{"id":3658,"date":"2022-10-18T11:32:54","date_gmt":"2022-10-18T09:32:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/uk\/?p=3658"},"modified":"2022-10-19T11:34:24","modified_gmt":"2022-10-19T09:34:24","slug":"cycling-economy-technique-and-training","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/uk\/2022\/10\/18\/cycling-economy-technique-and-training\/","title":{"rendered":"Cycling Economy \u2013 Technique and Training"},"content":{"rendered":"

Improving cycling economy means going faster with less exertion. It\u2019s the dream of every cyclist. There are many ways to improve your economy. Last time we talked about the gains you can get from improving your bike position and mechanical maintenance. Now it\u2019s time to look at the technique of pedalling and training itself.<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

More low-intensity rides<\/strong><\/h2>\n

There are two types of muscle fibres. Fast-twitch muscle fibres are powerful and allow you to sprint and lift heavy. They get tired quickly and aren\u2019t very economical in energy usage. Slow-twitch fibres<\/a> are almost the opposite, they aren\u2019t very powerful but they are economical \u2013 they allow you to ride for a long time. This means that doing a lot of training at low intensity trains your slow-twitch muscle fibres, which improves your cycling economy.<\/p>\n

If you have the extra time, then one of the ways to improve your economy is to simply increase your training volume. The good news is that unlike VO2 Max,<\/a> which decreases with age, economy can keep improving even as you get older, as long as you spend more time training at lower intensities and increase your training volume.<\/p>\n

Improving technique<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Let\u2019s be honest, cycling enthusiasts aren\u2019t holding back when it comes to training volume.<\/a> We love to go cycling every chance we get. So, the advice to ride more is not very helpful unless cycling is your job. Thankfully, we can all improve our technique and it turns out that technique can have a big impact on cycling economy. Everything you do on the bike costs oxygen. If you\u2019re imbalanced, tense, and swaying from side to side too much, you are spending extra oxygen on things that don\u2019t make you go faster.<\/p>\n

\"Cycling<\/a>
Cycling economy is an important determinant of performance. \u00a9 Richard Johnson \/ Caia Image \/ Profimedia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Releasing tension<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The first thing that everyone can start working on is tension. It\u2019s very easy to tense the whole body when you\u2019re pushing hard on the pedals. Unfortunately, every muscle that holds tension is costing you oxygen. Those tense shoulders, jaw, and a death grip on the handlebars simply aren\u2019t helping. Relaxing muscles that don\u2019t need to be tense decreases oxygen consumption and improves your economy. You can try popping a sticker on your handlebars to \u201crelax shoulders\u201d. If you remind yourself often enough, it becomes second nature to ride more relaxed.<\/p>\n

Refining the pedal stroke<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The pedalling motion is not a natural movement for human legs. We evolved to walk, run, and jump, not to rotate our legs in circles. We have to take that into account when learning the most efficient pedalling technique. Improving pedal economy comes down to what happens at the top of the pedal stroke. Most cyclists start applying pressure from about the 1 o\u2019clock position through to the 5 o\u2019clock position. The trick is to pick up the pedal stroke earlier to avoid a drop-off in torque. Here are three things to keep in mind when trying to optimize your pedalling technique.<\/p>\n

    \n
  • Start the pedal stroke early, at around the 11 o\u2019clock position and focus on generating force till about the 5 o\u2019clock position.<\/li>\n
  • Don\u2019t try to apply power at the bottom of the pedal stroke. This puts your hip flexors in harm\u2019s way and doesn\u2019t create much extra power.<\/li>\n
  • Don\u2019t focus too much on pulling with your legs either. This could also hurt your hip flexors and won\u2019t add significant watts to your output.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    There is one more way to improve cycling economy without adding more rides or focusing on technique. We will take a look at it next time.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Improving cycling economy means going faster with less exertion. It\u2019s the dream of every cyclist. There are many ways to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":167,"featured_media":3670,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"global-categories":[],"class_list":["post-3658","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-the-latest"],"yoast_head":"\nCycling Economy \u2013 Technique and Training - \u0160koda We Love Cycling - United Kingdom<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"One of the ways to improve your economy is to simply increase your training volume. 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