Fast Talk

It wasn't long ago that most athletes, in the grand scheme of training, neglected the importance of nutrition, prioritizing time spent on the bike.  Now, nutritional periodization and other methods of manipulation are rapidly rising in popularity. Many people strongly believe that significant performance gains are being left on the table if they neglect nutritional manipulation.  Today, we sit down with one of the top sports nutrition experts to discuss the potential performance gains from modifying the amount of carbohydrate made available at a given time relative to training load. What are the benefits of low and high carbohydrate consumption and manipulation? What are the potential dangers? We’ll explain four distinct approaches:  First, we’ll talk about the fasted workout—easily done by skipping breakfast.  Second, we’ll discuss two-a-day workouts to reduce muscle glycogen. Third, we’ll consider low-carbohydrate diets. And, finally, we’ll dissect so-called “train-high, sleep-low" approaches in which an athlete will intentionally skip the recovery meal after a hard workout in order to ride the next morning under low carbohydrate conditions. The leading expert I mentioned earlier, who returns to Fast Talk, is Dr. Asker Jeukendrup, known for his work with many elite athletes, in particular the cyclists of the Jumbo-Visma WorldTour team, and the Dutch Olympic Federation. We’ll also hear from a host of other great coaches and researchers, including Dr. Brian Carson, Joe Friel, Jim Rutberg, and Sondre Skarli. Put that bag of popcorn down! Let's make you fast!  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we first take on the complex subject of coaching junior athletes, including everything from building aerobic base in a healthy manner to dealing with overbearing parents. We tackle a very interesting question on the base/intensity relationship from Danielle in Monument, Colorado:“Does aerobic output after intensity still have the same effect? Or does it have an even bigger effect due to substrate depletion and muscle fiber recruitment change? How does this change how I plan my training rides?”We also discuss how long aerobic rides need to be, based on a question from Ashley in Sherbrooke, Quebec:“How long do aerobic rides need to be to get benefits? And does this change throughout the season, or as I improve as a cyclist from season to season?”Then we turn our attention to this question from Jeff P. on heart arrhythmias:"Do you know if Whoop can ignore or tolerate or take into account premature ventricular contractions? PVCs are pretty common in the population and I started getting them about two years ago. I do get more PVCs when I have more stress but it doesn't seem to have a great correlation with exercise—more so with life stress and caffeine intake."Finally, we address the potential for cumulative effects of supplements, a question from Dan S.:"My question is regarding the nutritional effects of the flavonoids in dark chocolates and the nitrates (?) in beetroot. Are the effects of these type of “supplements” cumulative? In other words, if you do them together do you get a greater buffering effect than taking more of either of them in isolation?" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Unfortunately, concussions and traumatic brain injuries, or TBIs, are far too common in cycling. Whether training on open roads, racing at high speeds, or facing off with rush-hour traffic on your bike commute, cyclists often place themselves in vulnerable situations. Head injuries are becoming increasingly diagnosed among the two-wheeled crowd.  What’s more, there’s a good deal of misunderstanding about what exactly the terms concussion and TBI mean. Are they the same or very different? How should you manage each condition? What are the potential long-term repercussions of concussions, if any? We’ll tackle all of these questions, and many more, in this episode.  We turn to Dr. Steven Broglio, the director of the University of Michigan Concussion Center and the director of the NeuroTrauma Research Laboratory, for guidance on this complex subject. Dr. Broglio has spent much of his adult life studying the causes of concussion, the effects of concussion on the brain, the short- and long-term concerns, the best course of management, and the use of helmets, of course. His experience and knowledge on the matter make for a compelling discussion.  Add to that the conversations I had with Timmy Duggan and Hannah Finchamp, two athletes who have each suffered head injuries. Timmy’s story is well-known: While racing at the Tour of Georgia, he was involved in a horrific crash which led to a severe traumatic brain injury. He shares his experience, from the injury to the acute aftermath and rehabilitation, to the long-term and psychological impact the injury had on his life. You’ll hear from him throughout the episode.  And Hannah walks us through how being hit by a car led to her concussion, and how that impacted training and life.  All that and much more on today’s episode of Fast Talk.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We can learn a lot by looking back. And one of the best parts of being an athlete is planning ahead, setting goals, and choosing your next adventure.[For more on this, check out episode 140: How to Set Training and Performance Goals.]In this episode, the Fast Talk team, plus frequent guests, share the lessons they learned from a challenging 2020, and then declare their big, scary goals, races, and rides for 2021.First, looking back. We ask ourselves this question: Despite 2020 being an "off" year in terms of most racing and riding plans, were you still able to set goals and hit personal achievements in 2020 that you can look back on with satisfaction? What did you learn from these experiments?Then, looking back. Chris Case aims for the TransAtlantic Way bikepacking race. Trevor Connor aims for the Joe Martin stage race. Our Head Coach Ryan Kohler heads for the hills of the Breck Epic. Producer Jana Martin is gunning for Crooked Gravel.We also hear declarations of adventure from Dr. Stephen Seiler, Hannah Rae Finchamp, Julie Young, Dr. Stephen Cheung, Jen Sharp, Grant Holicky, and Colby Pearce.What did you learn in 2020? How did you make the most of a challenging year? And what are your adventure or race plans/goals in 2021? Join the conversation in the forum. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you’ve listened to Fast Talk for a while, you’ve likely heard us mention “cardiac drift” or “decoupling” in several episodes. It's a favorite topic of Coach Connor's. The terms refer to cardiovascular drift, which is a "drifting" in heart rate and stroke volume over time. On the bike, we measure it by looking at a rise in heart rate relative to power. Many causes have been theorized including dehydration, muscle damage, cutaneous blood flow, and mitochondrial efficiency.   We’re very excited to have as our featured guest today Dr. Ed Coyle, the University of Texas exercise physiology researcher who published the definitive articles on cardiovascular drift in the 1990s. In that research, Coyle, who is also the director of the Human Performance Laboratory at the university, and his colleagues demonstrated that even when hydration is maintained, CV drift can be experienced. This increase in heart rate reduces the time the heart has to fill with blood, and this is the main reason for a drop in stroke volume, or the amount of blood pushed out by the heart with each beat.   The drop in stroke volume is a hallmark of CV drift, and historically it has been attributed to blood pooling in the skin and less blood returning to the heart. Coyle and his team found no evidence that blood flow to skin is increased or that venous return is compromised.   In a practical sense, when a person becomes dehydrated during prolonged exercise, they also get hotter and experience a greater increase in heart rate and a lower cardiac output and circulation of blood: CV drift. The exercise becomes very hard when it should not be hard at all. Competitive cyclists interpret this to mean they are getting a “better workout” because it’s more stressful. It certainly is more stressful, but that type of cardiovascular drift is a negative stress. It does more harm than good.   We’ll dive into all of this and much more today on Fast Talk, as we hear from Dr. Coyle and a host of other incredible guests who share their thoughts on cardiovascular drift. Now, let's make you fast!   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to 2021. And what better way to kick off the new year than to answer some questions from our devoted listeners.  Today we take on a series of questions that deal with a dilemma many athletes face: deciding which rides or workouts to sacrifice when you’re short on time.  We tackle a question about zone 1 rides and whether you get them on the mountain bike.  We also discuss how to change the type of rider you are, and if it can be done, based on a question from a listener who wants to become a punchy rider. Finally, we field a question about the differences between structured and unstructured intervals. Are there any downsides to getting your intensity in so-called unstructured ways? Our guest coach today is Hannah Finchamp. You may know her as a member of the Orange Seal Off-Road Team, but she is also a board-certified athletic trainer and a certified USA Cycling coach. She has degrees in both athletic training, focused on injury prevention, and in exercise science.  Let’s dive into the discussion. Let's make you fast!  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to the best of 2020. What a year it’s been. In so many ways, 2020 was a challenge—sometimes big, sometimes small, but always a bit more challenging. The same goes even for this humble podcast. But we stay connected, virtually, across time zones, across international borders, and despite waves of pandemic disruptions to bring you what we think are some incredible conversations with exceptional minds in the worlds of physiology, medicine, nutrition, sports psychology, and, of course, cycling. Who, specifically, will you hear from today? I’ll drop some names: First, there’s world-famous physiologist Dr. Iñigo San Millan, who also happens to be the head of the training staff of UAE-Team Emirates, the team of Tour de France winner Tadej Pogacar.   We’ll hear from the coach of America’s most talented cyclists, Jim Miller.  A “best of” episode wouldn’t be complete without the incomparable Dr. Stephen Seiler.  We’ll also hear from outspoken, sometimes sassy Sebastian Webber of INSCYD. We’ll get words of wisdom from the legend, Joe Friel. We’ll hear from Fast Talk Labs contributor Julie Young, and we’ll catch up with incredible athletes, including climbing sensation Sepp Kuss and national champ Ruth Winder. All those guests and many more, today on Fast Talk. There are several themes that come out in this episode, a function of the fact that we kept revisiting these topics throughout the year. One thing Fast Talk has taught us, and we hope you as well, is that by discussing these topics with intelligent guests, we develop a better understanding of where training science and practice converge, and where it’s headed.  Some of the themes we’ll touch upon include leaving complexity out of your intervals, the execution of workouts and using feeling versus data, and ranges versus specific numbers. And much more. The Fast Talk team has enjoyed every minute of creating this show for you—likewise, we’ve loved sifting through our collection of episodes from the past year to gather the best of 2020.  Thank you for your continued support. We couldn’t do it without you. So here’s to 2021 and... a return to bike racing?!? Let's make you fast!   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is yoga just fancy stretching? Nope. Today we’re going to go into the specifics of why cyclists should consider yoga, from the physical literacy it can provide, to the strength and conditioning element it offers, from the potential for an improved inflammatory profile to better recovery and relaxation.  It turns out yoga is far more than fancy stretching or breathing techniques, it can be a powerful tool to aid health and performance.  No episode about yoga would be complete without an overview of the many varieties of the practice. It often comes down to a simple question: How do you like your peppers: mild, medium, or hot!? We walk through the six major types of yoga and when each is the most appropriate, given the time of year, your ability, and your training load.  Finally, we’ll discuss the risks of doing yoga. There are some, but thankfully they’re minor and can be easily avoided. Our featured guest today is Sage Rountree, an internationally recognized authority in yoga for athletes and an endurance sports coach with certifications from USA Triathlon, USA Cycling, and the Road Runners’ Club of America. She is the author of The Athlete’s Guide to Yoga among serval other books on yoga. We’ll also hear from eSports racer Jen Real, racer, Paralympian and coach Jen Sharp, and our very own Colby Pearce for more thoughts on the benefits of yoga for athletes. Now, select your pepper...  Let's make you fast!  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Time to bust some myths about nutrition. Head coach Ryan Kohler and Coach Trevor Connor both have degrees in nutrition and decades of experience working with athletes on all manner of sports nutrition topics.  Together, they discuss some of the major misconceptions that regularly enter any conversation on what to eat when training and racing.  Are macronutrients all that matter?  Do carbs make you fat?  Do you need fancy race food?  How do you know if you have a food allergy?  What really causes cramping?  Is a pasta party the best pre-race dinner?  Can you “train” how your body hydrates?   We answer all these questions and many others as we explore some of the most common misconceptions in sports nutrition.   Let's make you fast!  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What a strange and chaotic year it’s been. Despite the disruption to our lives, times like these afford us an opportunity to look farther ahead. It just may be that, from a training and racing point of view, this is just what some of us have needed.  That’s because, sometimes, you can see greater gains by looking not just at next year, but by gazing two or three years up the road. Whether you’re just starting in endurance sports, or unsure of what 2021 holds, looking through a telescope rather than a microscope can help you develop in new and powerful ways. There are certain physiological gains that take mere weeks to develop. We’ve touched upon those elsewhere. On the other hand, some very important changes will only take place over the course of years: your aerobic engine or stamina, for example, which involves structural changes. So if you have the opportunity to look farther ahead than ever before, how do you create the right training plan? Must you give up racing? How do you measure progress on this timescale? How big a role does trust in the plan play in proper execution? How much volume can you safely add over the course of two or three seasons? Those questions and so much more on today’s episode. Today’s guests are the renowned Dr. Stephen Seiler and one of his Norwegian colleagues, Sondre Skarli. You’ve heard Dr. Seiler on the program many times before, but Sondre will be new to this audience. Formerly an elite speed skater, Sondre is now a sports scientist consultant at the Norwegian Olympic Committee and Federation of Sports—basically he’s a great coach on the Norwegian national team, working with a diverse set of endurance athletes. Of note, he became the head coach of the Norwegian speed skating team at the age of 28.  This episode is very conversational; we’ll take our tangents. But there are a great number of important points throughout the show. And with that, let's make you fast!  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices