FasCat Cycling Training Tips Podcast

FasCat Cycling Training Tips Podcast
  • 4.7 (321)
  • Sports
  • Updated Weekly

The official podcast of FasCat Coaching, based in Boulder, CO. Coach Frank "Big Cat" Overton shares his extensive experience as a cycling coach to help you ride faster through training and racing tips, nutrition, and beyond.

  1. 3d ago

    Power Predictions for Montreal World's 🌈 + What's New in CoachCat 🐾

    The rainbow jersey 🌈 will be decided on Mount Royal. Coach Frank breaks down exactly how many watts it will to win the 2026 World Championship road race in Montréal, built from race data, and which riders can make those watts/kg. What we'll cover: • The course: three climbs, twelve times. Mount Royal (1.6 km at 7.7%), the Polytechnique (370 m at 9%), the Pagnuelo (470 m at 7.8%) and the uphill drag to the line on Avenue du Parc • Our prediction: 8.0 W/kg (about 515 watts) for 3:40 on Mount Royal to win the men's race, 6.6 W/kg for the women, and about 9 W/kg on each of the two kickers • What the race files show: Pogačar's 3:27 up Mount Royal in 2024, and last week's GP Montréal where Seixas and Del Toro rode it at 7.5 W/kg twice on the exact Worlds lap • Why time above threshold decides this race: 45 to 60 minutes over threshold in short, repeated efforts, not one big number  • No Pogačar, so who wins? Evenepoel, Del Toro, Seixas, McNulty and Quinn Simmons for the men. Niewiadoma-Phinney, Vollering, Reusser, Longo Borghini and Vallières for the women • The Montréal Worlds workout: 5 laps of Mount Royal in 70 minutes, waiting for you in the CoachCat workout library • Your questions, live 📊 Full power predictions, charts and race data: https://fascatcoaching.com/blogs/training-tips/montreal-worlds-road-race-power-predictions/ 🐱 Ride the Montreal Worlds workout in CoachCat described in this podcast, first week free: https://fascatcoaching.com/app 🚴 Work with a FasCat coach: https://fascatcoaching.com/pages/hire...

  2. Sep 19

    Why the Off Season is Really the On Season: Weights + Sweet Spot Base for 10-50 More Watts by Spring

    Most cyclists call the next five months the off season. We call it the ON season, because this is the time of year where you can add 10 to 50 watts or more by spring. Join Coach Frank Overton live Friday at 2pm ET for a walk through the training that makes that happen, straight out of our all-new 30 Week Off Season Weight and Sweet Spot Plan for 2026/2027. What we're covering: Why every month off costs you two, and how a two month break turns into a four month swing Winning in the gym: the 10 week, four phase cycling specific weight program covering hypertrophy, strength, and power Muscle tension intervals, and why they turn new strength into watts Sweet Spot base training between 84 and 97% of FTP, and why it beats zone 2 when your time is limited Zwift as your atomic habit, plus the Saturday Sweet Spot group rides with Coach Jake and Frank What's new in the 2026/2027 plan: refined periodization, rewritten workout descriptions, Coach's Tips from 20 years of FasCat coaching, demo videos, masters appropriate volume and intervals, and FuelTrix fueling on every workout Plus announcements, our reviews of the week, a live CoachCat onboarding walkthrough for new athletes, and your questions answered live in the comments. Drop what you're training for and Frank will give you his best coaching advice on air. Ready to start your on-season? Two ways to ride faster: 1. the CoachCat app or 2. expert 1x1 personal coaching. https://fascatcoaching.com/ Both begin with a complimentary phone consultation and a custom training plan. Start a free trial and follow the 30 Week On Season Plan. Work hard, ride fast, have fun, and as always, FTFP. What did you think about this episode? What do you want to learn about next? Drop a comment 👇

  3. Sep 12

    Lifting Weights Around Life: How to Fit the Gym Into Your Riding

    Last week Coach Frank Overton walked through FasCat's 10 week, 4 phase weight lifting program: the lifts, the sets, the reps, and the 10 watts or more our athletes gain from it. This week is the part nobody writes down: how to actually do it when you have a job, a family, a long ride on Saturday, and a gym that closes at 9. Follow the 10 week weight lifting plan FREE for 1 week referenced in this podcast: https://app.fascat.ai/ What you'll learn: ▶ The pro's & con's of lifting at home or going to a gym ▶ How to find your 1 rep max safely, and know how much to lift each set & rep ▶ The warm-up: on the bike vs. in the gym, and how long it should take  ▶ Riding and lifting on the same day: which comes first and what to skip  ▶ What to do when you miss a session, get sick, or travel ▶ Soreness that's normal in the Hypertrophy phase vs. soreness that means back off ▶ Gym substitutions when your gym doesn't have a leg press or hamstring curl machine Whether you have a full gym membership, a squat rack in the garage, or 40 minutes on a Tuesday, there's a version of this program that fits. 📖 Read the complete guide: https://fascatcoaching.com/blogs/training-tips/weight-lifting-for-cycling/ Do you goto the gym or lift at home? Let us know in the comments plus anything else about this episode. Work hard, ride fast, have fun and as always FtFP!

  4. Sep 7

    Learn How to Lift Weights For Cycling and Increase FTP

    Ten weeks for 10 watts or more. That is the typical FTP gain our athletes see from FasCat's cycling specific weight lifting program, and by spring, once base training is done, they routinely show up to their first races 15 to 50 watts stronger than the year before. Join Coach Frank Overton live this Friday at 2pm ET as he walks through the entire 10 week, 4 phase program we have been coaching cyclists through for more than 20 years. Bring your questions and Frank will answer them live from the comments.  What you'll learn: ▶ Why lifting raises your FTP and what makes this program cycling specific ▶ The 4 phases: Adaptation, Hypertrophy, Strength, and Power, with sets, reps, and percentages of your 1 rep max for each ▶ The only lifts you need: the squat, the leg press, and the hamstring curl (plus the optional hip thrust) ▶ When to start lifting in your off season and how the 10 weeks fit into your Annual Training Plan ▶ How to transfer gym strength to the bike with neuromuscular sprints and standing starts ▶ How many watts you can realistically gain and how to keep them with one session a week Whether you are a road racer, time trialist, mountain biker, cyclocrosser, triathlete, or masters athlete, this is the strength work that puts more power into the pedals. 📖 Read the complete guide https://fascatcoaching.com/blogs/training-tips/weight-lifting-for-cycling/ 💪 Get the full 10 week plan scheduled for you in CoachCat, sets, reps, and weights computed by the resistance training calculator, plus the on the bike workouts timed to the right phases. Start your free month: https://app.fascat.ai/intro More strength training resources: Proper Squat Form for Cyclists: https://fascatcoaching.com/blogs/training-tips/proper-squat-form-for-cyclists/ At Home Weight Lifting for Cyclists: https://fascatcoaching.com/blogs/training-tips/at-home-weight-lifting/ How to Maintain Your Weight Lifting Gains: https://fascatcoaching.com/blogs/training-tips/at-home-weight-lifting/ Subscribe for a new live show every Friday and free training tips every Tuesday.  #WeightLiftingForCycling #FTP #CyclingTraining #StrengthTraining #OffSeason #CoachCat #FasCat

  5. Aug 30

    How to Take a 'Proper' Post-Season Break + Demo of the new CoachCat FuelTrix Nutrition Feature in app release v6.4.9

    Coach Frank demos the brand new Fuel Trix feature** in CoachCat version 6.4.9, live on screen. Fuel Trix tells you exactly how many grams of carbohydrate to consume for every workout on your calendar based on duration and intensity, built from an algorithm Frank created using the findings of 11 scientific journal articles. He walks through the fueling matrix on the FasCat website, explains why your gut can only absorb 60 grams per hour of glucose and how adding fructose opens a second pathway to get you to 90 and even 120 grams per hour, and breaks down which of 30 popular sports nutrition brands are suitable for short, medium, and long rides. Plus a tour of the new workout view, calendar tags, sweet spot's new color, and the post workout analysis screen. ** Learn more -> https://fascatcoaching.com/blogs/training-tips/coachcat-fueling-matrix/ Then it's time for the hardest workout of the year: the two week postseason break. Frank explains why two weeks is just right and six weeks is way too long, what to do (and not do) during your break, soul rides, cross training, yoga, hiking, fixing that nagging injury, and how to come back hungry and motivated for 2027. He also answers live questions on end of season field tests, cyclocross timing, VO2 max blocks, and tracking cross training in the CoachCat app. New episodes live every Friday at 2pm Eastern. Drop your questions in the comments and Coach Frank answers them live. Work hard, ride fast, have fun, and FtFP.

  6. Aug 22

    Learn How to Review Your Season with your Power Data

    The power data you have from your 2026 season is a goldmine of insight for what worked, what did not and how to leverage your learnings to plan for an even better 2027. Join Coach Frank, and dive into your data with the 5 prompts +a bonus prompt to ask CoachCat about your season for planning 2027 ahead! Key Takeaways from this training tip: https://fascatcoaching.com/blogs/training-tips/using-power-data-to-review-your-season/ See below for 6 Prompts you can copy and paste into CoachCat's chat to review your season. Zoom out in steps. Last month, then 3 months, then 6 months, then the full year. Trends that hide at one zoom level jump out at another. Translate your Level into weekly hours. That is how you actually plan training around life. Compare your power PRs to a fixed reference point like January, not to your best day ever. Copy the prompts below into CoachCat and it builds every one of these charts from your own files. Want to be able to review your season and be able to follow a custom training plan?  Try CoachCat where the 1st week is free: https://fascatcoaching.com/app

  7. Aug 15

    How to Build Your Annual Training Plan for 2027 + Who Will Win the Leadville MTB

    Coach Frank describes how to build your Annual Training Plan (ATP) for 2027, as described in this training tip:  https://fascatcoaching.com/blogs/training-tips/yt-using-an-annual-cycling-training-plan-atp-all-the-phases-explained/ Key takeaways are:  Take a two-week post-season break, not six. Six weeks costs you the adaptations you spent all year building. Three dates anchor the year: when you want to be fast, when base starts, when weights start. The full plan is 46 of 52 weeks, leaving six weeks of flexibility for travel, illness, and life. The 10-week weight block is the phase most athletes skip and the one that most reliably separates a breakthrough season from a flat one. Use the custom plan builder in the CoachCat app to work backwards from your A race

  8. Aug 7

    CoachCat 4.0 + Tour de Femmes Ventoux Power + LIVE Q&A

    Coach Frank goes live with the brand new CoachCat mobile release v6.3.8 and breaks down the winning power up Mont Ventoux at the Tour de France Femmes. Bring your training questions and get them answered live. In this episode: NEW MOBILE RELEASE v6.3.8 Frank shares his screen and walks through everything you can do in the app: The new Recovery tab: your percent recovered readout, plus Sleep, HRV and OTS with tap to ask conversation starters The brand new Progress tab: Power PRs, weekly duration and OTS, all answering the one question every athlete has, am I improving The new Conversations tab: how to ask CoachCat about your own data and get real coaching answers back The new Power Analysis view: what your ride data is telling you and what to do about it TOUR DE FRANCE FEMMES VENTOUX POWER ANALYSIS We predicted 5.5 watts per kg for the winner on the first ever summit finish atop Mont Ventoux, 15.7 km at 8.8 percent. Frank puts the actual numbers up against the prediction, walks through the physics behind the estimate, and explains what those watts mean for your own climbing. YOUR QUESTIONS, ANSWERED LIVE Drop your training questions in the chat and Frank answers them in real time. Sweet Spot, FTP, intervals, recovery, race prep, whatever you are working on. Try CoachCat free for a week: https://fascatcoaching.com/app Tour de France watts per kg predictions: https://fascatcoaching.com/pages/tour-de-france-femmes-watts-per-kg/stage-07.html

See All (374)

4.7
out of 5
321 Ratings

About

The official podcast of FasCat Coaching, based in Boulder, CO. Coach Frank "Big Cat" Overton shares his extensive experience as a cycling coach to help you ride faster through training and racing tips, nutrition, and beyond.

Information

You Might Also Like