Original episode & show notes | Raw transcript
This document provides a detailed analysis of the core ideas discussed between host Kolie Moore and professional cyclist Corey Lockwood. The conversation delves into the nuances of coaching philosophy, the psychology of racing, the hard-earned lessons from personal experience, and the technical intricacies of cycling at an elite level.
Corey Lockwood’s journey into professional cycling is unconventional, with a background in motocross shaping his approach to sport. This foundation reveals two core principles: the transferability of skills and a deep-seated preference for function over form.
Lockwood began motocross at age five, long before dedicating himself to cycling. This experience endowed him with a profound intuitive understanding of vehicle dynamics, balance, and traction—skills that are directly transferable to cycling.
Handling and Balance: Motocross demands an exceptional level of bike handling and balance to navigate varied terrain at high speeds. This translates into superior cornering and bike control on the road, especially in chaotic environments like criteriums.
Functional Wheeling: Lockwood distinguishes between “wheeling for show” and “functional wheeling.” In motocross, a functional wheelie is a precise, calculated maneuver used to lift the front wheel over obstacles or to position the bike optimally for a corner, thereby preserving momentum. This highlights a mindset focused on practical application and efficiency of movement, rather than aesthetics.
A recurring theme is Lockwood’s emphasis on functionality and purpose. He is described as an “incredibly functional person” who avoids superfluous actions. This philosophy directly informs his approach to both training and coaching.
Value of Time: He recognizes that an athlete’s time is their most valuable and finite resource. Training must be streamlined, simple to understand, and easy to execute. This is especially true for amateur athletes balancing a 9-to-5 job, who have even less time and mental energy to dedicate to their sport.
Purposeful Action: Every aspect of preparation, from training to bike setup, should serve a direct purpose that contributes to a better performance. This contrasts sharply with approaches that prioritize complexity or novelty for their own sake.
The podcast presents a strong critique of popular coaching fads while advocating for a more fundamental, individualized, and process-oriented approach.
Lockwood recounts negative experiences with coaches who relied on “big, complicated words” and the promise of “shortcuts and magic to get there.” This serves as a warning against what they term “silver bullet” coaching.
The Lure of Complexity: Athletes, especially those new to a structured program, can be easily “lured in by shiny objects.” Complicated jargon and proprietary “magic” metrics can create an illusion of a sophisticated, superior method, when in reality they often obscure a lack of fundamental coaching principles.
The “No-Shortcut” Reality: The speakers argue that true physiological development cannot be fast-tracked. While certain techniques might speed up development by a small margin (5-10%), there is no substitute for consistent work, volume, and experience. Marketing this reality is difficult because the promise of a shortcut is always more appealing.
A significant portion of the discussion is dedicated to the idea that the process of training is more important than the outcome of winning.
Managing Disappointment: Quoting a former coach, Moore notes that “cycling is a sport about managing disappointment.” Since even the best racers lose far more often than they win, an athlete’s enjoyment and longevity in the sport depend on finding satisfaction in the daily process of training.
The Daily Reward: The satisfaction derived from completing a challenging workout or mastering a new skill should be as rewarding as standing on a podium. If an athlete’s sole motivation is winning, the 99% of the time spent training becomes a joyless grind. Shortcutting the process means “shortcutting yourself of all the fun of cycling.”
The podcast champions a highly individualized approach, rejecting “one size fits all” or cookie-cutter training plans.
Physiological Uniqueness: Every athlete responds to training stimuli differently. A workout that is highly effective for one person may be ineffective or even detrimental for another. This is illustrated by the observation in scientific studies where, in response to a training protocol, most subjects improve, but some see no change and a few get worse. A good coach’s job is to ensure their athlete is in the group that improves.
Beyond Physiology: Individualization also extends to an athlete’s psychology, lifestyle, strengths, and weaknesses. A coach must know their athlete on a deep level to tailor a program that is not only physiologically effective but also mentally engaging and sustainable.
A successful coaching relationship is built on a foundation of open communication and mutual understanding.
The Power of “Why”: An athlete should feel confident asking their coach why they are doing a specific workout. Understanding the purpose of a training session enhances an athlete’s decision-making during the workout itself. For example, knowing that the goal of a threshold workout is sustained effort, not chasing power PRs, prevents an athlete from over-exerting and compromising the session’s intended stimulus.
Connecting Mind and Body: When an athlete understands the purpose of their training, they develop a deeper connection between their mind and body. This fosters a “performance-based mindset” where the athlete leans into the discomfort of a workout, rather than a “fear-based” one, ultimately yielding better physical and mental results.
Lockwood’s candid discussion of his struggles during the 2020 and 2021 seasons provides a powerful case study in overtraining, the importance of self-trust, and mental resilience.
In 2021, Lockwood arrived at the National Championships feeling “completely blown up.” This was not a sudden event but the culmination of a long process.
Symptomatology: The key red flag was a distorted sense of effort. A high endurance pace (~70% of FTP) felt as difficult as a threshold effort. This indicates deep systemic fatigue where the body can no longer handle even moderate stress.
The Snowball Effect: Overtraining is rarely the result of a single bad week. Lockwood describes it as a “snowball effect” resulting from a series of “consecutive, continuous, incorrect moves.” It is a slow decline that, if ignored, leads to a sudden and dramatic collapse.
The Value of Experience: Having gone through overtraining, Lockwood now understands the symptoms, the red flags, and the arduous recovery process. This first-hand experience is invaluable as a coach, as it creates a powerful incentive to protect his athletes from ever reaching that state.
The slide into overtraining was caused by a conflict between Lockwood’s own bodily signals and the prescribed training plan.
The Conflict: He admits to “setting some of my intuition aside to operate in terms of kind of having faith in my coach.” He knew internally that something was wrong but chose to trust the program over his own feelings.
The Lesson: This highlights a critical challenge for any athlete: balancing faith in their coach’s expertise with their own intuition. A healthy coaching relationship should create space for this intuition. The coach should see an athlete’s feedback not as a challenge to their authority, but as crucial data for adjusting the plan.
Lockwood’s motocross background gives him an elite-level understanding of racing technique, which he breaks down into a methodical, analytical process.
Lockwood outlines a three-step process for mastering a technical course.
Analyze the Ideal Line (No Riders): The primary goal is to maximize exit velocity. This is often achieved through a late apex line: braking slightly earlier and wider, turning in later, and hitting the apex deep in the corner. This creates a wider, straighter exit path, allowing the rider to begin pedaling earlier and carry more momentum onto the subsequent straight.
Incorporate “Road Furniture”: Adjust the ideal line to account for real-world obstacles like manhole covers, reflectors, or changes in pavement. This requires dynamic problem-solving to find the next-best line.
Add Riders (“Mobile Obstacles”): In a peloton, the ideal line is rarely available. The focus shifts to protecting one’s position, understanding wheel priority, and creating space. A rider with less explosive power, like Lockwood, must prioritize momentum-preserving “sweep” lines to avoid the hard accelerations that drain energy. This contrasts with “cut and thrust” or “square up” lines used by explosive riders who can afford to brake hard, take a sharp inside line, and sprint out of the corner.
Bike setup is presented not as a matter of preference, but as a critical component of performance, analogous to setting up suspension on a motocross bike.
Interface and Power: The way a rider’s body interfaces with the bike (e.g., stem length, bar position) can be optimized for different types of power production, such as sustained aerobic efforts versus short, explosive sprints.
Technical Components: For technical courses, equipment choices like wheel depth, tire width, and tire pressure (PSI) are crucial. These factors directly influence cornering traction, rolling resistance, and a bike’s responsiveness, making a significant difference in a rider’s ability to execute their chosen lines.
Feeling the limit of traction is an active, multi-sensory skill, not a passive one.
Physical Feedback: A rider can feel the limit of grip through feedback in the handlebars and pedals as the tire “digs into the pavement.”
Visual and Auditory Cues: It also involves actively “reading” the road surface ahead. A rider must visually identify and anticipate changes in texture—from chip seal to smooth asphalt, for example—and understand how each surface will affect the bike’s traction coefficient, adjusting their lean angle and pressure on the bike accordingly. You can often hear the change in the tire’s sound on different surfaces as well.