Empirical Cycling Podcast

Does your training zone determine the fiber type used? Does fiber type determine aerobic or anaerobic pathways, carbs or fats? We answer these questions by looking at evidence and concepts that show that fast twitch fibers can be just as aerobically capable as slow twitch fibers, nearly as good at burning fats, and why that might be. We dissect a paper on elite cross-country skiers, and another pa...

Kolie makes his case that power meters are rendering lactate testing obsolete for most cyclists. After some background about lactate and why lactate testing was (and still is) historically crucial for science, we compare lactate test values in ramp and MLSS tests between individuals from an excellent but under-appreciated study. We also dig deep into more recent data, from the lactate test of a fo...

Tim Podlogar, nutritionist for Bora-Hansgrohe and research fellow at the University of Birmingham, joins Kolie for a conversation. Just a few of the topics covered are what makes Slovenian riders so good, what lab tests are useful and for whom, low-carb rides, and why substrate use is not adaptation. Nutrition topics include fructose, "fat loading," the role of supplements like creatine, bicarbona...

This fantastic and nuanced conversation starts with discussing why it can be so hard to rest, but went into much deeper territory with changing one's behavior to better move towards goals. We explore ideas like a coach's job to moderate athlete responses to cultural and social pressure, managing the firehose of data, and the definition of insanity. Also touched on are practical ideas for self-coac...

Kolie spent yet another year on Instagram (@empiricalcycling) answering questions in the stories for 51 out of 52 weeks to add a bright interlude to doom scrolling. This podcast contains 32 questions under the topics training intensity, periodization, adaptation, and general. Questions, and timestamps for the headings, can be found in the show notes at empiricalcycling.com.

This episode takes a cue from Kolie's recent webinar on balancing aerobic and anaerobic training (linked in show notes) and delves deeper into the temptations of training to a metric or fitness test. We deconstruct some common FTP tests and metrics like FTP, FRC or W', and VLamax, and their interpretations and over-interpretations. Most of the discussion is about what drives these metrics, the pit...

In another wide ranging discussion, we discuss where the sweetspot vs polarized dichotomy may have come from as a stepping off point to consider if you should use such rules decide your training intensity distribution ahead of time.

Zwift training content manager and Never Going Pro podcast host Shayne Gaffney joins the podcast to discuss his role at Zwift, and what it's like building workouts and training plans for large numbers of unique users. We also cover how he got his start, coaching mistakes and lessons, parenting-cycling balance, and the symbolism in the Zwift logo's one sharp corner.

This conversation explores functional exercises as a continuum from your standard fare squats to the functional variations you might see on Instagram. We discuss if they're viable alternatives to normal training, good resources for functional exercises, and the weirdest ones we've ever seen.

In this episode we look at what fatmax is, where the promise lies, and what validity there is. Do you get better at burning fat by burning more fat? Do you lose more weight by burning more fat? How does e=mc^2 relate to the energy stored in food? This episode answers all these questions and more.

This episode was recorded not to be a traditional podcast, it's a call between Kolie and his client Ingvar Ómarsson who is professionally racing mountain bikes. The 2021 season was our first working together, and we go over what went right and what can be done better, and apply those lessons to the plan for next season.

Kolie and new Empirical Cycling coach Cory sit down for a discussion on previous coaching relationships, cultivating new ones, training and racing experience, and coaching red flags. They also get into Cory's motocross experience, technical aspects of criterium bike setup, and the difficulties of Zwift racing while living in a car.

This episode takes a bird's eye view on periodizing strength training in your season including adaptation, hypertrophy, strength, maintenance if needed, and even more specific periodization suggestions for lifting into the season. How and when one might plan these phases, how long they would last, and other tangents such as single leg specific phases, deadlift choice, and a bonus rant on whether o...

Podcast listeners voted on our topic to celebrate 200k listens! In this purely editorial episode, we list our top 5 best and worst workouts, discuss what makes them good or bad, and how one might fix them. On the lists are ramp tests, group rides, using FTP as an anchor intensity, all out efforts, and many more.

If you've ever thought about using the ketogenic diet for cycling, you may want to listen in. We look at a pair of modern classic studies that compare traditional high carbohydrate diets to periodized low carb and keto. This includes a study with, and a study without a carbohydrate re-adaptation period.​

Wonder how many reps to do in the gym? How many sets? This episode will help. We discuss typical set and rep ranges, how good they are for strength, hypertrophy, or maintenance, as well as in the context of periodization.

This discussion focuses on cyclists choosing exercises for strength training, and the hosts mostly stay on track. Topics included are high and low bar back squats vs front squat, lifting shoes, injury concerns, weight belts, and the bilateral deficit.

Kolie and Kyle let their quads out in this wide ranging discussion of pointers for cyclists going into the gym for strength training. Topics touched on are gym basics, the importance of technique, weight progression, range of motion, functional training, RPE, 1 rep max testing, and easy gym days (deloading).

Patrick Smith joins Kolie for a conversation about how to not accidentally rickroll yourself. Included are the usefulness of rigid rules in training and racing, goals vs. values, dealing with disappointment, and why common psychological evaluations don't work with athletes.

In this episode Kolie asks Empirical Cycling coach Alex Carmona and coach Taylor Warren about their first full season racing USA Crits. We discuss highs and lows, the importance of cornering and positioning, and working up the USA Crits team pecking order. Alex and Taylor also put on their coach hats and go in depth about managing fitness and fatigue in a season, having a "fitness reservoir," hot...

We look deeper into how the body chooses to use carbohydrates and fats, and specifically when and how carbohydrates inhibit fat oxidation. This serves as a jumping off point to take a critical look at VLamax and how it may, or may not, affect your FTP.

What does it really mean to burn something aerobically? This episode concludes the first phase of this series by looking at both the Krebs cycle and the electron transport chain, and putting them in perspective. In what way is burning fats or carbs aerobic, and how aerobically different are they from each other?

In this episode we answer questions asked on Instagram and r/velo. The podcast isn't dead!

This is a wide ranging conversation with Empirical Cycling coach Dr. Fabiano Araujo. We discuss the immune system, inflammation, when you can and can't train when sick, nutrition strategies, and much more.

This episode starts by looking at the chemical mechanisms of glycolysis, the stepwise dismantling of glucose for energy, and finishes with some big picture learnings about this deceptively simple pathway.