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Ten Minute Tips #28: FTP and VO2max Thoughts and Listener Questions

5/14/2023

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Empirical Cycling Podcast · Ten Minute Tips #28: FTP and VO2max Thoughts and Listener Questions
This episode contains expanded musings on VO2max and FTP training and progression, based on the years of feedback since the VO2max series debuted. We talk about whether or not you need to work in blocks, ways to determine the effects, interval durations, whether to start hard or not, recovery timelines, and more. We also answer your listener questions on time in zone, breathing, periodization, high cadence, testing, and more.
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Perspectives #19: Adaptation, Signaling, and Performance, with Andy Coggan

9/29/2022

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Empirical Cycling Podcast · Perspectives #19: Adaptation, Signaling, and Performance, with Andy Coggan
Andy Coggan joins the podcast again to discuss everything we didn't get to in the previous episode. We get back stories behind the adaptations by training zones chart and the category and w/kg chart. We also go in depth with nitrate supplementation, vo2max training. if burning fat makes you burn more fat, if signaling studies translate to performance, and the nature of adaptation itself. There are plenty of pithy proverbs along the way.
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Perspectives #18: Overcoming Historical Inertia, with Andy Coggan

9/16/2022

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Empirical Cycling Podcast · Perspectives #18: Overcoming Historical Inertia, with Andy Coggan
In this episode, Andy Coggan discusses FTP and its context among various threshold definitions, the infamous "hour of power", and the legacy of Training And Racing With A Power Meter. We also discuss Andy's lack of social media presence, the chapters he's written on the history of exercise physiology, and delve into some topics in exercise metabolism including VLamax, substrate use at FTP, methods and interpretations of the lactate shuttle, and more.
​
Show Notes
Muscle contraction paper
Mitochondrial potassium paper
Andrew Coggan at IUPUI
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Ten Minute Tips #23: How Much FTP Training Is Too Much?

8/29/2022

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Empirical Cycling Podcast · Ten Minute Tips #23: How Much FTP Training Is Too Much?
More FTP may be better, but not always. This episode explores ideas around how FTP can be overemphasized in training in both the short and long term, leading to suboptimal fitness and race outcomes.
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Watts Doc #39: Why You Probably Can't Hold Your FTP For An Hour

8/15/2022

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Empirical Cycling Podcast · Watts Doc #39: Why You Probably Can't Hold Your FTP For An Hour
Think your FTP is the power you can hold for 60 minutes? Think again! We dig into a classic Billat paper on time to exhaustion (TTE) and training threshold by adding time in zone. Then we discuss into the metabolic implications of these results, how they align with real world experience, and how this affects training and assessment of its effectiveness. Finally, we answer your questions as asked in Kolie's Instagram stories @empiricalcycling.

Show Notes
​Billat TTE paper on masters runners
​Introduction to TTE in WKO5
​
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Ten Minute Tips #22: Training Myths, Part 2

8/1/2022

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Empirical Cycling Podcast · Ten Minute Tips #22: Training Myths, Part 2
Should you always train like you race? In this episode we investigate three myths related to this idea, and find some grains of truth along the way. The myths are 1. Sprinters and non-sprinters really need to train aerobic systems differently. 2. Crit racers mostly need to focus on anaerobic efforts. 3. You won’t need to train FTP if you don't race time trials. We touch on some track sprinting as well, and of course answer listener questions from Kolie's instagram, so follow him there if you'd like to ask a question on the podcast.
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Ten Minute Tips #19: FTP Testing Shortcuts

4/20/2022

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Empirical Cycling Podcast · Ten Minute Tips #19: FTP Testing Shortcuts
​Kolie and Kyle discuss the mental and physical aspects of going into an FTP test and add some perspective on nerves, rest, and softening blows to the ego. Then three alternative RPE or data based, submaximal methods are discussed. We also touch on tests that go too well and how to adjust to realistic numbers for training, and why it's better to be consistent than play whack-a-mole with occasional good days.
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2021 Best of Instagram AMA Questions

2/7/2022

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Empirical Cycling Podcast · 2021 Best of Instagram AMA Questions
Kolie spent yet another year on Instagram (@empiricalcycling) answering questions in the stories for 51 out of 52 weeks to add a bright interlude to doom scrolling. This podcast contains 32 questions under the topics training intensity, periodization, adaptation, and general. Timestamps for the headings are below.

Show Notes
Timestamps (approximate) for question groupings.

Intensity related: ~2min
  • Straight from the first Q&A of 2021: Best way to gauge RPE?
  • Can you describe the RPE you like to prescribe for endurance rides?
  • Over/unders crush me. Sweet spot is easy. Normal?
  • When they say 2-3 high intensity workouts per week, does SST count towards that?
  • Thoughts on HR decoupling, and whether you should or shouldn’t push past it (in z2)?
  • Is it still realistic to believe that FTP is within a certain percentage of vo2max watts?
  • Does your FTP change day to day depending on internal/external factors OR during a big day?!
  • Percentage FTP for effective endurance ride? Does it have to be 75%?
Periodization: ~37min
  • Thoughts on mixing vo2max and threshold in the same block?
  • Historically poor anaerobic capacity even with focused training. Should I work on it all year?
  • When coming off a month break from training, what would you start with?
  • Is there such thing as vo2max maintenance? Like 1 workout every other week type of thing?
  • Do elite riders actually only stick to polarized approach? Or is there actually more variation?
  • What kind of long term planning goes into an elite training plan vs an amateur? Like a multi-year view?
  • Generalized version of many questions: How much aerobic training is needed for the track and/or shorter events like hill climbs? ALSO lots of training binaries questions, i.e. should i train anaerobic or aerobic?
Adaptation: ~60min 
  • Do aerobic gains require protein?
  • Does anaerobic work kill off mitochondria?
  • Can you have a high vlamax and a high ftp?
  • My vlamax is 0.31, how important is vlamax for crits? Do I need to increase?
  • On FTP: push it up, pull it up, or both? And does strategy change during the season?
  • Why training fasted of carbs when training aerobic base is touted to bring on adaptations?
  • How to train repeatability? All out until you can’t go over threshold? Or incomplete rest?
​General: ~80min
  • Any favorite training experiment from a year with no racing?
  • Does sex decrease performance on the day?
  • Cycling specific joint angles in lifts or full ROM?
  • Out of saddle increases HR and RPE… what to do? Train it more?
  • Thoughts on recent research re: use of ketones to prevent symptoms of overtraining?
  • Can you be at vo2max if not at HR max?
  • Why is resting so hard?
  • Things that pros do but hasn’t been proven by science (yet)?
  • Possible to get stronger and lose weight at the same time?
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Ten Minute Tips #18: Metrics Are Not Fitness

1/29/2022

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Empirical Cycling Podcast · Ten Minute Tips #18: Metrics Are Not Fitness
This episode takes a cue from Kolie's recent webinar on balancing aerobic and anaerobic training (linked in show notes) and delves deeper into the temptations of training to a metric or fitness test. We deconstruct some common FTP tests and metrics like FTP, FRC or W', and VLamax, and their interpretations and over-interpretations. Most of the discussion is about what drives these metrics, the pitfalls therein, and if you're actually getting less fit when they shift.

Show Notes
WKO5 Webinar: Balancing Aerobic and Anaerobic Training

Cat links!
Millie Instagram
Kelvin Instagram
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Watts Doc #26: FTP Testing Revisited

9/14/2020

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Empirical Cycling Podcast · Watts Doc #26: FTP Testing Revisited
This episode revisits FTP testing. We look at the progressions outlined in the 2018 FTP testing article, intensity domains, FTP, heart rate, and critical power, ramp tests, and defining terms in the sciences. We also look at "training ruts" and their effects on open-ended FTP tests, and methods to avoid those ruts. The podcast concludes with discussing definitions of various thresholds in the scientific literature.

Show Notes
FTP testing article
https://www.trainingpeaks.com/blog/the-physiology-of-ftp-and-new-testing-protocols/

"Gray Zone" paper
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32149880/
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