!), and we talk about what's important and what's not. Put on some hot tea and cue this one up! 

On this podcast, FasCat founder and cohost Ben Delaney talk about the new Optimize training platform - what it is, what it does, and really what drove Frank and the team to create it - which was you, the endurance athlete & podcast listener! We also talk about how we are changing our business from selling single plans to selling subscriptions for unlimited training plans in the Optimize app, which tracks how your training is going with a proprietary algorithm that takes into accounts data from your power meter, your heart rate monitor, and your wearable like a Whoop, Oura, or Garmin watch. Optimize has two three parts: Training shows you each day's prescribed workouts and your completed rides in a calendar. The Optimize section shows your Sleep, HRV, OTS and Load numerically, and then your Optimization score numerically and visually in a color-coded graphic. This is the Needle - the summation of how your training and recovery are balancing. And then the Library is where our entire collection of training plans, workouts, meal plans and recipes is stored, all of which are available to subscribers.  Head to the App Store or Google Play store and download Optimize today!

Happy Thanksgiving, FasCats! We made a special edition this week: In the spirit of Thanksgiving, we dedicated this episode to the people and things for which we are grateful this year. Each of our coaches and even a few FasCat athletes check in on this episode. At FasCat we are all grateful for you, our cycling community. The Big Cat would like to take this time to remimd you to Work Hard, Ride Fast, Enjoy Thanksgiving, and FTFP.  

Winter is upon many of us, and Coach Jake Rytlewski and Ben Delaney are in indoor cycling mode. Perhaps you are, too. On this episode, Jake and Ben chat about what works well for them and what doesn't work so well, in terms of training, habits, hardware, and other indoor gear. Coach Jake is a Level 50 Zwifter, former professional racer and longtime professional coach. Ben is a level 48 Zwifter who once did a 500km indoor ride for charity. Both are dads who appreciate the time savings, social elements, and fun and challenge of Zwift. Want to get on a training plan or work directly with Coach Jake? Head on over to FasCatCoaching.com and use the code 25PODCAST to save 25% off your first purchase.