Pedal Stroke Help
Hello all,
I know i am not getting the most out of my pedal stroke and this is affecting my power. Can someone please point me to the correct video's to watch? Or anything i can do to improve my stroke? Any help is appreciated.
Jonathan
0
Comments
As you add a gear the pressure will be felt in your quads try and keep the same rate of strokes per min. You watts/ HR will increase of course as you knock out your sets but staying at that leg turnover will also help you out on your run.
JB
Isolated leg drills followed by quick spins during the recovery. Build up from 30 seconds each leg
What is making you think you may have a problem?
1) my watts suck. I have issues getting above 200 watts.
2) I can be riding next to someone that is doing the same speed and we have the same cadence, yet my watts are significantly lower.
So something is wrong? Also i want to maximize my stroke to ensure i am getting the most out of it.
#2 is meaningless. If s/he weighs more, they should be pushing higher watts to keep up with you, all else being equal ...watts per kg is the # to compare, not raw watts. Also, aero position is a factor: the less air one is pushing, the easier the effort -the lower the watts - at the same speed.
That said, many people can improve their cycling efficiency and endurance by learning how to pedal in "circles", not "squares". Meaning a feeling of even, smooth effort thru the whole 360 degrees of a pedal stroke, instead of pulling up hard, then mashing down, then coasting during the course of one pedal revolution.
The one legged drill mentioned previously, using a high cadence and low resistence on a trainer, is a good way to develop a feel for a smooth, higher rpm stroke.
I am not aware of any research that shows cycling drills (including one legged drills etc) have any impact what so ever on FTP or VO2 max — despite their popularity among triathlete and roadie coaches.
So I never wast my time on them.
So I would just commit to the OS
Peter - you're plenty smart in my book ...
I'm advocating for a smooth pedal stroke not in the hopes that it will make one's FTP higher, but to make the effort involved easier, using proper muscles. Injury prevention, economy of motion. Less internal energy expenditure for same external work result is a plus, right? So the purpose of drills is not to get stronger, but to get smoother. Of course, one could devote a portion of each workout, especially on the road, to thinking about and feeling what it means to pedal in circles, not squares. But for those to whom the concept might be new/foreign, a little time with one legged drills on the trainer helps to identify just what's involved in making the switch.
I agree, once you've got that hard-wired into the neuro muscular matrix, no real need for further drills, it should be just a regular part of any cycling effort, like running at the proper cadence.
Is there anything else beyond one legged drills and just kicking ass on the OS?
JB
Try starting like this JB
In a moderate gear nothing hard where it hinders your pedal stroke.
4x and build say 15" as you feel stronger.
30"left
1'quick spin
30"right
1'quick spin
The quick spins will blow you away how much the one legged drills help because the muscle usage will be absolutely fresh the minute you do them. Full quick spin drills are awesome as well if you do say 2 on one off. I am more a roadie than a tri guy and these helped me get out of the pedaling in squares as Al describes below. While these will of course not equate to increase in power they will improve your pedal efficiency which will ultimately improve your power. Nothing lost by trying them but I promise you will see improvements. I focused on them last winter and my FTP in conjunction with hard workouts of course improved my FTP from 275 to 297. I am not a one off either. Let me know how they are going. Almost think of spinning with your quads and everything below the knee is just along for the ride.
Running and certainly swimming are very form driven. Cycling is perhaps the least form driven. Your feet are nailed to pedals in a closed system. There is not a lot you can do except crank the pedals.
Spend more time riding fast and you begin to ride fast!
I think we're talking about a few different, but related things:
First, all the bike cares about is watts to the rear wheel. Higher watts to the rear wheel = higher speed, all other variables held constant.
Second, if you are producing more watts at the rear wheel, those watts have to come from somewhere. They are not free. So if you are "pedaling in squares" and producing 200w and then focus on "pedaling in circles" and you produce 220w, you likely produced those extra 20w by engaging more/the same muscles for more of the pedal stroke. For example, pulling with your hamstring from 5-8pm on the clockface vs shutting down the power phase at ~5pm. But those watts weren't free. You've produced them by bringing more of your hamstring into the game but the ability to sustain this new pedaling style, with more hamstring activation, is a fitness issue.
So smooth = circles = applying power to more of the clockface. Say, from 1-7 or 8pm vs 1-5 or 6pm. I'm fine with doing drills and other stuff to teach you how to utilize more of the clockface. However, we run into trouble when we extend this reasoning to the 8-12p side of the clockface and actively pull up with the hip flexors, ie, Powercranks*. Our legs have been designed to push and jump very well. Think running, jumping, activation of quads, soleus, glutes, hamstrings, etc. Compared to these very powerful muscles, the hip flexors, which are recruited in this 8-12p phase of pedal stroke, is a relatively weak muscle.
In my experience, athletes who try hard to make something happen from 8-12p work their hip flexors pretty quickly and the body quickly learns that it needs to rest a bit on the power phase of the pedal stroke, from 1-~5-7p, by pushing down less hard. The result is a net decrease in watts.
Finally, I believe that if you're going to spend a ton of time doing something, you should invest sometime in at least looking like you know what you're doing
. This means:
I don't know if you are right or wrong, but your counter point misses my point. You do strides because running is form dependent to a great extent then cycling form. Comparing strides to your cycling drills is not really apples to apples.
My humble opinion.
Much more important than most people realize. Also, keep your legs shaved, your tan line sharp and the arms of your glasses OUTSIDE the strap of your helmet. If you Look Fantastic, the rest will fall into place.....
Lost cause I bow out.
Perhaps we can get together next year at IMCHO and talk about it further. I am 56 with about 40 years of cycling experience but I am always open to other peoples ideas.