Improving Watts/Kilo, Steep Climbs, Team Time Trials and More – Ask a Cycling Coach 278

Don’t forget that a lot of people look to the Podcast for advice on how to get faster. It’s not common sense to all, and it’s far from unreasonable to call it out as an unhealthy recommendation.

It’s possible for both reactions to be correct.

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I just don’t think people should hear that and think that’s only waste “weight”. That’s water, and would really mess with your electrolyte balance prior to physical exertion.

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Could someone please elaborate or explain the bit where they are talking about trimming the gear if its rubbing? Something about “access”? I’m lost on what Jonathan is talking about. :upside_down_face:

He’s talking SRAM AXS the electronic gearing system that has it’s own trimming controls. Different to mechanical with the barrel adjustor.

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Ah. Thanks.

Derek Teel

I just listened to this podcast (before looking at his forum) and my jaw dropped when Nate suggested the laxative. I have come to realize that perhaps the driving force behind TR is not quite in line to my goals and objectives.

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I think the reactions of the rest of the podcast crew were enough for Nate’s section about the laxative not to be taken as advice. Seen some heated reactions to it on reddit and I was expecting much much worse when I tuned in.

I am sure a few people down the line (incl. Nate) have thought about doing similar, not understanding the impact it would have on their body and thus performance. Nate’s “experiment” concluded it was not a good idea, if the podcast crew / Chad want to do a deep dive on the biology of why this is a terrible idea and have Nate look sheepish for an excruciatingly long time as he listens along - then I am up for that fun!

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I heard Nate’s comments on using laxatives and just thought he obviously hasnt been around anyone with ibs. I get the thinking of losing weight but any short term fix will also have other effects. It just sounds like something that people can joke about but I wouldnt ever consider saying this is a good thing to do. There is nothing good from forcing your body to empty your colon based on my experience. Happens to me all the time naturally but I have crohns disease. Been through 20+ colonoscopy preps and I dont consider it a benefit to have an empty colon. I am actually surprised they left it in the podcast.

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Checking in after the weekend, to see if we will be getting an audio version for download? SoundCloud is still missing the episode.

Spotify file still only displays 14’, too!

If you hit the download button on spotify, it will download the whole episode even though it will still say 14 minutes. when you hit play after that, it plays the full 2 hours.

I was really surprised no one brought up the fact that laxative use, exactly as Nate described, can often be a part of eating disorders.

I don’t think it was really shut down as hard as it should have been. While Keegan may eat the low fiber diet ahead of a race, it kind of smacks of the same obsessive mindset of most cyclists. Is this really something to glorify?

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Yes, I agree. I used to do this to make weight when I wrestled in HS and college. This was pre-nutrition information explosion, so I like to think I would have done things differently if I were dropped in today’s world. It was miserable, incredibly unhealthy and not the only questionable thing I did to cut weight. I highly DO NOT recommend. Losing weight in this manner is a slippery slope.

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For anyone looking to download, PodBay seems to have the latest full episode:

I kept thinking about wrestling as well. Not personal experience, but watching friends take laxatives, eat nothing but tuna and hot sauce for days, and constantly spit into a trash can to try to dehydrate themself down a few pounds. Not condoning the wrestling approach, but my friends would always be dehydrated and starved for weight in, then fuel up before their actual match.

For what it’s worth, I thought it was clear during the podcast that the consensus was that this is a bad idea, both for longterm health and day-of performance.

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I have been struggling to get the indexing dialed on my AXS set up for my gravel bike (mullet set up, with force shifters and eagle rear derailleur on a 1x set up). I heard this feature mentioned on the podcast and was excited to try setting the indexing for each individual gear. I use the micro adjustment but when I make a change it is applied to all gears on the cassette and not just the gear it is on. For instance, looking at the app if I set the micro adjustment to setting 15 for gear 12/12, switch to gear 11 and change the adjustment to 16, the setting of 16 persists for gear 12 too. Jonathan’s comment suggested that AXS should keep the micro adjustment setting for each gear individually. Anyone know how to enable this individual indexing feature in the SRAM AXS app? Did I misunderstand the comment in the podcast?

I heard the same thing you did. 11 speed eTap isn’t like that so I was a little surprised to hear it could be done on AXS although I would welcome it. I found this post with a reply from SRAM Admin stating it’s not true but I don’t have AXS (yet) to verify. If @Jonathan is right then maybe in your case it’s AXS road vs Eagle RD?

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The major function of the colon is to dehydrate the waste stream and return the fluids to the circulation. There are myriad other functions, but that’s the main one. If you’re healthy and have sufficient fiber in your diet, you should experience what is known as the gastrocolic reflex, which causes evacuation of the dehydrated portion of the waste stream. People who use/abuse laxatives often have chronic changes in the lamina propria layer of the colon known as “melanosis coli” where it becomes black in color. It will reverse after many months with the cessation of laxative use.

I must have paused this at the perfect spot, @Nate_Pearson, your content is great, but this pic doesn’t do you justice. I’ not sure if Chad is paying attention or reading… lol

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