Ask A Cycling Coach - Trainerroad Podcast

Amber, Coach Jonathan, and Pivot Cycles / DT Swiss’s Hanna Otto join us for a discussion on whether amateurs should train like pros, the crossover effects of aerobic and anaerobic training in different zones, tips from Hannah on technique and equipment choice, and much more. Tune in for Episode 353 of the Ask a Cycling Coach Podcast!   TOPICS COVERED IN THIS EPISODE   (0:57) What Hannah learned from her first UCI XC races of the season (23:54) Should amateurs train like the pros? (40:23) Should you learn to descend with your non-dominant leg forward? (51:23) How to fit structured training into your riding time (01:07:54) How to pace yourself when the course has steep climbs (01:24:14) How to manage mood swings and bad temperament during a recovery week (01:36:14) How to find the right tire (01:48:44) What effects do aerobic and anaerobic training have on each other?   RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE https://trainerroad.cc/3tuUpWa    TRY TRAINERROAD RISK FREE FOR 30 DAYS! TrainerRoad is the #1 cycling trai

Coach Chad, Amber, Nate, and Jonathan take a deep dive into stretching, if it makes you faster, how you should do it, and more in Episode 352 of the Ask a Cycling Coach Podcast. Tune in for this and discussions on heat training, bodyweight vs. weighted strength training and much more!   TOPICS COVERED IN THIS EPISODE   19:49 Deep Dive on Stretching 01:27:49 How to heat train at various budgets 1:37:45 How to drink and eat during interval workouts and not miss a beat 1:55:35 Is bodyweight training a substitute for barbell training?   RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE https://trainerroad.cc/33NPNlj     TRY TRAINERROAD RISK FREE FOR 30 DAYS! TrainerRoad is the #1 cycling training app. No other cycling app is more effective. Over 13,000 positive reviews, a 4.9 star App Store rating.   Adaptive Training from TrainerRoad uses machine learning and science-based coaching principles to continually assess your performance and intelligently adjust your training plan. It trains you as an individual and makes you a fast

Santa Cruz’s Keegan Swenson, Amber Pierce, and Ivy Audrain join Coach Jonathan for a discussion on what they do to maintain consistency, how to manage expectations after disappointing early season races, what to do if you’ve experienced a lot of improvement in the Base Phase, Keegan’s plans for the course record at Epic Rides’ 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo and much more!   TOPICS COVERED IN THIS EPISODE   1:50 What has changed about Keegan’s training this year How Keegan is preparing for the shift from gravel to MTB 17:59 Keegan’s strategy for Epic Rides’ 24 Hours in The Old Pueblo 27:20 How to deal with disappointing results in early season races 43:21 How to regain motivation after years of training 57:33 Tips from pros on how they maintain consistency in training 01:23:21 Rapid fire questions 1:55:16 How to gain confidence in the middle of a big field 02:08:22 Does AI FTP Detection work without max efforts? 02:11:16 What to do if you’ve had big gains in the Base Phase   RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE htt

Amber, Ivy, and Nate join Coach Jonathan for discussions on rider type discovery and development, as well as riding the line between functional and non-functional overreaching. Listen now for these discussions and much more! – TOPICS COVERED IN THIS EPISODE 0:00 Welcome!  01:37 No more testing! AI FTP Detection is available now 41:57 Functional vs. non-functional overreaching 01:07:12 Discovering and developing rider type 01:14:04 How to manage expectations for yourself in cycling 01:24:55  How fitness plateaus happen and how to avoid them 01:41:20  Finding the ideal womens and mens saddles 01:53:30 Tips for flying with your bike – RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE – TRY TRAINERROAD RISK FREE FOR 30 DAYS! TrainerRoad makes cyclists faster. Athletes get structured indoor workouts, science-backed training plans, and easy-to-use performance analysis tools to reach their goals. Get Started: https://bit.ly/3unoSnx   Adaptive Training: What it is, how to use it: https://bit.ly/3dIRClW Build Your Custom Plan: htt

Coach Chad, Amber Pierce, and Hannah Finchamp join Coach Jonathan for a deep dive into protein for cyclists, discussing how much endurance athletes of all kinds should be taking in, if you should ingest it on the bike, plant-based alternatives and more. We’ll also dig deep into VO2Max training, training stress and much more. -------------------------------------------- TOPICS COVERED IN THIS EPISODE (03:05) Hannah’s training camp experience (13:23) Protein for cyclists: everything you need to know (1:51:20) Are you doing VO2Max training wrong? (2:06:00) When to use and when to ignore TSS -------------------------------------------- TRY TRAINERROAD RISK FREE FOR 30 DAYS! TrainerRoad makes cyclists faster. Athletes get structured indoor workouts, science-backed training plans, and easy-to-use performance analysis tools to reach their goals. -------------------------------------------- RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE Enhanced Amino Acid Sensitivity of Myofibrillar Protein Synthesis Persists for up to 24 h

The original crew is back! Amber, Chad, Nate and Jonathan discuss the concept of gaining weight to get faster, how to manage motivation amidst canceled goal events, how to keep your training on track while fasting and much more. -------------------------------------------- TOPICS COVERED IN THIS EPISODE - Tri challenge update from the hosts - Should you gain weight to get faster? - How to keep your training on track while fasting - Rapid Fire questions - How to do the most work possible for 10 minutes - How to maintain motivation when your events get cancelled - How to swap out weekend workouts for long rides with Adaptive Training - Is there an ideal cadence for climbing? -------------------------------------------- TRY TRAINERROAD RISK FREE FOR 30 DAYS! TrainerRoad makes cyclists faster. Athletes get structured indoor workouts, science-backed training plans, and easy-to-use performance analysis tools to reach their goals. Get Started: https://bit.ly/3unoSnx   Adaptive Training: What it is, how to use it: ht

Amber Pierce, Alex Wild, Ivy Audrain, and Coach Jonathan go deep on how to come back to training after illness, when you should start adding races to your calendar, how to use early season training camps to boost your fitness and much more. Join us for Episode 347 of the Ask a Cycling Coach Podcast! -------------------------------------------- TOPICS COVERED IN THIS EPISODE - Is FTP testing accurate? - How to pick early season races, when to do them, and how to get the most from them - Alex’s peaking strategy for the year - How to use training camps to boost your fitness - How to return from training after illness - Aerobic training for anaerobic athletes - Saddle selection and why it matters - How to manage carb intake on self-supported rides -------------------------------------------- TRY TRAINERROAD RISK FREE FOR 30 DAYS! TrainerRoad makes cyclists faster. Athletes get structured indoor workouts, science-backed training plans, and easy-to-use performance analysis tools to reach their goals. Get Started: h

Amber Pierce, Hannah Finchamp, and Nate Pearson join us for an in-depth guide on goal setting and achieving, as well as a discussion on Hannah’s plans at Unbound Gravel, injury prevention and much more. Join us for Episode 346 of the Ask a Cycling Coach Podcast! -------------------------------------------- TOPICS COVERED IN THIS EPISODE - Hannah’s new team! - Amber’s guide to goal setting and achieving - Injury prevention and a discussion on concussions - Rapid Fire Questions - Women’s saddle suggestions - Should natural sprinter base train differently? - Long ride nutrition strategy tips - Hannah’s strategy for Unbound Gravel and gravel tips from the hosts -------------------------------------------- TRY TRAINERROAD RISK FREE FOR 30 DAYS! TrainerRoad makes cyclists faster. Athletes get structured indoor workouts, science-backed training plans, and easy-to-use performance analysis tools to reach their goals. Get Started: https://bit.ly/3unoSnx   Adaptive Training: What it is, how to use it: https://bit.ly/3dI

We covered the science behind mixing strength training and endurance training in Episode 341, and now we’ll cover practical suggestions of how you can best fit them into your training schedule, which exercises are best, and get input from pro athletes on what they do. Join us for a discussion on this, high volume training, goal setting and much more in Episode 345 of the Ask a Cycling Coach Podcast! -------------------------------------------- TRY TRAINERROAD RISK FREE FOR 30 DAYS! TrainerRoad makes cyclists faster. Athletes get structured indoor workouts, science-backed training plans, and easy-to-use performance analysis tools to reach their goals. Get Started: https://bit.ly/3unoSnx  Adaptive Training: What it is, how to use it: https://bit.ly/3dIRClW  Build Your Custom Plan: https://bit.ly/3oR8sme  Train Together with Group Workouts: https://bit.ly/3fkaYyd  -------------------------------------------- LEARN MORE ABOUT ADAPTIVE TRAINING Adaptive Training Video: https://youtu.be/c15eVK29bj0  Adaptive Traini

Jim Miller is the Chief of Sports Performance at USA Cycling and has coached more Olympic cycling medal winning athletes than any other coach in US history. Jim is a 5x Olympic Team Member and has coached his athletes to 5 Olympic medals, 6 World Championships, 10 World Championship Podiums and upwards of 60 National Championships, receiving the Order of Ikkos three times and USOC Coach of the Year two times. Tune in as we discuss the habits and traits that Jim has recognized across high performing athletes during his career, and how you can apply those learnings to your training and racing. -------------------------------------------- TRY TRAINERROAD RISK FREE FOR 30 DAYS! TrainerRoad makes cyclists faster. Athletes get structured indoor workouts, science-backed training plans, and easy-to-use performance analysis tools to reach their goals. Get Started: https://bit.ly/3unoSnx   Adaptive Training: What it is, how to use it: https://bit.ly/3dIRClW Build Your Custom Plan: https://bit.ly/3oR8sme  Train Together

Amber and Nate are back! Join us for a discussion on what muscular endurance actually is, how to train it, and how it makes you a faster and more capable athlete, as well as discussions on time-crunched training, avoiding blowing up at the beginning of rides and much more. -------------------------------------------- TOPICS COVERED IN THIS EPISODE Updates from Nate and Amber! Update from Ivy on her Singlespeed podium at CX Nats! Guide to using TrainerRoad to plan a season of training What is muscular endurance and how does it make you more capable? How to train as a new parent and/or with limited time Rapid Fire questions How to avoid blowing up at the beginning of rides and races Training for long and short races/rides -------------------------------------------- RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE -------------------------------------------- TRY TRAINERROAD RISK FREE FOR 30 DAYS! TrainerRoad makes cyclists faster. Athletes get structured indoor workouts, science-backed training plans, and easy-to-use perfor

Mentality is often what separates winners from the rest in pro fields, and while amateurs may not be able to train like pros, they can think like one. Join pro riders Hannah Finchamp and Alex Wild as we discuss strategies of how to get into the mindset of a winner, how to do sprint training amidst endurance training, their favorite training metrics and more. -------------------------------------------- TOPICS COVERED IN THIS EPISODE - TrainerRoad athletes winning National and World Championships - Hannah’s cyclocross tips - Mentality tips from the pros - How to mix sprint training with endurance training - Rapid Fire Questions - How to pace long events with lots of short climbs - The hosts’ favorite training and racing metrics -------------------------------------------- RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE -------------------------------------------- TRY TRAINERROAD RISK FREE FOR 30 DAYS! TrainerRoad makes cyclists faster. Athletes get structured indoor workouts, science-backed training plans, and easy-to-use

Is it possible to time your strength training in such a way that it doesn’t affect your cycling training? Coach Chad dives deep into interference-effect and if it is worthy of concern, as well as a guide to training plans for KOMs of different durations, how training fatigue and freshness can mask adaptations and much more in Episode 341 of the Ask a Cycling Coach Podcast! -------------------------------------------- TOPICS COVERED IN THIS EPISODE 0:00 Intro 2:56 How to stop failing workouts 10:07 XTERRA World Championships 15:50 Deep dive on timing strength training and cycling 56:54 Rapid Fire questions 1:13:55 TrainerRoad’s Polarized Training Plans 1:18:03 Guide to KOMs of different durations 1:25:25 Can you treat knee injuries while training? 1:36:42 How fatigue and freshness can mask adaptations -------------------------------------------- RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE - Evaluation of performance improvements following either resistance training or sprint interval based concurrent training -  Deve

What role does glycogen availability play in cramping and what is the latest research showing us about why cramps happen? Orange Seal Off-Road Team’s Alex Wild will join us to dig into this as well as discussing fitness plateaus, endurance athlete guidelines for protein intake and more. Join us live for Episode 340 of the Ask a Cycling Coach Podcast! -------------------------------------------- TOPICS COVERED IN THIS EPISODE 0:15 Intro 4:28 Alex’s off-season 10:31 The Hosts’ Goals for 2022  24:26 Deep dive into muscle cramps and glycogen 01:12:04 Rapid Fire Questions 1:23:55 Training with too high of an FTP 1:32:40 How Alex avoids fitness plateaus as a pro athlete 1:39:33 Training for extremely long climbs 1:49:10 How much protein should endurance athletes ingest? 1:56:00 More Rapid Fire Questions -------------------------------------------- RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE - Kawasaki: 'A monkey never cramps' - Serum electrolyte concentrations and hydration status are not associated with exercise associat

How much of your “race fitness” is due to improvements in capacity and how much of it comes from pain tolerance? We’ll cover this and how should average athletes and pro athletes fuel differently, get into cyclocross season and much more in Episode 339 of the Ask a Cycling Coach Podcast! -------------------------------------------- TOPICS COVERED IN THIS EPISODE - Intro 0:09 - What has Ivy learned during her CX season so far? 03:16 - Deep dive on pain tolerance and endurance training 19:17 - Rapid fire questions 53:26 - Physical vs. psychological benefits of drafting 1:14:19 - Examining how a specific pro athlete should manage their nutrition 1:19:59 - How average athletes should manage their nutrition 1:30:21 -------------------------------------------- RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE   - The Cerebral Signature for Pain Perception and Its Modulation - Survey of Chronic Pain in Europe: Prevalence, Impact on Daily Life, and Treatment - The Relationship Between Psychological Resilience and Pain Threshold a

Join us for a special live question and answer session with Nate and Jonathan about all things Adaptive Training! -------------------------------------------- TOPICS COVERED IN THIS EPISODE - Intro 0:00 - Why did we build Adaptive Training and what is it? 0:47 - How does it make you faster? 19:01 - How can you use it? 30:32 - What are the new metrics in Adaptive Training? 31:58 - What specific adaptations will be recommended? 39:15 - What about FTP tests? 48:02 -What about unstructured, outside rides? 59:21 - Live questions and answers 1:05:23 -------------------------------------------- TRY TRAINERROAD RISK FREE FOR 30 DAYS! TrainerRoad makes cyclists faster. Athletes get structured indoor workouts, science-backed training plans, and easy-to-use performance analysis tools to reach their goals. Get Started: https://bit.ly/3unoSnx Adaptive Training: What it is, how to use it: https://bit.ly/3dIRClW Build Your Custom Plan: https://bit.ly/3oR8sme Train Together with Group Workouts: https://bit.ly/3fkaYyd -------

After a long and challenging week, the last stage of Cape Epic looked almost tame in comparison to what racers have already faced. But it was a perfect outro to the race, with a big climb to sort things out and a series of treacherous rocky descents to the final finish line. Stay up to date with the teams: https://trainerroad.cc/3p0oNXW -------------------------------------------- TRY TRAINERROAD RISK FREE FOR 30 DAYS! TrainerRoad makes cyclists faster. Athletes get structured indoor workouts, science-backed training plans, and easy-to-use performance analysis tools to reach their goals. Get Started: https://bit.ly/3unoSnx Adaptive Training: What it is, how to use it: https://bit.ly/3dIRClW Build Your Custom Plan: https://bit.ly/3oR8sme Train Together with Group Workouts: https://bit.ly/3fkaYyd -------------------------------------------- LEARN MORE ABOUT ADAPTIVE TRAINING Adaptive Training Video: https://youtu.be/gE2yPYZ15ew Adaptive Training: What it is, how to use it: https://bit.ly/3dIRClW How Adaptive Tr

The penultimate stage of Cape Epic looked set to be a long, fast, rolling day on a flowing course. Unfortunately for tired racers, extremely heavy rains overnight had other plans. Stay up to date with the teams: https://trainerroad.cc/3p0oNXW -------------------------------------------- TRY TRAINERROAD RISK FREE FOR 30 DAYS! TrainerRoad makes cyclists faster. Athletes get structured indoor workouts, science-backed training plans, and easy-to-use performance analysis tools to reach their goals. Get Started: https://bit.ly/3unoSnx Adaptive Training: What it is, how to use it: https://bit.ly/3dIRClW Build Your Custom Plan: https://bit.ly/3oR8sme Train Together with Group Workouts: https://bit.ly/3fkaYyd -------------------------------------------- LEARN MORE ABOUT ADAPTIVE TRAINING Adaptive Training Video: https://youtu.be/gE2yPYZ15ew Adaptive Training: What it is, how to use it: https://bit.ly/3dIRClW How Adaptive Training Makes You Faster: https://bit.ly/2ZNfWLq -------------------------------------------- SUC

Stage 5 featured the most climbing of any day in this year’s Cape Epic. Add in cold weather and occasional rain, and it pushed athletes to the absolute limit. Stay up to date with the teams: https://trainerroad.cc/3p0oNXW -------------------------------------------- TRY TRAINERROAD RISK FREE FOR 30 DAYS! TrainerRoad makes cyclists faster. Athletes get structured indoor workouts, science-backed training plans, and easy-to-use performance analysis tools to reach their goals. Get Started: https://bit.ly/3unoSnx Adaptive Training: What it is, how to use it: https://bit.ly/3dIRClW Build Your Custom Plan: https://bit.ly/3oR8sme Train Together with Group Workouts: https://bit.ly/3fkaYyd -------------------------------------------- LEARN MORE ABOUT ADAPTIVE TRAINING Adaptive Training Video: https://youtu.be/gE2yPYZ15ew Adaptive Training: What it is, how to use it: https://bit.ly/3dIRClW How Adaptive Training Makes You Faster: https://bit.ly/2ZNfWLq -------------------------------------------- SUCCESSFUL ATHLETES PODC

Stage 4 was shorter, less technical, and less climb-heavy than other recent stages. Coupled with slightly cooler temperatures it offered a bit of a reprieve for racers, but it certainly wasn't without its challenges. Stay up to date with the teams: https://trainerroad.cc/3p0oNXW -------------------------------------------- TRY TRAINERROAD RISK FREE FOR 30 DAYS! TrainerRoad makes cyclists faster. Athletes get structured indoor workouts, science-backed training plans, and easy-to-use performance analysis tools to reach their goals. Get Started: https://bit.ly/3unoSnx Adaptive Training: What it is, how to use it: https://bit.ly/3dIRClW Build Your Custom Plan: https://bit.ly/3oR8sme Train Together with Group Workouts: https://bit.ly/3fkaYyd -------------------------------------------- LEARN MORE ABOUT ADAPTIVE TRAINING Adaptive Training Video: https://youtu.be/gE2yPYZ15ew Adaptive Training: What it is, how to use it: https://bit.ly/3dIRClW How Adaptive Training Makes You Faster: https://bit.ly/2ZNfWLq -----------