Cycling Technique Tips
In light of this upcoming long-weekend ride, I present my top 11 tips for improving your cycling technique:
Pedal with flat feet: Some people think of keeping their heels down, and some point their toes towards the sky. A couple of analogies we use are to picture the linkage on an old steam engine and visualize your foot as the linkage come up and staying flat throughout the revolution of the wheels. The other is to picture an equestrian rider, riding a horse with heels down, while toes are in the stirrups. Toes down is a no, no in my book, and you'll see why in the next two tips, as they all go together.
Get on the pedals early: This means you start pushing forward on the pedals before they reach the top of the arc or 12 o'clock. With your feet flat to slightly toed up/heeled down you'll be able to increase your power band from two to three hours if you look at the face of a clock. With left foot, start pushing at 10 o'clock instead of one o'clock. With toes down it is very difficult to start pushing before the pedals reach 12 o'clock.
Focus on the push phase of the pedal revolution as it is where you produce the most power: I read articles all the time and hear from people that they focus on getting through the dead spot, as if scraping mud off the bottom of their shoes. They spend so much time pulling up and focusing on the weak part of the stroke they forget to push on the pedals.
I owe Joe Saling, multi-time national champion and one-time heart attack survivor, for the saying "push hard and pedal fast" as he sent me off to win the Pan Am Masters Time Trial Championship in Mar del Plata, Argentina, in 2006.
If you ride with your hands on the tops/flat part of the bars, ALWAYS WRAP YOUR THUMBS: I've personally--and talked to too many pros--who've slipped off their bars at the worst time or silliest time, depending on how you look at it, because they didn't have a grip on the bars. I remember Danny Pate of Garmin-Transistions in particular telling us about his misfortune while racing one year because he'd had his thumbs on top of the bars.
Change your hand position on the bars every few minutes, practicing to produce power in the drops, on the hoods, and/or on the tops: This will allow you to adapt neuromuscularly and be able to produce the necessary power when slicing through a head wind or climbing a steep hill.
Visit your doctor for an understanding of your cardiovascular fitness and blood work: Getting your cholesterol checked and practicing a cardiac awareness and prevention lifestyle will improve your riding immensely. In addition to knowing your true risk for heart disease, know the warning signs for a heart attack so that you can avoid my story.
Go slow to go fast!: If you are a rider looking to gain improvement, do a field test or visit a physiologist to help you determine your lactate threshold power and heart rate, and train to improve it. Training in your easier zones below lactate threshold will make you faster all around in the long run or ride, as the case may be.
Probably 95 percent of the people I coach or ride with are going too hard, too often, to reach their fitness goals. Some high school or college coach along the way has them believing in the old adage of no pain, no gain, and that's the last thing we want our athletes doing.
Pedal with flat feet: Some people think of keeping their heels down, and some point their toes towards the sky. A couple of analogies we use are to picture the linkage on an old steam engine and visualize your foot as the linkage come up and staying flat throughout the revolution of the wheels. The other is to picture an equestrian rider, riding a horse with heels down, while toes are in the stirrups. Toes down is a no, no in my book, and you'll see why in the next two tips, as they all go together.
Get on the pedals early: This means you start pushing forward on the pedals before they reach the top of the arc or 12 o'clock. With your feet flat to slightly toed up/heeled down you'll be able to increase your power band from two to three hours if you look at the face of a clock. With left foot, start pushing at 10 o'clock instead of one o'clock. With toes down it is very difficult to start pushing before the pedals reach 12 o'clock.
Focus on the push phase of the pedal revolution as it is where you produce the most power: I read articles all the time and hear from people that they focus on getting through the dead spot, as if scraping mud off the bottom of their shoes. They spend so much time pulling up and focusing on the weak part of the stroke they forget to push on the pedals.
I owe Joe Saling, multi-time national champion and one-time heart attack survivor, for the saying "push hard and pedal fast" as he sent me off to win the Pan Am Masters Time Trial Championship in Mar del Plata, Argentina, in 2006.
If you ride with your hands on the tops/flat part of the bars, ALWAYS WRAP YOUR THUMBS: I've personally--and talked to too many pros--who've slipped off their bars at the worst time or silliest time, depending on how you look at it, because they didn't have a grip on the bars. I remember Danny Pate of Garmin-Transistions in particular telling us about his misfortune while racing one year because he'd had his thumbs on top of the bars.
Change your hand position on the bars every few minutes, practicing to produce power in the drops, on the hoods, and/or on the tops: This will allow you to adapt neuromuscularly and be able to produce the necessary power when slicing through a head wind or climbing a steep hill.
Visit your doctor for an understanding of your cardiovascular fitness and blood work: Getting your cholesterol checked and practicing a cardiac awareness and prevention lifestyle will improve your riding immensely. In addition to knowing your true risk for heart disease, know the warning signs for a heart attack so that you can avoid my story.
Go slow to go fast!: If you are a rider looking to gain improvement, do a field test or visit a physiologist to help you determine your lactate threshold power and heart rate, and train to improve it. Training in your easier zones below lactate threshold will make you faster all around in the long run or ride, as the case may be.
Probably 95 percent of the people I coach or ride with are going too hard, too often, to reach their fitness goals. Some high school or college coach along the way has them believing in the old adage of no pain, no gain, and that's the last thing we want our athletes doing.
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