Fast Talk

Today we're pulling from the Fast Labs vault to hear from one of our favorite guests, Colby Pearce. When we asked him about pedal stroke technique, Colby gave us this monologue of gold. We are very happy to say that Colby is the newest member of the Fast Labs family. Look for his new show in the coming weeks. We also caught up with reigning U.S. national road race champion, Ruth Winder, of Trek-Se...

Today, with the help of two very talented technical gurus, Lennard Zinn and Nick Legan, we explain the complexities of the tire, tire pressure, and how those things lead to changes in comfort, grip, rolling resistance and much more. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram at @RealFastLabs. As always, we love your feedback. Email us at fasttalk@fastlabs.com or call 719-800-2112 and leave us a...

Guess which one of our all-knowing hosts is an expert on Baby Yoda, and who hadn’t even heard of him until this recording? Or, more importantly, what is a palindrome? Welcome to our 2nd bonus episode of Fast Talk where Chris and Coach Connor are once again tackling your important questions! First is a question about training while fasting, then some goal-setting analysis, and finally some more dis...

Today, we’re joined by Brent Bookwalter of the Mitchelton-Scott WorldTour team, a man of both wisdom and humility, for a full conversation on balancing life and sport. We don’t all deal with the issues related to pro cyclists’ in our own lives, there are common themes about self-care, and working to keep your passions alive that we can all relate to. Today we also spoke to coach Katie Compton, and...

Welcome to this bonus episode of Fast Talk. These new episodes, which we’ll publish every other week, will run shorter than our regular episodes, and they’ll be geared toward answering your questions. All in all, they’ll contain the same great content you’ve come to expect from Fast Labs. If you have a question, give us a call at 719-800-2112 and a voicemail. If we can hear you loud and clear, we...

In this episode, we're here to remind you that successful training is not determined by data and statics 100% of the time. Our main guest is former professional cyclist turned coach Julie Young, whose road racing career stretched over a decade with teams including Saturn and Timex. She continues to race and is currently part of the talented team behind the Kaiser Permanente Sports Medicine Enduran...

Base training has traditionally been all about long, slow rides, but we've found some innovative approaches to improving training this time of year. Today, we’re discussing how best to deal with Base Season training challenges including poor weather and limited daylight. Our primary guests today are Andrew Randell and Steve Neal, the owners of Toronto's The Cycling Gym, joined by one of their athl...

This week’s show is about physiological testing. The result of a good test is a robust set of data specific to you, which can help you understand things like your true training zones & how well you can get up tough mountain climbs. Our guest is Jared Berg, exercise physiologist at the University of Colorado Sports Medicine & Performance Center. 2020 will be the year when Fast Labs expands beyond F...

When we're racing only three or four times a year, do we still need to periodize our season? Can we be on form all year round? Today we'll dive into planning a season with limited racing, asking the questions: What can we learn from the pros? What can we not take from pros? Then we'll look at several scenarios, including having four or five races in a short time frame, four or five races that are...

In this episode of Fast Talk, we’re going to discuss four of the most common overuse and imbalance injuries in cyclists and how to address them with off-the-bike work and proper bike fit. Patellar tendinitis, pelvic obliquity, back pain, and thoracic kyphosis, are fancy terms that our today's guest, Jess Elliott, the owner of Tag Performance and University of Denver faculty member in Human Perform...

We’ve received so many intriguing questions from our listeners, it was time to devote an entire episode to answering them. We appreciate the feedback, and generate many future podcast topics from your questions, so please keep them coming. You can always email us at fasttalk@fastlabs.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of Fast Talk, we're going to cover: • Basic structure of a research study • Concepts needed to understand scientific research • Understanding scientific methods • Preferences among researchers • A study’s endpoints • The concept of the false null hypothesis Our primary guests are Dr. Jim Peterman, a professor of exercise physiology at Ball State University & Nate Wilson, a former e...

We sit down with George Bennett of the Jumbo-Visma WorldTour team to get a better understanding of how pros at the highest level of the sport train, and what amateurs can learn from those methods. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today on Fast talk we’re diving into nutritional training: 1. Scientific approach to figuring out carb needs 2. G.I. distress 3. Race nutrition 4. Why most people can only absorb 60g of carbs/hour 5. Best mix of carbs to improve absorption 6. Dedicating time every week to training your gut 7. Potential health concerns, microbiome, and l-glutamine We're joined by Dr. Asker Jeukendrup, as well as Ka...

There’s a critical distinction between adaptation and recovery. In fact, sometimes what helps one, hurts the other. Recovery is about doing what you can so the legs are ready for your next workout. Adaptation is about the body repairing the damage caused by training—if the training provides enough stress, it will repair the system to come back stronger. But what’s good for that repair process may...

It’s been a long time coming, but Fast Talk is finally taking on cyclocross! Today on the pod: - Why cyclocross is so unique to the cycling world - What assets you need to be a good ‘cross rider - The short race season in cyclocross - Unique training side of cyclocross - ‘cross races - strategy, course inspection, & selecting gear Our primary guests today are Grant Holicky, one of his athletes Max...

Complex training prescriptions are becoming increasingly popular. In this episode, we ask the question: Does it really need to be that complex? What do you gain from this complexity? With the help of seven different experts — coaches, scientists, and athletes — we’re going to try to make three key points: 1) human physiology is very complex; 2) properly executing intervals is very difficult; 3) bu...

In this episode, we discuss how to use energy most effectively. We’ll define energy and discuss the pros and cons of trying to measure it. We’ll dive into all the ways you can unnecessarily waste energy including responding to every move, riding in the washing machine, poor positioning, and riding on the front for no reason. After we talk about all the ways you can waste energy, we’ll flip it arou...

For three weeks every July we watch the best bike racers in the world tear themselves apart for four-plus hours per day at the Tour de France. Could we ever do something like that? What exactly does it take to race the Tour — physiologically, mentally, spiritually? Each day these phenomenal athletes race an event that would shatter most of us in just one day. It’s a feat that’s hard to comprehend,...

We all make mistakes. No one trains and races perfectly, which can be frustrating when so often those mistakes are made out of honest effort and a desire to perform at our best. In episode 77, we’re going to talk about some of the most common mistakes that we see in athletes — even pros. And we’re going to hear from a variety of athletes, coaches, and experts who have been around the block a few t...

Effective training is a balance between stressing our systems and recovery. While training does damage, it’s in recovery that we repair and get stronger. We dive into the recovery side of the training-recovery concept and talk about, first, the fundamental principle of training called super-compensation. Then, how to know when the balance between training and recovery goes too far. Then we’ll disc...

In episode 75, we’re joined by Dr. Stephen Seiler, one of the top exercise physiologists working today. Dr. Seiler has talked with us previously about the polarized, or 80/20, model of endurance training. He’s shared his thoughts on zone models, and he’s helped us understand how slow your “slow” should be. You’ve sent us more questions about those two episodes than any other episodes we’ve done, b...

In episode 74, we speak with Dr. Stacy Sims about the numerous and complex differences between male and female physiology, and the significant impact that has on women's training and performance. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In episode 73, we talk about the important balance between our aerobic and glycolytic energy systems and why they may require a little give and take. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In episode 72, we discuss one of the most ubiquitous terms in cycling: training zones. We dive into their strengths and weaknesses, standards, and limitations. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices