FasCat Cycling Training Tips Podcast

Goals are great to have, but a specific plan to reach your goals is where the rubber meets the road - or trail.  In this podcast Coach Elliott Baring walks you through the three steps to achieve your cycling goals: determine your goals determine the demands of your goals build the training timeline to reach your goals As a precursor, the nine talented athletes who comprise the Optimize Collective tell us what they are training for, and how they are working with their coach to get there. Then, Coach Elliott breaks down how you can set your training to achieve your goals, using some examples of two-time Unbound Gravel winner Lauren De Crescenzo, whom he is coaching this year, as well as his own goals, like Belgian Waffle Ride North Carolina and the Leadville Trail 100. -- Have you been enjoying the FasCat Podcast? Please leave us a review on the App Store or Google Play. Thanks! You can save 25% off a subscription to Optimize — your year-round training solution with unlimited training plans, meal plans, and strength and conditioning videos — with the code 25podcast.

Group Rides and Sweet Spot - two things we love here at FasCat. This podcast puts the two together.  If you’re new to the pod, welcome! And if you’re new to the concept of Sweet Spot, know that it’s a training zone and a training technique. As a zone, it's between 84% to 97% of your functional threshold power.  At FasCat, we have Sweet Spot training baked into many of our training plans, especially at this time of the year. And yes, you can do Sweet Spot workouts on the trainer or by yourself. But cycling is often more fun with others, and the real jedi magic for training is when you can incorporate specific training into either the landscape - like hills or wind - or group rides or even races! So, how to Sweet Spot in the group ride? The answer, as always is: IT DEPENDS. So we discuss a few scenarios: Hard group rides, medium hard group rides, and then the all-important post-ride analysis. This is the fourth episode in an eight-pod series on Sweet Spot. -- Have you been enjoying the FasCat Podcast? Please leave us a review on the App Store or Google Play. Thanks! You can save 25% off a subscription to Optimize — your year-round training solution with unlimited training plans, meal plans, and strength and conditioning videos — with the code 25podcast.  

There are so many rad races available for us in 2024, and here, the FasCat Coaches walk you through 40 events that we're excited about. We’ve got recommendations for road events, gravel events, stages races, mountain bike events, gran fondo events, and more. While most of the races we suggest are in the United States (as this is our area of expertise), we do have a trio of recommendations in Europe. When you’ve picked out an event or events you want to train for, we have two great ways to help you get there: -an Optimize subscription with unlimited training plans -personal coaching with one of the experts you hear on this podcast Happy New Year and all the best in 2024! -- Have you been enjoying the FasCat Podcast? Please leave us a review on the App Store or Google Play. Thanks! You can save 25% off a subscription to Optimize — your year-round training solution with unlimited training plans, meal plans, and strength and conditioning videos — with the code 25podcast.

Riding too hard, too often. Bonking. Not having fun! As cyclists, we have some bad habits, and this podcast is about a few common ailments, and how to avoid them. Today we have Coach Ricky Arnopol joining us to talk about 6 Bad Habits he often sees in his coached athletes, his pro teammates on the UCI Continental Team Project Echelon, and cyclists in general. --- Have you been enjoying the FasCat Podcast? Please leave us a review on the App Store or Google Play. Thanks! You can save 25% off a subscription to Optimize — your year-round training solution with unlimited training plans, meal plans, and strength and conditioning videos — with the code 25podcast.

To sweet spot or not to sweet spot - that is NOT the question! Of course you should sweet spot. Everybody does - whether they are doing so consciously or not. But WHEN to sweet spot, and WHEN NOT to sweet spot,  THAT is the question. And that is the subject of today’s podcast. If you don’t have time to listen to the entire pod, or you get interrupted, the takeaway here is that most of you should be sweetspotting now, during the winter and early spring, and then when you switch from base to race, that’s when you should stop sweet spotting and focus on your intervals. --- Have you been enjoying the FasCat Podcast? Please leave us a review on the App Store or Google Play. Thanks! You can save 25% off your subscription to Optimize — your year-round training solution with unlimited training plans, meal plans and strength and conditioning videos — with the code 25podcast.

Training is more fun and effective when you’re comfortable and stoked on your gear.  Sure, you could train like Rocky in cotton sweats in the freezing cold of a Philadelphia winter, or stare at the wall of a basement on a trainer like Graeme Obree, but for most of us, having good gear makes a world of difference, whether in clothing or digital measurement and entertainment. So on this podcast we are talking about gear! We’ve got all the coaches cued up with hot picks, we are talking gear we know and love and recommend, as well as some pieces we do not own but are coveting. We’re talking about clothing. power meters, heart rate monitors, wearables, outside bikes, inside bikes, smart trainers, tires, software and more. And, we’re talking about great products from our partners where you get discounts on everything as a subscriber to Optimize - including Castelli, Stages, Ventum, Hammerhead, and Whoop.   --- Have you been enjoying the FasCat Podcast? Please leave us a review on the App Store or Google Play. Thanks! You can save 25% off your subscription to Optimize — your year-round training solution with unlimited training plans, meal plans and strength and conditioning videos — with the code 25podcast.

What, when and how much - those are the three big questions of training.  We dig into that question for our second podcast in an 8-pod series on Sweet Spot: How much Sweet Spot should you do? There is no one-size-fits-all answer, of course, and how much Sweet Spot you should do depends on: Your ability level The time of year The type and duration of the event you are training for Your training progression from week to week In this podcast we break down several scenarios so we can leave you with a good understanding of the what, the when, and the how much. Here is a link to the chart by ability, discipline and time of year that we reference in the pod: https://fascatcoaching.com/blogs/training-tips/how-much-sweet-spot-training --- Have you been enjoying the FasCat Podcast? Please leave us a review on the App Store or Google Play. Thanks! You can save 25% off your subscription to Optimize — your year-round training solution with unlimited training plans, meal plans and strength and conditioning videos — with the code 25podcast.

This podcast explores Sweet Spot training in cycling, its definition and origins, and its role in improving power, endurance, and durability. They discuss the importance of individualization in sweet spot training, when to use it, and when to avoid it. The chapter also touches on optimized training stress rides and the benefits of sweet spot training for older athletes. Overall, the podcast provides valuable insights into the effectiveness and advantages of incorporating Sweet Spot training into your cycling regimen.

This podcast explores the benefits of gratitude on mental and physical well-being. They discuss 'grateful intervals' and express gratitude towards the podcast community. They also announce a Black Friday sale and a new training camp in Tucson, Arizona. The efficiency of pedal systems and the impact on performance are explored. Experts find no measurable difference in power transfer despite increased pedal stiffness. The benefits of using mountain bike pedals and shoes are discussed. The hosts share their experience using Fastcat's training plans and coaches, and introduce the topic of intervals. They express gratitude for various aspects of their lives and work. Finally, they discuss taking things one step at a time to achieve long-term goals and the benefits of gratitude.

From the Flanders Sportive to the Leadville Trail 100 to Unbound Gravel to just being fit for the group ride, riders have a wide variety of cycling goals for 2024. But how do you get there? How do you time and stack up your various training plans and goals to arrive at your event primed and ready to go?  That’s exactly what this podcast is all about. We’ll talk about the three main elements of training you need, and how to work your way backwards from your target to right here, right now.  Those three elements are: Off season training - with weights, or not Base training - with Sweet Spot Interval training / event-specific plans - with long endurance training   On this podcast we walk you through four goal scenarios, to help you understand how to tweak the training process to get where you want to go. And we’re going to tell you about how our Optimize app can automate and simplify this whole process for you - all while tracking your progress and your training-to-recovery balance. --- Have you been enjoying the FasCat Podcast? Please leave us a review on the App Store or Google Play. Thanks! You can save 25% off your subscription to Optimize — your year-round training solution with unlimited training plans, meal plans and strength and conditioning videos — with the code 25podcast.