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In nearly every sport you can think of drills are something that is common practice, running, swimmer, ball sports and everything in between, yet for some reason a lot of cyclists simply just go and ride? Why not do some drills?
We will present a series on this as there are plenty so make sure you like us on Facebook or Instagram to keep up to date. First drill, pedaling! Now to most people this seems almost offensive, I can hear a lot of you saying " what's this guy on about, I know how to pedal" that's true, you do, but you are also still reading which means you have a want to be better. I've been racing bikes for over 30 years now and I still work on this.
To pedal efficiently on a Road or Mountain Bike we need to pedal in what we call circles, not squares, so try this. Next time you are warmed up, unclip a foot and pedal a few strokes, then change sides, chances are you will hear a knock or feel a flat spot, that's a square. What we want is a nice smooth push down and smooth and steady pull back, and as we engage the hips flexors at the top a smooth roll over.
The smoother and more consistent that circle is the better you will be, and by better I mean a lot better! Look at the pro-cyclists and track cyclists, watch their pedal stroke, it looks silky smooth the whole way around. Yet we see YouTube videos from them on things like FTP, Intervals and Coffee stops but I cant think of one on just pedaling. Yet it is super important. Here's a simple drill to ad to your cycling workouts, once or twice a week. Have a good warm up, then somewhere safe unclip a foot, pedal in good smooth circles on that foot for 30 seconds, then change over. Do this 3-4 times per leg throughout the course of the ride.
Focus more on the pull up than the push, you've been doing the push for years so it is probably pretty good already. See what the outcome is, work on stopping any knocks or flat spots, and avoid the temptation to change up a gear and chase the pedaling, we should be able to do this at 90-95 rpm and a smooth and constant speed. There maybe some other factors at play here if you are having trouble, things like crank-length, cleat position and bike fit, reach out if you want more info on those to help. Give it a try and see the results for yourself.
