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Our coaches answer your questions on identifying limiters, how to take a rest week on a low volume plan, resuming training after a break, training for fitness vs racing, total time in zone vs structured intervals, the things that cyclists under-optimize, making the most of unusually large training weeks, the benefits of ice cream, and much more.
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This is a critical look at our previous podcast episodes on VO2max training, and with hindsight provide new and additional context on those training recommendations, plus other effective ways to do VO2max training, with their coaching and contextual aspects. We investigate some instances of "VO2max blocks" in the scientific literature, reexamine the 30/15s paper, and discuss additional factors that confound the interpretation of those and other published results before considering how we can use that information to our advantage when training.
Show Notes Mood and cycling performance in response to three weeks of high-intensity, short-duration overtraining and a 2 week taper Iron status in cyclists during high-intensity interval training and recovery Variable carbohydrate intake during interval training: effects on stress hormones and cycling performance Iron Status in Cyclists During High-Intensity Interval Training and Recovery Enhanced cycling performance despite training induced immunosuppression following successive days of intense training Superior performance improvements in elite cyclists following short-interval vs effort-matched long-interval training Greater improvement in aerobic capacity after a polarized training program including cycling interval training at low cadence (50–70 RPM) than freely chosen cadence (above 80 RPM)
This is a practical guide to FTP training, through three lenses: where you are in your season, where you are in your training journey, and opportunity cost. In each instance we think about reasonable expectations for improvement, if you should add more power or interval time, when to switch to VO2max training, periodization strategies, and how to prioritize your training. We also answer listener questions on over unders, progressing longer or shorter intervals, block training, in-season maintenance, and more.
This is a dive into research showing increased AMPK activation with low glycogen stores. We break down a paper discerning how AMPK does this, subsequent changes to AMPK's activity levels, and then come to some logical training conclusions. Along the way are some takeaways on interpreting and applying mechanistic research.
Show Notes The glycogen-binding domain on the AMPK beta subunit allows the kinase to act as a glycogen sensor Regulation of 5'AMP-activated protein kinase activity and substrate utilization in exercising human skeletal muscle
Our coaches Will and Giancarlo join the podcast to talk through their experience with cramps, and what's been done to attenuate them. We briefly discuss predictors of exercise associated muscle cramps as well as current theories about why they do occur, while most of the episode is spent on practical considerations, and the long list of potential solutions.
Show Notes Muscle cramps: A comparison of the two-leading hypothesis Muscle cramping in athletes--risk factors, clinical assessment, and management
Taking enough rest can be intimidating if it's unfamiliar territory. Our resident philosophers of rest Rory and Maeghan join to take a deep dive into the most common reasons we see people being scared of sufficient recovery. We include plenty of practical takeaways for what to expect when resting, how much is too much, building new habits, knowing when you can get back into training, what not to do, and more.
Six of our Empirical Cycling coaches put their heads together to answer your questions on whether mid season breaks will set your fitness back to the dark ages, managing burnout and disappointment, if younger athletes can still overtrain, balancing intensity and volume, work and family stress, being a "good student" as a coached athlete, training habits, and things cyclists put an emphasis on that they shouldn't.
Today we use Rory's recent post event slump to discuss strategies for refocusing and finding motivation again. This is mostly through the lens of goal setting and how to incorporate season planning, fun and unstructured riding, new disciplines, time with friends and family, being flexible, as well as listener questions on realistic goal setting, coping with not meeting goals, training vs racing motivation, and more.
Our very own coach James Mckay sits down to talk about the road to achieving his cycling career goal, a victory at the Lincoln Grand Prix. As this was his last race being coached by Kolie, they take a retrospective look at all the challenges and hard work that went into the last four years of training that made this such an incredible moment: volume, race specific intensity, cramps, heat training, race weight, pressure for results, and the unanticipated way it all came together.
After walking through the general structure and purpose of rest weeks, we break down the decision trees we use to plan rest weeks ahead of time, or what we look for to add them reactively. We also discuss using subjective metrics in rest week planning, plus if and when we wouldn't trust those metrics. Then we answer your listener questions, including mental fatigue, HRV and RHR, skipping rest weeks, accounting for soreness, and more.
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