- Professional cyclists have experimented
with different pedaling techniques for decades.
All basically in search of that holy grail
that's going to give them the key advantage
over their rivals.
- In this video, we are going to show you
the tools to be able to raise your cadence
but do remember a high cadence
may not make you faster in the short term
but it might just help you in the long term.
Oh no, it's raining!
- England, finally!
(bright synth music)
Spinning means high-cadence,
which we generally refer to as upwards of 90 RPM.
And this was a technique that was highlighted
in the late '90s and early 2000s
by a Texan who went by the name of Lance Armstrong.
Now what he found in grand tours
was that spinning placed less fatigue
on his muscular system which could
get tired over the course of three weeks,
and it placed more emphasis on his cardiovascular system
which did recover a lot quicker.
Since then a lot of other riders
have adopted this similar technique.
- So, pedal quickly and efficiently is the core skills.
And it has some benefits.
- It does.
Yeah, starting with the fact that if you have
a limited cadence, you might well have a limited speed.
For example, if you're trying to chase onto a group
at the end of a descent and in your hardest gear
you're not going to go any faster
than the cadence you can produce.
And then of course, there's track racing
and fixed gear racing where you've only got one gear.
(bright synth music)
- But when you're riding on the roads,
its a lot easier to sit at 80 RPM
than it is to sit at say, 60.
And that is because you're not transferring
as much force down on the pedals
to ride at a specific power.
- That's right, so power, less force
which should mean less accumulated fatigue
which is why James here started this video.
But although a high cadence may not
make you faster straightaway,
it should do eventually because you'll be
recovering from each and every session.
And there's another benefit to high cadence
and that is the ability to change your speed.
So regardless if you're racing and somebody attacks,
or if you're just on a group ride,
somebody's trying to pick me to the top of the climb,
you're going to be far better and easier
to respond to that attack if you spin
a high cadence to begin with rather than
bonk down in a big gear.
(bright synth music)
- So, James, what do you do
if you want to increase your cadence?
- Well Oscar, it's funny you say that
because we have not one but three sessions
that will help you.
So first, make sure you're set up correctly
before going into these sessions.
- Thankfully that set up is not particularly complicated.
It really just involves making sure
that your saddle is at the correct height for you.
We've got a couple of videos here
on Global Cycling Network that will help you do just that,
but the reason it's important is also very simple.
If it's too high, what you're going to find
is that your pelvis rotates over the top of the saddle.
It's going to be very hard to keep a high cadence.
Too low, and you're going to be equally uncomfortable.
- So once you're fully set up
and you're nice and comfortable,
should we go on some sessions?
- Yeah.
Yeah, let's go on to three sessions
that will help you raise your cadence.
- Let's do it.
(mellow hip hop music)
- So first thing you want to find,
a flat-ish bit of road with some rolling hills
and then you want to do around a 15 minute warm-up.
This will get the body nice and warm for the sessions.
Then select a gear that allows you sitting around
56 to 70% of your FTP.
- Then you're going to be doing six minute blocks,
so that gear should also allow you
to ride initially at 85 RPM,
then over the course of the first five minutes
you want to gradually get up to 100 RPM.
And then for the final minute
of those six minute blocks
you want to go up to over 110 RPM if you possibly can.
Then take three minutes easy at your own
self-selected cadence and repeat it six times
before a 15 minute cool-down.
- So just remember, the idea of the session
is not meant to be a high intensity
but merely it's to work on your aerobic endurance.
So being able to spin a higher cadence.
(mellow hip-hop music)
- Session number two is like a micro-interval session
that is focused on cadence.
So you want to get our same 15 minute warm-up in,
at which point you're going to start your first block
where for the first 30 seconds you're at 130 RPM,
which is really going some.
And then for the next 30 seconds,
you're down at 90.
You can repeat this four to six times per block
and between you're going to have
a slightly longer recovery of between five to six minutes.
Try to get in four to five blocks per session
before you do cool-down.
(mellow hip hop music)
- You lot are going to love this final section
because what it is, is a high cadence recovery ride.
- Yes, and a high cadence recovery ride
will help you recuperate from those really hard work outs
but it'll also provide you with active recovery.
But mainly it will enable you to pedal at high cadences.
- It will indeed and the premise
of it is very, very simple.
You can do this on an indoor trainer,
or out on the road, for between 20 minutes and an hour.
As ever with a recovery ride,
you want it to be very light in intensity,
less than 50% of FTP,
but throughout you hold a cadence of over 100.
That's right, you can recover
and train something at exactly the same time.
- Let us know how you got on with these training sessions.
- Yeah, you can do that by leaving a comment
in the section just beneath this video.
Today it was all about spinning and high cadence,
spin to win, but you're also going to need a decent FTP,
if you'd like to improve that, you can find a video
right in the middle, just down here.
- And if you did like this video,
then don't forget to give us a thumbs up.
- (speaking a foreign language)
- Hey man, I don't know what you're talking about.
It's always sunny in England.
- That's what he said, isn't it?
Always sunny in England.
It also rained on the Angler Route I'll have you know.