Cycling in Alignment with Colby Pearce

18 Paul Chek, The Evolution of the Athlete

Greetings and salutations, listeners.

I am so excited for today’s show, the guest is none other than Paul Chek. I have been a student of Paul’s for a few years now, and I am so grateful and honored he has taken time to speak to my audience.

Paul Chek has been an exercise coach for over three and a half decades, but he is much more than someone who can tell you how to do a Swiss Ball crunch. Paul has hundreds of hours of YouTube videos that detail everything from proper relationship to coffee, to numerous strength exercises, to thoughts on mediation and stone stacking, to the history of pornography, and many other topics.

Paul is the founder of the Chek Institute in Encinitas, California where he and his instructors teach classes on Holistic Lifestyle Coaching, Four Quadrant Coaching Mastery, Integrated Movement Science, in addition to numerous other programs. I am currently studying in Paul’s Academy which is a multi-year program that takes the student through every class he teaches and I have found it to add to, expand and challenge my own coaching programs in numerous ways. Paul’s programs are about far more than teaching an athlete to move well; through years of therapy Paul has learned to apply a psycho-spiritual model to coaching in order to more completely serve and heal the client.

Paul has had experience as a member of the US Army boxing team, as a massage therapist, he has repaired weapons systems on Cobra helicopters, introduced the Swiss Ball into the gym, is a former professional triathlete, is a licensed Native American Medicine Practitioner who has led over four hundred shamanic journeys.

References

Paul Chek & The Chek Institute: https://chekinstitute.com/

Paul Chek Four Quadrant Coaching:

 

 

 

17 Six Foundational Principles

As a proponent of Chek’s methods and philosophy, Colby will walk through the practical applications of each of these for cyclists.

The six principles are:

1. Eating
2. Drinking
3. Sleeping
4. Movement
5. Breathing
6. Thinking

References

Water Calculator: https://www.thecalculator.co/health/Water-Calculator-56.html

Breathing:

https://www.thebreathingclass.com/about-dr-belisa/

https://oxygenadvantage.com

16 Strength and Conditioning, with Jess Elliott of TAG Performance

Jess Elliott is an experienced strength and conditioning coach working at EXOS, and as an affiliate faculty member at Metropolitan State University of Denver. Jess is here to help you understand why it is so important to make time for off-the-bike strength and conditioning work. The low-impact aspect of cycling is advantageous to your body in many ways, but it does have some downsides as well. Ensuring that your body can move in a multi-planar fashion with ease and strength can prevent you from getting injured and will lead you towards being a more well-balanced individual suited for an active lifestyle.

REFERENCES

TAG -https://www.tagperformanceco.com/our-leader

DARI – https://www.darimotion.com/about-us

Colby’s DARI Test – https://www.velonews.com/training/training-center-motion-capture-technology-helps-fix-imbalances/

FMS Gray Cook: http://graycook.com/?page_id=150

SFMA: https://www.physio-pedia.com/Selective_Functional_Movement_Assessment_(SFMA)

15 Fundamentals of Cycling

The fundamentals of cycling are simple; even small children do it. Yet it’s vital that we occasionally revisit the core principles of our favorite sport.

In this episode of Cycling in Alignment, Colby outlines many of the key components of cycling, including the physical characteristics that make for great cyclists.

He also ponders the question: if your body doesn’t match with this description, can you still be a great rider?

Colby also touches upon torque, the pedal stroke, fascial system, physiological testing, FTP, bike fit, and the symmetry of cycling in this broad overview of the sport of cycling.

14 Travis Brown: Mountain Biking Olympian and Hall of Famer

Travis Brown is an Olympian and a mountain bike Hall of Fame inductee. His road to the Olympic Games was twisty and narrow, and often fraught with obstacles—not unlike a section of Rocky Mountain singletrack.

In today’s episode, listen to his conversation with Colby to hear about how he began his return from a severe leg injury on the bike, even before that leg was weight-bearing.

Brown still works with his long-time sponsor, Trek, developing new bikes and equipment.

He also develops young talent in the sport, including those on Native American reservations, providing bikes to young riders there.

The pair touch upon all of these topics.

Finally, Travis reveals the scare he’s had from skin cancer. As an outdoor enthusiast who spends much time on his bike, he has strong recommendations for protecting yourself while you’re out on the trail.

REFERENCES

• Archived page of Travis’ SSWC Tattoo: https://web.archive.org/web/20051115120933/http://www.trekbikes.com/news/news_detail.jsp?articleId=4353&category=hot_news
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/TBrowntrip
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/travis.brown.18007

13 Thoughts on Diet and Clean Eating

As an athlete, specifically a cyclist, you know that your diet greatly affects your performance on the bike. Your ability to go hard and long depends to some extent on what you’ve been fueling yourself with. Colby isn’t and doesn’t claim to be a dietitian or nutritionist; that said, this podcast is a collection of his thoughts on wholesome, clean eating.

REFERENCES

• https://secure.metabolictypingonline.com/
• https://www.westonaprice.org
• https://secure.metabolictypingonline.com 
• Eugene Trufkin: https://www.amazon.com/Anti-Factory-Shopping-Guide-Evgeny-Trufkin/dp/1099029430

12 Jessi Stensland: Freedom of the Beautiful Robot

Jessi Stensland, the creator of FeetFreex, a website designed to help people connect with their healthy, strong feet, and re-establish a connection with nature.

Thanks for coming along with us to experience Jessi’s powerful journey and listen to the lessons she’s discovered along the way.

She has deeply developed her relationship with her body in the years since competing as a professional triathlete, swimming at the Olympic trials, and winning a bronze medal at XTERRA World Championships. Her ideas about shoes and sleep may be new and unusual to you, but pause and consider her enthusiasm, her agility, and her deep connection to her own body.

References

• Feet Freex: feetfreex.com
• Team Exos https://www.teamexos.com/capabilities/sports-performance/

11 Aaron Anderson: Orthotics and Footbeds

Your feet are a critical component to the cycling experience. Proper alignment between feet and body is one of the keys to both power and comfort on a bike. Because of the repetitive motion of pedaling, any issues you might have are compounded by the thousands of kilometers you endure, and you can quickly exacerbate poor foot pronation or supination. If not addressed, sub-par foot alignment can increase your risk of injury.

Today’s guest, an expert in this field, is Aaron Anderson, the founder of PTI Orthotics & Foot Resource Lab, and a board-certified pedorthist for over 20 years.

In this episode, we break down the different ways that prefabricated, semi-custom, and custom orthotics are constructed; analyze the pros and cons of the different methods used to cast feet and determine orthotic support needs; offer practical tips and advice on how to find the best podiatrist, and discuss how to determine the quality of the orthotics you’re considering.

REFERENCES

• Aaron Anderson, PTI Orthotics and Foot Resource Lab https://ptiorthotics.com/
• Dr. Kevin Kirby: kirbypodiatry.com
• Robert Donatelli Book: Biomechanics of the Foot and Ankle
• Prolotherapy: Mayo Clinic on Prolotherapy
• Ehlers Danlos: https://www.ehlers-danlos.com/what-is-eds/

10 Work-Life Balance in the Context of Cycling

Today on Cycling in Alignment we take a step back, off the bike, to focus on the alignment of your mental state. Every activity can be classified as “yin” or “yang” according to ancient Chinese philosophy. You’ve likely seen the interlaced black and white circle representative of this philosophy; the symbol illustrates how seemingly opposite forces can be complementary and interconnected. But have you ever had an in-depth lesson on yin and yang?

More importantly, have you learned how to apply this knowledge to your life? Lucky for you, Colby has some answers. All you Type-A, go-getter cyclists, it’s time to contemplate the importance of balancing your yang activities with the yin.

Ready for some intervals from Coach Colby? How about a six-by-six-minute breathing workout as you slowly walk around the block?

REFERENCES

• The Dragon: https://www.paulcheksblog.com/the-dragon-2/
• Tai Chi Poster: https://chekinstitute.com/gong/

9 Lydia Tanner: Mountain Bikes, Meditation, and Muesli

Mountain biker Lydia Tanner has won two collegiate national championships and raced internationally with Team USA. She is a long-time coach at Boulder Junior Cycling and content strategist at TrainingPeaks. You may have read some of her gear reviews in Bike magazine.

Colby once coached Lydia, and in this interview, she recalls her apathy toward training and riding during that period of her racing career. Lydia reveals why she was struggling so much at the time: Sadly, she was dealing with the all-too-common issue of an eating disorder. That, in combination with a myriad of serious injuries and concussions, eventually took its toll; she got to a point where she didn’t touch a bike for years.

Now, the bike is all about adventure for Lydia. She and Colby talk about some of their epic rides in the past, including Lydia’s 500-kilometer, 40-hour ride.

They emphasize the importance and struggle of finding and understanding one’s identity outside of sport and career. As coaches, they discuss the issues with training young girls to be aggressive with their teammates and training partners.

This and much more on today’s episode of Cycling in Alignment.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lydlovesmud/

Lydia on Bike Magazine https://www.bikemag.com/author/lydia-tanner/