How to Boost Your Cycling Training - A Guaranteed Method to Improve Your Cycling Performance
What exactly is cadence? According to the dictionary it is 'Balanced, rhythmic flow, as of poetry or oratory'.Sounds great, but what has this to do with cycling training you may ask. Well basically, cadence is also the rate at which your pedals and (hopefully) your feet spin, and it is measured in revs per minute (rpm).
Precisely what makes this so important? The strain in your muscle groups while pedaling at a high cadence (greater pedal rpm) is lowered compared to when pedaling with a reduced cadence...presuming your road speed remains the same in both cases. The 'science bit' is a foundation for a complete and detailed article on its own, and we are not going to drill down into that here.
Chris Carmichael implemented high-cadence training programmes while coaching Lance Armstrong through his comeback from cancer. Lance was able to produce increased power outputs for a longer time when sustaining a higher pedal speed (cadence) in a lighter gear.
So how many revs can be described as high speed? Well there isn't any secret number. Start from where you are today and try to boost your cadence on the level and when climbing by 8-12% each 12 months. Fine, if you want some figures - everyday cyclists usually have a cadence of approximately 60rpm, while pros have a pedal velocity of 110-120rpm. There's not many cyclists who can maintain cadences higher than 120rpm on the flat.
All right, good so far, but how do I calculate my cadence? Well certainly the easiest way would be to count how many times your feet rotate in 60 seconds while observing the clock and carrying out the maths. However, the problem with this can be, that keeping track of pedal rotation plus the timing can distract one from the very reason you are measuring them i.e. maintaining the cadence, and as a result skew the exactness of the measurements and/or decrease your performance.
The better (and more costly) way would be to equip your bicycle with specialised kit that measures cadence and power outputs, namely a Power Meter system. This type of equipment can vary in quality and price, and again it is too complicated for this elementary article, but covered more than adequately elsewhere (see the links in the Author profile). Should you be undecided if high cadence cycling is for you, then you might like to try maintaining an increased pedal speed in the lighter gear (I do not mean less Lycra here!) prior to committing to any products. I should point out that if you're at all seriously into peak performance cycling, you ought to carefully check out the equipment out there. Coupled with the right training program, high cadence cycling is the way forward.
Clearly, pedaling 10% more quickly compared to normal will appear absurdly quick to begin with, but once you've got accustomed to it you'll find that your muscles are worked a lot less when you are 'spinning' at an increased cadence in an easier gear.
There are going to be occasions, specifically when tackling that really sharp climb and you are standing on the pedals, when your pedal velocity is going to be slow, this is usual. But considerable and measurable gains in your cycling performance can be attained by training to improve your cadence at 10 percent/per year. Try it, and let me know in 12 months how you got on
Precisely what makes this so important? The strain in your muscle groups while pedaling at a high cadence (greater pedal rpm) is lowered compared to when pedaling with a reduced cadence...presuming your road speed remains the same in both cases. The 'science bit' is a foundation for a complete and detailed article on its own, and we are not going to drill down into that here.
Chris Carmichael implemented high-cadence training programmes while coaching Lance Armstrong through his comeback from cancer. Lance was able to produce increased power outputs for a longer time when sustaining a higher pedal speed (cadence) in a lighter gear.
So how many revs can be described as high speed? Well there isn't any secret number. Start from where you are today and try to boost your cadence on the level and when climbing by 8-12% each 12 months. Fine, if you want some figures - everyday cyclists usually have a cadence of approximately 60rpm, while pros have a pedal velocity of 110-120rpm. There's not many cyclists who can maintain cadences higher than 120rpm on the flat.
All right, good so far, but how do I calculate my cadence? Well certainly the easiest way would be to count how many times your feet rotate in 60 seconds while observing the clock and carrying out the maths. However, the problem with this can be, that keeping track of pedal rotation plus the timing can distract one from the very reason you are measuring them i.e. maintaining the cadence, and as a result skew the exactness of the measurements and/or decrease your performance.
The better (and more costly) way would be to equip your bicycle with specialised kit that measures cadence and power outputs, namely a Power Meter system. This type of equipment can vary in quality and price, and again it is too complicated for this elementary article, but covered more than adequately elsewhere (see the links in the Author profile). Should you be undecided if high cadence cycling is for you, then you might like to try maintaining an increased pedal speed in the lighter gear (I do not mean less Lycra here!) prior to committing to any products. I should point out that if you're at all seriously into peak performance cycling, you ought to carefully check out the equipment out there. Coupled with the right training program, high cadence cycling is the way forward.
Clearly, pedaling 10% more quickly compared to normal will appear absurdly quick to begin with, but once you've got accustomed to it you'll find that your muscles are worked a lot less when you are 'spinning' at an increased cadence in an easier gear.
There are going to be occasions, specifically when tackling that really sharp climb and you are standing on the pedals, when your pedal velocity is going to be slow, this is usual. But considerable and measurable gains in your cycling performance can be attained by training to improve your cadence at 10 percent/per year. Try it, and let me know in 12 months how you got on
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