Tadej Pogacar is a talent of a generation, able to watlz away from the world's best riders seemingly at will in both one-day and stage races. But why is he so good? Sure, his natural gifts play a huge role, as do years of elite training. But on this podcast, we present a different view. Three things make Tadej fast: his upbringing, his mental outlook and his genetics. While you can't change your genes, you can steer your mental outlook. And, you can influence the upbringing of the next...

Want to ride faster next year than you did this year? The time to start training is now, and we have a 30-week training plan that scales to your schedule. On this podcast, FascCat Founder Frank Overton walks you through the details of what this 30-week program entails - Muscle Tension Intervals, Nino's Secret Training, Foliage Rides, Weightlifting for Cyclists and much more. The best way to get faster is not the latest supplement or a particular magic workout. Instead, the best way to get...

What are the hot gravel races for 2025? Sign-up season has already started, so on this podcast we're digging into our favorite events, exploring some big changes in race formats, and explain how and when you should train for these challenging events. We're joined by longtime friend of FasCat Ben Delaney, who runs a gravel YouTube channel called The Ride.  Dig in and start dreaming about next year. Then, get started with your training with CoachCat or a FasCat Coach! -- Go give it a...

We get faster when we follow a training plan, but stock plans have obvious limitations. Therefore, creating a plan that is customized to your goals and your available time to train is ideal - and that is exactly what we are talking about in this podcast. We begin with three simple but important questions: What are you training for? When is your target event? How much time do you have to train? From there, we can build a plan just for you. And by ‘we’, we mean you and CoachCat, our...

At FasCat, we've been helping athletes improve for more than 20 years. But how? In this podcast, Isaiah Newkirk and Frank Overton break down the three primary things good coaches do: We tell athletes what to do We analyze data to let athletes know if they are doing it right and improving We tell athletes what to do next based on our experience, sports science and the athlete’s feedback Then, Isaiah and Frank walk you through the specifics of what the coached athlete journey looks...

The road to a faster, fitter you in 2025 leads straight through the weight room in 2024, and in this podcast FasCat Founder Frank Overton walks us through exactly what that looks like. Frank breaks down the what, the why, the when and the how, leaving you empowered with the knowledge of how to steadily and safely improve your strength and stability.  -- Try FasCat for Free for the 1st Month ➡️ https://tinyurl.com/47rr7em4 - no credit card is required! 😸 Use CoachCat just like you...

As effective and gratifying as following a carefully crafted training plan can be, sometimes you just want to ride... And that can be impactful training, too!  Especially here in the fall, riding on a weekly rhythm of taking some days off, and going hard and/or long on other days is a great recipe for mental and physical health. On this solo podcast, FasCat Founder Frank Overton breaks down exactly how you can train effectively without following a training plan, the limits of this approach,...

Hoping to have your best year next year is not a strategy. But you absolutely CAN have your best year ever next year with some planning, starting now. In this podcast, Coaches Allie, Frank, Jake and Andrew walk you through what you need to do when, starting with taking an actual, legit, no-bike riding break once your season wraps up. Then what? Well, give this podcast a listen, and then ask Coach Cat or a FasCat Coach any follow up questions you may have. -- Show Notes: Using Power Data...

This is the third podcast in an eight-pod how-to series. Last episode we talked about 14 ways to review your season, and on this podcast we discuss how to map our next season for maximum results and fun. Coach Jake Rylewski raced as a professional for many years, and he breaks down the full-year planning methodology for three types of athletes: coached riders CoachCat subscribers self-coached athletes Ready to take your training to the next level? Subscribe to CoachCat for unlimited...

Here at FasCat, we have been answering your training questions for more than 20 years, and we've done 27 'Ask a FasCat' podcast episodes. On today's pod, we have a special iteration featuring questions from 21 email subscribers that are answered both by CoachCat - our expert AI inside the FasCat App - and FasCat Founder Frank Overton. Frank feeds the questions into CoachCat, reads CoachCat's responses, and then adds his own expert analysis. Both offer some surprising answers! -- Try...

With your big event coming up, you should have almost all your training behind you. All the hay is in  the barn. But even the best training alone isn't a complete recipe for success on race day. Showing up and just hoping for the best will always pale in comparision to showing up prepared, having considered and planned for key variables like: nutrition equipment course terrain aid station logistics race-day transportation logistics In this podcast, FasCat Coaches Sierra, Jake and Frank...

More altitude can mean more power... eventually. Training at altitude - or even just sleeping at altitude - can increase your red blood cell production, which means more oxygen to your muscles and therefore more power output. There are other benefits, and many caveats. And we get into those. But what about riders who don't live at or near altitude - and who have a high altitude race like Leadville 100 or SBT GRVL coming up? Well, we'll get into that, too. On today's podcast Coach Frank is...

For 22 years we have analyzed files from every single type of power meter on the market, and as coaches and riders we have used a whole heck of a lot of them ourselves.  Considering buying a power meter? Well, the Big Cat just got a new bike and bought a new power meter, and he went with a brand he had never bought  before. Here, we walk you through the five considerations when buying a meter. Compatibility Trust in the data Drivetrain considerations The type of meter you SHOULDN'T get ...

We're always game for trying something new here at FasCat, and this week we did a live session on YouTube where we took your questions while recording this podcast.  We answer things like: Does the FasCat app work with sports besides cycling? How can I know if I can trust auto-detected FTP increases? Who answers user questions inside the FasCat app? When is the Zwift integration coming? How can I best do my specific workouts outside? Why is erg mode bad for intervals inside?  When doing a...

It's the summer of gravel, and we've got some proven techniques for you to step up your gravel game starting now. On this podcast, Coaches Frank Justin break down six aspects of gravel training you can use now: mindset gravel specificity workouts for gravel simulation rides gravel training plans nutrition Fresh back from the Belgian Waffle Ride, we are surfing the highs (and the lows!) of gravel racing with you.  -- Try FasCat for Free for the 1st Month ➡️...

Riding in the heat of summer can be hard, but why exactly is that, and how can you train your body to perform better? In this podcast, Coaches Ricky Arnopol and Andrew Giniat explain: heat acclimation for cycling  what happens to the body when it's hot the heat acclimations that occur with the proper training the performance benefits of heat acclimation methods for accclimation and some practical actions you can take now to better equip yourself  In addition to working with athletes all...

As a father to five, Coach Jake knows a thing or two about earning and keeping those Dad Watts. On this podcast, he and dad-to-be Coach Christian talk about various strategies for taking care of your family and training when time allows. They discuss how to maximize the benefit from those precious hours on the bike. We also give a few shouts outs to our own fathers. Happy Father's Day to all you dads out there! -- Try FasCat for Free for the 1st Month ➡️ https://tinyurl.com/47rr7em4 -...

Lauren De Crescenzo sent a solo flyer at Unbound Gravel 2024 in hopes of repeating her 2021 victory. How did it work out? What did the chaos of the race look like from her perspective? And what are the takeaways for going forward in racing and training? Lauren speaks with her Coach Elliott Baring all the time, and on this special episode we bring you inside their post-Unbound debrief. Elliott is too humble to brag, so we'll do it for him - the dude won the 100-mile Unbound Gravel! So make...

Fun, flexibile and highly effective — that is the FasCat way to train.  On this special episode, FasCat Founder Frank Overton explains how the FasCat App has incorporated all the most impactful pieces of FasCat training methodology in a customized format that scales to your available time and gives your real-time feedback to every single workout. There are a lot of old and perhaps outdated ways of thinking about training out there. Give this podcast a listen to understand a new way of...

If you want to race well, you gotta pack in the carbs - before, during and after your big race. But exactly how does that work in real-world scenarios? And what exactly does the science say about it? On this podcast, we cover six subjects: -the science of carb loading and pre-ride nutrition -the practicality of that science -the science of how to fuel during an event -the practicality of eating a high volume of calories during an event -the thing of your neutron -fueling examples that...

Hello, listeners! We have a very different podcast for you today. We've taken your great questions that we normally answer with Coaches in our popular Ask a FasCat episodes and run them through our AI-powered CoachCat to answer them. Further, the questions are asked by an AI version of FasCat Founder Frank Overton.  The real Frank explains how this experimental podcast will work at the start of the show, and then analyzes how it went along the way and at the end. As you probably know by...

Gravel training is not the same as training for the road, and therefore you should pay attention to different power-based metrics. FTP is not as important nor is your peak 20-minute power. Nor your 5-minute power. So what should you be looking at and trying to improve? In this podcast, we give you the power-based metrics you should pay attention to for your gravel training and racing! What's important is how long you can ride hard. That's way more important than your 60-minute FTP power...

Over the years, the internet has twisted the simple definition of FTP.   We are here to bust those myths and set the record straight. Coach Jake and Frank also cover "Lactate Truthers", Zone 2 and finally our favorite the right and wrong usage of ERG mode.  ERG mode is great but it can be harmful to your training so we discuss. -- The first month of the FasCat app is now FREE: https://fascatcoaching.com/pages/app You'll receive a custom trainning plan, unlimited training plan...

For years FasCat has touted 'FTFP' - or follow the f'ing plan! But we realize life often gets in the way of executing a detailed training plan to the T. And that's okay! On this podcast, we talk about how you can adapt to life's winding road, make changes in your training as things come up, but still stay the course to achieving your goals. FasCat is here to help you stay consistent with two great options: you can hire a full-time professional coach or you can use our new FasCat App, which...