KOM Training, Increasing Training Volume, Morning Training and More – Ask a Cycling Coach 292

so whats the new bike

Jump ship from Yeti.

I say that TR (Jon, Nate, Amber, Chad et all) should all feel free to continue to have fun! They too are impacted by everything going on in the world and joking and teasing each other, and us, is A-OK… I couldn’t believe that they apologized for teasing Masters. The blowback kind of confirms why Masters need to be teased. Dear heavens! Keep doing what you’re doing. It’s great and this comes from someone who is old enough to be considered a post-Masters.

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@ambermalika: Do you think those self-depricating stories we tell ourselves (“I’m not a climber”) work as some kind of ‘negative placebo effect’?

Would positive self talk (being your own best ally) actually work as a positive placebo effect, which would make a lot of sense to pursue very actively? After all as you guys mentinned on the podcast, the placebo effect is one of the most consistent effect measured in sport science so why not try to harness it :blush:

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Noooooooo…go yellow team!

You"speak to my soul"

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100%!!!

A few episodes back I talked about trying different mantras, specifically something like “Just for today, I’m _________!” Fill in the blank with the skill/ability on which you usually sell yourself short. A few folks wrote in to share that it was a game changer for them. The key to a good placebo is having real buy-in, and sometimes it’s difficult to truly buy in to a self-concept that’s at odds with what we’ve ingrained in our own minds for a long time. The “just for today” part helps get around that to create buy-in to the placebo!

Some folks find that repetition of an affirmation can help break down an existing negative belief, too. In any case - self talk is HUGE and YES: a super powerful placebo!

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Yep! I I had the new 35mm stanchion SID (highest end one) in 120mm and it’s my favorite fork so far. Super impressive chassis stiffness with fore/aft flex, maybe a touch more if not equal in terms of torsional flex to the 34SC, and the damping was a huge upgrade from previous Rockshox products.

I had the one without the remote, just the little 2-position lockout switch. When it’s locked, it’s rigid.

The reason I liked it so much is because it is the first XC fork I’ve ridden with something close to adequate midstroke support. It’s still not as good as it should be, but better than the 34SC by a noticeable margin for me. It rode higher in its stroke and didn’t want to dive under breaking, but it has Fox-level initial plushness off the top. I tested everything from 0-4 tokens in it and I settled on 1. Never got it to have a harsh bottom feeling even on huge hits.

If Fox could find a way to get the midstroke support from the Fox 36 Grip 2 into the 34 or 32, that would be a huge gamechanger.

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I read all the questions that are submitted every week and this is my criteria (“algorithm” prone to error and likely to change :wink: )

  1. Will answering this question help make somebody faster?
  2. Does this question solve problems that many athletes face?
  3. Is there current scientific research on this topic that could be shared?
  4. Is this question interesting, and if so, to whom?
  5. Have we answered this question recently?
  6. Should this question be answered by somebody else instead of us?
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At your service! I hope those extra :sleeping: helped up your recovery a bit. :wink:

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:joy::rofl::joy::+1:Excellent response!

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I don’t see any reason not to. I don’t have a link for this right now, but carb intake isn’t about just avoiding bonking – it’s about improving performance.

At the very least, I have a pavlovian response tied to CHO drink mix intake that makes me feel like it’s go-time when I drink it, and even if that’s placebo, it works in making me faster.

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I shouldn’t argue science, but this has me ready…

If I say I have a personal announcement, please know it’s something most likely trivial and silly.

If I say, “We have a new feature announcement” or something similar, that will be about TR.

With that said, we had a discussion this week about the cost of discussing future plans in public forums and will move forward with more discretion.

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Same here. I literally did the :man_facepalming: and just muttered, “JFC”

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Well the Freds are easily offended lol

Edit I’m turning 41 in 20 days so I can joke about older people!

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Did I sense some fear in the voice of @Nate_Pearson when the reality of racing Pete in Masters struck?! :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

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You guys sure do seem to not want to accept that fasted training can work “IF” your goal is short to medium term weight loss/body composition change.

I totally accept that having a higher FTP makes you burn more kilojoules in each session but that’s a long term process and a lot of your workouts are sweetspot and above and I 100% agree you need to fuel these workouts but you can absolutely see great results by doing up to 2 hour endurance rides fasted. I lost 7kg by doing such rides every other week at the end of last year (shift work means my eating times are different).

You won’t lose the ability to process carbs when you need them, you won’t drift into ketosis, but you will increase the kj you get from fat.

I have 2 lab reports of the same sub maximal test one done fully carbed and one done fasted, trust me when I tell you which one showed a higher use of fats. Use the strategy sensibly and it can work.

Again, I do realise that doing harder sessions gives you an overall high kj burn but you have to fuel these and your body is always going to prioritise carbs for this is they available. If you want to do 4 sweetspot workouts a week and do them well then you will have to fuel for them.

Anyway, it worked for me.

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Hi @ValeCyclist. I guess the podcast guys don‘t disagree with your point per sé. They mentionned repeatedely that fasting does help you lose weight. In fact Chad used to be a proponent way back when.

I think their new insight is that fasting is very unlikely to make the majority of athletes faster long term. Personally I benefited a lot from the efforts the team puts in hammering that point home. I do not need to lose weight, although at 84 kg I sure wish I was lighter. I got suckered into trying to lose weight agressively 2 years ago, and my fitness immidiately plateaued (hindsight huh?). At 10% DEXA I weigh 80kg, so I‘ll never be a feather weight.

But thanks to the many, many discussions Nate, Amber, Alex and the crew have had about fuelling for performance I am now perfectly fine fuelling my work and watching the watts trend up. As Chad said once“Big guys can climb too, we just need big watts“ :blush:

It‘s so easy and natural to try to cut weight too far in pursuit of performance, that I think the repetition of that topic on the podcast is really warranted. We should not all dream of being featherweight climbers, rather our best self. Personally I am heartened when I see Wout Van Aert boss around the peloton on the climbs at 78kg, or Filippo Ganna blast up a mountain at 82kg :blush::blush:They are nice examples of what you can achieve with a body type that‘ll never be an „ideal“ climber. And unlike the natural climber, they are not totally helpless on the flats / in crosswinds / in a sprint /in a TT either :smile: :smile:

And when you fuel the work you do eventually reach that very strange point in training where you ramp up the TSS and suddenly realise eating all day long has become haaaard and actually requires focus and dedication :blush: That‘s a nice problem to have​:wink:

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Loved the podcast today. As someone who ride MTB exclusively, (training, on road, and for fun) this was great. Blue vs black training trails, equipment, everything. great stuff. I’ve been looking at different XC bikes for a while now. The lack of availability is making way for more time researching, and this was perfectly timed for me as these are the exact 4 bikes I’m comparing. Thank you.

Quick question on the knock-block. I’ve found that I dislike it on the Trek as tight turns (mainly uphill) can result in a hit/stop before there is concern for any damage. I know that they are also protecting the underside of the bike from strikes via the fork with the shorter offset, but I find that it has a negative ride feel. Anything similar or opposite?

Thanks again, you guys are nailing it.

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No issue with the BMC knock block. Nowhere near as intrusive as the trek.

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