Pedaling Efficiency: Vectors and Motion
Cont'd

        Let us not confuse fast cyclists with efficient or economical cyclists. The ideal cyclist will have both the motor as well as the economy (a low energy cost), and those elements are key for becoming a top notch cyclist or time trialist.
        After doing some online research on pedaling efficiency, I ran across an article by Dr. Michele Ferrari which seemed to make some of the best sense I’ve read to date.
        I have always tried to trace the perfect circle (except for those few years when Shimano Bio-Pace rings existed,) with my stroke all the way around the imaginary clock we call a crank. Even while attending USAT clinics, and studying for USA Cycling certification, I have run across varied opinions through multiple experts and sources. While most do not think about the actual vector breakdown involved in the cycling stroke and where the power is applied in detail, when you finally do think about it, things become clearer.

Brion Gluck finishing his first triathlon!
        There is a vector that is perpendicular to the crank arm as it travels around the ‘clock’ (chainring/crank). There is also another vector that is virtually parallel to the crank arm as well—which ultimately produces no effective rotary force. The hope is to reduce the negative force vector (the one that is parallel to the crank arm) and between the effective force vector (or perpendicular to the clock/crank). In observing time trial footage of Lance Armstrong, he does in fact, pedal with a “toes down” style which does in fact eliminate excessive extension of the joints, and as Ferrari says, reduces the force peak for each stroke. More information on force peak.
        There are varied opinions and examples separate from Ferrari’s examples of Lance Armstrong as well. The best way to test “economy” is in a laboratory. After discussing some of the evidence I have found with Neal Henderson, Coordinator of Sport Science at the Boulder Center of Sports Medicine, I learned a thing or two from Neal. He has studied thousands of data examples of world class cyclists from tests done at the center, and did say that pedaling in a toes-down position is not effective for most cyclists. Lance’s position and UCI regulations of specific for/aft bike setups and frame geometry, as well as Lance’s own unique riding style can partly explain this toes down pedal stroke. It is actually more effective for the majority of riders to “get over” the gear as the toes extend towards the 180 degree position (or 6 o’clock). Dropping the heel slightly to level out of the foot in order to apply the rider’s weight along with activating the gluteus muscles and quads seem to be more effective than the toes down style.

Ineffective motion
        Often inefficient motions can be “fixed” by perfecting drills, and proper bike fit through medical bike fit specialists. One such movement is the common example of knees flailing at the top the pedal stroke. Another falling into this category is the rocking back and forth of the hips—usually caused by seat height being incorrect. Both of these examples will cause dramatic loss in dynamic power output throughout, burning extra energy which could be saved for later on in the run portion of triathlon.

What is effective? Squares, ovals, circles?
        The USAT Coaching manual states: “Square pedaling is common in novices…circles wastes less energy as the recovery leg is lifted just enough to remove some of its weight on the pedal so that less power must be produced in the downstroke to overcome an additional load. By efficiently changing leg direction at the top and bottom of the stroke small amounts of effective power are applied to the cranks again reducing the need for great force production on the downstroke. This means that the rider pedaling in circles wastes less energy than the rider pedaling in squares wastes and therefore reduces the effects of fatigue.” Rotor cranks/oval pedaling, is fairly new and the opinions vary from rider to rider and company to company who manufacture chainrings that the jury is still out on scientific data supporting either side of the argument. In summary,
        Some examples of drills to increase pedaling efficiency are:

  1. Single leg pedaling
  2. Higher rpm/cadence sessions
  3. Use a completely opposite approach, such as larger gear/low rpm going uphill, where it will allow you to feel every centimeter of the pedal stroke, and teach you to focus on applying force all the way around the entire 360 degree circle of the stroke.
  4. Fixed gear riding. This will teach your muscles to smooth out the pedal stroke as you learn to stop fighting your bike and eliminate bad habits. Do this on flat terrain.
Kevin Konczak is a USAT Certified Coach and can be reached for questions, comments and training programs at: Kevin@d3multisport.com. 		Improving Run Cadence
Cont'd

There have been studies done that have found a correlation between pedaling at a high cadence and running at a high cadence, which in turn leads to faster running. If we continually work on our cadence in cycling it will carry over to our running and vice-versa.

Air Melmed and family after finishing the Vineman.
        If you have ever watched an Elite Kenyan run you will see that they look like they float across the ground, and at a cadence greater than 100, they almost are. Their ground contact time is very low, which means they touch the ground, and get off the ground very quickly. The shorter your ground contact time, the less chance for injury. If you look at the size of the average running shoe these days, it has a pretty good sized heel to land on and lots of cushion under there. If you look at the racing flat of an Elite runner it’s normally a pretty small shoe with not much to it. The smaller, lighter shoes promote running on the forefoot and quicker, faster turnover. Hopefully you are seeing the pattern here?
        Next time you are out running try this workout: Run a set of 8x400s on the track and try to run the first two at 90 cadence; the next two at 92-93 cadence; the next two at 95-96 cadence and the last two at 100 cadence. You will find that the faster your cadence is, the faster your running pace will be. If you think you can run as fast with a cadence of 80 try it for yourself. Better yet, don’t try this as it will most likely cause injury! Hopefully during your cadence test above, your 400s will get faster. If you can make each set of two 400s get faster, you can extend the set to 800s and try to maintain the pace for an even longer distance.
        Counting steps per minute can get confusing and fortunately Finis came out with a new product called a Tempo Trainer (TT). This is a great tool to help you learn to maintain a 90+ cadence .The device can be set to beep at any cadence desired to help you stay on track. It’s a small watch like disc that can be set to beep at any frequency. The number on the unit is based on a percentage of a second, so when it is set at 1.0 it beeps once per second or a 60 cadence. Running should be done at 90+ which is .67 on the unit (2/3rds of a second). If the unit was set to .60 it would be 100 beats per minute.
        A few more examples of workouts would be to run an out/back course, where you run out at 90 cadence, and come back at 92-95 cadence. Another set would be to run 20 minutes at 90 cadence (or.67 setting), 20 minutes at 92 cadence (.65 setting), and 20 minutes at 95 cadence (.63 setting).You can create many different workouts incorporating heart rate (HR) into the equation as well. Speaking of HR, here is one thing to keep in mind: when you first start working with the TT, your HR will be higher and it will take a few weeks for your body to adjust to the new cadence.
        Take the time to increase your cadence as it will lead to a faster run split over time. Be patient with your adaptation and challenge yourself to different cadences. Feel free to experiment and see how it goes – hopefully you will see improvement in your run cadence and run speed over the next few weeks and months!
        **Tempo Trainers can be purchased through Swim Your Best here and if you use the code tempotr20ainer, you will get a 20% discount.

Mike Ricci, D3 Multisport head coach and USA Triathlon Level III Certified Coach, was selected to write the training programs for both the short and long course USA World Championship Teams from 2002-2005. D3 Multisport has a variety of services ranging from one-on-one coaching to training plans for specific events and races. Visit www.D3multisport.com more information or e-mail Mike at mike@d3multisport.com.