I had an epiphany last week after talking to my teammate. He just had a lactate threshold performance test with Robbie Ventura a day after Ventura returned to the states from the Tour.
He told Benjamin lots of things about his form. One thing important is that Benjamin wasn't firing his hamstrings during his pedal stroke. Meaning he only pedals on the down stroke- 2-6 o'clock.
I evaluated my pedal stroke and realized that I pretty much have the same pattern. This equates to being about 40% efficient as you do not have consistent power throughout your whole stroke. Your cranks are circular, why isn't your pedal stroke the same?
If you're only activating your quads through the stroke, you really only have a downward pattern. If you pull up as well, your stroke is a square pattern. If you think of providing consistent power through he whole stroke, then you are more circular eliminating as much passive stroke as possible. You will build more stabilizer and hamstring strength and have a more consistent turnover.
So for the next 2 weeks, my focus will be working on pedal stroke and turnover until it is habituated and I don't have to think about circles. Putting the interval and threshold training on hold because there's no point if you do get the basics correct.
He told Benjamin lots of things about his form. One thing important is that Benjamin wasn't firing his hamstrings during his pedal stroke. Meaning he only pedals on the down stroke- 2-6 o'clock.
I evaluated my pedal stroke and realized that I pretty much have the same pattern. This equates to being about 40% efficient as you do not have consistent power throughout your whole stroke. Your cranks are circular, why isn't your pedal stroke the same?
If you're only activating your quads through the stroke, you really only have a downward pattern. If you pull up as well, your stroke is a square pattern. If you think of providing consistent power through he whole stroke, then you are more circular eliminating as much passive stroke as possible. You will build more stabilizer and hamstring strength and have a more consistent turnover.
So for the next 2 weeks, my focus will be working on pedal stroke and turnover until it is habituated and I don't have to think about circles. Putting the interval and threshold training on hold because there's no point if you do get the basics correct.
*images above from: Biomechanics of Sport, by Christopher L. Vaughan
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