Podcasts about apex coaching

Neal Henderson doesn't believe FTP-based workouts are enough to train effectively. So what should you do instead? Coach Neal relies on 4-D Power. Want to learn more about what this looks like? Take a listen to this podcast! Neal Henderson began coaching endurance sport athletes in the early 1990's and founded APEX Coaching in 1999. He has coached several national champions, multiple world champions, and several Olympians. Neal raced triathlon professionally from 2000-2003. He is an Elite USA Triathlon and USA Cycling certified coach and was the 2007 USA Cycling Developmental Coach of the Year. He was also named the 2009 USA National Cycling Coach of the Year and in 2011 was awarded the Doc Councilman Coach of the Year award by the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) for the use of science in his coaching. Neal has been a staff member at the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games as a cycling coach, and has served on multiple coaching committees for USA Cycling and USA Triathlon. In this week's podcast, Sonya and Neal talk all things training, intensity, 4-D Power training, how to be an athlete and more.

In this episode we announce the new name of our business - Apex Coaching.We discuss the importance of identifying the values you cherish most - and building your life or business round those. We then discuss the chances of gyms closing again, the importance and link between health, fitness and fighting COVID and supplements we take!As always if you like what you've heard please give us a review on Apple and subscribe to hear more.Follow us on our pages below:FacebookInstagramDan's InstagramLiam's InstagramThanks!Liam & DanApex Coaching

Maxx Chance, Heather Fischer and Eric Brunner from University of Colorado join us on the podcast to talk about their collegiate cycling experience. They tell us why they think its a crucial part of developing interest, participation and talent in the United States.  We also talk to Neal Henderson from Apex Coaching and Wahoo Fitness, 2016 Olympian Mara Abbott and our friend Robin Carpenter from Rally Cycling to share their thoughts as well. From the introduction of cycling to athletes from other sports to the inclusive environment of club cycling, they share why it is so important to the sport in the US.  Load up your hotel room with teammates or hunker down in a friends aunt's basement, and give a listen. Then go spread the word and let's keep getting people into cycling and developing world beating talent. 

A few episodes back, Trevor and I interviewed George Bennett of Jumbo-Visma, who at one point was sitting fourth at this year’s Tour de France. At the time, we talked with George about the importance of recovery and adaptation. In the course of that conversation, we talked with George about how he was managing his recovery from the Tour de France to get ready for the Vuelta a España. That lead to an entire conversation about how George trains, and his tips for hitting peak form. Ultimately, we decided to make it a separate episode. Today, we cover: First, something that is fascinating but probably won’t help many of us: how to complete two consecutive grand tours. Second, the training approach that George has found works for him. While many of his teammates need high intensity work, George does very little, and focuses primarily on long endurance rides. But he emphasizes that the method that works for you is highly individual. We discuss if George’s approach is appropriate for amateur riders, or if we should focus more on intensity. Bennett points out that different work can lead to very different strengths and weaknesses. Next, we have a long talk about the importance of eating enough and keeping your glycogen stocked up. Finally, George offers a final word on having the confidence to rest, and to not take your training too seriously. Along with George, we hear from Grant Holicky, formerly of Apex Coaching when this interview was conducted, and now with Forever Endurance Coaching. Grant addresses how to time your season, particularly as an amateur rider.

George Bennett of the Jumbo-Visma WorldTour team, who at one point was sitting fourth at this year’s Tour de France, has had a phenomenal season. In the course of our recent conversation with George about recovery and adaptation, we talked with the New Zealand-born rider about how he was managing his recovery from the Tour de France to get ready for the Vuelta a España. That lead to an entire conversation about how George trains, and his tips for hitting peak form. That's the basis for this episode. Today, we cover: - First, something that is fascinating but probably won’t help many of us: how to complete two consecutive grand tours. - Second, the training approach that George has found works for him. While many of his teammates need high intensity work, George does very little, and focuses primarily on long endurance rides. But he emphasizes that the method that works for you is highly individual. - We discuss if George’s approach is appropriate for amateur riders, or if we should focus more on intensity. Bennett points out that different work can lead to very different strengths and weaknesses. - Next, we have a long talk about the importance of eating enough and keeping your glycogen stocked up. - Finally, George offers a final word on having the confidence to rest, and to not take your training too seriously. Along with George, we hear from Grant Holicky, formerly of Apex Coaching when this interview was conducted, and now with Forever Endurance Coaching. Grant addresses how to time your season, particularly as an amateur rider. Let's make you fast!

George Bennett of the Jumbo-Visma WorldTour team, who at one point was sitting fourth at this year’s Tour de France, has had a phenomenal season. In the course of our recent conversation with George about recovery and adaptation, we talked with the New Zealand-born rider about how he was managing his recovery from the Tour de France to get ready for the Vuelta a España. That lead to an entire conversation about how George trains, and his tips for hitting peak form. That's the basis for this episode. Today, we cover: - First, something that is fascinating but probably won’t help many of us: how to complete two consecutive grand tours. - Second, the training approach that George has found works for him. While many of his teammates need high intensity work, George does very little, and focuses primarily on long endurance rides. But he emphasizes that the method that works for you is highly individual. - We discuss if George’s approach is appropriate for amateur riders, or if we should focus more on intensity. Bennett points out that different work can lead to very different strengths and weaknesses. - Next, we have a long talk about the importance of eating enough and keeping your glycogen stocked up. - Finally, George offers a final word on having the confidence to rest, and to not take your training too seriously. Along with George, we hear from Grant Holicky, formerly of Apex Coaching when this interview was conducted, and now with Forever Endurance Coaching. Grant addresses how to time your season, particularly as an amateur rider. Let's make you fast!

Head of Sports Science at Sufferfest and CEO of Apex Coaching, Neal is a former pro triathlete turned coach to world and Olympic medallists. In this episode of the 33Fuel Vlog, you'll discover why he's every endurance athletes' dream coach. TEAM 33SHAKE ► STORE: https://www.33fuel.com ► BLOG: https://www.33fuel.com/news/ ► FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/33fuel/ ► TWITTER: https://twitter.com/33fuel ► INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/33fuel/ ► EMAIL: contact@33shake.com ABOUT US At 33Fuel we deliver maximum value to endurance athletes. We do that here in videos packed with the latest in training and nutrition advice, inspiration and motivation. We do it in store at 33fuel.com with our unique and powerful natural nutrition products for runners, cyclists and triathletes. TRAIN HARD. FUEL AWESOME. RACE HAPPY

We all make mistakes. No one trains and races perfectly, which can be frustrating when so often those mistakes are made out of honest effort and a desire to perform at our best. But we have a choice in how we treat our mistakes. One way is to get frustrated and beat up on ourselves. The other is to realize that admitting when we make a mistakes is an opportunity to improve and be a better athlete. With that second perspective in mind, today we’re going to talk about some of the most common mistakes that we see in athletes — even pros. And we’re going to hear from a variety of athletes, coaches, and experts who have been around the block a few times. They know all the mistakes, but more importantly they know what to do about them. A few of the things we will talk about: The one thing that almost all of our guests said was the biggest mistake – hint, don’t try too hard to figure it out. Being coachable, or more generally being willing to listen, know yourself, and identify your mistakes Warm-ups and cool-downs — they can have a big impact if done right, and also if done wrong Nutrition — though you may be surprised by what our guests say is the biggest mistake Too much intensity — do you really think Coach Connor and I were going to have an episode about mistakes and not bring that one up. Bike fit and biomechanical mistakes — one of our guests today is Dr. Andy Pruitt who has made a very successful career of helping athletes find success by fixing these often-overlooked mistakes. Racing mistakes and why one of the biggest mistakes you can make is to never risk making mistakes. And finally, we’ll talk about a more philosophical mistake — not knowing when to move on. Our primary guests today are Dr. Andy Pruitt and Frankie Andreu. By now, you should know who Dr. Pruitt is, one of the foremost experts on cycling ergonomics and medical issues in athletes. Frankie Andreu was a longtime professional, a mentor to many, a team manager and director, a race commentator, and a legend in the sport. Along with our two primary guests, we checked in with several other respected experts including Joe Friel, author of the “The Cyclist’s Training Bible” which was recently updated. Joe has coached over a thousand athletes in his career and has seen it all. So we had to ask him what he thinks are the biggest mistakes athletes make. We also speak with Jared Berg, who’s the head physiologist at the University of Colorado Sports Medicine and Performance Center. One of the issues with making mistakes is we can often convince ourselves that it doesn’t actually affect us. But you can’t fool the physiology and Jared sees that inescapable truth every day. Next we pulled in an old interview with Grant Holicky, formerly of Apex Coaching with Neal Henderson and now with Forever Endurance, who talks about a mistake that we love to harp on — training in moderato. Finally, Trevor touches base with Houshang Amiri, a former Canadian National and Olympic team coach who’s worked with many of the best cyclists in Canada. Like Joe Friel, Houshang has seen it all and had some interesting insights on the importance of being prepared. Now, remember that practice makes perfect. I swear we never mess up in this episode. So let’s make you fast!

We all make mistakes. No one trains and races perfectly, which can be frustrating when so often those mistakes are made out of honest effort and a desire to perform at our best. But we have a choice in how we treat our mistakes. One way is to get frustrated and beat up on ourselves. The other is to realize that admitting when we make a mistakes is an opportunity to improve and be a better athlete. With that second perspective in mind, today we’re going to talk about some of the most common mistakes that we see in athletes — even pros. And we’re going to hear from a variety of athletes, coaches, and experts who have been around the block a few times. They know all the mistakes, but more importantly they know what to do about them. A few of the things we will talk about: - The one thing that almost all of our guests said was the biggest mistake – hint, don’t try too hard to figure it out. - Being coachable, or more generally being willing to listen, know yourself, and identify your mistakes. - Warm-ups and cool-downs — they can have a big impact if done right, and also if done wrong - Nutrition — though you may be surprised by what our guests say is the biggest mistake - Too much intensity — do you really think Coach Connor and I were going to have an episode about mistakes and not bring that one up. - Bike fit and biomechanical mistakes — one of our guests today is Dr. Andy Pruitt who has made a very successful career of helping athletes find success by fixing these often-overlooked mistakes. - Racing mistakes and why one of the biggest mistakes you can make is to never risk making mistakes. - And finally, we’ll talk about a more philosophical mistake — not knowing when to move on. Our primary guests today are Dr. Andy Pruitt and Frankie Andreu. By now, you should know who Dr. Pruitt is, one of the foremost experts on cycling ergonomics and medical issues in athletes. Frankie Andreu was a longtime professional, a mentor to many, a team manager and director, a race commentator, and a legend in the sport. Along with our two primary guests, we checked in with several other respected experts including Joe Friel, author of the "The Cyclist's Training Bible" which was recently updated. Joe has coached over a thousand athletes in his career and has seen it all. So we had to ask him what he thinks are the biggest mistakes athletes make. We also speak with Jared Berg, who’s the head physiologist at the University of Colorado Sports Medicine and Performance Center. One of the issues with making mistakes is we can often convince ourselves that it doesn’t actually affect us. But you can’t fool the physiology and Jared sees that inescapable truth every day. Next we pulled in an old interview with Grant Holicky, formerly of Apex Coaching with Neal Henderson and now with Forever Endurance, who talks about a mistake that we love to harp on — training in moderato. Finally, Trevor touches base with Houshang Amiri, a former Canadian National and Olympic team coach who’s worked with many of the best cyclists in Canada. Like Joe Friel, Houshang has seen it all and had some interesting insights on the importance of being prepared.

We all make mistakes. No one trains and races perfectly, which can be frustrating when so often those mistakes are made out of honest effort and a desire to perform at our best. But we have a choice in how we treat our mistakes. One way is to get frustrated and beat up on ourselves. The other is to realize that admitting when we make a mistakes is an opportunity to improve and be a better athlete. With that second perspective in mind, today we’re going to talk about some of the most common mistakes that we see in athletes — even pros. And we’re going to hear from a variety of athletes, coaches, and experts who have been around the block a few times. They know all the mistakes, but more importantly they know what to do about them. A few of the things we will talk about: - The one thing that almost all of our guests said was the biggest mistake – hint, don’t try too hard to figure it out. - Being coachable, or more generally being willing to listen, know yourself, and identify your mistakes. - Warm-ups and cool-downs — they can have a big impact if done right, and also if done wrong - Nutrition — though you may be surprised by what our guests say is the biggest mistake - Too much intensity — do you really think Coach Connor and I were going to have an episode about mistakes and not bring that one up. - Bike fit and biomechanical mistakes — one of our guests today is Dr. Andy Pruitt who has made a very successful career of helping athletes find success by fixing these often-overlooked mistakes. - Racing mistakes and why one of the biggest mistakes you can make is to never risk making mistakes. - And finally, we’ll talk about a more philosophical mistake — not knowing when to move on. Our primary guests today are Dr. Andy Pruitt and Frankie Andreu. By now, you should know who Dr. Pruitt is, one of the foremost experts on cycling ergonomics and medical issues in athletes. Frankie Andreu was a longtime professional, a mentor to many, a team manager and director, a race commentator, and a legend in the sport. Along with our two primary guests, we checked in with several other respected experts including Joe Friel, author of the "The Cyclist's Training Bible" which was recently updated. Joe has coached over a thousand athletes in his career and has seen it all. So we had to ask him what he thinks are the biggest mistakes athletes make. We also speak with Jared Berg, who’s the head physiologist at the University of Colorado Sports Medicine and Performance Center. One of the issues with making mistakes is we can often convince ourselves that it doesn’t actually affect us. But you can’t fool the physiology and Jared sees that inescapable truth every day. Next we pulled in an old interview with Grant Holicky, formerly of Apex Coaching with Neal Henderson and now with Forever Endurance, who talks about a mistake that we love to harp on — training in moderato. Finally, Trevor touches base with Houshang Amiri, a former Canadian National and Olympic team coach who’s worked with many of the best cyclists in Canada. Like Joe Friel, Houshang has seen it all and had some interesting insights on the importance of being prepared.

The VeloNews Fast Talk podcast is your source for the best training advice and most compelling insight on what it takes to become a better cyclist. Listen in as VeloNews managing editor Chris Case and our resident physiologist and coach, Trevor Connor, discuss a range of topics, including sport science, training, physiology, technology, nutrition, and more. We all know how to train hard. Tearing up a set of Tabata intervals, giving it our all at the local Tuesday night training race, or attacking someone from New Zealand on Zwift is what we do. But training — at least effective training — is actually a balance between stressing our systems and recovery. Remember that training does damage. It's in recovery that we repair and get stronger. This may be why several recent studies have shown that training based on our recovery level can be more effective than rigidly following a structured plan. This is also why Coach Connor loves to say “be as intense in your recovery as you are in your training.” Train hard, rest hard. Yet, while there are a multitude of tools to measure our training stress – bike computers, power meters, heart rate straps, WKO, Golden Cheetah, Xert and the list goes on – the list of tools to measure recovery is not nearly as robust. But new players such as Whoop – which uses a combination of resting heart rate, heart rate variability, sleep and strain to assess your daily recovery level – are starting to tackle this very important side of the training balance. So today we dive into the recovery side of the training-recovery concept and talk about: - This fundamental principle of training also called super-compensation. - How to know when the balance between training and recovery goes too far towards the training stress side and is leading to over-training. Interestingly, it starts neurologically which can express as changes in mood and motivation long before it shows up on the training ride. - We discuss ways to identify neurological fatigue both on and off the bike. - Next, we dive into the recovery side of the equation and discuss ways of measuring recovery including resting heart rate and heart rate variability. - Why sometimes going into the red on the recovery score is necessary - We discuss the new Whoop strap 3.0. Whoop is a sponsor of this episode and Coach Connor and I are excited to have them as part of the show. This isn’t the first episode where we’ve preached the value of recovery and Whoop is the one tool out there really focusing on that value. And their new strap is providing even better metrics including their strain coach to help you decide when to push and when to pull the plug. Our primary guest today is Kate Courtney, the reigning mountain bike world champion, and winner of the first two rounds of the UCI World Cup this season. Along with Kate we talked with Houshang Amiri, a past Canadian Olympic and National team coach and owner of the Pacific Cycling Centre. Houshang has helped athletes such as World’s Silver Medalist Svein Tuft by focusing on the value of recovery. Houshang talks with us about ways he’s used to assess it. We include a past interview with Phill Gaimon, who talks about the importance of feel and knowing your own body. Finally, we feature an interview with two top coaches in Colorado – Mac Cassen with Apex Coaching and Frank Overton with FastCat coaching. This interview was actually from episode 45 a few years back, but we talked about measuring recovery and it’s the episode where Frank introduced all of us to the WHOOP strap.

We all know how to train hard. Tearing up a set of Tabata intervals, giving it our all at the local Tuesday night training race, or attacking someone from New Zealand on Zwift is what we do. But training — at least effective training — is actually a balance between stressing our systems and recovery. Remember that training does damage. It’s in recovery that we repair and get stronger. This may be why several recent studies have shown that training based on our recovery level can be more effective than rigidly following a structured plan. This is also why Coach Connor loves to say “be as intense in your recovery as you are in your training.” Train hard, rest hard. Yet, while there are a multitude of tools to measure our training stress – bike computers, power meters, heart rate straps, WKO, Golden Cheetah, Xert and the list goes on – the list of tools to measure recovery is not nearly as robust. But new players such as Whoop – which uses a combination of resting heart rate, heart rate variability, sleep and strain to assess your daily recovery level – are starting to tackle this very important side of the training balance. So today we dive into the recovery side of the training-recovery concept and talk about: This fundamental principle of training also called super-compensation. How to know when the balance between training and recovery goes too far towards the training stress side and is leading to over-training. Interestingly, it starts neurologically which can express as changes in mood and motivation long before it shows up on the training ride. We talk about ways to identify neurological fatigue both on and off the bike. Next we’ll dive into the recovery side of the equation and discuss ways of measuring recovery including resting heart rate and heart rate variability. Why sometimes going into the red on the recovery score is necessary We discuss the new Whoop strap 3.0. Whoop is a sponsor of this episode and Coach Connor and I are excited to have them as part of the show. This isn’t the first episode where we’ve preached the value of recovery and Whoop is the one tool out there really focusing on that value. And their new strap is providing even better metrics including their strain coach to help you decide when to push and when to pull the plug. Our primary guest today is Kate Courtney, the reigning mountain bike world champion, and winner of the first two rounds of the UCI World Cup this season. Along with Kate we talked with Houshang Amiri, a past Canadian Olympic and National team coach and owner of the Pacific Cycling Centre. Houshang has helped athletes such as World’s Silver Medalist Svein Tuft by focusing on the value of recovery. Houshang talks with us about ways he’s used to assess it. We include a past interview with Phil Gaimon, who talks about the importance of feel and knowing your own body. Finally, we feature an interview with two top coaches in Colorado – Mac Cassen with Apex Coaching and Frank Overton with FastCat coaching. This interview was actually from episode 45 a few years back, but we talked about measuring recovery and it’s the episode where Frank introduced all of us to the Whoop strap.

The VeloNews Fast Talk podcast is your source for the best training advice and most compelling insight on what it takes to become a better cyclist. Listen in as VeloNews managing editor Chris Case and our resident physiologist and coach, Trevor Connor, discuss a range of topics, including sport science, training, physiology, technology, nutrition, and more. We all know how to train hard. Tearing up a set of Tabata intervals, giving it our all at the local Tuesday night training race, or attacking someone from New Zealand on Zwift is what we do. But training — at least effective training — is actually a balance between stressing our systems and recovery. Remember that training does damage. It's in recovery that we repair and get stronger. This may be why several recent studies have shown that training based on our recovery level can be more effective than rigidly following a structured plan. This is also why Coach Connor loves to say “be as intense in your recovery as you are in your training.” Train hard, rest hard. Yet, while there are a multitude of tools to measure our training stress – bike computers, power meters, heart rate straps, WKO, Golden Cheetah, Xert and the list goes on – the list of tools to measure recovery is not nearly as robust. But new players such as Whoop – which uses a combination of resting heart rate, heart rate variability, sleep and strain to assess your daily recovery level – are starting to tackle this very important side of the training balance. So today we dive into the recovery side of the training-recovery concept and talk about: - This fundamental principle of training also called super-compensation. - How to know when the balance between training and recovery goes too far towards the training stress side and is leading to over-training. Interestingly, it starts neurologically which can express as changes in mood and motivation long before it shows up on the training ride. - We discuss ways to identify neurological fatigue both on and off the bike. - Next, we dive into the recovery side of the equation and discuss ways of measuring recovery including resting heart rate and heart rate variability. - Why sometimes going into the red on the recovery score is necessary - We discuss the new Whoop strap 3.0. Whoop is a sponsor of this episode and Coach Connor and I are excited to have them as part of the show. This isn’t the first episode where we’ve preached the value of recovery and Whoop is the one tool out there really focusing on that value. And their new strap is providing even better metrics including their strain coach to help you decide when to push and when to pull the plug. Our primary guest today is Kate Courtney, the reigning mountain bike world champion, and winner of the first two rounds of the UCI World Cup this season. Along with Kate we talked with Houshang Amiri, a past Canadian Olympic and National team coach and owner of the Pacific Cycling Centre. Houshang has helped athletes such as World’s Silver Medalist Svein Tuft by focusing on the value of recovery. Houshang talks with us about ways he’s used to assess it. We include a past interview with Phill Gaimon, who talks about the importance of feel and knowing your own body. Finally, we feature an interview with two top coaches in Colorado – Mac Cassen with Apex Coaching and Frank Overton with FastCat coaching. This interview was actually from episode 45 a few years back, but we talked about measuring recovery and it’s the episode where Frank introduced all of us to the WHOOP strap.

In this episode we’re taking a step back — way back — to see the forest for the tress. Let me explain: Many of you have been fascinated by our recordings with scientists and coaches like Stephen Seiler, John Hawley, Iñigo San Millan, and Joe Friel. We’ve received a stack of questions about polarized training, the two thresholds, how to execute long rides, and many more. They’ve been great questions, and they’ve made us think about how we can answer all of them. The complex concepts we’ve discussed in our deeper science episodes were developed by far smarter people than us. Still, that science is only valuable if it’s communicated to our listeners in a way that makes it approachable and applicable to you. After all, what good is any of this if you can’t use it to improve your performances. So, in this episode, we want to play the humble role of science communicators, to make sure we get the message right. We’ve also sifted through hours of Fast Talk recordings with our many distinguished guests to bring context to what we hope is a simplified, unified message about the fundamental principles of these previous shows: there are just three types of rides. Yes, that’s a simplification. Yes, you’re getting our bias. Yes, you’re going to listen to this episode and think, “Well, what about the…” Fill in the blank. And you’re right. If you want that level of detail and scrutiny, please return to those past episodes. In this episode, we’re talking about the forest. We’re hoping to give you a framework to understand all that scientific detail. And we’re going to keep it simple. We’ll discuss: First, when you take away the complexity, training boils down to three ride types in most training models. We’ll give a simple zone system, based on physiology, and explain why that’s important. We’ll define the long ride: why it’s important, how to execute it, and why there are no shortcuts. We’ll define the high-intensity ride: why less is more with this type of ride and why executing it with quality is so critical. Dr. Seiler actually divides these rides into two categories — threshold rides and high-intensity work. For this podcast, we’re lumping them together, but we will hear from Dr. Seiler about why we shouldn’t neglect threshold work despite the current popularity of one-minute intervals and Tabata work. We’ll discuss the recovery ride. Ironically, for most of us, this is the hardest to execute. When we’re time-crunched, we might think that spending an hour spinning easy on the trainer is not time well spent. We’ll discuss why that philosophy is dangerous to take. Finally, we’ll talk about some of the exceptions, including sweet spot work and training races. We’ve included excerpts from Dr. San Millan, once the exercise physiologist for the Garmin-Slipstream WorldTour team, among others. We’ll hear several times from Dr. Stephen Seiler, who is often credited with defining the polarized training model, which developed from his research with some of the best endurance athletes in the world. Dr. John Hawley will address both long rides and high-intensity work. Dr. Hawley has been one of the leading researchers in sports science for several decades and is a big proponent of interval work and carbohydrate feeding, but even he feels there’s a limit. Grant Holicky, formerly of Apex Coaching in Boulder, Colorado, has worked with some of the best cyclists in the world. He sees undirected training, those “sort of hard” rides, as one of the biggest mistakes athletes can make. He’ll explain why. And finally, we’ll hear from legendary coach Joe Friel about sweet spot work and why it does have a place… even though technically it’s not one of our three rides. Now, to the forest! Let’s make you fast.

In this episode we’re taking a step back — way back — to see the forest for the tress. Let me explain: Many of you have been fascinated by our recordings with scientists and coaches like Stephen Seiler, John Hawley, Iñigo San Millan, and Joe Friel. Now, we’ve sifted through hours of Fast Talk recordings with our many distinguished guests to bring context to what we hope is a simplified, unified message about the fundamental principles of these previous shows: there are just three types of rides. Yes, that’s a simplification. Yes, you’re getting our bias. So, if you want that high level of detail, please return to those past episodes. In this episode, we’re talking about the forest. We’re hoping to give you a framework to understand all that scientific detail. And we’re going to keep it simple. We’ll discuss: - First, when you take away the complexity, training boils down to three ride types in most training models. - We’ll give a simple zone system, based on physiology, and explain why that’s important. - We’ll define the long ride: why it’s important, how to execute it, and why there are no shortcuts. - We’ll define the high-intensity ride: why less is more with this type of ride and why executing it with quality is so critical. Dr. Seiler actually divides these rides into two categories — threshold rides and high-intensity work. For this podcast, we’re lumping them together, but we will hear from Dr. Seiler about why we shouldn’t neglect threshold work despite the current popularity of one-minute intervals and Tabata work. - We’ll discuss the recovery ride. Ironically, for most of us, this is the hardest to execute. When we’re time-crunched, we might think that spending an hour spinning easy on the trainer is not time well spent. We’ll discuss why that philosophy is dangerous to take. - Finally, we’ll talk about some of the exceptions, including sweet spot work and training races. We’ve included excerpts from Dr. San Millan, once the exercise physiologist for the Garmin-Slipstream WorldTour team, among others. We’ll hear several times from Dr. Stephen Seiler, who is often credited with defining the polarized training model, which developed from his research with some of the best endurance athletes in the world. Dr. John Hawley will address both long rides and high-intensity work. Dr. Hawley has been one of the leading researchers in sports science for several decades and is a big proponent of interval work and carbohydrate feeding, but even he feels there’s a limit. Grant Holicky, formerly of Apex Coaching in Boulder, Colorado, has worked with some of the best cyclists in the world. He sees undirected training, those “sort of hard” rides, as one of the biggest mistakes athletes can make. He’ll explain why. And finally, we’ll hear from legendary coach Joe Friel about sweet spot work and why it does have a place… even though technically it’s not one of our three rides. Now, to the forest! Let’s make you fast.

In this episode we’re taking a step back — way back — to see the forest for the tress. Let me explain: Many of you have been fascinated by our recordings with scientists and coaches like Stephen Seiler, John Hawley, Iñigo San Millan, and Joe Friel. Now, we’ve sifted through hours of Fast Talk recordings with our many distinguished guests to bring context to what we hope is a simplified, unified message about the fundamental principles of these previous shows: there are just three types of rides. Yes, that’s a simplification. Yes, you’re getting our bias. So, if you want that high level of detail, please return to those past episodes. In this episode, we’re talking about the forest. We’re hoping to give you a framework to understand all that scientific detail. And we’re going to keep it simple. We’ll discuss: - First, when you take away the complexity, training boils down to three ride types in most training models. - We’ll give a simple zone system, based on physiology, and explain why that’s important. - We’ll define the long ride: why it’s important, how to execute it, and why there are no shortcuts. - We’ll define the high-intensity ride: why less is more with this type of ride and why executing it with quality is so critical. Dr. Seiler actually divides these rides into two categories — threshold rides and high-intensity work. For this podcast, we’re lumping them together, but we will hear from Dr. Seiler about why we shouldn’t neglect threshold work despite the current popularity of one-minute intervals and Tabata work. - We’ll discuss the recovery ride. Ironically, for most of us, this is the hardest to execute. When we’re time-crunched, we might think that spending an hour spinning easy on the trainer is not time well spent. We’ll discuss why that philosophy is dangerous to take. - Finally, we’ll talk about some of the exceptions, including sweet spot work and training races. We’ve included excerpts from Dr. San Millan, once the exercise physiologist for the Garmin-Slipstream WorldTour team, among others. We’ll hear several times from Dr. Stephen Seiler, who is often credited with defining the polarized training model, which developed from his research with some of the best endurance athletes in the world. Dr. John Hawley will address both long rides and high-intensity work. Dr. Hawley has been one of the leading researchers in sports science for several decades and is a big proponent of interval work and carbohydrate feeding, but even he feels there’s a limit. Grant Holicky, formerly of Apex Coaching in Boulder, Colorado, has worked with some of the best cyclists in the world. He sees undirected training, those “sort of hard” rides, as one of the biggest mistakes athletes can make. He’ll explain why. And finally, we’ll hear from legendary coach Joe Friel about sweet spot work and why it does have a place… even though technically it’s not one of our three rides. Now, to the forest! Let’s make you fast.

Those who take their training and racing seriously are always looking for something to give them an edge — that marginal gain. The obvious and easiest fixes are often equipment upgrades — lighter bikes, more aerodynamic wheels. Then come nutritional supplements. So much has been promised to us in pill form, it’s created a multi-billion-dollar industry. There’s a pill to make everything better. Those promises carry into enhanced endurance performance. And many athletes have resorted to the morning supplement cocktail believing it will make them better cyclists. But there’s a dark side. Those cocktails can actually hurt performance, certainly affect health, and lead to even darker, ethically-challenged places. Today, we’re going to talk about supplements and our concerns with them, and then cover a few foods that actually do work. We’ll discuss: We thought about bashing all the supplements that don’t work but then realized we only have an hour. So instead, Trevor will read a description of every supplement that does work. That list combined with a discussion of its sources will cover the first three minutes. We’ll talk about supplements in general and why they can be a big concern. And with those concerns in context, we’ll start addressing things that have been proven to help, starting with pickle juice. Next on our list is beetroot juice which can not only help performance but has been shown to have health benefits as well. Believe it or not, we’re going to talk about chocolate — or more specifically the active ingredient, cocoa flavonoids, which also, surprisingly, have both performance and health benefits. That, of course, leads to something that frequently comes up in the sports nutrition literature — chocolate milk. It’s as effective as most recovery mixes. So, the key question is how effective are the mixes? Finally, we’ll revisit the ketogenic diet and specifically supplementing with ketone esters. Our primary guest today is Ryan Kohler, the manager of the University of Colorado Sports Medicine and Performance Center who holds a masters degree in sports nutrition and exercise science. Ryan has helped Trevor and I with many previous articles and behind-the-scenes work with some of our experiments, shall we call them. We’re excited to finally get him in front of the mic, even if he is a little shy. In addition, we’ll talk with world-renowned coach Joe Friel, author of the definitive book on training, The Cyclists Training Bible. We asked Joe his opinion about supplementation based on decades of coaching. We’ll also hear from endurance mountain biker Rebecca Rusch and Apex Coaching owner Neal Henderson, the personal coach of world time trial champion Rohan Dennis. They’ll each give us their thoughts on supplements and a few things they’ve found that work.

Those who take their training and racing seriously are always looking for something to give them an edge — that marginal gain — including nutritional supplements. So much has been promised to us in pill form, it’s created a multi-billion-dollar industry. Those promises carry into enhanced endurance performance. And many athletes have resorted to the morning supplement cocktail believing it will make them better cyclists. But there’s a dark side. Those cocktails can actually hurt performance, certainly affect health, and lead to even darker, ethically-challenged places. Today, we’re going to talk about supplements and our concerns with them, and then cover a few foods that actually do work. We’ll discuss: - We thought about bashing all the supplements that don'’t work, but then realized we only have an hour. So instead, Trevor will read a description of every supplement that does work. That list combined with a discussion of its sources will cover the first three minutes. - We'll talk about supplements in general and why they can be a big concern. - And with those concerns in context, we’ll start addressing things that have been proven to help, staring with pickle juice. - Next on our list is beet root juice which can not only help performance, but has been shown to have health benefits as well. - Believe it or not, we’re going to talk about chocolate — or more specifically the active ingredient, cocoa flavonoids, which also, surprisingly, have both performance and health benefits. - That, of course, leads to something that frequently comes up in the sports nutrition literature — chocolate milk. It’s as effective as most recovery mixes. So, the key question is how effective are the mixes? - Finally, we’ll revisit the ketogenic diet and specifically supplementing with ketone esters. - Our primary guest today is Ryan Kohler, the manager of the University of Colorado Sports Medicine and Performance Center who holds a masters degree in sports nutrition and exercise science. Ryan has helped Trevor and I with many previous articles and behind-the-scenes work with some of our experiments, shall we call them. We’re excited to finally get him in front of the mic, even if he is a little shy. In addition, we'll talk with world-renowned coach Joe Friel, author of the definitive book on training, "The Cyclists Training Bible." We asked Joe his opinion about supplementation based on decades of coaching. We'll also hear from endurance mountain biker Rebecca Rusch and Apex Coaching owner Neal Henderson, the personal coach of world time trial champion Rohan Dennis. They'll each give us their thoughts on supplements and a few things they've found that work.

Those who take their training and racing seriously are always looking for something to give them an edge — that marginal gain — including nutritional supplements. So much has been promised to us in pill form, it’s created a multi-billion-dollar industry. Those promises carry into enhanced endurance performance. And many athletes have resorted to the morning supplement cocktail believing it will make them better cyclists. But there’s a dark side. Those cocktails can actually hurt performance, certainly affect health, and lead to even darker, ethically-challenged places. Today, we’re going to talk about supplements and our concerns with them, and then cover a few foods that actually do work. We’ll discuss: - We thought about bashing all the supplements that don'’t work, but then realized we only have an hour. So instead, Trevor will read a description of every supplement that does work. That list combined with a discussion of its sources will cover the first three minutes. - We'll talk about supplements in general and why they can be a big concern. - And with those concerns in context, we’ll start addressing things that have been proven to help, staring with pickle juice. - Next on our list is beet root juice which can not only help performance, but has been shown to have health benefits as well. - Believe it or not, we’re going to talk about chocolate — or more specifically the active ingredient, cocoa flavonoids, which also, surprisingly, have both performance and health benefits. - That, of course, leads to something that frequently comes up in the sports nutrition literature — chocolate milk. It’s as effective as most recovery mixes. So, the key question is how effective are the mixes? - Finally, we’ll revisit the ketogenic diet and specifically supplementing with ketone esters. - Our primary guest today is Ryan Kohler, the manager of the University of Colorado Sports Medicine and Performance Center who holds a masters degree in sports nutrition and exercise science. Ryan has helped Trevor and I with many previous articles and behind-the-scenes work with some of our experiments, shall we call them. We’re excited to finally get him in front of the mic, even if he is a little shy. In addition, we'll talk with world-renowned coach Joe Friel, author of the definitive book on training, "The Cyclists Training Bible." We asked Joe his opinion about supplementation based on decades of coaching. We'll also hear from endurance mountain biker Rebecca Rusch and Apex Coaching owner Neal Henderson, the personal coach of world time trial champion Rohan Dennis. They'll each give us their thoughts on supplements and a few things they've found that work.

It’s the holidays and if you’re like us, right about now, you’re scrambling for gift ideas. So we’re trying something new on Fast Talk and doing a gift episode. Of course, there are a ton of great gifts you can give that cyclist in your life, so we can’t cover them all. Instead, we’re going to focus on a few cool training gadgets. Some of which you’re very familiar with and some you may never have even heard of. We’ll talk about what they are, how they’re used and whether we think they’re worth putting under the tree or not. Of course, a few of these ideas may be a little too expensive for stocking stuffers, so it may be better to see this episode as our review of several cool, interesting and potentially valuable training tools. Today we’ll talk about: The Whoop recovery strap. What is it? Why would it be a valuable tool for tracking your recovery? We provide our personal experiences — good and bad — with the tool. The Normatec recovery system. Does it work? We have some thoughts on how to use it. If you listened to our recent episode on recovery, you already know our opinion, but we certainly couldn’t leave them out of an episode on cool training gear. Power meters. Alright, that’s nothing new or unique, but we’ll give our hot takes on which are good and what to be careful with. The Leomo Type-R. A truly unique device offering on-the-road biomechanical analysis that wasn’t previously available. It’s a fascinating tool, but as we’ll discuss, it may be so new, we haven’t figured out how to use it yet. And finally, we’ll finish up with foam rollers. They may not be as sexy as some of our other gift ideas, but they’re cheap and they work. Our guests today are hour-record holder and coach extraordinaire Colby Pearce along with FasCat owner and likewise coach extraordinaire Frank Overton. At this point do either of them really need an introduction on Fast Talk? We always love having them on the show and hearing their insights. In addition, we’ll talk with professional cyclist Rebecca Rusch and Apex Coaching owner Neal Henderson. Both have been at the top of the cycling world for years, so we’d definitely love to hear what gifts they’d like to get. Their answers were a little less tangible than you might expect. As always, if you have a minute please take the time to rate us on iTunes, Stitcher, Soundcloud or wherever you get your podcasts. And keep those questions coming! Please contact us at our dedicated Fast Talk email address. So get out your wish list. Make sure you listen twice and let’s make you fast!

It's the holidays and if you're like us, right about now, you're scrambling for gift ideas. So we're trying something new on Fast Talk and doing a gift episode. Of course, there's a ton of great gifts you can give that cyclist in your life, so we can't cover them all. Instead, we're going to focus on a few cool training gadgets. Some of which you're very familiar with and some you may never have even heard of.We'll talk about what they are, how they're used and whether we think they're worth putting under the tree or not. Of course, a few of these ideas may be a little too expensive for stocking stuffers, so it may be better to see this episode as our review of several cool, interesting and potentially valuable training tools. Today we'll talk about: 1. The Whoop Recovery strap - what is it, why it may be a valuable tool for tracking your recovery and our personal experience - good and bad - with the tool. 2. The Normatec Recovery System. Do they work and some thoughts on how to use them. If you listened to our recent episode on recovery, you already know our opinion, but we certainly couldn't leave them out of an episode on cool training gear. 3. Power Meters. Alright, that's nothing new or unique, but we'll give our hot takes on which are good and what to be careful about. 4. The Leomo Type-R. A truly unique device offering on-the-road biomechanical analysis that wasn't previously available. It's a fascinating tool, but as we'll discuss, it may be so new, we still haven't figured out how to use it. 5. And finally, we'll finish up with a foam rollers. They may not be as sexy as some of our other gift ideas, but they're cheap and they work. Our guests today are hour-record holder and coach extraordinaire Colby Pearce along with FastCat owner and likewise coach extraodrinaire Frank Overton. At this point do either of them really need an introduction on Fast Talk? We always love having them on the show and hearing their insights. In addition, we'll talk with professional cyclist Rebecca Rusch and Apex Coaching owner Neal Henderson. Both have been at the top of the cycling world for years, so we'd definitely love to hear what gifts they'd like to get. Their answers were a little less tangible than you might expect.

It's the holidays and if you're like us, right about now, you're scrambling for gift ideas. So we're trying something new on Fast Talk and doing a gift episode. Of course, there's a ton of great gifts you can give that cyclist in your life, so we can't cover them all. Instead, we're going to focus on a few cool training gadgets. Some of which you're very familiar with and some you may never have even heard of.We'll talk about what they are, how they're used and whether we think they're worth putting under the tree or not. Of course, a few of these ideas may be a little too expensive for stocking stuffers, so it may be better to see this episode as our review of several cool, interesting and potentially valuable training tools. Today we'll talk about: 1. The Whoop Recovery strap - what is it, why it may be a valuable tool for tracking your recovery and our personal experience - good and bad - with the tool. 2. The Normatec Recovery System. Do they work and some thoughts on how to use them. If you listened to our recent episode on recovery, you already know our opinion, but we certainly couldn't leave them out of an episode on cool training gear. 3. Power Meters. Alright, that's nothing new or unique, but we'll give our hot takes on which are good and what to be careful about. 4. The Leomo Type-R. A truly unique device offering on-the-road biomechanical analysis that wasn't previously available. It's a fascinating tool, but as we'll discuss, it may be so new, we still haven't figured out how to use it. 5. And finally, we'll finish up with a foam rollers. They may not be as sexy as some of our other gift ideas, but they're cheap and they work. Our guests today are hour-record holder and coach extraordinaire Colby Pearce along with FastCat owner and likewise coach extraodrinaire Frank Overton. At this point do either of them really need an introduction on Fast Talk? We always love having them on the show and hearing their insights. In addition, we'll talk with professional cyclist Rebecca Rusch and Apex Coaching owner Neal Henderson. Both have been at the top of the cycling world for years, so we'd definitely love to hear what gifts they'd like to get. Their answers were a little less tangible than you might expect.

In today’s episode, we start by asking our expert guests that simple question: Do we need a coach? Next, we’ll talk about the relationship athletes have with their coaches — what makes a good relationship and what makes a bad one. After we’ve defined that relationship, we’ll ask our panel what to look for in a good coach. And, conversely, how to identify a bad coach. Finally, we’ll talk briefly about how much coaching is worth, and whether an athlete should stick with the same coach or change from time to time. Our panel today includes coach Neal Henderson, owner of Apex Coaching and current coach of time trial world champion Rohan Dennis, among other elite athletes. Neal has joined us before, on one of our most popular episodes, in fact, Episode 33: Is FTP Dead? Our other main guest today is the renowned endurance athlete Rebecca Rusch, formerly an adventure racer, now a decorated cyclist of mountain bike, gravel, and bike-packing events around the world. Rebecca currently works with CTS coach Dean Golich; for many years she went without a coach. She has a great depth of experience as an athlete and brings a wealth of knowledge to the conversation. In addition to our panel, we have several experts weigh in throughout this episode: Ciaran O’Grady, a coach and sports scientist with Team Dimension Data, talks with us about the pros and cons of self-coaching versus the accountability that comes from working with a coach. LottoNL-Jumbo’s Sepp Kuss, winner of this year’s Tour of Utah, reached the WorldTour by being self-coached. We talk about why he did that, and what it’s like now working with the team’s trainers. We check in with Dean Golich, head performance physiologist at CTS. Dean has worked with an incredible number of top athletes and shares some of his thoughts on how he approaches coaching them. The legendary Ned Overend continues to crush Cat. 1 riders into his 60s. Despite all of his success, Ned has never had a coach. He explains why. Finally we talk with Armando Mastracci, who has developed a highly sophisticated training AI system that can help athletes plan their workouts. Armando discusses what parts of coaching a good AI system can replace and what it can’t.

In the famous book “Daniels’ Running Formula,” Jack Daniels lays out what he considers to be the four ingredients of success. The fourth ingredient is “direction,” and he describes it as follows: “Direction, the final ingredient of success, refers to a coach, a teacher, or a training plan that can be followed. Of the four ingredients of success, direction is probably the one of least significance, should one of the ingredients have to be eliminated. I say this because direction is the only ingredient that can have either a positive or negative influence on the athlete… it is possible for absence of direction to be better than bad direction.” It may seem a little strange to hear one of the most decorated running coaches of all time say that coaching or direction is the least important ingredient of success. And it raises an important question: Do we really need a coach? In today’s episode, we’re taking on that question. First, we’ll start by asking our expert guests that simple question: Do we need a coach? Next, we’ll talk about the relationship athletes have with their coaches — what makes a good relationship and what makes a bad one. After we’ve defined that relationship, we’ll ask our panel what to look for in a good coach. And, conversely, how to identify a bad coach. Finally, we’ll talk briefly about how much coaching is worth, and whether an athlete should stick with the same coach or change from time to time. Our panel today includes, first, coach Neal Henderson, owner of Apex Coaching and current coach of time trial world champion Rohan Dennis, among other elite athletes. Neal has joined us before, on one of our most popular episodes, in fact, Episode 33: Is FTP Dead? Our other main guest today is the renowned endurance athlete Rebecca Rusch, formerly an adventure racer, now a decorated cyclist of mountain bike, gravel, and bike-packing events around the world. Rebecca currently works with CTS coach Dean Golich; for many years she went without a coach. She has a great depth of experience as an athlete and brings a wealth of knowledge to the conversation. She also runs several training camps and hosts her namesake Rebecca’s Private Idaho gravel race near her home in Idaho. Check them out online at rebeccarusch.com. Email Address

In today’s episode, we start by asking our expert guests that simple question: Do we need a coach? Next, we’ll talk about the relationship athletes have with their coaches — what makes a good relationship and what makes a bad one. After we’ve defined that relationship, we’ll ask our panel what to look for in a good coach. And, conversely, how to identify a bad coach. Finally, we’ll talk briefly about how much coaching is worth, and whether an athlete should stick with the same coach or change from time to time. Our panel today includes coach Neal Henderson, owner of Apex Coaching and current coach of time trial world champion Rohan Dennis, among other elite athletes. Neal has joined us before, on one of our most popular episodes, in fact, Episode 33: Is FTP Dead? Our other main guest today is the renowned endurance athlete Rebecca Rusch, formerly an adventure racer, now a decorated cyclist of mountain bike, gravel, and bike-packing events around the world. Rebecca currently works with CTS coach Dean Golich; for many years she went without a coach. She has a great depth of experience as an athlete and brings a wealth of knowledge to the conversation. In addition to our panel, we have several experts weigh in throughout this episode: Ciaran O’Grady, a coach and sports scientist with Team Dimension Data, talks with us about the pros and cons of self-coaching versus the accountability that comes from working with a coach. LottoNL-Jumbo’s Sepp Kuss, winner of this year’s Tour of Utah, reached the WorldTour by being self-coached. We talk about why he did that, and what it’s like now working with the team’s trainers. We check in with Dean Golich, head performance physiologist at CTS. Dean has worked with an incredible number of top athletes and shares some of his thoughts on how he approaches coaching them. The legendary Ned Overend continues to crush Cat. 1 riders into his 60s. Despite all of his success, Ned has never had a coach. He explains why. Finally we talk with Armando Mastracci, who has developed a highly sophisticated training AI system that can help athletes plan their workouts. Armando discusses what parts of coaching a good AI system can replace and what it can’t.

EPISODE 51 OF FAST TALK is one that Coach Connor and I are particularly excited about. In fact, Trevor is so enamored with our guest’s research that he refers to him as the Jay-Z of physiology. I don’t really know what that means, but I’m fascinated that Trevor knows who Jay-Z is. But I digress. Dr. Stephen Seiler has revolutionized our understanding of endurance training. Perhaps you’ve heard us refer to his findings in previous episodes. We’ve discussed several of them in the past, just not at length and in one place. Today it all comes together, and we’re privileged to have Dr. Seiler to help explain what can be, at times, some complex science. In this episode, we’re going to take a deep dive into many of his theories, including: 1. Why both coaching techniques and the science have become so biased toward high-intensity training when that isn’t how the best athletes train. 2. Dr. Seiler’s three-zone model of training (see below). There are many zone models out there. Most of us use five zones for training, but some models have as many as nine. In his research, Seiler has pointed out that when we test, there are two physiological breakpoints. One is our anaerobic threshold, or MLSS. Your coach may call it FTP. It tends to be right around the point where we hit 4 mmol/mL lactate. The other breakpoint, which is lower — about 85 percent of anaerobic threshold and at 2 mmol/mL of lactate — is often called our aerobic threshold. Seiler feels these breakpoints define three physiological zones. Zone 1 is below the aerobic threshold, and what we call easy base training. Zone 2 is between the breakpoints and has many names, including no man’s land or sweet spot. The third zone is our high-intensity training zone. 3. Next, we’ll talk about how, by studying elite athletes, Seiler found a remarkable consistency: most endurance athletes train about 80 percent of the time in Zone 1, around 15 to 20 percent in Zone 3, and very little in Zone 2. This has become known as polarized training. 4. We’ll take a deep dive with Dr. Seiler into both Zone 1 and Zone 3 training and how to approach both. A theme will start to emerge, and you’ll hear one of the top physiologists in the world repeat it again and again: keep it simple. That might seem surprising, but the research is clear: complex intervals and overly detailed training plans may hurt more than they help. Ultimately, it may be as simple as accumulating time in the various zones in the right ratios. 5. Finally, we’ll discuss how these principles apply specifically to training. Seiler’s research includes Nordic skiers, rowers, runners, and cyclists. So be warned, at times you’ll hear some concepts that may be unfamiliar to you. For example, cycling is one of the few places where endurance athletes do five-hour workouts. In other endurance sports, they add volume by doing two-a-days. Full disclosure, this episode is a deep dive. If this is your first time listening to Fast Talk, we recommend starting with an appetizer. In episode 14, we discuss the difference between polarized and sweet-spot training, which give you the context you need to follow this conversation. Our featured guest is, of course, Dr. Stephen Seiler, a professor of sports science in Norway, where he has lived for 22 years. But no, that’s not a Norwegian accent. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Texas. Dr. Seiler is now on the executive board of the well-respected European University College for Sports Science. If you want to learn more about his research, he’s on Twitter and tries to make all of his research and presentations available for free on Research Gate. In addition to Dr. Seiler, our guests include: Grant Holicky, a head coach at Apex Coaching, a highly respected coaching center here in Boulder that has produced many Olympic and world champion caliber cyclists. Holicky talks with us about the mistakes of doing too much training in that middle zone. We’ll also hear from past Canadian national champion Andrew Randall and past national mountain bike coach Steve Neal who, together run the Cycling Gym in Toronto, a city where traffic, bad roads, and cold weather dominate. The conditions justify doing lots of intensity on the trainer, but Randall and Neal explain why they don’t take that approach with their athletes and still follow a polarized model. Finally, we hear from Larry Warbasse, the 2017 U.S. national road champion who rides for Aqua Blue Sport. He gives a few examples of how top pros have figured out what seems to work for them, without necessarily having read the research or knowing the scientific terms. So, are you ready to go slow to be fast? If so, this is the episode for you. Let’s make you fast!

Welcome to Episode 45 Part 4 of the Colorado Series.  This interview was so much fun!  I got to side down and drink a Denver Beer Company Graham Cracker Porter with Grant Holicky of Apex Coaching and Rally Sport Boulder. Grant has done everything.... and now coaches just about everything! From age groupers to World Champions you'll love listening to this conversation.  #BrianLeib   Our Guests Today: Grant Holicky #BrianLeib   For more information on Grant Holicky you can find him on Facebookand Instagram  @gholickyCheck out Apex Coaching Co. and Rally Sport Boulder.   Get your Drunk Athlete Merchandise at our store.   https://www.bigpistachio.com/shop   To be a patron or make a donation to this podcast, go to https://www.bigpistachio.com/drunk-athlete-podcast   For more information go to:   email drunkathlete@bigpistachio.com http://www.bigpistachio.com https://www.bigpistachio.com/drunk-athlete-podcast   PARTNERS:   Colorado Series Sponsors   361USA Elite Feet Orthortics BH Bikes WarmFront   A special thank you to our partner Big Mouth Announcing Logan@BigMouthAnnouncing.com   Thank you to our sponsor Austin Massage Company   Check out the amazing bike tours at Velo View Bike Tours!  Get 5% off when you mention Drunk Athlete.   Big Pistachio Racing https://www.bigpistachio.com/team Alphay International https://www.bigpistachio.com/alphay   "Music: www.bensound.com"     FOLLOW US:   INSTAGRAM - @DrunkAthletePodcast FACEBOOK - https://www.facebook.com/DrunkAthlete TWITTER - https://twitter.com/DrunkAthlete2     Please Share, Rate & Review this podcast so other awesome people like you can find it easier. Cheers!

IT’S OFTEN OVERLOOKED. Sometimes forgotten. But it never should be. Recovery is just as important to strong performances as your daily workouts and weekly riding volume. Recovery is the other side of the training balance that we often neglect. That is until we’re in a race, the legs feel sluggish, and the field rides away from us. Then we start asking what happened. In today’s technology-driven training world, we have easy-to-use tools like power meters to track our performance. But tracking recovery is not so easy. What’s lacking is that one clear metric or tool to tell us when we’re fatigued. If you discuss the topic with coaches and elite riders, they’ll each suggest a different way to monitor your recovery. Some will point to objective measurable metrics like resting heart rate, heart rate variability, or blood tests. Others will use more subjective measures — how they feel generally, the soreness they experience when they climb the stairs in the morning, or, sometimes, how much their family wants to avoid them. In today’s episode, we delve into the question of recovery metrics, a question that comes from listener Greg Gibson. First, we’ll discuss why the balance between training and recovery plays such an important role in performing at our best. That doesn’t mean that being recovered all the time is a good thing. So we’ll also address the difference between overtraining and functional over-reaching. Next we’ll discuss a recent review comparing subjective metrics to objective metrics of recovery. If you think that a blood test or heart rate measure is necessarily better than answering a few questions every morning about how you feel, think again. In either case, we’ll look at some of the tools for monitoring recovery, including tests like the POMS questionnaire of mood and the RESQ scale, as well as heart rate variability. Finally, we’ll hear from several coaches and athletes about what they feel works best when it comes to monitoring recovery. Our guest today is Dr. Paul Gastin, a professor at the Centre for Exercise and Sport Science at Deakin University in Australia. Dr. Gastin has spent over a decade working with coaches and athletes in the field. He’s particularly interested in how to best measure recovery outside of the lab and has written an influential review paper on the subject. Our other guests include veteran pro Brent Bookwalter, with BMC Racing. We’re also joined by two excellent coaches here in Boulder: Mac Cassin with Apex Coaching and Fast Talk regular Frank Overton, owner of FasCat Coaching. We’ll hear from Armando Mastracci, the founder of Xert training software, about the potential to use training software to give us clues about our recovery state.

All the top level athletes and coaches know that training and racing are so much more than getting the workouts done. To be our best, to achieve our highest potential and top performances we must take into serious consideration everything in our life situation. Stree levels, sleep quality, appropriate equipment, mindset and the quality of our training. Along with this, it is essential to maintain an open line of curiosity and willingness to look at our training behaviors and adjust to stay in alignment with the envisioned end result. Are we training in a way that elicits the change necessary to meet our goals? Are we going easy enough on the easy days and hard enough on the hard days? Are we using our data in a way that it informs the intelligence of our training regime? These are all questions that Neal Henderson, head coach and owner of Apex Coaching in Boulder, CO takes into account when coaching his athletes. With names like Jamie Whitmore, Cameron Dye and Flora Duffy on his roster, Neal cannot afford to take anything for granted when training his athletes to exceed the standards of excellence in their sport. Neal has a 10,000-foot view of his athletes and that allows him to pick up on the little things before they become big obstacles. He sees that training is a full-spectrum process and that most athletes are not spending the time necessary to prepare their minds for competition. Creating relaxation protocols, visualization and routine practices to hone one’s mental acuity is what, Neal believes, will have the biggest influence come race day. The physical training will prepare us for the physical demands of the race but without mental acuity we put every aspect of performance at risk. Neal has been coaching since the early 1990’s and formed Apex Coaching in 1999. He raced professionally from 2000-2003 and as we chat about today, he’s still putting himself out there in the competitive field. He is well known for his work with scientific data and interpreting data in a way that informs his ability to finely tune his athletes at the highest level of competition. This is a short yet power-packed episode with many takeaways. Neal’s wisdom is gold for all levels of athletes and we hope you enjoy the show. Thank you for tuning in for another episode, we appreciate your support more than we can accurately express. Thank you for using the Amazon Banner Ad and for becoming patrons of the show on Patreon.

Want some free watts? Your legs are fighting themselves, and we want them to stop. Episode 8 is all about neuromuscular training, decreasing what is called coactivation, which is when your muscles actually work against each other. Neuromuscular training can provide big gains without requiring any increase in fitness. We are joined by neuromuscular training expert Grant Holicky of Apex Coaching for insight into how this type of training works and how exactly to implement it in your own training.

Neal Henderson began coaching endurance sport athletes in the early 1990’s. He has helped numerous athletes achieve first-time finishes, and has coached several national champions, multiple world champions, several Olympians and now two UCI Hour Record holders. Neal raced triathlon professionally from 2000-2003 specializing in XTERRA and Winter Triathlon. He is an Elite USA Triathlon and USA Cycling certified coach and was the 2007 USA Cycling Developmental Coach of the Year.   He was also named the 2009 USA National Cycling Coach of the Year and in 2011 was awarded the Doc Counsilman Coach of the Year award by the US Olympic Committee. For fans of the hour record and Time Trials, Neal has been one of the more visible coaches on the scene, having recently coached Rohan Dennis and Evelyn Stevens for their UCI Hour records. You can learn more about Neal and his coaching team at Apex Coaching in Boulder, CO at their website, apexcoachingco.com Welcome Neal Henderson! Contact me at @markflorence11 on twitter or drop me a note at cyclingtimetrialpodcast@gmail.com.