Bicycling for Fitness
Bicycling Technique for Fitness
Seasoned cyclists talk about something called spinning. Spinning is a term for the most efficient way to pedal. You pedal in a full circle, meaning pulling up with your legs as well as pushing. Most people who ride bikes know of pedaling only as pushing down on the pedals. Really, this is only 50% efficient. But using the legs to pull while also pushing, you gain that much more power per stroke on the pedals. It also provides a much more even workout for the legs, and provides a smoother overall motion while riding. Getting the hang of alternating between the left and right leg and from just pushing to pushing and pulling will take some practice, but the rewards are worth it. You will pedal more effectively and more powerfully, while using less energy and working more of your legs. It is an all around winning situation.
Here is how you learn it:
- You should be spinning at around 90 or more RPM, or revolutions per minute. What this means is that you are in the low gear, and your feet happen to be turning really fast. You can practice the spin really early during the season with 120 RPM, and this is going to teach your feet to be quicker. There are little bike computers that you can buy from local bike stores that are going to tell you just how fast you are actually spinning. At between $20 and $30, they are really worthwhile and happen to be a truly useful tool for training.
- A good way that you can measure the improvements that you make is to continue riding the same loop or to ride a number of different loops that you can easily repeat. After you pass the first week of practice and training, you should go about timing your ride. The computer should also be capable of being used as a timer, and it is going to let you know what your average speed happens to be. You do not necessarily have to ride in order to improve your time during these first couple of weeks. Instead, you should be riding purely for the experience and the enjoyment.
- The first few weeks of riding should be between half an hour long and three quarters of an hour long. You can have some small hills in your ride, and you may even need to learn how to go about riding while standing up. If you are riding at the 90 RPM pace as I recommended and you end up coming to a hill, then your cadence is going to decrease naturally. By standing on the pedals, however, you will be able to give yourself more power, maintaining the same gear while you climb the hill.
More next time!
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