One-legged cycling drills

wacka

Hi,

What's a proven effective one-legged cycling drill workout for turbo training? I say turbo as I've no chance trying it on my rollers yet!

ric/rstsport

unless you only have one leg (or compete in one-legged races) i wouldn't bother.

dw300

Can open. Worms everywhere.

Alex_Simmons/RST

Wacka wrote:

Hi,

What's a proven effective one-legged cycling drill workout for turbo training? I say turbo as I've no chance trying it on my rollers yet!

The one where one leg pushes after the other one. Lather, rinse, repeat.

P_Tucker

In before someone claims it helped them pedal in circles

TheEnglishman

Theres a Pete and Dudley style sketch in here somewhere or is it just me?

legendary27

Strange how what used to be quite a useful resource for cyclists looking to improve, has degenerated into a bucket for smart-arsed responses to seemingly reasonable questions.

To answer the original question, having warmed up, I do one minute left leg, one minute both legs, one minute right leg, one minute both legs. Repeat five to seven times. I rest the leg that is not pedalling against the turbo-trainer, as it keeps me in as near to a normal cycling position as possible. Initially, I found it difficult to pedal smoothly, but this improved fairly quickly.

In an effort to pre-empt the usual rubbish that is posted when someone states something that those in the know disagree with, I cannot quantify statistically that this has proved beneficial and it may simply be down to the fact that I have been doing this exercise in addition to my normal cycling routine, resulting in additional time in the saddle, but I feel that this has helped me. From my simplistic perspective, that would suggest to me that it is worth trying.

Regards,
Gordon

ric/rstsport

previously, people thought all sorts of things were useful to make cyclists improve at cycling. like many of these ideas they've long been disproved. one legged cycling is one of those.

One legged cycling would be useful if you have one leg, or if you take part in one-legged cycle races. For e.g., when i was a kid and raced my mates, we used to have 'competitions' to get to the top of a small hill in '1st place' while only using one leg (other leg was unclipped off the pedal).

If it works for you, that's great. however, i strongly suspect that there's way better training methods!

Ric

Pross

legendary27 wrote:

Strange how what used to be quite a useful resource for cyclists looking to improve, has degenerated into a bucket for smart-arsed responses to seemingly reasonable questions.

To answer the original question, having warmed up, I do one minute left leg, one minute both legs, one minute right leg, one minute both legs. Repeat five to seven times. I rest the leg that is not pedalling against the turbo-trainer, as it keeps me in as near to a normal cycling position as possible. Initially, I found it difficult to pedal smoothly, but this improved fairly quickly.

In an effort to pre-empt the usual rubbish that is posted when someone states something that those in the know disagree with, I cannot quantify statistically that this has proved beneficial and it may simply be down to the fact that I have been doing this exercise in addition to my normal cycling routine, resulting in additional time in the saddle, but I feel that this has helped me. From my simplistic perspective, that would suggest to me that it is worth trying.

Regards,
Gordon

Yep, because 2 proven coaches don't have a clue what they are talking about when they say "don't bother".

styxd

His name's Gordon, he must be trolling.

dw300

Ric/RSTSport wrote:

previously, people thought all sorts of things were useful to make cyclists improve at cycling. like many of these ideas they've long been disproved. one legged cycling is one of those.

Sauce?

ric/rstsport

i like tomato sauce (home made) on my pasta (tonight's had garlic, oregano, parsley, olive oil, mushrooms, and tomatoes)

ric

P_Tucker

legendary27 wrote:

Strange how what used to be quite a useful resource for cyclists looking to improve, has degenerated into a bucket for smart-arsed responses to seemingly reasonable questions.

To answer the original question, having warmed up, I do one minute left leg, one minute both legs, one minute right leg, one minute both legs. Repeat five to seven times. I rest the leg that is not pedalling against the turbo-trainer, as it keeps me in as near to a normal cycling position as possible. Initially, I found it difficult to pedal smoothly, but this improved fairly quickly.

In an effort to pre-empt the usual rubbish that is posted when someone states something that those in the know disagree with, I cannot quantify statistically that this has proved beneficial and it may simply be down to the fact that I have been doing this exercise in addition to my normal cycling routine, resulting in additional time in the saddle, but I feel that this has helped me. From my simplistic perspective, that would suggest to me that it is worth trying.

Regards,
Gordon

Brilliant. I "feel" that w*anking into a pot noodle then eating it has improved my cycling. Surely that suggests to you that it's worth trying? Please report back.

FFS

t.m.h.n.e.t

P_Tucker wrote:

legendary27 wrote:

Strange how what used to be quite a useful resource for cyclists looking to improve, has degenerated into a bucket for smart-arsed responses to seemingly reasonable questions.

To answer the original question, having warmed up, I do one minute left leg, one minute both legs, one minute right leg, one minute both legs. Repeat five to seven times. I rest the leg that is not pedalling against the turbo-trainer, as it keeps me in as near to a normal cycling position as possible. Initially, I found it difficult to pedal smoothly, but this improved fairly quickly.

In an effort to pre-empt the usual rubbish that is posted when someone states something that those in the know disagree with, I cannot quantify statistically that this has proved beneficial and it may simply be down to the fact that I have been doing this exercise in addition to my normal cycling routine, resulting in additional time in the saddle, but I feel that this has helped me. From my simplistic perspective, that would suggest to me that it is worth trying.

Regards,
Gordon

Brilliant. I "feel" that w*anking into a pot noodle then eating it has improved my cycling. Surely that suggests to you that it's worth trying? Please report back.

FFS

Is it better with BBQ or Chicken & Mushroom(since there's already protein in that)?

P_Tucker

Dunno, I thought all pot noodles were in fact the same and the taste is merely suggested to the eater by the packaging. Like wine (er, subst. drinker)

ShutUpLegs

legendary27 wrote:

I cannot quantify statistically that this has proved beneficial

Ask some clever people to research it and report back ASAP

legendary27

P_Tucker wrote:

Brilliant. I "feel" that w*anking into a pot noodle then eating it has improved my cycling. Surely that suggests to you that it's worth trying? Please report back.

FFS

Thanks for proving my point (about the smart-arsed responses, as opposed to the validity of one-legged cycling drills !).

Regards,
Gordon

legendary27

Ric/RSTSport wrote:

previously, people thought all sorts of things were useful to make cyclists improve at cycling. like many of these ideas they've long been disproved. one legged cycling is one of those.

One legged cycling would be useful if you have one leg, or if you take part in one-legged cycle races. For e.g., when i was a kid and raced my mates, we used to have 'competitions' to get to the top of a small hill in '1st place' while only using one leg (other leg was unclipped off the pedal).

If it works for you, that's great. however, i strongly suspect that there's way better training methods!

Ric

I was in no way questioning the validity of your original statement Ric. I was simply attempting to provide a response to the original question, relevant to my (albeit limited) experience, without attempting to indulge in the petty point scoring that seems to have become the favorite pastime in this forum recently. I am more than happy to concede that there are more effective training methods out there, however I found the drill beneficial and replied accordingly. The original poster can take as much or as little from that as they like.

Regards,
Gordon

Alex_Simmons/RST

Wacka wrote:

What's a proven effective one-legged cycling drill workout for turbo training?

Building on my previously slightly flippant answer, if you are looking for something to improve your two legged cycling performance, then there answer is "there isn't one" (unless you are untrained when just about anything will help).

Nothing wrong with doing it per se, but there are better uses of one's training time if performance improvement is the aim.

There are occasions when one leg is injured and you may still want to try to do a little work on a trainer. The best thing to do is to inertial load the non-drive pedal. For most people you'll need ~ 10-11kg to replicate the inertial load of two legged cycling.

Like this:




using these to replace the non-drive pedal so you can put weights on them:


although I use them mostly for performing power meter calibrations.

dw300

Ric/RSTSport wrote:

i like tomato sauce (home made) on my pasta (tonight's had garlic, oregano, parsley, olive oil, mushrooms, and tomatoes)

ric

I presume you're not so new to the internet to not know what I'm asking for, so I'll continue to wait patiently for an answer ..

P_Tucker

legendary27 wrote:

P_Tucker wrote:

Brilliant. I "feel" that w*anking into a pot noodle then eating it has improved my cycling. Surely that suggests to you that it's worth trying? Please report back.

FFS

Thanks for proving my point (about the smart-arsed responses, as opposed to the validity of one-legged cycling drills !).

Regards,
Gordon

So you won't be trying the pot noodle thing? How do you decide, when someone tells you something "works for them", whether to try it or not? There's a world of things out there that have been suggested as being beneficial to cycling performance:

- drinking brandy to thin the blood
- one legged pedalling drills
- low gear riding
- training with a powermeter
- high gear riding
- riding fixed in winter to help with "souplesse"
- w*nking into a pot noodle then eating it
- riding a heavy bike in winter
- riding long and slow in winter
- increasing strength with weights
- post ride massage
- compression clothing
- spending all season in Tenerife where drug controls are poor
- knowing your max HR

to name but a few. Which ones might you try, and why?

Pross

dw300 wrote:

Ric/RSTSport wrote:

i like tomato sauce (home made) on my pasta (tonight's had garlic, oregano, parsley, olive oil, mushrooms, and tomatoes)

ric

I presume you're not so new to the internet to not know what I'm asking for, so I'll continue to wait patiently for an answer ..

Most people would ask for the "source" then rather than the "sauce".

legendary27

P_Tucker wrote:

Which ones might you try, and why?

I suspect that you know the answer to this as least as well as me, but assuming the the 'you' is generic, rather than me specifically, I would suggest some variance on the following :

- Disregard the ones that are obviously nonsense - apologies for any offence, but this includes your earlier suggestion (As an aside, are you a chef working at a motorway service station ?)
- Disregard the ones that you cannot afford or do not have the time for.
- Disregard the ones that you feel do not strike a good enough effort/reward balance - I do not like brandy, so would not use the first suggestion regardless of the benefits (or otherwise).
- Research the remainder via whatever combination of resource you have access to and pick whichever one(s) you think suit(s) you best.

I think that the last point is the most important one as, as you suggested in your poetic style earlier, just because someone else does it, does not mean that it will work for you (or perhaps them). For instance, until I read this thread, I was genuinely unaware that one-legged cycling drills were not deemed particularly useful by people who know a lot more about cycling than I do.

That said, I will probably continue to do them, because I am like that.

Regards,
Gordon

ric/rstsport

in short, in trained cyclists (that's anyone that races, or is fit enough to race) then the best way forward to improve cycling performance is some sort of cycling. this is applicable to endurance cycling (i.e., not 200m track sprinting or keirin etc).

that means that some sort of cycling specific to your fitness requirements, goals, and time availability is the best use of your time. you need to make your training specific to you.

previously, people have thought that one-legged cycling would be good training. indeed, some people have even designed a crank system that allows uncoupled legs to both work at once (e.g. power cranks). The claims for such cranks (improvement of 40% in endurance power output) are unfounded and never proved. a small body of research shows they don't work.

Other things also dont work, or don't have any real benefits. for e.g. people used to think that low cadence hill climbing would build cycling specific strength and performance. however, it doesn't seem to confer any advantage of riding over hills in a normal sized gear.

once you're left with "just cycling" improves your fitness, there's a ton of options available as to how to train (which need to be tailored to your goals and specific situations)

ric

dw300

Pross wrote:

dw300 wrote:

Ric/RSTSport wrote:

i like tomato sauce (home made) on my pasta (tonight's had garlic, oregano, parsley, olive oil, mushrooms, and tomatoes)

ric

I presume you're not so new to the internet to not know what I'm asking for, so I'll continue to wait patiently for an answer ..

Most people would ask for the "source" then rather than the "sauce".

You need to get down with the kids' internet lingo! Why the hell would I suddenly start talking about sauce in the middle of a thread called 'One-legged cycling drills' otherwise?

t.m.h.n.e.t

dw300 wrote:

Pross wrote:

dw300 wrote:

Ric/RSTSport wrote:

i like tomato sauce (home made) on my pasta (tonight's had garlic, oregano, parsley, olive oil, mushrooms, and tomatoes)

ric

I presume you're not so new to the internet to not know what I'm asking for, so I'll continue to wait patiently for an answer ..

Most people would ask for the "source" then rather than the "sauce".

You need to get down with the kids' internet lingo! Why the hell would I suddenly start talking about sauce in the middle of a thread called 'One-legged cycling drills' otherwise?

You spend too much time on 4chan

dw300

T.M.H.N.E.T wrote:

You spend too much time on 4chan

Ha, takes one to know one.

I actually don't, that place scares me. o_O

But Miscellaneous Sub-Forums on other forums are kinda like a filtered version with slightly less depravity!

bahzob

Ric/RSTSport wrote:

in short, in trained cyclists (that's anyone that races, or is fit enough to race) then the best way forward to improve cycling performance is some sort of cycling. this is applicable to endurance cycling (i.e., not 200m track sprinting or keirin etc).

that means that some sort of cycling specific to your fitness requirements, goals, and time availability is the best use of your time. you need to make your training specific to you.

previously, people have thought that one-legged cycling would be good training. indeed, some people have even designed a crank system that allows uncoupled legs to both work at once (e.g. power cranks). The claims for such cranks (improvement of 40% in endurance power output) are unfounded and never proved. a small body of research shows they don't work.

Other things also dont work, or don't have any real benefits. for e.g. people used to think that low cadence hill climbing would build cycling specific strength and performance. however, it doesn't seem to confer any advantage of riding over hills in a normal sized gear.

once you're left with "just cycling" improves your fitness, there's a ton of options available as to how to train (which need to be tailored to your goals and specific situations)

ric

All good sensible advice. However it does not follow that the only thing you need to do is "just cycle" which is how this message is sometimes interpreted.

You can take advantage of your training time to also work on experimenting and improving your cycling technique so that your fitness converts into maximum distance and/or speed.

A couple of specific examples:
- Chris Boardman had a bit of cycling experience before he joined a pro team and rode the TDF. Nonetheless he found that by working (with Peter Keen so I'd be inclined to trust the results) on his technique and position he was able to gain 40W max power when climbing
- Bradley Wiggins uses an elliptical chain ring, presumably it works better for him than a standard one.

One thing both Boardman and Wiggins share is they were born with a whole heap of natural ability, including the ability to instinctively ride well. Put them on a bike and they just look like a natural. The fact that they can nonetheless improve seems to be a signal that those at the shallower end of the gene pool could/should also be thinking about improving how well they ride during their training in addition to how far/fast.

Coming back to the OP. I agree one legged cycling has little benefit and wouldn't spend a lot of time on it. However it can serve to show how many muscles can/should be involved in pedaling which will come as news to many cyclists.

ric/rstsport

i agree. i never said you shouldn't do other stuff that is cycling related (e.g. skills work, tactics, aerodynamics, etc).

Peter used to be one of my lecturers at university (like a million years ago now). So, i'm lucky enough to have helped out with some of these things - as Chris used to come to the uni for testing, along with other elite cyclists (e.g. Yvonne McGregor, Barry Clarke, and the lady from the Isle of Man i think whose surname escapes me at present - Marie XXX).

In terms of Chris, i don't think anyone really thought he was special/gifted at the beginning (this is a point Peter used to regularly make). As regards people who are less fit than these elite athletes some can improve and others maybe can't.

I don't think there's any (good) evidence to support elliptical chain rings, whether Wiggo uses them or not. Of course the opposite maybe true as well (that there's no evidence that they're detrimental either). So, possibly Wiggo uses them because either they feel nice to him (nowt wrong with that) or maybe he's sponsored by them? Additionally, you should note that they mess up SRM data... (there maybe a work around for it - paging Alex Simmons)
Ric

Pross

Ric/RSTSport wrote:

Peter used to be one of my lecturers at university (like a million years ago now). So, i'm lucky enough to have helped out with some of these things - as Chris used to come to the uni for testing, along with other elite cyclists (e.g. Yvonne McGregor, Barry Clarke, and the lady from the Isle of Man i think whose surname escapes me at present - Marie XXX).

Purvis?

ric/rstsport

yeah that must be her. blonde haired lady. at least i think she was blonde or fair haired?