The Best Features of TrainingPeaks, Strava, and Garmin Connect
We highlight the most powerful features of each of the three most popular training analysis tools.
Connor is an exercise physiologist, endurance sports coach, and raced in the professional cycling peloton for over 20 years.
Over the past two decades, Coach Connor has been fortunate to experience all sides of the cycling, endurance, and nutrition/health world. From his own experience racing the professional circuit, managing teams, coaching athletes of all levels, and writing for cycling and nutrition magazines, he brings a variety of knowledge and experience to Fast Talk Labs.
Connor raced in the pro peloton for nearly 20 years, getting on the podium at some of the largest races in North America. He started his coaching career working with the National Development program at Pacific Sport in Canada. From there he coached the Colorado State University Cycling team to number two in the country and worked with several semi-pro and amateur teams throughout Canada and the U.S.
From 2011 to 2020, he wrote the monthly training articles for VeloNews magazine. This is also where he first became the co-host of the popular training podcast Fast Talk.
From 2012-2014, Connor managed one of the top-ranked amateur teams in America, Team Rio Grande. He is an alumni of the 14-year program which includes several top finishers at Gran Tour events.
Connor’s master’s thesis advisor was Dr. Loren Cordain, the originator of the popular Paleo Diet. Connor has been the CEO of The Paleo Diet since 2018.
He founded Fast Talk Laboratories, LLC in 2019 where he continues the podcast and focuses on producing information on endurance sports training from top coaches, physiologists and professional athletes from around the world.
We highlight the most powerful features of each of the three most popular training analysis tools.
Analyzing your training is a critical aspect of improving fitness. With the help of Dr. Stephen Seiler, Colby Pearce, Julie Young, and many others, we explore how and why to monitor and analyze data, and explore different approaches to interpreting and managing your workout data.
Can cycling twice in one day produce the same benefits as one long ride? Do “two-a-days” yield adaptations you can’t get any other way? We explore.
We explore the physiology of race season—how to find top-end fitness, how long it takes, and the best ways to do it.
Are you tempted to throw out those five-hour rides—not enough time or willpower, or maybe you find them boring? Don’t do it! Trevor Connor explores the adaptations that can only be gained from long, slow miles.
Three-time XTERRA world champion and owner of MelRad Coaching, Melanie McQuaid, joins us to discuss how to judge fatigue, the effects of overtraining, and the “crossover effect.”
Interval workouts are a fundamental part of any endurance training program. Learn exactly what intervals are, why they are so important, and how to properly execute interval workouts with the help of Sebastian Weber, Neal Henderson, and Dr. Stephen Seiler.
Intervals are a fundamental component of training. They enable athletes to add intensity in a controlled manner, and target specific energy systems.
Learn how and why you should select certain intervals, how to integrate them into your training plan, when to do them, and how to properly execute them.
With regard to physiology principles, what has and has not changed since the 1980s? We compare the science, equipment, and analysis software, then and now. Which decade wins? Stay tuned.
Janis Musins helps us answer questions on time trial pacing, TT position, INSCYD testing, and the coach-athlete relationship.
Coaches Ryan Kohler and Trevor Connor discuss tips, tricks, and the underlying principles to help you design a training camp.
We discuss the physical and mental aspects of safely and effectively returning to the bike after an injury.
Former Fast Talk guests including Ted King, Lindsay Golich, and Kristin Armstrong discuss their favorite workouts and their benefits.
Long-held beliefs about the benefits of massage are not backed by science. But that doesn’t mean you should stop seeing your favorite therapist. We explain.
The INSCYD test yields a powerful set of metrics, including VO2max, VLAmax, and an athlete’s complete metabolic profile. USA Cycling Level 1 Coach Ryan Kohler explores the INSCYD test protocol and how to analyze its results.
See more on INSCYD and INSCYD Advanced Testing.
We compare and contrast various test methods based on three key aspects: 1) the protocol, 2) the data the test provides, and 3) the analysis you can perform with that data.
We discuss the underlying principles of an athlete’s psychological welfare, and why our thoughts and feelings are simply emergent properties of brain and nervous system physiology.