The top contenders in the pro peloton are all very fit and winning races requires more than fitness. Team Sky used a strategy called “the aggregation of marginal gains.” The coaches identify different ways riders can improve slightly, which when taken together produce better performance and more wins.
Here are five simple things you can do this winter to improve your performance.
Improve Muscle Firing Pattern
Your quadriceps is composed of many motor units, each of which is controlled by a different nerve. Each motor unit is burning a tiny bit of energy. When your brain tells these motor units to contract they don’t all naturally contract simultaneously. If you can get the motor units to fire simultaneously then you get more power without expending more energy. This is like dialing in the timing of your car.
Here’s how to improve the coordination of the motor units. When you sprint you are demanding maximum power. Over time through repeated sprints your body learns to better coordinate the firing your motor units to give you more power. Even if you don’t normally sprint during your rides practicing sprints will improve your overall performance. When you’re riding throw in two or three short (30 to 60 second) all-out sprints with full recovery between each sprint. You can do these on a road ride every 30 to 60 minutes or on the trainer at least five minutes apart. Don’t think about your heart rate or power — those are irrelevant, just go as hard as you can. If you want to impress your buddies tell them you’re working on “neuromuscular facilitation.”
Increase Pedaling Economy
You can increase your power and speed by learning to ride with a smooth round stroke. Experienced cyclists pedal with a round stroke that applies power over most of the stroke. You can improve your pedaling by concentrating on four parts of the stroke:
- Top: Apply power forward, imagining that you are pushing your knee forward toward the handlebars.
- Front: Apply power downward.
- Bottom: Apply power backward, with your toes pointed slightly down. Imagine that you are scraping your toes across the floor.
- Back: Don’t try to pull up on the pedal (which is inefficient); rather, just lift your leg so that your other leg doesn’t need to push it up.
Riding a fixed gear bike is the classic way to improve your stroke but may be hard on your knees. Riding on rollers is another great tool—if your stroke is jerky you may find yourself on the floor. Riding a bike through gravel, especially uphill, also helps to develop a smooth round stroke. Some computerized trainers have programs to help you balance the power of each leg and to develop a rounder stroke. Finally, one-legged pedaling on the trainer will improve both your muscle coordination and your functional leg strength. The French have a term for a smooth, round stroke: souplesse. Tell your buddies you’re working on “souplesse” this winter.
Get A Bike Fit
Bike fit is dynamic. As you change your goals, or get a different bike, or get fitter, or lose flexibility, your correct bike fit changes. I’ve been to the Boulder Center for Sports Medicine many times with clients to have bike fits with Andy Pruitt, one of the leading experts on bike fit. I’ve seen a rider’s power increase by up to 5% just by improving the bike fit!
Riding around Boulder, CO probably 25% of the roadies I see have their saddles too high. If a rider’s hips are rocking up and down as the rider pedals then with each leg the rider is reaching for the pedal at the bottom of the stroke, which causes friction between the groin and the saddle with every stroke. Over time this can cause saddle sores. Conversely some riders’ saddles are obviously too low, which may cause knee pain. Sometimes I see a rider where one hip drops down with every pedal stroke. The leg on that side is shorter and the rider may develop a saddle sore on that side. If a rider has tight illiotibial band (IT band) he or she may develop pain on the outside of the knee or along the outside of the upper leg. Each of these problems can be solved with a proper bike fit.
There’s an article on my website about how Pruitt does bike fits.
Train Your Upper Body
It’s easy to spot the pro racers who live and train around Boulder. Unless they are climbing hard when they ride they don’t waste a lot of energy rocking their upper bodies back and forth. Contrast this to some roadies whose shoulders rock with every stroke.
The pros also ride with flat backs, which reduces the strain on the back muscles, especially when climbing. Riding with a flat back also allows a roadie to look ahead with less strain on the neck. In the first photo I’m riding with a rounded back and in the second photo with a flat back.
The easiest way to learn to ride with a quiet upper body and a flat back is to ride the trainer in front of a mirror.
Learn To Relax
In any activity from riding to giving a speech you’ll do better if you’re excited and even a bit nervous. However, if you get too nervous your performance will suffer. Psychologists call this the arousal curve.
By learning to relax you can manage your excitement for optimal performance. There’s simple technique called progressive relaxation, which only takes about 10 minutes. You can learn how to do it from two of my columns: Learning to Focus on Your Breathing and The Importance of Progressive Relaxation.
I raced ultra events when roadies first started using heart rate monitors. I did my intensity workouts on the trainer where I could train by power. I found that if I consciously relaxed by focused breathing I could produce 2 – 3% more power!
Resources
As we age consistency becomes more and more important. My eArticle Off-Season Conditioning Past 50 applies to roadies in your 50s, 60s, 70s (like me) and beyond. Whether your goal is long-lasting physical health, the joy of physical activity or continuing athletic performance, this eArticle will teach you what to do in the off-season. It’s divided into three parts:
- Review of the physiological effects of aging.
- Training modalities to combat these.
- A 12-week off-season training program with a range of options.
My eArticle Productive Off-Season Training for Health and Recreational Riders explains in detail what you can do to become a better rider this winter. The article includes:
- A 12-week off-season exercise program to keep you healthy during the winter months.
- A 12-week, more intensive off-season program for recreational riders to build your endurance, power and speed, preparing for base training.
The 28-page Productive Off-Season is just $4.99.
The 26-page eArticle Off-Season Conditioning Past 50 is just $4.99.
My Off-Season Bundle includes Productive Off-Season Training and two other articles, which teach you how to make the best use of your available time this winter. The Off-Season Bundle totaling 60 pages is just $13.50 (and only $11.48 for our Premium Members with your 15% discount.”
Coach John Hughes earned coaching certifications from USA Cycling and the National Strength and Conditioning Association. John’s cycling career includes course records in the Boston-Montreal-Boston 1200-km randonnée and the Furnace Creek 508, a Race Across AMerica (RAAM) qualifier. He has ridden solo RAAM twice and is a 5-time finisher of the 1200-km Paris-Brest-Paris. He has written over 40 eBooks and eArticles on cycling training and nutrition, available in RBR’s eBookstore at Coach John Hughes. Click to read John’s full bio.
Craig W says
“This is like dialing in the timing of your car.” What in the world does that mean?
Just kidding. But you might want to work on a more up-to-date analogy to connect with those under 50.
al0 says
It is quite likely that the real team Sky strategy sounds “the aggregation of marginal gains in order to mask doping gains.” – there are way too many things hinting in this direction.
David Stihler says
This is a good article. I’m going cross country this year and will start training in a few weeks. One thing I’m considering is riding out of the saddle for 45 min while climbing to improve leg muscles. I didn’t realize the science of muscles prior to reading this article. thanks
randy says
FWIW: Since early September I’ve been practicing Coach Hughes and Dr. Mirkin’s advice 2-3x/week initially doing 4×30 seconds all out increasing to 6×30 and even 10×30. Also, did a few 4×60 sec. What I’ve found based on heart rate is that it only takes 2 min to recover fully after the first couple intervals however as the number of intervals increases so does the recovery time but never does it take more than 4 minutes for my heart rate to signal time for another one. Finally, the 10×30 was actually 9×30 and 1×45 during a blizzard last Saturday (so I couldn’t finish with an outdoor fatty ride) and now on Thrusday am hoping to be recovered enough to do 4×30 as yesterday all I could muster was a fatty ride on the gravel road. Previous day I tried to do an indoor WO and after 30 min of unable to sustain Tempo donned the clothes and went outside for fatty ride. Naturally, rider age and fitness level dictates recovery. I’m a senior rider of recreational fitness level, roughly 2.4 W/kg at FTP.
Anthony says
How do you find a good bike fitter?
Road Bike Rider says
You can find a certified bike fitter near you at this site: https://ibfi-certification.com/
Anthony says
Not any closer than 400 miles?
Roy Bloomfield says
“Don’t try to pull up on the pedal (which is inefficient); rather, just lift your leg so that your other leg doesn’t need to push it up.”
. . . Isn’t lifting your leg also pulling up on the pedal? What am I missing here?
Norman Samuels says
I find that when on a hill or anytime I want to “call for more power” that pulling up from 9 o’clock delivers for me. Also, I think that flat back position is not as aero dynamic as the rounded position. Regardless, a great article anyway