The Pedal Stroke

Daniele attends classes at Pedal Studio and seems to have found some conflicting views on coaching when it comes to the much spoken about Pedal Stroke.


Question

Mark, I've attended one of your classes last week and you mentioned that on the pedal stroke we should only focus on pushing down rather than also pulling up. This contradicts what another instructor (Richard) at the Pedal Studio has advised, he was talking about a full circle pedal stroke.

Have I missed something or is there 2 school of thoughts out there?


Answer

Pedal Studio’s Master Spinning Instructor and Master Coach – TrainingBibleUK explains.

It’s not a case of we are contradicting each other it’s a case of different coaches following different ideas. Neither of us are wrong, there will always be different trains of thought with regards to pedal stroke and not many coaches agree on the same things.

There have been many studies on pedal stroke and for many years coaches believed that we should focus on a smooth pedal circle which is always a good thing as this builds a good smooth action and utilises the muscle groups efficiently and effectively.

However... on an indoor cycling bike we use a fixed gear bike. If you focus on pulling up you can cause strain in the knee cap and can cause injury to that area. What you want is to focus more so on the down stroke as from the 2oclock position to the 5oclock position you generate the most power.As soon as the 5oclock position is reached the other foot is almost ready to push down again and if you focus too much on the upstroke then you lose the focus on the down stroke which is a far more powerful part of the stroke.

While some well-intentioned but misleading articles may advise novice cyclists to pull up on the pedals in the recovery phase of your pedal stroke (between 7 o'clock and 11 o'clock), in fact elite cyclists draw very little power from pulling up. Only sprinters and racing hill climbers derive power from pulling up on the pedals when they are pedalling at maximal effort. If a rider pulls up too hard on her pedals during a long ride, then she will needlessly fatigue her hamstrings. Instead, focus on pulling your leg up just enough that the opposite leg doesn't have to compensate for the dead weight. Once pushing through the whole pedal stroke is mastered, riding at a higher cadence without bouncing is easier.

Conclusion

This is Mark’s view from what he has studied and there will be many articles disagreeing with this and sticking to the traditional ‘Smooth’ ‘Oval/ rugby ball’ shaped pedal stroke. As Mark notes, ‘if every coach thought the same then every athlete would be the same!’

We definitely do not get riders jumping off Spinning bikes with knee injuries. This is something to read into especially the research into the power measured in a Pedal Stroke. As with all things, there are varying opinions.



Further reading --- http://www.analyticcycling.com/

So who would have thought Pedal Stroke would have been discussed in a Spinning class, this is the coaching talk saved for one on one coaching at Tri Clubs that you would not normally have access to. Pedal Studio truly is different and our coaches/instructors are the key to this success.