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Perspectives #31: Race Specific Intensity and Tapering, with Alex Carmona

12/12/2023

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Empirical Cycling Podcast · Perspectives #31: Race Specific Intensity and Tapering, with Alex Carmona
After you've built up your aerobic engine, what does it mean to get ready to race? Empirical Cycling coach Alex Carmona brings his wealth of coaching and racing experience when discussing transitioning from your build to harder efforts, honing non-fitness skills, the balance of racing and workout intensity in season, and race specific preparation examples. We also discuss tapering into one day races, stage races, high and low volume tapering, guidelines about how often it should be done per year, and as always, your listener questions.
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Watts Doc #45: How High Intensity Aerobic Adaptations With AMPK Do (And Don't) Work

9/4/2023

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Empirical Cycling Podcast · Watts Doc #45: How High Intensity Aerobic Adaptations With AMPK Do (And Don't) Work
This episode takes a long look at the mechanisms behind aerobic adaptations from high intensity exercise, starting with an early study showing how AMPK activation leads directly to mitochondrial biogenesis, followed by a recent meta-analysis showing when high intensity exercise does and doesn't lead to adaptation. We provide guidelines in terms of exercise intensity, duration, and how well trained you are. Then we give some practical takeaways, plus debunk all the ways "hacking" this adaptive signal chain don't work. Marinus Petersen of KiloWatt Coaching steps in as a guest co-host for Kyle and provides an additional perspective from his coaching experience, and his formal exercise physiology education.​

Show Notes
Chronic activation of AMP kinase results in NRF-1 activation and mitochondrial biogenesis
Factors Influencing AMPK Activation During Cycling Exercise: A Pooled Analysis and Meta-Regression
Skeletal muscle AMPK is not activated during 2 h of moderate intensity exercise at ∼65% ?˙O2peak in endurance trained men
Carbohydrate improves exercise capacity but does not affect subcellular lipid droplet morphology, AMPK and p53 signalling in human skeletal muscle
Effect of exercise intensity and hypoxia on skeletal muscle AMPK signaling and substrate metabolism in humans

Marinus' email
KiloWatt Coaching IG
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Ten Minute Tips #27: Programming Over-Under Workouts

3/19/2023

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Empirical Cycling Podcast · Ten Minute Tips #27: Programming Over-Under Workouts
​This episode goes into Kolie's philosophy on programming and structuring over/under workouts. Duration of overs and unders, intensity guidelines, additional manipulation like cadence, how to progress them, and suggestions for disciplines like CX, MTB, crits, and track. We also discuss some alternative workouts to achieve some of the same touted benefits of over/unders such as better buffering capacity, and your listener questions.
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Watts Doc #38: Phosphocreatine Is A Critical Aerobic Energy System

6/3/2022

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Empirical Cycling Podcast · Watts Doc #38: Phosphocreatine Is A Critical Aerobic Energy System
While the phosphocreatine energy system is well known for sprinting, it also has another crucial role as part of the aerobic energy system. We delve into creatine's part in not only temporal energy buffering, but spatial too, and how cells are organized to support this and how badly organisms suffer without it. Then we look at more research showing that the aerobic recovery of phosphocreatine is highly correlated with repeated sprint power, and come to some practical conclusions we can make from the research.

Show Notes
"Conveyor Belt" paper: Mitochondrial creatine kinase in human health and disease
Impaired voluntary running capacity of creatine kinase-deficient mice
Relationship between different measures of aerobic fitness and repeated-sprint ability in elite soccer players
The Recovery of Repeated-Sprint Exercise Is Associated with PCr Resynthesis, while Muscle pH and EMG Amplitude Remain Depressed
​
You're Training Too Hard For Criteriums -- Here's Why
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The "creatine conveyor belt" main pathway.
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The mitochondrial structure of embedded creatine kinase enzymes to aid energy buffering.
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Watts Doc #28: Why HIT May Not Make You Faster

12/4/2020

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Empirical Cycling Podcast · Watts Doc #28: Why HIT May Not Make You Faster
This episode looks at some cellular mechanisms of how HIT training leads to adaptation, or maybe doesn't. Ryanodine receptors, free radicals, calcium, the size principle, fluorescent mouse muscles, and more!

Show Notes
Ryanodine receptor fragmentation and sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ leak after one session of high-intensity interval exercise
https://www.pnas.org/content/112/50/15492

High-Intensity Interval Training Shock Microcycle for Enhancing Sport Performance: A Brief Review​
https://journals.lww.com/nsca-jscr/Fulltext/2020/04000/High_Intensity_Interval_Training_Shock_Microcycle.39.aspx
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Watts Doc #27: Training Repeated Sprint Ability

11/25/2020

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Empirical Cycling Podcast · Watts Doc #27: Training Repeated Sprint Ability
This episode compares several types of steady state endurance training to the ability to perform repeated efforts above threshold and sprints. It outlines some of the science behind the different adaptations, training strategies to improve your ability, and suggested methods to track this specific type of fitness.

Show Notes
https://www.trainingpeaks.com/blog/youre-training-too-hard-for-criteriums-heres-why/​
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Example EF and HR decoupling chart over a full build cycle.
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Example of repeated sprint workout.
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Watts Doc #24: Listener Questions on VO2max Training and Rønnestad 30/15s

8/2/2020

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Empirical Cycling Podcast · Watts Doc #24: Listener Questions on VO2max Training and Rønnestad 30/15s
We answer your questions from the last episode on VO2max training, and, also at listener request, we look at some of last episode's Rønnestad material that got cut out.

VO2max questions include:
Aspects of position like standing and TT bikes.
Transfer of heart adaptations to normal cadence riding.
The right cadence, pacing, and terrain for intervals, rest intervals.
How Kolie would structure VO2max training for thousands of cyclists at a time.
What 30/15s (and other intermittent intervals) do better than raise VO2max.
Periodizing VO2max through a season.
What does it take to make your training adaptations your "new normal"?

Show Note
​No show notes. Thanks for listening!
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Watts Doc #23: Training Your VO2max, and Why Not Rønnestad 30/15 Intervals

7/20/2020

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Empirical Cycling Podcast · Watts Doc #23: Training Your VO2max, and Why Not Rønnestad 30/15 Intervals
This episode is the focal point of the previous VO2max episodes. We take the physiology from the previous episodes and use it to find easy ways to improve the effectiveness of any VO2max interval set. Ways to change your cadence, interval times, rest times, and interval intensities are discussed. Then we take apart a Ronnestad study on 30/15s and put it in context of VO2max and other fitness adaptations. We conclude with a training philosophy discussion on the physiology of true long term VO2max improvements.​​​​

Show Notes
Haematological rather than skeletal muscle adaptations contribute to the increase in peak oxygen uptake induced by moderate endurance training
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26282186/

Cycling cadence alters exercise hemodynamics
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8775571/

Superior performance improvements in elite cyclists following short-interval vs effort-matched long-interval training
​​https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31977120/
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Watts Doc #4: How High Intensity Interval Training Makes You Faster

4/8/2019

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What do high intensity intervals, the original Tabata protocol, and a calcium leak have in common? Kolie and Kyle take a look at three scientific papers, what they might mean for you, and how to apply the conclusions to your training.

Show Notes

1996 Tabata study. Full text available. Effects of moderate-intensity endurance and high-intensity intermittent training on anaerobic capacity and VO(2max)

2015 Ryanodine receptor study, full text. Ryanodine receptor fragmentation and sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ leak after one session of high-intensity interval exercise

3x20 FTP vs HIT study on gene expression. ​Mitochondrial gene expression in elite cyclists: effects of high-intensity interval exercise
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Watts Doc #2: Why You're Training Too Hard For Criteriums

4/1/2019

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Bad news, everyone. You're training too hard for crits. Kolie and Kyle uncover the physiology of what makes someone successful at criteriums, cyclocross, and other types of repeated sprint performances. It's probably not what you think.
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