FasCat Cycling Training Tips Podcast

Spring is here, and the weather is no longer an excuse to not ride longer and more. But, we get it, just because the weather is better, doesn’t mean riding more is necessarily easier. That’s why in the podcast episode, Coach Frank is here to make riding more each week a lot more simple with some simple training tactics. Coach Frank dives into why you need to ride more, FasCat’s top strategies and coaching tips for riding more, a 16-week training guide progression to help your ride more, and three long rides we love to subscribe at FasCat. With these tips, you will double your ride time this summer! Are you ready?! What Coach Frank discusses: 4:00 - Overview of increasing time in the saddle 11:00 - Strategy 13:00 - 3 Different long rides 19:00 - Riding longer tips Get your FasCat on-bike training and nutrition plan now! Head over to fascatcoaching.com.

Welcome to Part 3 of our three-part series on stage racing! This mini-series is brought to you by coach Isaiah from the Tuscon Bicycle Classic Stage Race where Coach Ricky and Coach Zach were both racing for Project Echelon.  The Tuscon Bicycle Classic is a large stage race and has always been a big staple for pro riders as an early-season race. Coach Isaiah interviews the two on their mental and physical preparation – giving you an inside look into how pro bike racers prepare for each stage in a stage race. They also chat through what the next stage is and what some of their race tactics are, how the previous stage went in general, and what goes on behind the scenes at a pro stage race. Be sure to check out Part 1 and 2 first!

Welcome to Part 2 of our three-part series on stage racing! This mini-series is brought to you by coach Isaiah from the Tuscon Bicycle Classic Stage Race where Coach Ricky and Coach Zach were both racing for Project Echelon.  The Tuscon Bicycle Classic is a large stage race and has always been a big staple for pro riders as an early-season race. Coach Isaiah interviews the two on their mental and physical preparation – giving you an inside look into how pro bike racers prepare for each stage in a stage race. They also chat through what the next stage is and what some of their race tactics are, how the previous stage went in general, and what goes on behind the scenes at a pro stage race. Stay tuned for Part 3!

Welcome to Part 1 of our three-part series on stage racing! This mini-series is brought to you by coach Isaiah from the Tuscon Bicycle Classic Stage Race where Coach Ricky and Coach Zach were both racing for Project Echelon.  The Tuscon Bicycle Classic is a large stage race and has always been a big staple for pro riders as an early-season race. Coach Isaiah interviews the two on their mental and physical preparation – giving you an inside look into how pro bike racers prepare for each stage in a stage race. They also chat through what the next stage is and what some of their race tactics are, how the previous stage went in general, and what goes on behind the scenes at a pro stage race. Stay tuned for Part 2 and Part 3!

Did you know we are data scientists for the Human Powered Health Professional Women's Team? We analyze the entire women's team's power, heart rate, sleep, and HRV data, literally everything in their training and racing. We're able to then use their data to help their team perform at their best. Coach Isaiah and I have been working for the Women's World Tour Team Human-Powered Health since the beginning of the year as their data scientists. In this episode, that's what we're going to talk about – our work with the women's team. We not only discuss the data we analyze, we also dive into the surveys we have the riders fill out in order to put their data into context, the reports we provide to the team, and then how the team uses those reports for improving their training and performance. Riding bikes fast isn't just about FtFP, it's also about analyzing all data possible to come up with the best plan possible.  Check the team out https://humanpoweredhealth.com/ and you may use 25podcast to receive 25% off your first FasCat Training Plan that uses the same smarts, science and methodology as the pro's. 

Should you be doing pyramidal training only, pyramidal training only, or a mix of both? Which format is most effective? This is a controversial topic and one we’re going to dive deep into today in this episode of the FasCat Coaching podcast. More specifically, there have been a few recent studies released, as well as debates happening, within the scientific community that we will dissect, followed by Coach Christian and myself sharing our thoughts and experience on the subject. What we discuss: - A recent study was done on the “Effects of 16 weeks of pyramidal and polarized training intensity distributions in well-trained endurance runners”. The study compares 4 different groups: 16 weeks of polarized, 16 weeks of pyramidal, 8 weeks of polarized then 8 weeks of pyramidal, and 8 weeks of pyramidal then 8 weeks of polarized. - Sports Science journal series of debate articles titled “Polarized Training is Not Optimal for Endurance Athletes” and “Polarized Training is Optimal for Endurance Athletes.” The author and columnist for Outside Magazine, Alex Hutchinson, wrote an excellent summation (and to an extent, take-down) of these arguments in his column Sweat Science.  - Olympic Speedskater Nils van der Poel’s 60 page PDF directing his training plan for the Olympics. Van der Poel is a speedskater from Sweden who recently won Olympic gold in the 5,000 and 10,000 meters, setting world records in the process. You can check out his pdf here: e11bfe_b783631375f543248e271f440bcd45c5.pdf (howtoskate.se) Sources: 1.  Polarized Training is Not Optimal for Endurance Athletes Burnley, Mark; Bearden, Shawn; Jones, Andrew Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise AN: 00005768-900000000-95869 February 2022 2.  Polarized Training is Optimal for Endurance Athletes Foster, Carl; Casado, Arturo; Esteve-Lanao, Jonathan; Haugen, Thomas; Seiler, Stephen Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise AN: 00005768-900000000-95872 February 2022 Get started with FasCat: www.fascatcoaching.com

Want to increase your power output? VO2 max intervals are the answer. Although, the issue is that many riders are new to power meters or don't know how to use them correctly in order to perform their VO2 max intervals for maximum returns. That's why in this episode of the FasCat podcast, Coach Frank gives us a step-by-step guide on how to perform these intervals with a power meter correctly. He also outlines the most common mistakes riders make and how you can avoid them. Plus, Coach Frank dives into how to do the power analysis post-ride so you learn what watts you should target for your next vo2 max interval workout. (This is the best way to evaluate your  'technique' tp see maximum gains!) Important notes: - In this podcast we are covering zone 5 only. - You will also need to know your power base zones for this episode. If you don't know you what it is, check out this article: HOW TO PERFORM VO2 MAX INTERVALS WITH YOUR POWERMETER https://fascatcoaching.com/blogs/training-tips/vo2-max-intervals?_pos=5&_sid=c99cea4ac&_ss=r Ready to take your riding to the next level? Check out our training plans here:  https://fascatcoaching.com/collections/training-plans Ben's Celebration of Life: Ben Brown’s Celebration of Life is Sunday, March 13, 2022 11:00am - 1:00pm The Venue at Wilmington Brewing Company 800 S. Kerr Ave, Wilmington, NC 28403. Please come and join us for an informal gathering of friends and family to celebrate the incredible life of Ben. https://www.fightforben.com/blog/celebration-of-life  

Guess what? We have another new coach on the FasCat team and we couldn’t be more excited! Dr. Lauren Costantini, PHD has a holistic approach to training where she focuses on fitness, nutrition and sleep altogther, as the three work synergystically. And in this episode of the FasCat podcast, we dive into her background on these three things. Plus, we also chat about her time as a professor at Harvard, her switch to the BioTech world and the products she developed, plus how she managed her time while being a CEO and racing bikes! For a quick look into Lauren, she has a PhD in Neuroscience and was on faculty at Harvard Medical School before moving cross-country to enter the biotech world of Silicon Valley. She then became the CEO of a medical device wearables company. Though a dancer from the ages of 3 to 18 years old, Lauren entered the cycling world in her late 20s and soon became a nationally ranked professional bike racer (including a bronze medal at Mountain Bike Masters Worlds and Gravel Worlds, and multiple Cyclocross National podiums).  After facing back fusion surgery in 2019, she spent months researching scientific peer-reviewed studies to identify the best foods, strength training, and sleep science to enhance her recovery. This led not only to a remarkable recovery from surgery, but also elevated her athletic performance and vitality when she was back on the bike.  Her story is beyond interesting, so tune into the full episode to hear more! What we discuss: 5:00 - An intro to our newest FasCat coach 13:00 - How Lauren got stated with riding 18:00 - How to race and work a full time job 21:00 - Working in the biotech world 33:00 - Why Lauren became a coach 40:00 - How much should you sleep at night? 50:00 - Rapid fire questions Check out Lauren's superfood recipe: https://www.instagram.com/p/CaFhvSmudQ6/ Want a nutrition plan from Coach Lauren? Click here to learn more: https://fascatcoaching.com/collections/coaches/products/dr-lauren-costantini-phd

In this episode of the FasCat Coaching Podcast, I’m joined by one of our newest coaches, Ricky Arnopol. We have some good cyclist to cyclists training talk, chatting about everything from Ricky’s favorite ways to train himself and his riders, what’s contributed most to his riding progress, his riding nutrition, and a bunch of fun rapid fire questions.   After getting a late start to racing, Ricky Arnopol has been slowly chipping away at competing at the highest level races in the United States as well as racing internationally. While continuing to race for Project Echelon, Ricky has put his experience and knowledge towards working with athletes of all disciplines and abilities. His number one goal is to guide everyone he works with towards achieving their goals.    5:00 - Background on coach’s Ricky’s riding 10:00 - What has contributed the most to his progress 20:00 - Ricky’s goals for 2022 28:00 - Ricky’s riding nutrition 32:00 - Dream spot to ride his bike 34:00 - His personal go-to workout/ride 36:00 - The workout he has all his rider do that they hate 40:00 - Fun rapid fire questions   Get coached by Ricky here: https://fascatcoaching.com/collections/coaches/products/ricky-arnopol

We are excited to have our newest coach to the FasCat team onto the podcast to get a deep dive into his training, preferences, thoughts, and everything in between. Coach Frank has a list of 20 questions he asks every coach and Zach gives us some killer answers!  Zach has been a cycling coach since 2018. His educational background includes a Masters in Exercise Physiology from Midwestern State University, pre-med from Colorado Mesa University.  Zach most recently worked as the assistant Cycling Coach for Lees McRae College and continues to volunteer time to Project Echelon’s veteran and adaptive athletes. His cycling career was positively impacted by his time at Midwestern State where he raced on the road and track, winning the 2019 Collegiate Individual Time Trial and several podiums on the track.  He continues to race on the road with Project Echelon and is the 2021 Elite Time Trial champion, a title he will defend in 2022 while racing at the highest level domestically and racing internationally.  Zach has experience working with athletes of all ability levels and is eager to share his knowledge of the sport.  Get coached by Zack: https://fascatcoaching.com/products/coach-zach-gregg?_pos=1&_sid=fd1113b6f&_ss=r