From the article: "Despite improvements in the oxidative potential of skeletal muscle observed in the present study, maximal aerobic power output, VO2max, cycling efficiency, gross cycling economy, power output at lactate threshold and time trial performance were not significantly different following either single or double leg cycle training." (Lines 424-427)

I won't be changing my training schedule any time soon based on this paper.

It's VERY important to note the word "counterweighted" when describing the single-leg cycling drills done in this study. That's VERY different than what most folks consider single-leg pedaling, either by just clicking out one leg or using some sort of clutched device in the cranks.

The interesting thing (to me) is that they were able do the COUNTERWEIGHTED single-leg drills at a power level greater than 1/2 of what the other group could do double-legged. Hmmm...could this be analogous to performing HIT using supplemental O2? The %error on the 2 group's TT performances seem to be fairly different as well (0.5% vs. 4.2%)...I wonder why that is?

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http://bikeblather.blogspot.com/

if your working hard, then who cares?

how did triathletes once produce nearly the same times as we are seeing today without the internet or technology? (or slowtwitchers)

hard work. if 1 leg is working hard or 2, my body knows one thing; does this hurt?

What exactly is "counterweighted single leg cycle training"?

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"one eye doubles my eyesight, so things don't look half bad" John Hiatt

I would say there is quite some difference between working hard and working smart.

I will use the example of VO2 max intervals and time spent at VO2 max. You can spend 2-3 minutes working yourself into a maximal oxygen consumption state and then immediately terminate. Do this from 10-15 times with a bunch of recovery. That is hard.

Spend those same 2-3 minutes working yourself into a maximal oxygen consumption state and then spend an other 2-3 minutes maintaining. Do this 3-7 times with a bunch of recovery. That is both hard and smart.

Edited to add: It was pointed out to me that some good research exists to suggest that time spent at VO2 max (or other intensities) may not be the end-all-be-all of improvement, and indeed, I feed my athletes a steady diet of varied VO2 work, from 30-30s to 5 on 5 off.

I was merely giving an example of what could the difference between hard and smart training could look like.

Counterweighted means a mass is attached to the legless crank arm. That mass serves to counter the weight of the leg in use as opposed to what most of those who practice single-leg drills do - unclip one foot.

Thanks...so in essence, "counterweighted" makes single leg "easier"?

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"one eye doubles my eyesight, so things don't look half bad" John Hiatt

If this doesn't bring AC out of hiding, we can always start a 'central governor' thread.

If only there was some sort of device or training aid on the market that would allow a cyclist to isolate one leg from the other while cycling.

Yes, single leg counterweighted cycling is very different to the "normal" single leg cycling or dare I say a decoupled crank system. The idea is to mimic the weight load of the opposite leg. This is to ensure the pedaling action remains as close to "real" cycling as possible.

The basic aim is to stress the leg in isolation and force adaptations which would limit performance of that particular aspect. In some regards this could be considered "capacity" building. As you'll in the study TT performance was not improved that much. One thing that did not appear in the study is that as sub-threshold efforts the RPE for some were greatly reduced but this cannot be accurately quantified and would require a separate study. Worth noting for triathletes.

I'll just stick to the principle of specificity. It seems to apply most of the time. I do the huge majority of my racing with the traditional, double-legged pedaling style. Therefore that's how I train.

So...would their conclusions support the use of Powercranks? Think about it.....

Aaah...but it may be the case that under certain conditions counterweighted single-leg pedaling MAY allow you to work each leg harder individually than you could if you were exercising both legs together. See my comment about it being similar to doing HIT with supplemental O2. For example, this could be one way to "work harder" if you live at altitude ;-)

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http://bikeblather.blogspot.com/

No...counterweighted single-leg pedaling mimics coupled pedaling better than uncounterweighted single-leg pedaling, and thus is more appropriate to the end use conditions.

Specificity, specificity, specificity! ;-)

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http://bikeblather.blogspot.com/

Do you train at race pace all the time? Given that would be the most specific to the task at hand? This does not utilize any muscles that are not used in cycling nor in a manner that is not specific to cycling. Hence the agreement normally used against more "traditional" single leg drills is not really valid. The results of study speak for themselves ie: they have the potential to improve aspects of performance in a manner which is superior to the other method testing.

More research required.

Counterweighted single-leg pedaling != clutched cranks, or typical "single-leg drills"

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http://bikeblather.blogspot.com/

No. That's why I pointed out the word "counterweighted". If anything, they argue against them.

Counterweighted single-leg pedaling != clutched cranks.

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http://bikeblather.blogspot.com/

yeah, nobody got faster

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Kat Hunter reports on the San Dimas Stage Race from inside the GC winning team
Aeroweenie.com -Compendium of Aero Data and Knowledge
Freelance sports & outdoors writer Kathryn Hunter

Thus the results of the study should be ignored?

Is being faster the only physiological benefit that should be considered? Or are there other adaptations which may take place which will then enable improvements of performance?

Never once did I see mention of power cranks ;^}

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Not ignored.
Just don't go out and start doing one legged drills just yet.

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Kat Hunter reports on the San Dimas Stage Race from inside the GC winning team
Aeroweenie.com -Compendium of Aero Data and Knowledge
Freelance sports & outdoors writer Kathryn Hunter

There hasn't been much discussion about powercranks lately. I don't get it. I miss those heated arguments.

Where's Frank?

 sshhh.... Frank was asked to leave.

Single leg drills are designed to help you improve the efficiency of your pedal stroke. You isolate the leg so you can focus on the up stroke as well as the down stroke. There are probably a lot of over the top mashers on ST that would benefit. 30secs to a min each side x 3.