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"Mike's
approach to coaching really brings out the best in your
performance" Chris, Berkshire |
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 Bike
Skill Training
Cycling skills are often overlooked as a rider concentrates
on developing their power and endurance. Swimming
by contrast is widely accepted as requiring a lot
of technical training but in cycling the benefits
of skill training can be considerable and will add
to rider power and endurance through gains in economy.
The rider represents the majority of the drag involved
in riding a bike and therefore better skill can
contribute to the reduction of drag by improving
mechanical efficiency and a still and more aerodynamic
riding position. This is the first in a series of
articles about skill in cycling
Single Leg Riding
On a turbo trainer or rollers (providing a safe
environment for training that requires a lot of
concentration) single leg training is a good method
of increasing mechanical efficiency and muscle endurance.
The indoor trainer need not be dull - it is the
ideal place for specific and productive training.
Unclip one foot from the pedal and ride for one
minute with one leg only before reconnecting it,
ride for a minute with both legs together then use
other leg for one minute on its own. Prop the resting
leg on the top of the turbo trainer so that it can
relax properly.
If you ride in front of a mirror you can watch how
you actually pedal and this feedback will help you
to develop style - what is style? Sit still and
learn how to relax you upper body while letting
your legs control the pedalling. Side to side movements
of your upper body increase drag and waste a lot
of the power that you put through the frame. You
may find that you want to grip the handle bars hard
or that your torso is working hard to stabilize
you - these are areas to focus on. Developing skill
(and grace) with this routine, will mean that your
legs and hips have developed a better power and
coordination and it will translate to your riding
on the road.
Ride single leg intervals in a difficult gear at
first because it is easy to control the relatively
slow movement, next move on to a light gear and
fast cadence which will test your ability more fully.
You can progress with this training in several ways,
build the amount of time that each leg can consistently
ride for and then increase the speed that it can
sustain with both a fast and a slow cadence. I think
that three or four sets of 5 minutes per leg enough
for most off us but it will take a few attempts
to get that far. Warm up at a steady rate for at
least ten minutes before you start the single leg
training and give yourself a good period of relaxed
double leg riding at the end to loosen both legs
and make them synchronize with each other again.
After the single leg riding you may feel that your
saddle is low - in that case you have very effectively
warmed up and removed remaining tension in muscles
in your legs and waste and up into the torso.
Aim for smooth and circular pedalling: listen to
the noise the trainer makes, there is often a weak
spot in the circular pedal motion which occurs at
the 11 o'clock position as the pedal is rising to
the top of the circle. You may not be aware of it
normally due to the compensation of both legs helping
each other but if it exists then removing it will
really improve your riding speed. If you struggle
to pull your foot up and over the top of the circle
during pedalling then muscles may not be interacting
as well as they should, this single leg riding will
develop a really skilled coordination throughout
each leg.
When cyclists refer to grinding, mashing, hauling
or pushing they mean that pure strength is being
used to pedal a difficult gear. This style of riding
prevents fast pedalling because it lacks circularity
and the ability to sustain a fast pedal cadence
has many benefits in cycling. I will refer to cadence
in another article.
In terms of fitness, the use of one leg at a time
allows a greater volume of blood flow through the
leg per minute (or unit of time) than happens with
both legs working together. There is a great mass
of muscle in both legs put together and together
they can use more blood each minute than the heart
can physically supply. When one leg works alone
there is plenty of reserve capacity in the heart
and a lot of blood can flood into the leg. This
increased blood volume may increase the muscle adaptations
that are one important outcome that endurance athletes
require. The development of larger blood vessel
networks in muscle will allow more nutrients to
reach all parts of the active muscle more quickly.
If you have any questions about this article please
contact
me |
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