Faster - Podcast By Flo

If you knew that engaging your hip more when you cycled that you’d get a 10% performance bump, would you be interested? How would you plan to do this? Today, on FASTER we speak with Jim Martin about how simply removing weight from the handlebars will automatically improve your cycling. Listen to this episode to learn more about how to remove weight from the handlebars so you can become faster.

Peptides are all the rage. Most people are familiar with food grade peptides like collagen but today on FASTER we discuss pharmaceutical peptides. While there are many promising results from the future use of peptides, they continue to be unapproved by the FDA, human trials are limited, they are a banned substance by WADA, and they have the potential to speed the growth of cancer in the body. This episode is covering peptides to try and cut through some of the noise to give you the information you need around peptides. Listen to this episode to learn more about peptides so you can become faster.

At area of roughly 18 square feet, the skin is the bodies largest organ. Today, on FASTER we discuss skin myths and learn how a burn can negatively impact your performance. We also discuss creating a health skin barrier before the race to help hydration and the best kit options based on race conditions. Listen to this episode to optimize your skin so you can become FASTER.

After bone density peaks in our 20s it starts to decline as we age. As cyclist, maintaining bone health is crucial for performance and longevity in the saddle. Today on FASTER, we speak with Cindy Dupuie about bone density and bone health. Women entering menopause will lose 20% of their bone density in the first 8 years and men suffering from low testosterone can experience accelerated bone density loss. Today, there are many options to prevent and slow changes in bone density. We also discuss the myths around calcium and the be all end all for maintaining health bones, supplementation, and hormone replacement therapy. Listen to this episode to maintain strong bones so you can become FASTER and ride longer. 

We've been studying vibration for years and coming up with unique ways to manage it. Some of our initial research is now being supported by further studies. In this episode of FASTER we discuss how vibration leads to increased muscle activation, a higher heart rate, a compromised VO2 Max, and increased inflammation for cyclists when they are not managing it properly. Listen to this episode to learn more about the impacts of vibration on your cycling performance so you can become faster. 

The proper body composition for competitive endurance athletes is a fine balance. The too much muscle and you slow down, too little and you are injury prone. In this episode of FASTER we discuss the pros and cons of building muscle for endurance athletes, why we need to manage our muscle composition, isometric and eccentric exercises to maximize hypertrophy, how to fuel when fasting, and how our bodies change after 40. Listen to this episode of FASTER to learn how to optimize your muscle composition so you can become faster. 

Consuming alcohol is something most of the adult population takes part in. For years, a drink of wine was considered healthy but these days there is not evidence that alcohol is positive in any way. Today, on FASTER we look beyond the negative impact alcohol has on our health and explore how it impacts our performance as athletes. Even a drink a week can impact performance if consumed at the wrong time. Listen to this episode of FASTER to learn more about alcohol so you can become faster. 

It's easy to get overwhelmed with the number of options when it comes to supplements. Even when you have a clue what you're looking for you're faced with finding a supplement that is a high quality product. The supplementation industry lacks the standards that deliver a quality product in all cases. On this episode of FASTER we interview Jeff Byers from Momentous and discuss the ideal supplement stack for cyclists and triathletes. Momentous is brand partner of ours on the FLO Factory Team and I personally love their products. They've built a business around providing the best quality products tailored to athletes. It's why they supply all the NFL teams and much of the endurance sports community. Listen to this episode to learn what the ideal supplement stack is so you can become FASTER.

The lungs you are born with do not change like a muscle when exercised. For this reason, many people believe there isn't much that can be done to improve breathing for performance. I was fascinated to find out that while you can't change the lungs you have you can change how you use the lungs you have. In this episode of FASTER we welcome back Dr. Andrew Sellars and introduce Luke Way from Isocapnic. They've developed a respiratory muscle trainer that simulates your lungs at a increased effort. Normally, when rested, deep breathes will leave you lightheaded, but by intelligently regulating the CO2 that exits the body they are able to train your lungs while sitting on the couch. Listen to this episode to learn more about respiratory muscle training so you can become faster and increase your VO2 Max. 

After a recent podcast with Jim Martin we discussed the idea of matching breathing rate to cycling cadence and how it creates more efficient cycling. In this episode of FASTER we talk with Dr. Andrew Sellars about breathing rate and cycling/running cadence. It's one of my favorite episodes in a long time and I highly recommend listening. Andrew's knowledge as a coach, his background in physiology and muscle engagement in the pedal stroke along with his deep knowledge in human breathing make for an episode that will surprise you. Listen to this episode to improve your breathing so you can become faster.

Instead of picking a training methodology like threshold training or a polarized approach, what if you created a training that was adaptive? Wouldn't this be a better solution for you as an athlete in the long run? Today, on FASTER we are joined by Jim Van Der Berg who is the creator of JOIN Cycling, an ex-semi pro cyclist the the current coach of many pro cyclists. Jim also has a degree in exercise physiology and sports psychology. Jim has taken in extensive background in cyclint and created a training app that delivers workouts in an adaptive way. Instead of a training plan JOIN is a training tool. We discuss training at a high-level and uncover the magic behind how JOIN works. Listen to this episode to learn how adaptive training and make you FASTER. Watt Points: 3030 Day Free Trial of JOIN

If you've ever ridden on a virtual cycling platform you may immediately notice that it's not representative of real-world cycling. When you come out of a corner on the road you have to add watts to the pedals to speed back up. Most virtual training platforms end up acting more like a spin class. George Gilbert set out to correct this process and founded IndieVelo in 2022. A short two years later his company was acquired by TrainingPeaks and the product has been renamed TrainingPeaks Virtual. Listen to this episode to learn how adding real-world physics to your training platform can make you a FASTER cyclist when you get back on the road. 

We welcome back the legendary Scott Tindal to discuss electrolytes for cyclists. Today, electrolytes have become common for daily use even amongst non-endurance athletes. Many of the electrolyte products contain ingredients that are not needed. In this episode of FASTER we break down what electrolytes are, what electrolytes you need, how electrolytes help cyclists, and how to optimize your electrolyte intake so you can become FASTER.

RAAM or Race Across America is a legendary race with cyclists racing across the country. Traditionally a solo race, it has expanded to include 2, 4, and 8-person teams. When you think of riding across the country you may think it would take 30 days. However, the fastest solo time is now less than 8 days. Today on FASTER we are joined by Rick Boethling who manages the day-to-day operations at RAAM and has crewed the race for his father many times. Rick shares his secrets for conquering the race and performing at your best. Listen to this episode to learn how to pick the perfect support crew and optimize your race plan so you can be FASTER racing across America.

On this episode of FASTER Cycling we talk with Dr. Sharon Byun and Dr. Lawrence Yeung about hormones for men and women. We discuss hormone replacement therapy, signs and myths around hormone imbalances, how to optimize hormones for cyclists, and much more. Finally we discuss new work in hormones around menopause and Dr. Mary Claire Haver's work. Listen to this episode to optimize your hormones so you can be FASTER.

We've had several episodes discussing fueling during training and racing but today we cover fueling before and after training and racing. Sam Shepherd from Precision Hydration covers pre-training and pre-race strategies, including carb loading, carb sources, tips for fasted athletes and why fueling post activity is best looked at as part of you training session not a separate event. Listen to this episode to lock in your nutrition around training and racing so you can become FASTER.

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In this episode of FASTER we have Dr. Jim Martin back to discuss cadence for cyclists. We also discuss the main differences between 2x and 1x drive trains and why 2x is likely faster for most athletes. We cover a wide range of topics including metabolic cost, cost of unloaded cycling, weave frequency, picking the right cassette and much more. Listen to this episode to learn how to optimize your cadence so you can become FASTER.Watt Points: 25

Body composition is hot topic amongst cyclists and triathletes. While it's common to want to achieve a specific watts/kg, getting there in a healthy way is crucial. In this episode of FASTER we talk with Alex Larson about body composition and how each athlete is unique. Listen to this episode to learn all about body composition you can become FASTER.

Many world class athletes can be seen with their eyes closed before a major event. I often wondered what they were doing and I've learned that most are visualizing. Visualization is a sports psychology technique that is proven to improve sports performance. In this episode of FASTER we discuss confidence and trust which are the building blocks of visualization and then discuss everything about visualization. Listen to this episode to learn how to use visualization to make you a FASTER athlete.