I visited the PC booth at the IMCDA expo over the weekend and did a quick test spin with the PC’s. I can see how the PC’s would help me get rid of my dead spots, but I can’t justify the price.
What are good drills for increasing efficiency?
(I really hope I didn’t just open a PC can of worms)
Political Correctness is over-rated.
The one legged drill kicks ass in my opinion. Do that for a while and it will also teach you to pedal in a circle.
Perhaps the most basic and straight forward way to increase efficiency is to spend more time in training at your goal race-pace or slightly faster.
Fleck
Agree with Fleck. If you are talking about efficiency in the scientific sense of the term, then you basically just need to ride more.
Another way of increasing efficiency is to work on your posture. Just about everybody’s has room for improvement, but it’s tedious and somewhat difficult to remember. Sitting, walking, standing, swimming, running, riding, pretty much any time your heart is beating and you are conscious you can work on your posture.
I visited the PC booth at the IMCDA expo over the weekend and did a quick test spin with the PC’s. I can see how the PC’s would help me get rid of my dead spots, but I can’t justify the price.
What are good drills for increasing efficiency?
(I really hope I didn’t just open a PC can of worms)
I have done a lot of thinking about this and I think the only thing that comes close to working the hip flexors as well as PC’s is “running” in the pool. You can get the number of reps you need to change things easily, something almost impossible to do with one legged drills. The other problem with one legged drills is they do nothing for the two legged coordination.
In my master’s class the other day the coach had us do a kicking time trial for 100yds. One comment that everyone made right after was how much their flexors were burning. Ever since then I’ve been really focussing on my kick when swimming, besides making me a faster swimmer, it should make me a faster cyclist and runner.
I have done a lot of thinking about this and I think the only thing that comes close to working the hip flexors as well as PC’s is “running” in the pool. You can get the number of reps you need to change things easily, something almost impossible to do with one legged drills. The other problem with one legged drills is they do nothing for the two legged coordination.
Realizing that you have WAY more experience than I do Frank but I really have to disagree with that. Since doing one legged drills for 10 minutes on my trainer 4 times a week in the winter, my stroke is a TONNE more smooth and circular than it was. I have a better feeling for what my legs need to do going over the top of the stroke and pulling at the bottom.
I will agree with Fleck as well to a certain extent. A person can (and I am a great example of this) spend a great deal of time getting more efficient at their own particular way of doing something but it won’t necessarily make them more efficient. What i mean is if I am a pedal masher, spending lots of time on the bike won’t guarantee me I will become more efficient. I will become more efficient with my pedal mashing but does that make me more a more efficient rider? Not sure I explained that very well. I probably should have used the analogy of a swimmer with a crappy stroke, who spends a tonne of time in the pool and gets more efficient at their crappy stroke. Doesn’t make them an efficient swimmer though. Make sense?
I found that getting on rollers a couple of times a week really improved lots of things. Takes a bit of discipline when it is nice outside, but I thought it was useful.
I agree with that one as well. Rollers are great.
I have done a lot of thinking about this and I think the only thing that comes close to working the hip flexors as well as PC’s is “running” in the pool. You can get the number of reps you need to change things easily, something almost impossible to do with one legged drills. The other problem with one legged drills is they do nothing for the two legged coordination.
Realizing that you have WAY more experience than I do Frank but I really have to disagree with that. Since doing one legged drills for 10 minutes on my trainer 4 times a week in the winter, my stroke is a TONNE more smooth and circular than it was. I have a better feeling for what my legs need to do going over the top of the stroke and pulling at the bottom.
I will agree with Fleck as well to a certain extent. A person can (and I am a great example of this) spend a great deal of time getting more efficient at their own particular way of doing something but it won’t necessarily make them more efficient. What i mean is if I am a pedal masher, spending lots of time on the bike won’t guarantee me I will become more efficient. I will become more efficient with my pedal mashing but does that make me more a more efficient rider? Not sure I explained that very well. I probably should have used the analogy of a swimmer with a crappy stroke, who spends a tonne of time in the pool and gets more efficient at their crappy stroke. Doesn’t make them an efficient swimmer though. Make sense?
I am sorry but 10 minutes 4 times a week (is that 5 minutes a side?) isn’t enough to give anyone 5 hour HF edurance and it does nothing for the two legged coordination, although I admit it will help you for the brief periods you are actually thinking about your stroke when riding in training or a race.
and none of the previous suggestions of others will make someone more efficient. Just because peopel get better from training more doesn’t mean they are more efficient. More efficient requires better form. Better form requires training the muscles necessary to do the better form for the requisite time and the brain to use those muscles without thinking about it. It is the last one that is the most difficult and which PC’s offer a distinct advantage.
Perhaps the most basic and straight forward way to increase efficiency is to spend more time in training at your goal race-pace or slightly faster.
Fleck
I just want to add that I have nothing to add. Just ride and it all takes care of itself. People have won 5-6-maybe 7 big races in France doing nuttin but ride.
I am sorry but 10 minutes 4 times a week (is that 5 minutes a side?) isn’t enough to give anyone 5 hour HF edurance and it does nothing for the two legged coordination, although I admit it will help you for the brief periods you are actually thinking about your stroke when riding in training or a race.
I didn’t mean to give the impression that would increase my efficiency just doing that. What it does is give me a better feel for what I should be doing in each and every ride after that. It allows me to get a better feel for my stroke which has helped on all my training rides. But again, I have to just do it.
and none of the previous suggestions of others will make someone more efficient. Just because peopel get better from training more doesn’t mean they are more efficient. More efficient requires better form. Better form requires training the muscles necessary to do the better form for the requisite time and the brain to use those muscles without thinking about it. It is the last one that is the most difficult and which PC’s offer a distinct advantage.
That’s what I was getting at. Minus the PC plug 
I visited the PC booth at the IMCDA expo over the weekend and did a quick test spin with the PC’s. I can see how the PC’s would help me get rid of my dead spots, but I can’t justify the price.
What are good drills for increasing efficiency?
(I really hope I didn’t just open a PC can of worms)
For time trials what is needed is the most effective pedalling style, which is the most efficient technique when producing maximum pedal power.
I wrote this in a thread about a week ago
This is what I think of when doing pedaling drills.
At the top of the stroke (looking from the right side) push from 12 o’clock to the 4 o’clock position
From the 4 o’clock position pull straight back to the 8 o’clock position.
From the 8 o’clock position unweight your leg untill you get to 12 o’clock again.
That was paraphrased from the book “The Triathlete’s Guide to Bike Training” by Linda Wallenfels.
Something else I think of is starting from the 8 o’clock position, try throwing your knees over the handlebars and finish the spin at the 4 o’clock position.
jaretj
I wrote this in a thread about a week ago
This is what I think of when doing pedaling drills.
At the top of the stroke (looking from the right side) push from 12 o’clock to the 4 o’clock position
From the 4 o’clock position pull straight back to the 8 o’clock position.
From the 8 o’clock position unweight your leg untill you get to 12 o’clock again.
That was paraphrased from the book “The Triathlete’s Guide to Bike Training” by Linda Wallenfels.
Something else I think of is starting from the 8 o’clock position, try throwing your knees over the handlebars and finish the spin at the 4 o’clock position.
jaretj
That is much the same type of reasoning as the circular pedaling style, but the problem with all these variations in the method of applying your power during the pedal stroke is that it loses its effectiveness as cadence increases and you end up with a weaker pedal stroke. This explains why mashing came out on top during tests done by Coyle. You do not get enough time for a decent thrust of power in any of those directions through which you apply the power at a cadence of 90. With mashing you only apply the power in one direction and so can give it your total concentration in that short period of time.
doing one legged drills for 10 minutes on my trainer 4 times a week in the winter, my stroke is a TONNE more smooth and circular than it was. I have a better feeling for what my legs need to do going over the top of the stroke and pulling at the bottom.
You may have a smoother pedal stroke, but are you faster? I’ve heard some anecdotal reports of riders getting faster by moving to a less smooth pedal stroke, in an effort to generate power throughout the pedal stroke they were actually inhibiting delivery of power on the downstroke, when most power is produced.
A quick and easy visualization that has helped me recently is while pedaling I imagine the back and forth movement of classical cross country skiing. while doing it, my stroke does improve on Spin Scan.
doing one legged drills for 10 minutes on my trainer 4 times a week in the winter, my stroke is a TONNE more smooth and circular than it was. I have a better feeling for what my legs need to do going over the top of the stroke and pulling at the bottom.
You may have a smoother pedal stroke, but are you faster? I’ve heard some anecdotal reports of riders getting faster by moving to a less smooth pedal stroke, in an effort to generate power throughout the pedal stroke they were actually inhibiting delivery of power on the downstroke, when most power is produced.
Not anecdotal: a key study showed that national-level TTers had more of a stomping pedal stroke than did the regional-level TTers. The better they were, the more uneven their power application through the stroke.
doing one legged drills for 10 minutes on my trainer 4 times a week in the winter, my stroke is a TONNE more smooth and circular than it was. I have a better feeling for what my legs need to do going over the top of the stroke and pulling at the bottom.
You may have a smoother pedal stroke, but are you faster? I’ve heard some anecdotal reports of riders getting faster by moving to a less smooth pedal stroke, in an effort to generate power throughout the pedal stroke they were actually inhibiting delivery of power on the downstroke, when most power is produced.
Not anecdotal: a key study showed that national-level TTers had more of a stomping pedal stroke than did the regional-level TTers. The better they were, the more uneven their power application through the stroke.
What is a pedal stroke ?