Fun pedaling drill: Countdowns

Here’s a good way to spend a minute on the trainer, road or trail.

Goals:

• Improve standing balance

• Smoothen sit-stand-sit transitions. This is key for technical climbing.

Setup:

• Bike on trainer, road or trail. This is easiest on smooth ground. When you get better at this drill, work it on a technical climb.

• Be warm and ready to work.

• Moderately hard gear that puts you at 60 rpm. When you get good at this drill, you can rock it at higher cadences.

• Level 2 or sweet spot power. Feel free to mix this drill into Pump Up the Base or Prepare to Pin It workouts.

Protocol:
5 strokes standing, 5 strokes sitting
4 strokes standing, 4 strokes sitting
3 strokes standing, 3 strokes sitting
2 strokes standing, 2 strokes sitting
1 stroke standing, 1 stroke sitting
1 stroke standing, 1 stroke sitting
2 strokes standing, 2 strokes sitting
3 strokes standing, 3 strokes sitting
4 strokes standing, 4 strokes sitting
5 strokes standing, 5 strokes sitting

I like 5s because they take exactly a minute. As you can imagine, you can do 1s, 2s, 3s, 10s, 20s, 100s or whatever.

This is pretty much the same as this post — Pedaling drill: Tens — but I keep coming back to this drill. It makes a minute pass quickly, and it really does enhance pedal fu.

Pay attention to:

• Smooth transitions.

• Light hands.

• Consistent cadence and power.

Ultimately you want the ability to maintain the same great pedal stroke whether you’re sitting or standing. This, plus some pump skills, will make technical climbing much radder.

Some of the elite endurance racers I coach can sustain over 100 watts more than I can — and they’re all lighter than me. These people are climbing machines. Using these and other skills, I can actually hang with them on technical climbs. Yes: Kung fu is worth 100 watts!

Train smart. Rest easy. PIN IT!

Lee

Know more. Have more fun!

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