Original episode & show notes | Raw transcript
This document provides a detailed analysis of the core concepts discussed in the Empirical Cycling Podcast episode featuring coach Alex Carmona. The conversation between host Kolie Moore and Carmona offers a rich exploration of the nuances of endurance coaching, the psychology of athletic development, and the practical realities of self-coaching. We will dissect these themes to provide a comprehensive educational resource for athletes, coaches, and students of sport science.
A central theme of the discussion is that modern coaching extends far beyond simply prescribing workouts. The value lies in a multifaceted relationship built on mentorship, psychological support, and deep, experience-based understanding.
Alex Carmona’s journey into coaching was directly inspired by the supportive relationship he had with his own first coach, Steve Weller. This experience highlighted that the emotional and psychological aspects of coaching are as crucial as the physiological ones.
The Supportive Relationship: Carmona describes his coach as a “down-to-earth, nice guy” with whom he could be open and honest. The feeling of having a “buddy in your corner” was the primary motivator for him to want to provide that same support for others.
The “Bike Therapist” Analogy: Both Moore and Carmona acknowledge that a significant part of coaching involves navigating an athlete’s life off the bike. Moore notes, “I feel like I’m more of like a bike therapist than a, you know, coach.” This involves processing race-day disappointments, managing life stress, and understanding the emotional toll of high-level training.
Mental Fatigue is Real Fatigue: A key insight, especially relevant in the context of the pandemic-disrupted seasons, is the validation that “mental fatigue is real fatigue.” This principle dictates that a coach must look at the athlete’s holistic state, recognizing that external life stressors will directly impact performance and the ability to absorb training. A purely data-driven approach is insufficient without this context.
While the psychological aspect is paramount, the conversation makes a clear distinction between different physiological training philosophies. The transition in Carmona’s own training highlights a fundamental principle for helping experienced athletes break through performance plateaus.
Initial Training Experience: Carmona’s early coaching was effective but more general in nature. It helped him progress through the categories.
The Shift to Specificity: Upon working with Kolie Moore, the most significant change was the introduction of highly focused, intense training blocks. The example given is a “really intense block of VO2 max work.”
The Principle of Overload in Specificity: Moore elaborates on this concept, stating, “It’s not only the specificity, it’s the overload in specificity.” This is a crucial concept for advanced athletes. An athlete who has been training for years has likely accumulated a broad base of fitness. To elicit further adaptation, the training stimulus must be both highly specific (targeting a desired physiological system like FTP or VO2 max) and provide a significant overload (pushing harder or longer in that specific domain than before).
Application: This targeted approach led to significant gains for Carmona, who felt he had plateaued. The takeaway is that for well-trained athletes, “something new to push through the next level” is often found in structured, specific, and potent training blocks rather than more volume of generalized training.
Carmona’s transition to coaching himself provides a candid look at the advantages and disadvantages of this common path for experienced athletes.
For a disciplined and experienced athlete, self-coaching offers a level of adaptability that can be highly beneficial.
Training by RPE (Rate of Perceived Exertion): Carmona describes his approach as a “whole program by RPE.” This extends beyond single workouts to the entire training structure. It’s the ability to intuitively know when to push and when to rest based on sleep, life stress, and physical sensations.
Flexibility and Life Integration: The primary benefit cited is the ability to schedule training and rest in a way that best fits one’s life, rather than being rigidly locked into a pre-written plan. This autonomy can enhance long-term sustainability and enjoyment.
The freedom of self-coaching comes with significant risks that can stall or reverse progress.
Loss of Focus: Without the external accountability of a coach or the clear goal of a race, Carmona admits his training could become less constructive. The flexibility can lead to “a lack of progression or focus,” where an athlete simply rides for enjoyment rather than with purpose.
Absence of External Perspective: A self-coached athlete misses out on new ideas, methodologies, and the objective eye of an expert. As Carmona puts it, “You’re going to be doing stuff that you didn’t think of… There’s more information out there.”
External Influence and “Strava Envy”: The lack of a guiding plan can make an athlete susceptible to being influenced by what others are doing, particularly on social media platforms like Strava. Seeing pros or peers doing large volumes or specific workouts can create self-doubt and lead to reactive, unstructured training decisions.
Carmona’s experimentation with fasted training serves as an excellent example of the “guinea pig” nature of self-coaching.
The Experiment: He performed nearly all of his training fasted (no breakfast, only coffee) for a period of up to two years. This included high-intensity work, even setting a new FTP personal record while fasted. The longest ride was approximately five hours with no food before or during.
Crucial Context: This is not a simple endorsement of fasted training. The podcast provides essential context: Carmona consumes a diet extremely high in carbohydrates (“a metric shit fuckton of carbs”). This means his muscle glycogen stores were likely always well-stocked from the previous day’s meals, allowing him to perform high-quality work without pre-ride fuel.
The Takeaway: The experiment demonstrates that the body can adapt to utilizing fat for fuel at higher intensities. However, its success was conditional on his overall diet. For an educated audience, this underscores the principle that individual training interventions cannot be evaluated in isolation from an athlete’s broader lifestyle, particularly nutrition. He ultimately concludes he’s not sure of its specific benefit beyond proving it was possible.
Perhaps the most sophisticated concept discussed is the idea of “Know Thyself.” This is presented as the cornerstone of evolving from a strong rider into a successful racer.
This ancient maxim is applied to athletic development as a continuous process of inward focus and honest self-assessment.
Identifying Patterns: Progress stalls when athletes fail to recognize recurring patterns in their performance. Are you consistently dropped in the same part of a race? Do you always lose a sprint from a certain position? Carmona argues that you must “pay attention to those outcomes and think about what they mean” to intentionally change your behavior and training.
Moving Beyond “Just Riding Hard”: The notion that simply showing up and riding hard will lead to perpetual improvement has a ceiling. Carmona notes, “…you get to cat two and that’s just not going to work.” The next level of progress requires deep reflection and a change in approach.
True self-knowledge encompasses both physical abilities and mental inclinations. This understanding is what allows for the creation of a viable race strategy.
Physical Profile: Do you have a 600-watt or a 1200-watt sprint? Is your strength in sustained FTP efforts or punchy, short climbs? An honest assessment of your power profile is the first step.
Psychological Profile: Beyond watts, what is your mindset? Do you thrive on the “argy-bargy” of a bunch sprint, or do you prefer a race of attrition where the field melts away? Many athletes, as Moore points out, don’t realize their preference until it’s vocalized.
Working Backwards from the Win: The synthesis of these two profiles allows a coach or athlete to ask the crucial question: “What’s your winning scenario?” If you are not a pure sprinter, a bunch sprint is not a viable scenario. Your strategy must then revolve around creating a situation—a breakaway, a hard climb that drops others—where you can win. This shifts the focus from hoping for a good result to actively creating the conditions for one.
Finally, the conversation emphasizes that a race is a dynamic human system, not just a physical challenge imposed by a course.
The People, Not the Pavement: Newer racers often focus exclusively on the course profile. Experienced racers understand that “it depends on what the rest of the people are doing. Because they are going to dictate the race more than the course.”
“Do the Extra Legwork”: Carmona’s parting advice is a call for deep preparation. This involves:
Studying the Course: Know the climbs, the corners, the wind direction.
Studying the Competition: Who are the key players? What are their strengths?
Controlling the Controllables: Position yourself at the front before a key climb. Seize opportunities as they arise. This proactive approach is what separates top performers from the rest of the pack.
The dialogue between Kolie Moore and Alex Carmona provides a masterclass in the holistic nature of endurance sports coaching and athlete development. The key takeaways are:
Coaching is Human-Centric: The most effective coaching relationships are built on trust, empathy, and psychological support.
Specificity Drives Adaptation: For experienced athletes, targeted, high-intensity training blocks are often necessary to break through performance plateaus.
Self-Coaching is a Double-Edged Sword: It offers valuable flexibility but carries the inherent risks of subjectivity, loss of focus, and missed opportunities for learning.
Deep Self-Awareness is the Ultimate Tool: The path to consistent success lies in a rigorous and honest assessment of one’s own physiological and psychological profile, and using that knowledge to formulate and execute a winning strategy.