- [Chris] The jury is out as to whether
on the bike strength training does us any good or not.
Over geared efforts producing more talk
for the same power.
- [Hank] I mean some pros swear by it
and others don't really care at all.
- But should we be doing it?
And is there any science to back it up.
We have done the research.
(light music)
So what is strength training?
Well there enlies the first misconception.
Strength actually refers to our ability
to lift a one off max effort.
So for example if you went to the gym
and you lifted one big rep on the squat rack,
that'll be the maximum strength you can exert
and after that we are at best
referring to strength endurance.
- What we should actually call it when we talk
about on the bike strength efforts
is high talk effort.
Talk by definition is force
generated through rotation.
Basically what propels us forward.
(light music)
The idea behind doing high talk efforts
is to increase the maximal talk
we can put through the pedals
Making us stronger and more powerful rider.
- There is more to it than just this.
There's also considered as one method
of creating a more effective and efficient
pedal stroke and it could be useful
when it comes to working on
your muscle recruitment patterns and also
the recruitment of your fast twitch muscle fibres
although that only happens
if you do these efforts at the correct intensity.
- The theory though is when contracting muscles
at a different firing rate in pattern
under load. Then they will be creating
different stimulus which will ultimately
make the muscle adapt to become stronger.
(light music)
- Now we are my no means scientists are we Hank?
- Mmm no and we did forget our
GCN does science class.
- Yeah not ideal but luckily for us
our old coach Steve Benton was able
to give us a hand with all the science
behind this video.
- Steve is almost 23 years experience
of coaching and managing elite athlete
performance programmes at
pro world and Olympic level.
15 years as a consultant coach and team coach
for pro cycling from world tour to national UK level.
Former team human performance
coach in motorsport.
Strength and conditioning coach with GB
swimming and GB gymnastics
and coached or managed athlete support teams
to over 40 elite level championships.
So what did we learn from Steve.
- Scientific evidence is mixed
when it comes to proven benefits.
- Yeah but in certain context and depending
on rider status it could be an effective
session to include within your training programme.
All this talk.
- If for example a rider is suffering from
a varying degrees of personal muscular
imbalances on the bike. Then it can be
a great tool to bring awareness of the issue
to the rider.
Ensuring they put good focus on all parts
of the pedal stroke.
They can really hone in a good pedal stroke this way.
- However when on the bike, compared to squatting
even just our own bodyweight
the strength required to ride up a gradient
even in a big heavy gear at 45RPM
is actually relatively low.
It can be bad for your knees,
there is enough force for that
as we don't all have good pedal and
cleat set ups but there is not enough
force being exerted to increase pure strength.
There is to this day,
no scientific evidence showing a
direct correlation between strength work
and endurance performance.
(light music)
- But do you need to actually incorporate
this session into your programme?
I mean a lot of pros talk about it
but is it just fashion and trend
and are you doing it because the pros
have incorporated into their session
but does it actually feel like it works?
- Psychologically it is an easy session to do.
I mean you can feel your legs burning
you feel like you're aware of making the perfect
pedal stroke every time which
makes it feel like you're doing something worthwhile.
Further to that the murky proof that it is
an effective session and the fact that
it's easier to complete than other
max exertion efforts does make it
an easier session to do.
(light music)
So can we all benefit from high talk training?
Well yes and no it seems.
If you are a fast sprinter type rider
you want to improve your
fast twitch muscle recruitment
then you may well benefit from doing some
short duration high talk efforts.
VO2 or anaerobic power.
- And also if you have recognised issues
on the bike that originates from muscle
imbalances or problems with getting muscles
to fire at the correct moments in the pedal stroke.
Well then this could help.
- But it still isn't that clear cut.
- If you are a time trial type rider
and you've got a good all round condition
and there's not real area that you're
lacking in during a race
then you probably don't need to
include them into you programme.
(light music)
So is this sort of training fact or fiction
and should you be incorporating
it into your training programme.
- Well that depends on the individual
but the general consensus here is that
you don't actually stand to benefit
a huge amount from high talk sessions
and you are therefore probably better off
focusing your attention on other aspects
of your performance.
- Uh so Chris does that mean we can
kind of spin up and enjoy the ride?
- Well it means we don't need
to go up on the big ring anymore.
- That sounds good.
Anyway if you did like this video
then give it a big thumbs up.
- And if you want to see more training videos
click down there.