Be Like Lance
by
David Teall
 In an
effort to discover some "secret" that might translate to
better performance for us mere mortals, much has been written and said
about anything and everything that Lance Armstrong does. The most
conspicuous difference between Lance and the rest of the pro peloton
is, of course, his cadence.
Even
before Lance’s third consecutive Tour de France victory, several
members of the MVW peloton began increasing their cadence. Perhaps you
have noticed. If not, take a look around and study the cadence of some
of the more successful riders. (You will find two of Eric Snider’s
favorite workouts below.)
The
basic trade-off with a high cadence is more work for the heart and
lungs and less work for the muscles, which carry the load when one
pushes a large gear. This is the basic formula that the MVW Founding
Fathers preached way back—yes, before Lance Armstrong was born. To
ensure that everyone got it, Mark Tyson and Gary Dauer were the
purveyors of gear limits in the early season club races. A 76-inch
gear limit was followed by an 81-inch limit before we got in the big
ring in mid-May. (Imagine that, you gear mashers.) Of course, Lance
spins that same gear that we mortals can barely push. So if you wanna
be like Lance, try matching his cadence, not his gear.
Improve your cadence
by
Eric Snider
I
noticed in the latest mail version of the Dirty Derailleur a note
about the much commented upon faster pedaling cadence of Lance
Armstrong in comparison to Jan Ullrich and others in the 2001 TdF. The
note indicated that higher cadence was preached regularly by the noted
experts in the earlier days of the MVW.
So
you want to achieve a habit of higher cadence. How do you do it? You
have to train for it, to condition your muscles and nervous system to
have a higher "natural" cadence. Here is one workout that
will help.
I
recommend doing it on one of your easier days, a day or two after a
race, or at least two days before a race. Also, do it weekly.
1.
Warm up at your usual pace for at least 10 minutes (I prefer 20
minutes).
2.
Shift to an easy gear and spin for 1 minute. For example if I am in
my 53x19 going around 21 mph, I will shift to my 39x19. Try to spin
as fast as you can, shifting to an easier gear if you need to, while
keeping your butt in the saddle without bouncing.
3.
Shift back to your usual pace gear for 2 minutes.
4.
Repeat 6-10 times.
5.
Cool down at your usual pace for at least 10 minutes.
You
will be slightly winded at the end of each 1 minute effort, but this
should not feel difficult. You are not doing a hard interval workout.
This is light pressure spinning. This is also a good off season
workout to do on your trainer; it relieves the boredom of going
nowhere for an hour, and actually benefits you. You can do it while on
a group ride because the aim is not to go at a higher speed but at a
higher cadence (before you initiate it you might want to warn your
mates).
This
workout will do two things. It will get you used to a faster cadence.
I suspect that if you have never done this workout before, a cadence
of 120 will seem fast to you. But I suspect that if you do this once a
week, you will improve by 5 rpm or more per week. After 5 of these
sessions, you might be able to "comfortably" spin at 150
rpm. Now you are not expected to spin 150 regularly in your training
rides or in races. The point is to get you from cranking at 90 rpm to
being more comfortable with 100-110 rpm. Second, it will improve your
pedaling efficiency. That is to say it will help you pedal
"circles" rather than "squares."
One
other workout that can help increase cadence and improve pedaling
efficiency is an isolated leg workout. This one is great to do on your
trainer, as well as on the roads. Like the above spinning workout, do
it on one of your easier days.
1.
Warm up at your usual pace for at least 10 minutes (I prefer 20
minutes).
2.
Shift to a much easier gear, clip one foot out of your pedal and
rest it on the water bottle cage on your down tube (you will look
like a dork, but remember you are already wearing spandex and bright
clothes in public).
3.
Pedal with the other foot for 1 minute, trying to maintain a cadence
of 90 rpm. That will feel awkward and be hard to maintain. Shift
gears as needed.
4.
Clip that foot back into your pedal, and clip the other one out.
Pedal with the other foot for 1 minute. Repeat 4 x more (for a total
of 5 minutes each foot).
5.
Pedal with both feet at your usual pace for 10 minutes.
6.
Repeat steps 2-5 once or twice more.
I
like to do this on my trainer in the winter once a week. This seems to
me a bit harder than the spinning workout described above, but I would
not consider it a hard workout. It does build some strength because
you will be pulling back and up more throughout the entire pedal
rotation. It is also a good workout to do, for example, on a bike
path. On a bike path you encounter walkers, joggers, roller bladers,
and cyclists, almost all of whom will be going slower than you usually
do. This workout will put you closer to the pace of others. You will
still pass almost everyone, and with just one leg working! You cannot
do this on a group ride (you cannot maintain a high enough speed),
unless everyone else joins in.
Eric
Snider
And More On Cadence
Now see what Coach Mark Tyson adds.
Last Updated 03/19/08
|
