214 Ask Matt Anything - Bike Commuting, Wetsuit Practice, Optimal Cadence While Racing, and Handling Life Stress

Welcome to another "Ask Matt Anything" edition of the Purple Patch Podcast. Matt answers your voicemails and emails on all topics related to training and performance.

In this installment, Matt answers your questions related to:

• Prepping for a wetsuit legal swim when you don’t have access to open water

• In the spirit of the Purple Patch ethos, “evolve or die,” how have Matt’s books evolved?

• Handling stress and overwhelm

• Dialing in bike cadence when racing

• How to factor bike commuting into your training plan

Not only does Matt answer the questions, but in true Purple Patch education-style, he explains the why behind his advice so that you understand and can best apply it to your own personal toolkit of performance. 

 

Episode Timestamps

0:00-09:45 Welcome and Episode Introduction

09:45-The Meat and Potatoes

09:50 -Question 1 from Mark: How to get ready for a wetsuit legal swim when you’re unable to get into the open water prior to the race

In the weeks leading up, you should be doing (and let's make it up), you're going 15 times 100 to a certain effort. Do it where you sight three to four times every single lap. Now at the start, that's going to slow you down. But your goal over many weeks is to start to narrow the delta between non-sighting swimming, and swimming where you're adding in sighting. And you can only do that by improving your technique.

18:02 - Question 2 from Frank: I'm wondering like with your statement “evolve or die” over the last few years - there's probably been a lot of changes to your own programs. How has the book changed?

Some of the ways that we built the plan has changed a little bit - it's a little bit more dynamic. I would say, globally, we tend to stray more towards higher frequency running right now. And a higher percentage of that running been low stress. We've really amplified the intensity and strength endurance component of biking and even the way that we integrate some of our swim sessions has evolved. Finally, a huge shift is in the broader world around nutrition and fueling. To be honest, the paradigm has shifted and it's very, very different.

26:10 - Question 3 from Victoria: Feeling overwhelm as life returns to “normal.” Back to work, kids to school, long commutes, etc. and the stress is piling up. How best to handle this overwhelm while still balancing a training schedule?

Stress is more complex and nuanced, because yes, unchecked and unmanaged, the accumulation of too much physiological or emotional strain can be really harmful. But perhaps paradoxically, it is exactly that strain, challenge, navigating adversity, that pressure, which is essential for anything that you care about - for your body, and your mind, to grow, to evolve and develop. So strain and demand is really, really important.

35:30 - Question 4 from Richard: How does a bike commute fit into the overall arc of my training schedule?

Use it as a relief, a little bit of a bridge from the work day to going home…It is genuinely a little a bit of “me” time...I'm going to do it for myself, I'm going to enjoy it. It's soul filling, and I'm not under any real pressure to get stronger fitter, more powerful.

41:50 - Question 5 from Matt: If lower cadence is more of a natural strength, does that mean I should race at a lower RPM say 80 to 85 than the 90 to 95 I've always targeted in the past?

When you go outside and you come up against a grade or a hill, or you've got wind in your face, it's a useful and smart tool to shift into generally a lower cadence. On the flipside, if you've got the wind at your back, or you've got a downhill, you might see power drop a little bit lower, but you're gonna shift to a faster cadence. And finally, if you want to vary the load, the postural load, you want to shift the muscle group, you might go lower or higher, depending on when you're at. And so it becomes a tool box.

 

Ask Matt Anything! Head to the Podcast Page at PurplePatchFitness.com/podcast and leave a concise question for Matt. Tell us your name, where you're from, and ask your question. We'll get to as many as we can in future episodes.

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This episode is sponsored by our collaboration with INSIDE TRACKER. Inside Tracker and Purple Patch- Receive 20% off their services with code: PURPLEPATCHPRO20

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