 Warning, following the advice you're about to receive in this video may result in overtraining, overspending on bicycle related equipment, manically chasing Strava KOMs on rest days, making a list of poor excuses for why you got dropped on the group ride, and an inability to pace yourself properly at your next race. If you experience symptoms lasting more than 4 hours, please contact your doctor or flip your hat back around. That's right everyone, I'm back here giving out the best cycling advice on YouTube. Today we're going to be talking about how to be a weight weenie, my new formula for calculating your FTP, why keto is the optimal diet for cycling, and the politics of Strava KOM hunting and more so stick around. If you're new to this channel, most of the videos are done by this nerdy kid who's super boring and honestly they aren't really worth watching. But every once in a while I get to chime in and leave some good nuggets of advice and honestly that's worth subscribing right there. Leave your questions down in the comments section and maybe I'll answer them in the next video. With that, let's get into the questions. Brian says video idea, weight weenie tips. Brian, it's like you read my mind. To start, make sure that you're only running half a bottle of water at any given time during a race. Being properly hydrated isn't nearly as important as saving a few grams. In fact dehydration will just make you lighter. I'm pretty sure I heard about Chris Froome doing this so it must work. Also the weight savings that you're going to get from those $200 carbon skewers will be the difference between 20th place and 1st place at your local Cat4Crid. So they're totally worth it. I mean they're practically going to pay for themselves with all the prize money you're going to get and by prize money I mean a 20% off coupon for bar tape that you're going to lose in the back of your car. Cybriano says just ride tour single speed. Duh. Riding a single speed lets everyone on the ride know that this trail is so easy for you that you're choosing to ignore 100 years of bicycle technology in order to make it more interesting. Choosing to ride without suspension earns you 5 more respect points from fellow single speeders and 20 more WTF is this guy thinking points from everyone else. Now even though you're riding a single speed doesn't mean you should be riding a piece of junk. In fact you should be spending more money on this bike with no technological advances than you should on one with electronic shifting and plush suspension. How you might ask? By buying things like custom supple titanium frames, matching accessories, and a leather saddle that looks like it came off your dad's 10 speed but costs as much as a kidney on the black market because you want this bike that's uncomfortable to ride to be as comfortable as possible. The essence of single speeding is simplicity which is why you need to spend hours stressing over what gear ratio you're going to run before every race you do. Too easy and you're going to be spinning your brains out and too hard and you're going to be walking or you're going to give yourself patellar tendonitis. There really is nothing like the peace of mind that a single speed gives you. Alexi's asks, is it okay to drop your buddies on the first climb during a weekend social ride? I guess if they can't keep up with you then they're not worth riding to begin with, am I right? Social ride is another word for this ride is going to be slow because I don't want my little waggy stew hood. If you wear baggy jerseys or have more than three spacers under your stem then you might be into them. Every time you ride with somebody else it's an opportunity to show that person that you are faster than them. This could be friends or your boss during a work charity event or your spouse or your kids when they're trying to learn how to ride without training wheels. A drop is a drop and nothing is more alpha than dropping your riding buddies. However, if you are riding with somebody who's faster than you be sure to let them know that you're just taking it easy today. Ash Ten asks, hi I'm taking a four minute FTP test. What type of training slash workout should I do to be prepared for it? Ah yes, the four minute FTP test. Here's something you may not know. The shorter the FTP test the more accurate it is. In fact, I'm developing my own FTP testing protocol. You may remember me talking about my one by eight minute method where instead of doing two eight minute tests and then taking 90% of the average you just go as hard as you can for eight minutes and then pretend that that number is your FTP. This method works pretty good but it's not without its flaws. For example, when I ride with the A group on the group ride and we start talking about our FTPs their FTP is still higher than my eight minute max. This new method is much more accurate according to our rigorous testing. All right, here's the formula. T times zero plus M plus 10 equals your FTP. Let me explain. T is the number that you got from your FTP test. So let's say we did a 20 minute test and we got 250 watts. You then take that number and multiply it by zero because it's irrelevant. M is what your riding mate says his FTP is. So for example, let's say he says 350 watts. You then add 10 to this and you tell him that your FTP is 360 watts. So when you're on a group ride and your riding mate asks you what your FTP is, it's gonna take a little bit of mental math. But this equation is pretty bang on every time, at least until you get dropped by that very same guy. CoachNilo.com says, I do something very similar to what Emily is doing. But I do it because it's the fastest way to get my abs defined. When I did it for about a month straight, I was experimenting. I did notice a loss in performance on the bike. My power just wasn't there. Cycling is 90% about looking fast and only 10% about actually being fast. Once you've spent 10 grand on your bike and your kit to look more like a pro who got all that stuff for free, the next step is working on your body. Showing up to the group ride with a spare tire is unacceptable, both for your gut and for actually having a spare tire. If you get a flat, just borrow a tube and tools from somebody else. No need to weigh yourself down with all that. There are millions of diets out there and choosing one can be hard. But don't base your decision on what will actually make you faster. Base it on what will lead to the quickest weight loss, because race season starts in like a week and you're still 20 pounds overweight. Keto is great for this. Sure, eating nothing but butter and bacon will make you feel like Vanderpoel at this year's Road World Championships every time you have to do an effort above zone one, but you'll drop weight like a rock and you'll look like you could climb with Contador on Alpe d'Huez, even though you'd probably have to get off and walk steep parts. If it doesn't work, that means you just didn't do it right. After about six months of terrible performances, your body will become a fat burning machine and you'll be able to ride zone two all day without eating anything, which is pretty cool, I guess. Keith Gordon says, has anyone else noticed that backwards hat has become a lot whinerier lately? Oh yeah, Keith, how many Strava KOMs do you have? Yeah, that's what I thought. Road racer says, how to become a better climber. Genetics, choose your parents wisely. If you're not genetically gifted, a healthy dose of EPO and steroids should work, just ask Lance. Road racer just combined two of my favorite post-race excuses to explain my typical mid-pack finish. You see, I got dropped on the climb because I'm naturally a heavy rider and it doesn't have anything to do with the fact that my diet consists of mostly fast food, pre-workout, and hypergain beast mode products. When you eat a whole 2,000 calorie pizza by yourself after a ride where you only burned 500 calories, that's you maximizing your post-workout nutrition. It's also safe to assume that anybody who beat you in a race might be doping and not that they might just be more dedicated to proper training than you. Essa Jumpanen says, would like to propose a subject for your video. Warning signals of getting overtrained. When to back off, what if being overtrained? Overtraining is a conspiracy designed by pros to keep the common folks slow. If you're not doing a Zwift race every day or multiple times a day for that matter, then you're not getting faster. If you're not struggling to get out of bed every morning because your legs are so sore that gently poking them results in you rolling around in the fetal position in pain, then you're not doing it right. By the middle of the season with many more races left to go, you should have trained so hard that the very thought of riding your bike elicits a regurgitating response that you fill with cookies and doughnuts until the level of disgust that you have when looking at yourself in the mirror surpasses your lack of motivation to ride. It's at this point that you start training again, aka chasing Strava segments and Zwift races every day. This is what's known as backwards hat periodization or reverse periodization, if you will. Garth Garthy says, I find it hard to ride slowly. If someone passes me, I feel I have to go faster so that I don't look pathetic. I know it's stupid. Nothing stupid about it, double Garth. Under no circumstances can you let somebody pass you, especially if God forbid their bike is made of steel or aluminum or if they have Chewbacca legs. The bike path is a hierarchy. The one who travels fastest on the bike path reigns supreme and every time somebody passes you, they knock you down a peg. That's why no matter if it's a recovery day or I'll be a cat five forever day as I like to call them, you have to pass them back. Andrew Enriquez says, looking forward to a video of backwards hat guy at the gym, just sitting on gym equipment and looking at his phone. Hey, look, man, I'm just resting between sets and trying to get the perfect Instagram filter for this mirror selfie. This machine isn't gonna be available for another 30 minutes. Keeper's 11 vs 5 says, which begs the question. If some of these non-traditional exercises backwards hat Dylan seems to be up to, should we be flagging these activities on Strava if it seems apparent that he is performing these activities in a vehicle? You know that backwards hack I love Strava, I wouldn't put it past him to not only track the TSS for it, but also post it to Strava. Whoa, whoa, whoa, those are some wild accusations you're throwing out there. Are you accusing me of vehicle doping on Strava? I take Strava very seriously. After all, it is what determines your worth as a cyclist. I would never vehicle dope, and hiring your friend with a van to motor pace the segment doesn't count. If I then so happen to get in the van and forget to turn off my Garmin, then that's an honest mistake, and it's honestly just a coincidence that I drove just fast enough to get all the Strava segments on my way home, but just slow enough that they wouldn't get flagged. However, back to a point I made earlier, just like in real life, when if somebody beats you, they're probably doping. If somebody takes your Strava KOM, it probably means they're vehicle doping, and you need to flag them immediately. Ben Parman asks, where can I get a hashtag WWBHD sticker for my top tube, or a t-shirt for podiums? You know what, I thought you guys were never gonna ask. Merch is available, click underneath the video. And listen, due to some recent carbon fiber related purchases, I'm probably not gonna be able to pay my rent this month unless I sell some of this merch. So if you could help a brother out, that'd be great. And if you're still watching and you haven't subscribed, then what are you doing? Hit the subscribe button and like the video already.