Advice for a smoother pedal stroke.
Discussion
I've been trying to improve my pedal stroke but have been having little success, I have looked at videos on youtube but cant seam to put into practice the advice that's on offer.
Basically I find that when going full RPM during interval training I bounce on the seat. This is also becoming a problem when training on my rollers with a sufferfest dvd.
As far as I know the seat height and position are correct for mysyself but do any of you have any tips?
Basically I find that when going full RPM during interval training I bounce on the seat. This is also becoming a problem when training on my rollers with a sufferfest dvd.
As far as I know the seat height and position are correct for mysyself but do any of you have any tips?
Double check your saddle height for starters...the LeMond method works pretty well for me & if you start there you won't be too far away to begin with.
What sort of resistance are you using on your trainer...not enough will have you bouncing all over the place.
There are a few tricks you can employ that may help you. First one is to imagine you are scraping s
t off your shoe as your pedal hits the 6 o'clock position. You are essentially pulling back on the pedals slightly. Don't really think about the "pushing down" on the pedals as this is a given but if you think about the "pulling up" with each stroke this can make your pedaling more efficient. Access to a Wattbike is great as this has a display that will tell you exactly how effective you are being....figure of 8- not so much, fat sausage-getting there, circle - Ben Swift. (this would all make sense if you can get on one for a bit). You could also imagine you are pedaling the shape of an ever decreasing circle, this one of Pete Read's tricks. (well respected UK coach)
What sort of resistance are you using on your trainer...not enough will have you bouncing all over the place.
There are a few tricks you can employ that may help you. First one is to imagine you are scraping s
t off your shoe as your pedal hits the 6 o'clock position. You are essentially pulling back on the pedals slightly. Don't really think about the "pushing down" on the pedals as this is a given but if you think about the "pulling up" with each stroke this can make your pedaling more efficient. Access to a Wattbike is great as this has a display that will tell you exactly how effective you are being....figure of 8- not so much, fat sausage-getting there, circle - Ben Swift. (this would all make sense if you can get on one for a bit). You could also imagine you are pedaling the shape of an ever decreasing circle, this one of Pete Read's tricks. (well respected UK coach) Pulling up with your feet is not recommended as it uses a lot of smaller muscles that are not made for that effort and, can easily cause damage. It might be ok in occasional circumstances such as dragging yourself up a hill, but it is not an ideal technique to fall into for everyday riding and, contributes very little gain.
You are using your biggest and most powerful muscle-group (gluteus and quads) to exert pushing force. Where the much smaller hip-flexors should be used simply to bring your thigh upwards and reposition it over the top of the pedal stroke ready for the downward push.
Over-using the hip-flexors to constantly pull up on the pedals can cause things like lower-back pain, hip pain and, in extreme cases arterial damage.
Besides, compared to the massive pushing power of the leading leg, using the trailing leg to pull will have practically no effect and more than likely detract from the power that you should be using to push down.
A lot of technique is about foot position, also known as "ankling". Here's a nice little article on it and, this will probably help more than anything with perfecting a good pedalling action.
perfect pedal stroke
You are using your biggest and most powerful muscle-group (gluteus and quads) to exert pushing force. Where the much smaller hip-flexors should be used simply to bring your thigh upwards and reposition it over the top of the pedal stroke ready for the downward push.
Over-using the hip-flexors to constantly pull up on the pedals can cause things like lower-back pain, hip pain and, in extreme cases arterial damage.
Besides, compared to the massive pushing power of the leading leg, using the trailing leg to pull will have practically no effect and more than likely detract from the power that you should be using to push down.
A lot of technique is about foot position, also known as "ankling". Here's a nice little article on it and, this will probably help more than anything with perfecting a good pedalling action.
perfect pedal stroke
Edited by burriana on Wednesday 10th October 07:47
One-legged pedalling on the turbo - low rpm and high resistance will help you get the feel for a more 'circular' pedal stroke, but as above, pushing down and pulling back is where you should get the power: lifting can be problematic.
If you're bouncing on the saddle then the answer will be practice and concentration: slow down the cadence to the point where you can control the bouncing and hold that rpm for the duration of the set - use your core, arms, grip on the bars etc to stabilise yourself. Next session try to repeat at 5rpm higher, and so-on. Fine-tune the resistance/gearing to suit.
The idea behind sets at very high cadence is to help habituate a smooth stroke at lower rpm, and to raise your comfort zone cadence up into the theoretically optimum range if it's not already there.
If you're bouncing on the saddle then the answer will be practice and concentration: slow down the cadence to the point where you can control the bouncing and hold that rpm for the duration of the set - use your core, arms, grip on the bars etc to stabilise yourself. Next session try to repeat at 5rpm higher, and so-on. Fine-tune the resistance/gearing to suit.
The idea behind sets at very high cadence is to help habituate a smooth stroke at lower rpm, and to raise your comfort zone cadence up into the theoretically optimum range if it's not already there.
IroningMan said:
but as above, pushing down and pulling back is where you should get the power:
How? What little effect the smaller hip-flexor muscles (the pulling up muscles) have is negated by the much more powerful gluteus/quads that are acting on the opposite pedal pushing it down.Pros don't pull up on the upstroke, why should we? This is another reason why one-legged pedalling is a myth. It just isn't good for you.
burriana said:
How? What little effect the smaller hip-flexor muscles (the pulling up muscles) have is negated by the much more powerful gluteus/quads that are acting on the opposite pedal pushing it down.
Pros don't pull up on the upstroke, why should we? This is another reason why one-legged pedalling is a myth. It just isn't good for you.
I don't espouse pulling up. Pulling back, not up helps to smooth out the TDC dead spot on the other side.Pros don't pull up on the upstroke, why should we? This is another reason why one-legged pedalling is a myth. It just isn't good for you.
many thanks for all the replies. I dont have a cadence computer on my bike so by full RPM I am on about the maximum speed I can spin the pedals. I think the main focus for myself will be to use a bigger gear and load up my legs until I get a computer and can get an accurate reading.
Thanks for the article link too, I will have a good read of it tonight and see how I get on.
Thanks for the article link too, I will have a good read of it tonight and see how I get on.
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