Hello everyone. Welcome to the latest episode of The Matchbox Podcast powered by Ignition Coach Co. I’m your host, Adam Saban, and on this week’s episode we’re talking about preferred cadence, durability workouts for mountain bikers, and our current takes on sodium bicarbonate supplementation.
As always, if you like what you hear, share this with your friends and leave us a five star review and if you have any questions for the show drop us an email at matchboxpod@gmail.com or head over to ignitioncoachco.com and fill out The Matchbox Podcast listener question form.
Alight let’s get into it!
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Intro/ Outro music by AlexGrohl - song "King Around Here" - https://pixabay.com/music/id-15045/
The following was generated using Riverside.fm AI technologies
In this episode, Adam, Dylan, and Kaitlyn Maddox answer listener questions on cycling cadence, durability workouts, and sodium bicarbonate. They break down what changes performance, what mostly changes feel, and where the research and real-world experience line up.
Key topics
- In this episode: cadence does not directly make you faster at the same power output. Watts matter more than RPM alone.
- Dylan argues that the most efficient cadence is usually your preferred, most comfortable cadence, not a forced target.
- The group discusses why low cadence can feel grindy on climbs and why too much cadence manipulation often adds more fatigue than benefit.
- Kaitlyn and Adam note that bike fit, saddle height, core stability, and position can all contribute to bouncing in the saddle at higher cadence.
- The conversation shifts to durability training and how to place hard sessions with intervals before and after endurance riding.
- Dylan and Kaitlyn both say durability workouts are taxing enough that they should not be done year-round as a weekly default.
- Kaitlyn explains her coaching approach of building one energy system at a time, then adding a durability session at the end of each block.
- Dylan shares that he has progressed from basic endurance-between-intervals sessions to longer tempo blocks between interval sets to better simulate race fatigue.
- The final section covers bicarbonate use for sprint triathlon and short running events, with agreement that it is worth testing for hard, high-intensity efforts.
- The hosts compare products and methods, including delayed-release capsules, flavored systems, and the importance of trialing bicarb in training before race day.
Timestamps
00:00 - Listener question: does higher cadence make you faster?
01:10 - Same watts, different RPMs: what actually changes
02:45 - The most efficient cadence is your preferred cadence
04:03 - Can cadence be trained, or is it mostly self-selected?
05:16 - Why low-cadence riders can struggle on climbs
07:03 - Fast-twitch recruitment and why low cadence can burn you out
08:40 - Torque intervals versus cadence manipulation
10:20 - Why the science on cadence is not convincing
14:25 - Pogacar, short cranks, and why pro cadence trends can mislead
15:34 - Why more trained riders often naturally choose higher cadence
17:41 - Fixing saddle bounce: cadence, core, and bike fit
19:10 - Adam’s move to single-speed mountain biking
19:39 - Listener question: how to use durability work in training
20:58 - Why durability workouts are too taxing to do all year
22:30 - Building race-specific durability around the demands of the event
24:48 - How durability sessions differ from standard VO2 workouts
26:00 - Dylan’s progression from endurance gaps to tempo blocks
28:48 - Why Kaitlyn avoids a dedicated durability block
29:18 - Energy-system blocks and adding durability at the end
30:10 - Why these sessions should not happen the week before a race
31:21 - Where durability fits if an athlete only has one long ride day
33:29 - Why durability is not a third intensity day
34:09 - Listener question: is bicarb worth it for sprint triathlon and 5K racing?
35:21 - Why bicarb matters most for short, hard efforts
36:21 - Product options and stomach-friendly formulations
38:32 - Delayed-release capsules and reducing GI issues
39:04 - How Dylan doses bicarb before racing
40:38 - Why bicarb should be tested in training, not first used on race day
43:57 - Creatine versus bicarb: different benefits, different use cases
46:50 - Why supplement benefits do not always stack
48:33 - Bicarb plus caffeine and why that combination can feel stronger
49:27 - How bicarb can still matter in longer events
50:05 - The workout-level feeling of “unlocking another gear”
