Podcast Synopses / Summaries ? No time for 1+ hr listen

Ask a Cycling Coach Podcast
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[First: I did an extensive forum search, no results for exactly this Q. Apologies if it’s under my nose, please provide link.]

I strongly think there are a lot of TR users / cyclists on this forum that are super interested to learn the info in the podcasts, but fall into one or both of the following:

1 - Absolutely no time to listen to a 1+ hr podcast. “Do it on your commute!” - Many of us don’t have 1+ hr commutes. I happily keep myself very busy, and the precious downtime I have I want to watch a movie or go for a hike w my partner, not listen to a podcast.

2 - Strongly dislike podcasts, period, zero interest to listen. I [we?] totally get the draw! : ) No judgement if it’s your thing! It’s relaxing, entertaining, it’s fun, you sorta “get to know the people”, in a way, it’s personal, etc. Happy for you to be enjoying!! : ) And we have absolutely zero interest in joining you! Yes, we have tried them. Yes, many. Dozens. Zero interest.

I’m not going to listen to a person or group of people talk for an hour or more to give me info that can honestly be distilled into four bullet points with eight relevant sub-points that I can read & digest in 1.6 minutes. Or a synopsis I can read in 5 - 10…

We’d really like to dig into the info, and participate in discussion, but really, there’s zero chance we will be “convinced” to do it that way. Door’s closed.

There doesn’t currently seem to be any synopses available for the podcast. The more concise the better, bullet points even better. I mean, possibly with links to studies, but those are already provided in the podcast forum posts, so really, just a library of synopses to read through.

Is there any way we could get these done? I mean “video to text software” / AI must be able to automatically, right?

Any others who’d read a ton of them, if a library DID exist? Maybe if a ton of interest pooled up, there’d be motivation to create them?

I hope this fosters positive discussion. This isn’t meant to “poop on the podcast”, or podcasts in general.

It’s meant to open discussion on how other users can access that info, and gauge interest levels.

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I’ll admit I haven’t listened to the podcast for about 2 months now. For me, it’s just been kind of stale and they seem to be repeating topics or just advertising for TR (which I get it’s their podcast, they can do what they want). But I’m with you that I just don’t feel like sitting through their longer episodes. There just hasn’t been anything drawing me to it any longer.

The YouTube versions have chapters you can skip to so you can only see/listen to what you want. And I think they were doing single videos on certain topics. I think some of the podcast apps offer chapters as well. So at least you can narrow down a single topic to listen to.

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You may have seen these options but didn’t mention them, so here are some resources that are more brief and summary type approaches, just to make sure they are covered.

The YouTube “Shorts” are a recent addition that cover a single subject in very brief format:

They also have a range of playlists, some of which are edited sections from podcasts to a single topic. The first one is Ask A Cycling Coach Quick Clips.

The next is one for the Science of Getting Faster, Quick Clips.

For a written resource, the TrainerRoad blog is a decent option. It has singular topics that are generally brief and often contain links to related source info, sometimes a podcast. It is searchable and has some main categories at the top for more targeted browsing.

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tl:dl is of course 1. Ride lots 2. Eat healthy 3. Sleep well. And that’s all folks! :star_struck:

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Set the play speed to 2x - presto, your 1 hr podcast is now only a 30 min podcast, and you’ll likely still get pretty much the same out of it.

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I watch them on YouTube on my endurance rides. YouTube has chapters so very easy to skip through what you don’t care to listen to.

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I’m not sure. If everything about cycling training and performance was easy to distill down into a few bullets, we wouldn’t be here.

I think a concise list of bullets ends up being a pretty different thing than a podcast. It’s like putting a sandwich in a blender, or eating ingredients separately instead of a cooked dish.

Once you start participating in a discussion of those bullets in comments or a forum, you’re also back to the beginning again… basically what the podcast originally was and you’ve spent more than your 1.6 minutes.

Having chapters or notes is nice to help skip to the section you care about.

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All: As always, appreciate the helpful input on this forum.

But I really really am looking for a no-watch, no-listen solution; reading on screen, summarized very succinctly; not a transcript.

@conorthinks Understood and agreed! Def not everything about cycling & performance can be distilled down to a few bullet points! And indeed, that’s why we’re all here! : )

But the contents, or at least major / important points of a podcast episode definitely can be, pretty easily. And read in a couple mins.

Then it’s up to us to jump into a deeper dive only when needed. User’s choice. But we are at least able to ingest the main podcast content info quickly. That’s the first step, and the step I’m focused on now.

In it’s current state, I think there are probably many [hundreds? thousands?] of users in the same boat as me, entirely missing out on that info, wanting to learn all, and engage at times, but absolutely not willing or able to watch or listen.

Hope we can find something! But not really that important if there’s only like six of us! :laughing:

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Not as detailed with links etc. to sources.

But currently I am using the “YouTube & Article Summary powered by ChatGPT” plugin (YouTube Summary with ChatGPT & Claude / Glasp). It does a decent job of summarizing a Youtube video with CC. Better for shorter videos on a single topic and less so on longer videos that covers multiple topics. But often good enough for me to decide if I want to see the video.

Random example below (I have changed the basic prompt from asking for 5 bullet points to 15).

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvvWoKS7R9o&ab_channel=TrainerRoad

Summary:

  • The podcast episode discusses topics such as Unbound Gravel and fat adaptation in cycling.
  • Listeners are encouraged to follow the podcast’s Instagram channel for more content and information.
  • Feedback from listeners about the positive impact of TrainerRoad and Ivy’s advice on race performance is mentioned.
  • Losing 10 pounds can result in a time reduction of 10 minutes and 35 seconds, while increasing power by one watt can reduce time by 1 minute and 27 seconds.
  • Losing weight may lead to a decrease in power and overall performance.
  • Clean-shaven versus having a beard only saves about 8 seconds during the Unbound Gravel race.
  • Shaved legs can save around 9 minutes, but mud can negate this advantage.
  • Effective training, fueling, and recovery are important for improving performance.
  • Prioritizing training volume and saying no to some recreational rides may be necessary for event preparation.
  • Riding through grass instead of mud depends on the specific conditions and terrain.
  • Sophia, a friend of the podcast, is mentioned and defended against unfair criticism.
  • Sophia aims to make races like Unbound Gravel more competitive and inviting for pro women.
  • The importance of considering multiple perspectives and supporting Sophia’s efforts is emphasized.
  • A listener shares their personal experience with improved performance through better fueling and increased training volume.
  • Fat adaptation is discussed as a way to improve performance by increasing fat utilization.
  • Two main approaches to fat adaptation are reducing carbohydrate intake and supplementing with ketones.
  • Adequate protein intake is important for recovery when following a fat adaptation approach.
  • The cost of carbohydrates and societal pressures related to body composition are mentioned as potential cons of fat adaptation.
  • Recovery between stages and balancing training volume are highlighted as key factors for success.
  • Tire selection for different terrains and the importance of traction and rolling resistance are discussed.
  • The use of Best Bike Split for race planning is mentioned, but the dynamic nature of races is acknowledged.
  • Training racing acumen and recognizing race opportunities is encouraged, and race footage analysis is recommended for improvement.
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Wow! That’s nice. It doesn’t completely solve what OP wanted, but you’re right, it’s a great way to see if I want to listen.

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All good, I’ll summarize… eat more carbs, ride consistently, use TR, and you’re all set!

I love what the podcast and TR has done for me and for cycling, but it’s turning into a broken record. I used to really like the science behind it all in the deep dives, it’s all anecdotes now.

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