Empirical Cycling Podcast

This episode is Kolie's practical view on integrating physiology into a pragmatic training philosophy. Focused on coaches and self-coached athletes who are applying scientific learning to their coaching.

In the first episode of the Perspectives series, Empirical Cycling coaches Kolie and Alex discuss self coaching, the challenges of training and motivation during COVID, the value of knowing thyself, among many other topics.

This episode takes a wide angle view of the chain of events between starting exercise and successfully burning fat, and where the main bottlenecks are in that process. Nuances discussed are the differences between adipose tissue and intramuscular fats, energy demand rates, diet, and potential training strategies to improve fat utilization at most exercise intensities.

This episode begins a series on metabolism with the process of oxidizing fatty acids for energy, and why the process is anaerobic. We also discuss fats vs lipids, different types of fatty acids, and take a deep dive into the periodic table to explain why oxygen loves electrons so much.

To wrap up 2020, we went through all the questions asked for Kolie's weekend story AMAs and picked our favorites to expand on. The list of questions are in the show notes at empiricalcycling.com, in order of appearance.

In this first extended Ten Minute Tips, Kyle uses the extra time well to review his strategies to effectively read, digest, and understand any scientific paper. If you read papers along with us for the Watts Doc episodes, this may be a good playbook to pull from. Cover art on this is an example of "data massage" as mentioned in the episode.

This episode looks at some cellular mechanisms of how HIT training leads to adaptation, or maybe doesn't. Ryanodine receptors, free radicals, calcium, the size principle, fluorescent mouse muscles, and more!

This episode compares several types of steady state endurance training to the ability to perform repeated efforts above threshold and sprints. It outlines some of the science behind the different adaptations, training strategies to improve your ability, and suggested methods to track this specific type of fitness.

To celebrate 100k podcast listens, we asked for questions on r/velo and we got some great ones! This is a wide ranging and fun episode that covers how Kolie and Kyle feel about steady z3 rides, whether anaerobic capacity or FTP is the limiter, a few controversial training opinions, lifting, sprinting, the indoor equivalent to outdoor, and many other things.

In this extra long episode of Ten Minute Tips, Kolie shares the why and how of his two favorite technique drills to perfect your sprint. Newton's third law and learning to relax means big gears, little gears, and big power!

In the next installment of what is definitely not Squatober, Kyle discusses bar placement in he back squat, and finding the right foot position and stance for your squat.

In this Ten Minute Tips series that we will not call Squatober, Kyle shares his wisdom from many decades of lifting heavy weights. This episode focuses on proper breathing technique to move big weights, and why.

This episode revisits FTP testing. We look at the progressions outlined in the 2018 FTP testing article, intensity domains, FTP, heart rate, and critical power, ramp tests, and defining terms in the sciences. We also look at "training ruts" and their effects on open-ended FTP tests, and methods to avoid those ruts. The podcast concludes with discussing definitions of various thresholds in the scie...

In this episode we discuss preparations for successfully Everesting. With training we discuss periodization, cadence, and bike fit, and logistic preparations include picking the right road, nutrition, gearing, and dealing with mechanical and accident risks.

We answer your questions from the last episode on VO2max training, and, also at listener request, we look at some of last episode's Rønnestad material that got cut out. VO2max questions include: Aspects of position like standing and TT bikes. Transfer of heart adaptations to normal cadence riding. The right cadence, pacing, and terrain for intervals, rest intervals. How Kolie would structure VO2ma...

This episode is the focal point of the previous VO2max episodes. We take the physiology from the previous episodes and use it to find easy ways to improve the effectiveness of any VO2max interval set. Ways to change your cadence, interval times, rest times, and interval intensities are discussed. Then we take apart a Ronnestad study on 30/15s and put it in context of VO2max and other fitness adapt...

In the penultimate episode of the VO2max series, we dive deep into how the heart pumps and adapts, how this stress leads to increased VO2max, and why cyclists may not want to take training cues from cross-country skiing.

Three collegiate conference directors and a board president walk into a bar... hypothetically. This is what it would sound like if it were at all safe to go to a bar. We talk about our fall season cancellations, challenges faced by race promoters, predictions for spring 2021, and reactions to rumors of a Zwift nationals. In the discussion are conference directors Nick Luther of SECCC, Kyle Helson...

This episode explores how and why hemoglobin's function emerges from its structure, which makes it a critical component in the oxygen distribution chain. We also discuss the lungs, why VO2max isn't related to hematocrit, and vascular capacity for blood storage before diving into a classic phlebotomy study that ends with a question mark that hints at the central importance of the heart.

Continuing the VO2max series, we take such a close look into the Fick equation we only cover one of its terms: the arterial-venous O2 difference. We break apart the factors that affect diffusion of oxygen into our muscles, limiters of oxygen utilization, and whether these factors are trainable to potentially improve VO2max.

The slow component of vo2max is often mentioned but seldom discussed. We take a deep dive into the nature of the slow component, including thermodynamics, fiber type, and the size principle.

In the first episode in a VO2max series, we take a deep dive into why VO2max power, or maximal aerobic power (MAP), is not a simple number that can be found in a simple test. We discuss the history, physiological, and methodological underpinnings of ramp tests and what makes them flawed, and what some people have done to try and account for these. Additional methods of MAP testing and tracking and...

Lactate remains a misunderstood molecule, and most popular experts still don't have a full understanding of where it comes from or why. In this episode, Kolie explains the basic biochemical context of lactate, where it really comes from, and why we make it at rest and during exercise. You will come away from this episode with a good understanding of how enzymes catalyze reactions, the importance o...

Today we discuss the global COVID-19 pandemic. We start with basic virology and why it's through this understanding that we recommend even healthy people take extreme precautions. Then address group rides, and things to consider for your current training or re-planning your 2020 season for races that may or may not happen. We have links to additional studies in the show notes on the website.

We asked for questions, and we got them. Kolie and Kyle answer eleven excellent questions on FTP training.