FasCat Cycling Training Tips Podcast

One key question we ask ourselves as coaches at FasCat, is if the athlete is responding to the training we have prescribed. Aka, are they getting faster? Our favorite "experiment" to answer this question is a good old fashioned 20 minute power based field test, which is free and can be conducted anywhere and anytime appropriate. Reality Cycling In a former life and career, I conducted hundreds of...

 We don't always have to perform an FTP field test in order to measure our performance. We you may use normalized power during hard effort 20-60 minutes in length, or similar durations during group rides or races to track your performance and FTP over time using real world examples. This is a hot topic so we'd love to field your questions at forum. FasCatCoaching.com   14440Interested in a FasCat...

One of the most popular topics we talk about on the podcast is nutrition, and specifically our philosophy of "Winning in the Kitchen". We've podcasted about breakfast, dinner, on the bike nutrition, winning in the grocery store, weight loss, and now we bring you a conversation about SNACKS! 40045More Training For Your Limited Time Snacks are a challenging aspect of nutrition for many people, athle...

This week, we discuss how Strava live segments can "hack" your interval performance by increasing motivation, positive reinforcement, and therefore your power output. A Strava-Val is going as hard as you can like an interval but using the live Strava segment for motivation. Knowing in real time if you are ahead or behind your PR is good for 10-20 more watts of motivation. Kind of like a group ride...

This week we sit down with Jim Miller, USA Cycling's Chief of Sports Performance and coach to many of USA's greats such as Tejay van Garderen, Kate Courtney, Kristin Armstrong, and Lawson Craddock to name a few. Jim is the ultimate "coaches coach" and has been coaching elite level cycling for nearly 2 decades, and his work has developed amazing athletes and superstar performances, including world...

This week Frank talks about the 3 ways he advises athletes to use Zwift as a Training Tool. They include: #1 Using Alpe Du Zwift #2 ERG Mode # 3 Group Rides and Races Save 25% on your next training plan with code 25podcast 39836More Training For Your Limited Time What if you had a one hour climb out your backyard to train on? Well now you do with Zwift's Alpe D Zwift. We'll talk about using the Al...

We are honored to talk about sweet spot training with Dr. Andy Coggan, Ph. D on this podcast.  Dr. Coggan is an Associate Professor of Kinesiology at Indiana University's School of Health and Human Sciences.  IU has a doctoral program in Kinesiology so if there's a young cyclist out there that wants to study how to get faster, IU's Department of Kinesiology could be the place for you. 39701More Tr...

The podcast this week is another installment of our Ask FasCat series, where we answer listener questions! Thank you to everyone who submitted questions via our forum , and congratulations to the 3 question-askers we selected to win a FasCat T-shirt! Listen in to see if you won… This go around we answered questions ranging from FTP adjustments for indoor vs. outdoor riding, making the jump from a...

The whole gravel team is here to check in with the FasCat community about setting intermediate goals using virtual communities to keep the motivation high and training moving forward for the next few months.  You still have your A race goals and long term goals, we just don't know (yet ) how the timing of those goals relates to your training. So in the meantime we present ways to have fun, ride al...

When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade as the saying goes. With the cycling season put on hold until May ( ) there's now plenty of time to get faster. Two life situations dictate your training approach: do you have less time to train + more stress / more 'life stuff' do you have more time now that you're working from home Depending on your life situation, we recommend adopting a training st...

In light of the recent COVID-19 outbreak, the timing of your training for the 2020 cycling season has changed. Races are in question, stress is high, and a lot of us are wondering how to proceed with our seasons with so much being up in the air. So we decided to sit down and chat about the age old question: what should we do when our races get cancelled? How do we proceed when plans change? A lot...

We're starting a gravel team! That's right, the FasCat Coaching Gravel Team will be a thing this year, and we're here to tell you all about it! Coaches Frank, Jake, Isaiah, and Jackson will be traveling to six gravel events this year, including Mid-South, Belgian Waffle Ride, Dirty Kanza, Crusher in the Tushar, Steamboat Gravel, and Rebecca's Private Idaho. With the help of some awesome brand part...

This week Frank and Jackson sit down to help each other out and answer some questions. Jackson is training for his first Dirty Kanza, and asked Frank to coach him through the overview of the next 3 months of preparation. Things like: Macro-scale training plan design, weekly and monthly hours on the bike Training camp ideas What DK simulation rides should look like How to incorporate intensity and...

Coach Frank "BigCat" Overton drops some knowledge and watt bombs about his top 3 go-to interval workouts this week on the pod. Threshold, VO2 and Anaerobic Capacity/Zone 6 intervals.  It's that time of year to start thinking about switching from base to race with early season races looming on the horizon, so intervals are the prescription. In this podcast, Frank shares some wisdom on his top 3 int...

This week we're excited to bring you a conversation with Amity Rockwell, the 2019 winner of Dirty Kanza and overall gravel hitter. Amity has a unique and interesting path into the sport of cycling after growing up in the Bay Area to ultrarunner parents, and her philosophy around the sport and mindset towards training and racing are powerful. Frank and Amity talk about her upbringing and how it dev...

Perhaps the two most important pillars of the FasCat Coaching ethos, following the plan and Winning in the Kitchen go very hand in hand. We've podcasted about them separately but realized that they fit together nicely, so we have a bit of a combo episode for you today to revisit these topics to keep you inspired as winter rages on. Winning in the Kitchen is about choosing go fast foods and setting...

WorldTour veteran and recent convert to the gravel scene, Pete Stetina, drops by the FasCat pod to share his wisdom and power data into some of the biggest races on the calendar like Belgian Waffle Ride, Dirty Kanza, and others. A longtime road cyclist and previous member of the Trek-Segafredo squad, Pete has made the switch to #ProGroad and has quickly established his dominance. Frank and Pete ch...

We're back with our 8th edition of Ask FasCat, where we field listener questions to help you become a faster cyclist. This time, Coach Isaiah is in the house to help break down questions ranging from Dirty Kanza training, the utility of plyometrics, training camp thoughts, polarized training vs. sweet spot talk, and plenty more. Thanks to everyone who submitted questions! Should You Strength Train...

This week on the pod, Coach Isaiah returns to share his takeaways and lessons learned from his recent USA Cycling Coaches Level 1 Education Course, and how it applies to YOUR cycling training. Isaiah shares a lot of powerful insights on training and racing philosophy, coaching science, and more, and really brings you into the mind of a high-level cycling coach. For more on Isaiah, check out his co...

It's late December, early January and time to get serious and make the most of the remaining months of the offseason to come into the gravel calendar swinging. Coach Frank and Jackson sit down to discuss their top tips and considerations for offseason gravel training, including: 32352Looking for the perfect off-season Gravel Plan for January? Here it is. 10 Weeks Resistance Training Sweet Spot Bas...

We're back at our favorite local bike shop, Excel Sports for a LIVE podcast sharing FasCat's picks for the holidays if you or someone you know is a cyclist! Coach Frank breaks down everything from bikes to tires to nutrition products, and we even gave away a Wahoo ROAM for the livestream! If you're looking for some really solid gifts for the cyclist in your life this season, look no further. To fi...

It's the week of Thanksgiving and Boulder is being covered in snow, so Coach Frank checks in with the podcast to share what he's grateful for, share the details of our Black Friday/Cyber Monday deal, and how to stay sane and train this holiday season. Remember to use code  Fast50  at checkout to save 50% off any plan, today through end of day Monday, Dec. 2nd. And have a fantastic Thanksgiving! Ch...

Coach Isaiah is back to chat about his new transition from professional road cyclist into the gravel scene, and how his training and outlook on the sport has shifted. We talk about: cross training planning out a gravel race calendar how CTL is affected by gravel-specific training why strength training is particularly important for gravel racers and more! It's a good conversation, and we're super e...

In case you've been living underneath a rock, gravel racing is hot AF right now. It's registration season for the 2020 calendar, and races are filling up faster than a Walmart on Black Friday. One of our favorite races of 2019 and a first year event in our backyard, Steamboat Gravel, was a smashing success and it's back with more ambition and awesome for next year. Frank sat down with one of the b...

This week is a conversation with recently retired pro cyclist and FasCat Coach Allie Legg, who raced for the Twenty20 Sho-Air women's professional cycling team after getting started in cycling at a young age in the sport of BMX racing. Allie has recently joined the team at FasCat as a coach, and has a tremendous amount of experience to share thru her coaching. Coach Frank and Allie discuss BMX rac...