Empirical Cycling Podcast

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Do you want to know how training makes you faster? Listen in. Kolie is a leading expert in endurance, sprint, and strength training for cyclists. Kyle is a NASA scientist and national champion sprinter on the track. Empirical Cycling is a coaching company specializing in individualized training pla…

Empirical Cycling


    • Jun 16, 2025 LATEST EPISODE
    • every other week NEW EPISODES
    • 1h 20m AVG DURATION
    • 165 EPISODES

    Ivy Insights

    The Empirical Cycling Podcast is a must-listen for anyone interested in cycling and improving their performance. Hosted by scientists Kolie Moore and Kyle Hirsh, this podcast provides a wealth of information backed by scientific research that is both informative and accessible to all listeners. Unlike other coaches or podcast personalities, these guys truly understand the intricacies of cycling and bring a level of expertise that is unparalleled.

    One of the best aspects of this podcast is the depth to which they dive into various topics. Moore and Hirsh go beyond surface-level explanations and provide a comprehensive understanding of concepts related to training, nutrition, hydration, FTP (Functional Threshold Power), and more. They address common misconceptions with clear explanations as to why they are incorrect, followed by detailed explanations of what is actually correct.

    Furthermore, the hosts' background as scientists adds another layer of credibility to their discussions. Their ability to interpret studies and break down the results in a way that anyone can understand is truly impressive. They bring a level of trustworthiness and reliability that many other podcasts lack.

    While this podcast offers an abundance of valuable information, it may be overwhelming for some listeners. Some deep dives into scientific studies may go over the heads of those who do not have a strong background in biology or exercise science. However, even if you find certain episodes challenging to fully grasp, it's worth repeating them to ensure you fully comprehend the topics discussed.

    In conclusion, The Empirical Cycling Podcast is an exceptional resource for cyclists looking to take their training and performance to new heights. Moore and Hirsh's expertise as scientists shines through in every episode as they provide evidence-based information on how to improve your cycling abilities. Whether you're a beginner or an experienced cyclist seeking advanced knowledge, this podcast delivers valuable insights that can enhance your understanding of the sport.



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    Latest episodes from Empirical Cycling Podcast

    Ten Minute Tips #58: Why Rest Can Be So Scary

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 16, 2025 75:02


    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.

    Ten Minute Tips #57: Our Coaches Answer Your Training Questions

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 9, 2025 82:52


    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.

    Ten Minute Tips #56: Resetting Goals And Motivation

    Play Episode Listen Later May 19, 2025 100:45


    ​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.

    Perspectives #39: An Unexpected Balance, with James McKay

    Play Episode Listen Later May 15, 2025 91:08


    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.

    Ten Minute Tips #55: When To Take A Rest Week, Trusting Subjective Metrics

    Play Episode Listen Later May 5, 2025 125:30


    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.

    Watts Doc #53: The Origins Of Newbie Gains

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 28, 2025 79:48


    We go deep into a couple papers that measure the relative contributions to early VO2max improvements, and the evidence about whether they're more are muscular or cardiac in nature, and what physiological differences there are with more well trained people. Moderate and high intensity training are contrasted, as well as the obvious shortcuts, plus a first-principles approach to alternative mechanisms. We also answer your listener questions on if you can screw up newbie gains, how much is just mental toughness, and more.

    Ten Minute Tips #54: The Truth About Junk Miles

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 6, 2025 74:58


    While the definition of a junk mile is still debated, we do our best to come up with a definition, analyze it in relation to training adaptations, and what should be done. We touch on volume, intensity, group rides, mental health, fatigue and security blankets, training camps, recovery, hyper-optimization, and lots more.

    Ten Minute Tips #53: Leveling Up Parenting And Training

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 30, 2025 97:22


    Our coaches Fabiano and Giancarlo join to discuss the balance between parenting and training, both from a coaching perspective and as parents themselves. We talk about finding vs making time, getting sick, guilt, managing expectations, partner and family support, challenges changing as kids get older, and much more.

    Ten Minute Tips #52: Intermediate Training Mistakes (And Solutions)

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 23, 2025 88:16


    We discuss lists of the most common training mistakes that we see made by cyclists who have done about 2-5 years of structured training. Training focus, rehashing old plans, trying new things, monitoring fitness changes, incorporating fun rides, developing training skills, personalizing your plan, power vs weight, and more, including your listener questions.

    Watts Doc #52: Hypoxia Inducible Factor's Diminishing Returns

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 10, 2025 63:40


    Concluding the series on hypoxia inducible factor in skeletal muscle, we go in depth with a paper investigating regulation pathways that blunt HIF's effects in well trained athletes, plus speculate as to whether the Pasteur effect is something worth worrying about while considering other evidence and parallel adaptive pathways. We also ponder some practical takeaways for very well trained endurance athletes as well as for those earlier in their training career.

    Ten Minute Tips #51: RPE, Workout Feedback, Adaptation, and Health Outcomes

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 2, 2025 129:48


    Our very own Coach Fabiano joins for an deep dive into his most recent articles on RPE and its origins in exercise physiology, workout feedback and what athletes should keep notes on, adaptation and the implications from another meta review as it pertains to well trained athletes and other groups. We then venture into health to discuss VO2max, HRV, the J-shaped curve of training volume, plus your listener questions.

    Perspectives #38: Training Intensity Distributions, NIRS, and Iliac Arteries, with Jem Arnold

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 23, 2025 121:00


    Jem Arnold takes a break from his PhD studies to discuss the implications of a recent meta review and systematic analysis on how training intensity distributions impact VO2max and time trial performance, on which he is a coauthor. We also dig into the methods behind a paper like this, and the statistical distributions of performance itself and how that affects interpretation. We also discuss his doctoral studies on flow limitations in the iliac arteries, the role of NIRS, and long term implications of training with such issues, plus his blog, VO2max training, and more.

    Ten Minute Tips #50: Fat And Carb Burning Myths

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 17, 2025 95:46


    As structure for a larger discussion on performance, adaptation, and energy needs, we tackle three myths about burning carbs and fats: that you only need to replace the carbs you burn on a ride, that burning fat on a ride helps you lose weight, and that total energy needs are as simple as converting bike kJ to calories and adding a calculated BMR. We also answer listener questions on efficiency, the origin of the 2000 calorie diet, where your workout carbs go, fueling for ultras, and more.

    Ten Minute Tips #49: Practical Proxies For Stimulus

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 3, 2025 100:54


    This episode covers practical cues that we use to be reasonably certain that workouts will have their desired effect, and tease apart the difference relationship between stimulus and adaptation. We give suggestions for the major training modalities including threshold and VO2max, plus strength and hypertrophy. We also discuss ways that these cues could be easily misused, plus the pros and cons of some other potential proxies like fatigue, power, heart rate, RPE, HRV, soreness, TSS, and more.

    Ten Minute Tips #48: Avoiding Over-Optimization

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 19, 2025 121:27


    Our Empirical Cycling coaches have a roundtable discussion on the most under appreciated and impactful big-picture training habits you can make. We discuss progress expectations, goal setting, all or nothing mentality, vicious and virtuous cycles, balancing personal priorities, and many other factors that are within our control to improve. Then we tackle listener questions including improving climbing and low cadence training, high or low "zone 2", what to do about low motivation to ride, fueling early morning riding, and much more.

    Ten Minute Tips #47: Strength Training With Limited Equipment

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 12, 2025 123:52


    Finally tackling one of our most requested topics, we discuss the options available for cyclists doing strength training at home with limited or no equipment, and suggestions for cost effective equipment. We go through exercise selection, loading strategies, biomechanical considerations, sets reps and rest schemes, hypertrophy vs strength, sprint power transfer, isometrics, and more. The pros and cons and realities of our suggestions are weighed, a couple thoughts in relation to general health, and many listener questions are answered.

    Ten Minute Tips #46: Pitfalls Of Science Interpretation And Communication

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 8, 2024 120:12


    Kolie, Kyle, and Rory go deep into why "the science says" may not be what the science actually says. We discuss the difficulty of the task, the statistical and group-average nature of most results, the fallacy of division, what counts as evidence-based practice, motivations behind clickbait titles and more bullish stances, and where we'd like to see the field of exercise science go in the future.

    Perspectives #37: Practical Performance Psychology, with Billy Ryan

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 2, 2024 117:30


    Billy Ryan of Aware Performance joins to discuss performance psychology. He gives practical guidelines and skills for training and racing, while uncovering their underlying methodology. We cover negative thoughts and feelings around performance, being rigidly flexible, mental focus, confidence vs competence, shaken confidence, and much more. Then we go deep on listener questions. This upload fixes the audio cutoff problem from the previous upload.

    Perspectives #36: The Consequences Of Chronic Underfueling, with Traci Carson

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 24, 2024 96:58


    Dr. Traci Carson joints to discuss low energy availability and relative energy deficiency in sport, or LEA and RED-S. We consider their origin in the female athlete triad, some differences in female and male physiology and symptoms, the fuzziness of energy intake, symptom overlap with fat loss diets, the need for carbohydrates, the relationship to similar conditions like overtraining syndrome, social considerations and assessing cycling's broader awareness on these issues, and much more. Be sure to check the podcast notes to read the linked papers at https://www.empiricalcycling.com/podcast-episodes/perspectives-36-the-consequences-of-chronic-underfueling-with-traci-carson

    Ten Minute Tips #45: The Simplest Training Plan Thought Experiment

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 17, 2024 82:20


    This episode plays out one of Kolie's coaching thought experiments: what's the simplest training plan possible that would probably be effective for the largest number of people? We each present our plan and then critique them, once again realizing how difficult it is to create a plan without our usual tool of athlete feedback. This starts a discussion about the best potential audience for each plan, the different needs of beginner, intermediate, and advanced athletes.

    Ten Minute Tips #44: What's So Sweet About Sweetspot

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 11, 2024 80:18


    We discuss everything sweetspot. How do we define it, what kind of training is it, what's the nature of progression, how much is too much, upsides and downsides including time efficiency, fueling, over/unders, and more. We also answer tons of listener questions, like if it can raise FTP, if it's overrated or underrated, sweetspot for sprinters, how long you can hold it relative to your FTP, and much, much more.

    Watts Doc #51: The Complicated Relationship Between Performance and Phenotype

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 3, 2024 57:30


    A study knocking out HIF1alpha in mice reveals a counterintuitive relationship between markers of phenotype like fat oxidation, mitochondria markers, capillary density, and fiber type, and not having improved baseline performance. This uncovers an interesting relationship between the HIF pathway and oxidative metabolism, and how seemingly opposing adaptations are complementary.

    Ten Minute Tips #43: Off Season Breaks and Massive Listener Q&A

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 28, 2024 125:44


    This episode, seven Empirical Cycling coaches discuss their professional and personal experience with off season breaks. Balancing downtime and rest with fun and unstructured riding, plus some rules of thumb to make the most out of these potentially daunting times of the season. Then we answer a huge list of listener questions on whether sprinters can be good TTers, favorite workouts, coaching principles and athlete relationships, volume vs intensity, periodizing sprint training, lifting RPE, and much more.

    Ten Minute Tips #42: The Training Implications Of Strength As A Skill

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 16, 2024 106:29


    Kyle returns to the podcast with balloon stories, but skip to 28:00 for the main topic of strength being a skill, and the training implications that this has. We discuss defining strength, goal settings, minimum effective dose for strength improvements, strength maintenance, tradeoffs with aerobic goals, individualizing strength programming, cycling specific programming and exercise choice, and many, many listener questions.

    Perspectives #35: Continuously Realizing Potential, with Cole Tamburri

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 23, 2024 86:54


    This episode we discuss Cole's evolution as a cyclist and our relationship between coach and athlete. From making lifelong friends in collegiate cycling, gaining over 100w of FTP, winning a national championship, realizing and encouraging agency as a coached athlete, balancing life priorities and the value of low stress environments, relationships with bodyweight and food, lifting weights, and much more.

    Watts Doc #50: Hypoxia And Muscular Adaptation

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 4, 2024 71:39


    We consider hypoxia inducible factor's muscular response to high intensity exercise before going more in depth in its effects with the next episodes. We break down high intensity training, defining hypoxia vs anaerobic, then dive into a study that investigates its main effects in high intensity execise, as well as individual variation in training response. Plus a couple practical tips for considering this pathway in training, as well as a peek at the adaptive tradeoffs we'll see in future episodes.

    Ten Minute TIps #41: How To Try New Training Methods

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 5, 2024 91:38


    We discuss the dos and don'ts of trying new training methods. Whether or not you should try something new, setting a baseline, going all in on one thing, variables to adjust, finding a minimum dose, incorporating rest and fun, diets, vo2max and TTE blocks, and more, including your listener questions.

    Ten Minute Tips #40: Training Mistakes Every Beginner Makes (And Solutions)

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 30, 2024 94:42


    This episode we discuss the ten most common mistakes we see beginners make in their training plans, and their solutions. Goals and outcomes, learning the process, metrics and performance, specialization and individualization, training fads, balancing structure with fun, and more.

    Ten Minute Tips #39: Individualizing Training For Crits, CX, And MTB

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 18, 2024 103:35


    Retired professional road and cyclocross racer and newest Empirical Cycling coach Erica Zaveta joins to share wisdom from twenty years of competition and a decade of coaching. We discuss individualizing training for the high intensity disciplines of criteriums, cyclocross, and mountain biking, along with how and when to take mid season breaks, incorporating skills work, and adding practice crits and cyclocross practices to your program. Plus listener questions as always!

    Ten Minute Tips #38: Balancing Training And Rest During Race Season

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 17, 2024 86:52


    Kolie and Rory discuss their lists of the best things to do or avoid to maintain fitness in race season, and balance with appropriate rest. Also touched on are race prioritization, training and progression expectations, methods to estimate and manage fatigue, openers, volume vs intensity, and much more including your listener questions.

    Perspectives #34: Quantifying Training Volume, with Marinus Petersen

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 10, 2024 96:21


    Coach and returning guest Marinus Petersen rejoins to discuss the pros and cons of different ways to quantify endurance and total training volume and adaptation. We consider TSS, total hours, and work measured in kilojoules, as well as coaching and programming aspects of endurance rides and balancing with interval sessions or races. We also answer your listener questions.

    Perspectives #33: The Psychology Of Excellence

    Play Episode Listen Later May 26, 2024 97:17


    Professor Patrick Smith joins to discuss performance psychology, its role in cycling performance and everyday life, and some of the underlying themes and tools he uses in practice. We also discuss race nerves, negative spirals, some of the stigma around psychology in sports and overcoming it, defining the metrics of success, and more.

    Perspectives #32: Coaching Mistakes, And What Makes A Good Coach

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 24, 2024 74:18


    For this episode, Kolie and CTS coach Adam Pulford made lists of their most impactful coaching mistakes, how they recognized them, and their fixes. Lists include high intensity, training zones, communication, and more, plus things still ongoing. Also discussed is what makes a good coach, as well as your listener questions on the best coaching mistakes, fatigue management, trusting your coaching clients, and more.

    Ten Minute Tips #37: Pacing And Programming Endurance Rides

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 12, 2024 126:19


    In this episode we recap the big lessons from the last Watts Doc episode and revisit pacing endurance rides in terms of RPE, power, and heart rate, and finding that first threshold. Then we spend a long while considering how to program endurance rides into low, medium, and high volume weeks which we roughly block into 20h and the considerations we have for each scenario. Then we answer your listener questions on HR zones, the talk test, fueling endurance rides, cadence, whether you should do the occasional high volume week when the opportunity arises, and more.

    Watts Doc #49: Endurance Intensity and Volume

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 24, 2024 153:12


    We dig deep into a meta analysis' findings on the difference in muscular adaptations between training intensity and volume, especially what we can differentiate between continuous moderate intensity, HIIT, and sprint interval training. We also discuss the paper's findings on one aspect of "mitochondrial function", bullet point some practical takeaways, and answer your listener questions.

    Ten Minute Tips #36: How To Leave Your Coach (or Yourself) Workout Feedback

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 15, 2024 84:56


    Whether you have a coach or are self-coached, leaving workout feedback helps to ensure you're getting the most out of your training plan and coaching. In this episode we discuss what kind of feedback to leave on what topics (like RPE, nutrition, sickness, sleep, etc), appropriate level of detail, and how we as coaches find it useful plus what we do with the information. We also answer your listener questions.

    Ten Minute Tips #35: Higher FTP vs Longer TTE

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 20, 2024 116:51


    This is an in depth discussion on the upsides and downsides of always training to raise FTP vs holding it longer. After defining terms, we discuss the training required, adaptation timelines, fatigue, long term development, plus coaching and event specific considerations. We also consider a few counterpoints for each kind of training, individual response and needs, whether or not this is an actual debate, and answer your listener questions.

    Watts Doc #48: How PGC-1ɑ Does and Doesn't Live Up To The Hype

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 12, 2024 128:08


    This episode goes deep into the integral role that PGC-1ɑ plays in turning exercise signals into aerobic adaptation and improved endurance performance. We then dig into the very surprising results of studies that selectively knock out the PGC-1ɑ gene. Finally, we discuss potential uses of this knowledge for training applications and interpreting the literature, the actual best ways to know if your training (or training "hack") is working, and answering your listener questions.

    Ten Minute Tips #34: Intermediate and Advanced Strength Training Mistakes (and Solutions)

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 29, 2024 116:16


    If you're a cyclist who's intermediate or advanced in strength training, listen in. In our last strength training mistakes episode, we considered more general topics like nutrition, recovery, and periodization. Today we get into issues (and their solutions) concerning how you know you're working the right muscles, using lifting equipment like belts and shoes, range of motion and partial depth, HIT classes and kettlebell swings, power development in the gym, and long term strength goals. We also answer your listener questions that were asked on Kolie's Instagram, like if your knees can go past your toes, if strength training can increase your FTP, where you can see diminishing returns on the bike, going for PRs, and lots more.

    Ten Minute Tips #33: Track Training Considerations

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 21, 2024 128:28


    By popular demand, we bring you the track episode! We first consider race durations and when you would need aerobic training (it's shorter than you may think), gearing and cadence, technique practice, strategy, the role of sprinting and strength training for mass start racing. We finally tackle some things about training for track sprint and what we've seen work well and not so well, plus a lot of tangential discussion around our favorite moments and people on the track. And finally, we answer your listener questions on training for the track.

    Ten Minute Tips #32: Where Training Zones Fall Short

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 9, 2024 109:38


    To kick off 2024, Kolie and Rory discuss how and why training zones fall short, and how they can actually impair progress if taken to logical extremes. We build the conversation back up by thinking about their inception as descriptive rather than prescriptive, how WKO5's iLevels do, the reality of muscular adaptation, and how we actually think about training effectiveness, progression and adaptation.

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

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 12, 2023 124:00


    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.

    Watts Doc #47: The Redox Role In Adaptation, Recovery, and Nutrition

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 4, 2023 134:12


    After some background information on what redox state means for exercise and your mitochondria, we look at some experiments linking various intensities of exercise to adaptations. Then we look at where these signals overlap with dieting and rest, and tie these into advice and realistic expectations for training, recovery, and nutrition. We also answer your listener questions on RED-S, measuring recovery, exercise intensity, and more.

    Ten Minute Tips #31: How To Take A Rest Day (And How To Avoid Screwing It Up)

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 26, 2023 120:44


    This episode looks at all the ways people tend to mess up their rest and recovery days so they're not nearly as restorative as they could be, including such things as riding too hard, lifting weights, cross training, not eating enough. We then suggest guidelines for taking rest days or weeks, getting maximum recovery benefits, individualizing these days to work best for you, and answer your listener questions.

    Perspectives #30: Being Faster Than Your Watts, with Giancarlo Bianchi

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 7, 2023 128:09


    In this episode, 20+ year bike racing veteran Giancarlo Bianchi discusses the tactics of bike racing, and the process of honing racecraft and why people thought his FTP was significantly higher than it is. We cover the chess-game aspects of bike racing like positioning, aerodynamics, wind, reading the competition and body language, course and competitor recon, and a lot of stories from his own race career. We also answer your listener questions like how to practice with few racing opportunities, tactics that might annoy other racers, and much more.

    Ten Minute Tips #30: Strength Training Mistakes Every Cyclist Makes

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 22, 2023 120:20


    Kyle makes it back from the desert in time to discuss common mistakes cyclists tend to make when they incorporate strength training. We discuss things like tracking load and fatigue, impact on the bike, recovery, session frequency and where it should occur in the week, max testing.. We also answer your listener questions on explosive lifting, hypertrophy vs strength phases, expected fitness impacts on the bike, alternatives to strength, water weight, and many other things.

    Watts Doc #46: Why Low Glycogen Training Probably Doesn't Work

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 15, 2023 106:22


    When it comes to glycogen, does "train low" actually work? Rory joints to co-host as we examine and dissect the existing literature, and explore the limits of knowledge on p38 MAPK signaling as it relates to aerobic performance. We go through Kolie's coaching experience with these protocols, compare to existing recommendations, discuss why you should always check someone's references, and answer your listener questions.

    Perspectives #29: Managing Fitness And Rest During Race Season, with Taylor Warren

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 1, 2023 115:10


    Pro cyclist and coach Taylor Warren joins for a wide ranging discussion, including how he still finds fitness improvements after a decade of training and racing, balancing rest and workouts mid season, the value of the basics, RPE, and if American racing has gotten easier or harder. We also answer your listener questions on Legion's tactics, the most important power durations for domestic US racing, racing the course vs racing the people, training regrets, how much pros train, and more.

    Perspectives #28: Training Takes and Season Retrospective, with Maeghan Easler

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 22, 2023 90:06


    This is a wide ranging conversation with professional cyclist and Empirical Cycling coach Maeghan Easler. We discuss her successful race season domestically and with the national team, American vs European racing, and how improving fitness changed her training needs, along with more training and coaching topics like volume, recovery, intensity, nutrition and bodyweight, individualizing, and why she prefers 7 hour rides to 8. Instead of listener questions to finish the episode, we react to your controversial training takes submitted for a now forever-lost episode.

    Watts Doc #45: How High Intensity Aerobic Adaptations With AMPK Do (And Don't) Work

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 4, 2023 141:52


    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.

    Perspectives #27: Common Reasons For Fitness Plateaus and Their Fixes, with Rory Porteous

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 15, 2023 128:16


    Empirical Cycling coaches Kolie and Rory sit down for an in-depth discussion of the 5 most common reasons that they see for a fitness plateaus. Touched on are reasonable expectations for fitness progression, fatigue management, options for overcoming plateaus, and situations where it's out of your control.

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