![\"Pedal](\"https:\/\/tailwind-coaching.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/444207690_f08c9595d4_o.gif\")
<\/a>It's cold, there's a bitter wind blowing and last night's snow has left the roads both damp and layered with salt. \u00a0Patches of ice lurk on the sides of the road, waiting to claim the unwary bi-wheeled traveler.<\/p>\nMost people refer to this as “winter” but I (and the rest of the cycling community) tend to refer to it as the “off season” or “indoor training season.” \u00a0While there are times when we're able to get outside in the fresh, chilled air most of our training this time of year is spent on the trainer or rollers. \u00a0As boring as that may be, there are benefits to indoor work: ability to precisely control interval duration, intensity and frequency, ability to control the environment around us, and perhaps one of the most important things, ability to increase our efficiency. \u00a0Because the bottom line is: the more efficient you are, the faster and stronger you are for longer.<\/p>\n
How do you get more efficient? \u00a0You follow the tips below:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Human Efficiency<\/h3>\n
Human beings are only about 21% efficient (as an average.) \u00a0This means that when you see 100 watts displayed under your power output, your body is actually creating 500 watts of energy. \u00a0You're losing 80% of it to heat, other body systems, etc etc. \u00a0Wouldn't it be nice to put more of that power to the bike? \u00a0Even a gain of a half percentage point in efficiency is huge, and complements your training significantly. \u00a0But how do we do that?<\/p>\n
Smooth Your Pedal Stroke<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Smoothing out your pedal stroke will eliminate the dead spots, the choppiness and the awkwardness as you spin those cranks around. \u00a0You'll build neuromuscular coordination that allows you to get the most efficient firing of muscles, and you'll realize more efficient muscular contraction. \u00a0Try these little tips to smooth out your stroke:<\/p>\n Relax<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n How many times have you watched a pro race and seen a guy climbing some mountain pass absolutely fighting with his bike, grimacing, shoulders tensed, arms rigid and body stiff as a board? \u00a0Probably not too often. \u00a0Even the most exhausted ProTour riders look limp, relaxed and fluid, and they're saving energy because of it. \u00a0Muscles take energy to function, and if your entire body is tense and stiff, you're wasting energy that should be going into your pedals. \u00a0You can raise that efficiency rating and ride stronger with these tips:<\/p>\n Spin Faster<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n [pullquote]Muscles take energy to function, and if your entire body is tense and stiff, you're wasting energy that should be going into your pedals.[\/pullquote]<\/span>As mentioned previously, leg speed is a key part of raising your efficiency. \u00a0By taxing your muscular endurance less, you can lean on that infinitely more efficient aerobic system. \u00a0By smoothing your pedal stroke and practicing higher cadences, you increase neuromuscular coordination and efficiency (muscles contract more perfectly\/efficiently in sequence) and you use less energy per pedal stroke. \u00a0You can review my previous article on pedal stroke<\/a> for some further information and can practice leg speed variation with my singlespeed workout<\/a>.<\/p>\n Practice Makes Perfect<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n All of the information above is wonderful, but without practice it means nothing. \u00a0Trainer sessions are the perfect place to “woodshed” these techniques. \u00a0Remember back in the day when jazz musicians would go out to the wood shed to practice\/write their music so as to not drive others in their home crazy? \u00a0You need to be Charlie Parker on the trainer: keep practicing until you get it right. \u00a0Group rides are the perfect place to put your hard won skills to the test: use your cadence to control your place in the pack, practice positive self talk, stay nice and relaxed when you're elbow to elbow with other guys and you'll be rewarded with faster, stronger more efficient rides.<\/p>\n Remember, just like dropping a few pounds will increase your power to weight ratio, adding a half a percent to your efficiency will do the same. \u00a0So why not take advantage of free power?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n What do you think? \u00a0Will you be raising your efficiency this winter? \u00a0Leave a comment and explain how.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It’s cold, there’s a bitter wind blowing and last night’s snow has left the roads both damp and layered with salt. \u00a0Patches of ice lurk on the sides of the road, waiting to claim the unwary bi-wheeled traveler. Most people refer to this as “winter” but I (and the rest of the cycling community) tend to refer to it as the “off season” or “indoor training season.” \u00a0While there are times when we’re able to get outside in the fresh, chilled air most of our training this time of year is spent on the trainer or rollers. \u00a0As boring as that may be, there are benefits to indoor work: ability to precisely control interval duration, intensity and frequency, ability to control the environment around us, and perhaps one of the most important things, ability to increase our efficiency. \u00a0Because the bottom line is: the more efficient you are, the faster and stronger you are for longer. How do you get more efficient? \u00a0You follow the tips below:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[64,50,38],"tags":[175,68],"yst_prominent_words":[],"wppr_data":{"cwp_meta_box_check":"No"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tailwind-coaching.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2158"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tailwind-coaching.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tailwind-coaching.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tailwind-coaching.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tailwind-coaching.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2158"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tailwind-coaching.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2158\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12146,"href":"https:\/\/tailwind-coaching.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2158\/revisions\/12146"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tailwind-coaching.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2158"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tailwind-coaching.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2158"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tailwind-coaching.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2158"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tailwind-coaching.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=2158"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
\n