EVOQ.BIKE Cycling Podcast

I get asked more often than I'd expect as to why we post so much free content?  At the end of the day, I've always blogged, but I lacked true passion for it, and it was never original content from my own thoughts; it was like an aggregate website and commenting on other articles.  Once I found the space of writing articles that were having a positive impact on other cyclists, I decided I wanted to go full tilt with it! Just how I roll with almost everything in my life.  Cycling has forever changed my life for the better, and if I can leave some small, teeny tiny mark on the sport, I'd be honored. Truly.  I also love building websites and seeing the traffic; it's amazing that we have athletes from around the world now! It's so cool!!!  So the intersection of all of this is building a community within the cycling realm; we're not here as the bible, we're here to share our cycling experiences and hopefully help you get better at a sport that we LOVE!  Hopefully, it's helpful.    All we ask is that if you love it, if you find this useful, that you share it.  Thank you!   Don't forget we have a full blog and podcast!  Www.evoq.bike/blog

This is important. Know what's coming downstream so you can adjust mental expectations, nutrition, and motivation!! VO2Max? You better bring it from the first thing in the morning when you open your eyes. Zone 2? It deserves respect, but more energy goes to family, work, and the 1,000 other things in your life that day. Little wins. Micro changes that have macro implications. Brendan@EVOQ.BIKE

I survived one of my last Rochester winters with three one-hour rides in my basement. It sucked; there was no zwift, I hated it. But that's what I could CONSISTENTLY commit to. I went through tempo > low threshold > 105% FTP....and came out ready to go in spring because it was a brutal winter and so many just packed it in. A small win during the week is NOT nailing every interval. That's a big win. A small win is getting on the damn bike and pedaling. Don't confuse the two and don't beat yourself up!!!! Consistently do SOMETHING. Brendan@EVOQ.bike www.evoq.bike/blog YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCS9FDuHl_qp8ajqQuWwNtew

Exclusive only to the podcast. There is so much content that we can't release, as every YouTube episode takes filming, editing, image creation, pushing it to every platform, etc. Hours on end of work. These podcast exclusives are going to be the raw stuff; unfiltered conversations that can empower you to look more deeply at your training and/or in a new light. Hope it makes you faster. Brendan@EVOQ.BIKE 

The question came in: Hi Brendan, maybe an idea for a next vid: Can you tell something about your biggest turning points in the past in your cycling career...not only about training, but also racing tactics, psychological thinking about your opponent in racing and mindset in training etc...and maybe something about the biggest mistakes in training and racing tactics. JH from the Netherlands ;) We reached out to our old coach who dropped a GEM on us! Thank you Jason for this thought. Three things that you need: 1. Confidence in your Cycling Training plan 2. Confidence in your Overall Fitness 3. Confidence in Yourself Failure is just part of the process. You need the confidence to fail 100 times over to win once. Patrick adde some sub points to take home: 1b Take ownership of your training. There is a lot in the athlete’s court, no matter what level of training! 1c You don’t need to ride 20h a week! While riding more is beneficial for a lot of reason, Patrick has honed his riding and become more focused so that he can still be competitive on 8-12h a week of training. That said, he has to make sure EVERY PEDAL STROKE COUNTS! We're going to make another video on that. Keep track of what you learn!! Lastly, having a coach will help you fast track the learning process. You will make up SO MUCH TIME with an experienced coach. Hit us up with questions, Patrick@EVOQ.BIKE and Brendan@EVOQ.BIKE https://youtu.be/PUoH7NW0T8c

Full post here: https://www.evoq.bike/blog/2019/3/30/250-mile-bike-ride What's your farthest ride? Xo, Brendan@evoq.bike 

BLOCK 4: STARTS TO GET VERY INDIVIDUALIZED, JANUARY: Gym: Can either shift to Plyo work (more fast twitch, sprinters) or continue Strength (diesels, one day races, all rounders) Midweek: Start Vo2Max if racing starts in Block 5 or FTP / Intensive Aerobic if racing starts in Block 6 Weekends: Townline sprints every other weekend (This means 10 sprints, not an all out smash fest for 2 hours) More animated riding on climbs Overall focus still on aerobic fitness building. It’s a LONG season Overall: max 2 hard days So I'm going to present a lot of different scenarios here. And hopefully you can find one that's applicable to you. We never would have thought of really doing a block of VO2max this early because all the elders were telling us that you "don't want to be a January superstar. You don't want to peak too early." You're not going to peak unless you're doing a massive overload and tapering in or if you're overtraining, or if you're going to Team camp and doing you know 20 hours and then you've got a week off work and you're doing 20 hours and then you kind of crumble. The peaking too early things so rarely happens. And it only happens to the person that just rides too much. So if you set out a logical schedule with progression, you're going to be fine with that. And when I say progression, in this sense, just talking about hours, keep yourself in check. Check out the video and comment below on how your training is going! Thanks, Brendan https://youtu.be/Xgn63mGww_0

Check out the full EVOQ blog with tons of free training tips: www.evoq.bike/blog If this content helps you out, please LIKE the video and SUBSCRIBE! We need your help! We charge you $0; the only currency we are asking for is SOCIAL SHARES. I got to catch up with Ashton who is training at altitude in Colorado right now for a couple of blocks. We touch on a TON of awesome topics, including: The science of lifting on the DAY OF A CYCLING EVENT! The term Potentiation came up, and he achieves this with Rack Pulls in the morning. What is he doing with altitude training in Colorado right now? What is a Brevet or Randonneuring? One big thing that he has found valuable in cycling training is Focusing on Time in Zone, not just average power for the duration…I love this. Don’t obsess about the drop in power from 20 seconds of coasting and then SLAM on the gas to bump the watts up more. What wins a bike race? Fastest Average Speed! What is he training for as we speak in November, since there is limited track access? Maybe the Hour Record! Ashton is now coaching with Strength Institute, we chat on this new chapter! ***Ashton dropped a couple F bombs that i didn't edit out, so please take notice if listening with kids.*** Also, what does Bahama Long Bottom mean? (Don't urban dictionary this term.) Brendan@EVOQ.BIKE Please share this! https://youtu.be/mM8exgBoZGw

We all want to "get faster" and that's obvious, but what does that really mean, and how do you get there? One small step at a time, and these are micro goals.  Brendan and Patrick discuss a recent Training Peaks article about "The Power of Micro Goals" and to use small steps throughout the day, week, month, year and LIFETIME of a riding career to accomplish everything you hope to on the bike.   We always talk about the Forest vs. the Trees, but sometimes you need to take a walk in the forest and appreciate the leaves, flowers, and fauna that it's made up of.   They discuss:  Frame of reference for your goal setting: are you thinking about a training session? A training year? A a career?  Can a Mega Loss actually fuel you with a whole new set of micro goals that you couldn't have realized without putting it out there and getting your teeth kicked in? YES!  Make sure you get to the end of the discussion where they realize that these micro goals are actually something a little different... enjoy!

Maybe the new EVOQ kit!  Ha, joking, but get yours now!  We'd love to have you fly the flag for us! https://eev1020-1-evoq-bike2021.itemorder.com/    We’ve had Tabata Intervals, Sweet Spot Training, Polarized Training, Keto Diets, Fasted Training, and Block Periodization sweep through. They can ALL have a small place in your training regimen, but we need to stop obsessing over one particular plan or style of training when we see gains.  Cyclists see a gain in something and then go FULL SEND with it. If one session is good, four is better, right!?  Made gains over one block with Training XYZ, I might as well do 3 blocks of this!   Let’s look at some of the crazes that come through and ruin cycling training plans, and then let’s discuss a basic, but applicable methodology.  I haven’t completed it, but so far:   * Consistency & Execution: Macro and Micro (overall consistency and hitting the workouts within the week)  * Athlete & Event Specific Workouts  * Experience & Science: (Learning On The Bike & Staying Current With Training Techniques)  * Varied & Alternate Stimulus: (not doing the same thing over and over and rotated pattern of training blocks based on Athlete and event listed above)  * Progression & Workload  Focus Paints Success.  Let me know what you think should be added to the methodology!  Comment below, and please subscribe to the channel! We are trying to hit 2,000 subscribers!  Thank you.  Brendan@EVOQ.BIKE https://youtu.be/JoLtOAYVqCE