Cadence Workout

Gaudir8

I started to get concerned about my cadence and bike form since joining OS in October. I am a spinner and I found myself starting to be a grinder as I tried to get every watt of power. I spend a lot of time on the trainer so I thought I would share a little workout game that I periodically do (every other week) to make sure my form is still there. 

 I do a one hour trainer ride with  10 minute intervals starting in my easiest big gear and advance one gear for 5 reps. I force myself to hold a cadence of at least 100 throughout the ride. It really helps to bring that snap back to the legs. To show you it works, look at my 4th interval average cadence of 100 produced NP of 202. My RECOVERY interval (6th) was 102 cadence and 13 watts more than the 4th! Granted my heart rate was higher but that was coming off the bigger gear spin.

Also to all of you who think you have to mash a big gear to get the power look at the 5th interval. I was only in the 19 ( I had six more gears!)and held an NP of 284 for 10minutes. Not a brag just showing what a higher cadence and the momentum of the pedal stroke will do for you!

On the road I am normally a mid 90's spinner so  these feel so much more natural. What I have found is this workout will spill over nicely to tomorrow's workout where I should be more of the spinner versus a grinder.

I just wanted to share the workout with you hoping it might help!

 

Split	Time	Avg HR	Max HR	Cad	MaxCad	COG	NP	AP	MaxPwr	IF
1	0:10:00	116	126	106	114	28	115	110	162	38%
2	0:10:00	119	124	104	108	25	135	139	322	45%
3	0:10:00	124	128	104	108	23	170	171	222	56%
4	0:10:00	129	132	100	106	21	202	203	296	67%
5	0:10:00	147	159	101	106	19	284	286	350	94%
6	0:10:00	145	159	102	105	21	215	212	262	71%
Summary	1:00:00	130	159	103	114		210	187	350	69%

rlh2000

Thanks for this. I definitely feel that as my legs get tired, it is easier and easier to get the watts in a higher gear.

Bruce Thompson

Ray...thanks for sharing.  Very interesting.  I too like to spin, usually around 90-95.  I'll do an IM at 90 while I'll do an Olympic distance race at 95.  I'll even try to climb hills at 85 rpms.  However, I've found that in training I've gained a lot of strength by doing intervals in bigger gears with cadence of 60-65. It makes riding at 90 rpms in an easier gear feel  easy while still putting out the watts. 

zwuba

Higher cadence result in an inreased aerodynamical resitivity! From a physical standpoint the ideal cadence for TTs is about 80rpm.

Of course it is easier to generate more power just by increasing the rpms but what does it help you in the end when you loose most of that power to the wind?

Furthermore it's proven that for 9 out of 10 the HR will be higher at the same output power when riding with 90 instead of 85rpm. A higher HR means higher stress to your metabolic system which means that at the end of the day you may not be as efficient as you probably could be ...

Only a very few PRO athletes are riding 90rpm and above and nearly all of these are coming from a competitive cycling background (Michi Weiss) so they are used to ride with that high frequency.

 

EDIT: Please don't get me wrong here - There's absolutely nothing wrong with doing these kind of workouts an exercises because in the end it makes you a much more complete cyclist!!! 

I would also add 3x1' one-leg spins

Gaudir8

I agree with you Stefan! I only do them because I feel my form going to hell from all the hard workout stuff. It gets to the point where you can never just get on the bike and spin during OS. That's why I do them. It seems like every workout in the OS forces you to get on and just hammer so I like to them just to get the feel of the spin back. Also I AM more of a spinner.

tim cronk

Ray great stuff and interesting observations.... I think I have the opposite. ... I spin higher while on the trainer and then ride with a slower cadence outside???

I went back over a bunch of data and my 2 indoor TT comps from last year were 102 rpm and 97rpm , all my long trainer rides 4-5hrs were in the mid 90's , and a recent 20min FTP test was 94rpm , a 4 x 6 @ 1.05 this week was between 96-101rpm and then todays 80 min endurance ride was 94.....So all of my trainer work is well over 90rpm and all none of my races cracked 90rpm...... Some even had quite slow rpm.... My races were IMTX 82rpm , IMMT 70.3 87rpm , KONA 84rpm , and IMFL 87rpm....

jaleslie

I like that workout.  Plan to try it sometime this OS in fact.  

I definitely am a "spinner" too, but am the opposite of Tim.  I consistently sit at 93-95 outside, for a 2-3hr ride with hills or a flat course I have.  On the trainer, I'm usually in the upper 80's.  I'm often stuck on FTP intervals on the trainer where I need to either ride in low/mid 80's or mid-high 90's to hold the watts....both wear me out in different ways, so I usually have to switch back and forth a few times.    

Interesting that many pro cyclists tend to be gravitating to higher cadences, seemingly starting with Lance.  Chris Froome uses a ridiculuously high cadence, esp when climbing hard.  Most of them are >90 on their short/long TT's too, but they are not riding at 0.7 -0.85IF with a 1/2 or full marathon to follow!  

I think a lot of folks with a cycling background prefer a higher cadence...not sure it makes much difference in long-course triathlon with a powermeter to guide your efforts?

Gaudir8

Tim I think your high cadence trainer workouts spill over to the road to allow you to spin a bigger gear. You are freaking strong for your size. Your FTP/kg is stout.

Jeff I am just like you. For me this drill is just as important as the big gear workouts cause I find my form getting very ugly. Also I don't know about you all but I get tired of getting on the bike every OS workout to do a brutal workout. It gets to be taxing and I LOVE the bike. This drill is a mental break as well and lets me FOCUS on the spin instead of glaring at my power meter.

 I tell my wife when my time comes I want the bike in the box with me!