Do one-legged drills...

[GreggGermer]

And your evidence is...?

I think the idea of one-legged cycling has some viable use in training.

I will say I only do a few one legged workouts a winter (6 or so) and I do them early during my first weeks back to the bike after my break. I've always done them for the same reason I only use dumbbells in place of barbells when possible at the gym for iso-kinetic specificity, i think this is the right term. (yes the whole gym idea is another whole debate for another time) is that it forces the muscle(s) of the right or left to be dependent on itself and it's supporting muscles/tendons. This forces the muscle(s) to recruit and use supporting elements which wouldn't be normaly used.

I feel this helps the muscles become stronger (able to apply more torque) and therefore help. I don't apply the one legged workouts to my training to much, just as part of my transition time back to the bike combined with high-cadence and other such drills to nail down my pedal stroke as smooth as possible so I start my hardcore training as efficient as possible.

I can't quote any scientific studies, but then again I haven't researched for articles on this specificaly.

-Gregg Germer-

 

[ric_stern/RST]

I think the idea of one-legged cycling has some viable use in training.

it does. but only if you have one leg (or take part in one-legged races)

ric

 

[Carrera]

There used to be a line of argument that one-legged or one-armed exercises were useless and negated the entire exercise. I never knew whether it was true or not but preferred not to take chances where so many experts had these doubts.

I think the idea of one-legged cycling has some viable use in training.

I will say I only do a few one legged workouts a winter (6 or so) and I do them early during my first weeks back to the bike after my break. I've always done them for the same reason I only use dumbbells in place of barbells when possible at the gym for iso-kinetic specificity, i think this is the right term. (yes the whole gym idea is another whole debate for another time) is that it forces the muscle(s) of the right or left to be dependent on itself and it's supporting muscles/tendons. This forces the muscle(s) to recruit and use supporting elements which wouldn't be normaly used.

I feel this helps the muscles become stronger (able to apply more torque) and therefore help. I don't apply the one legged workouts to my training to much, just as part of my transition time back to the bike combined with high-cadence and other such drills to nail down my pedal stroke as smooth as possible so I start my hardcore training as efficient as possible.

I can't quote any scientific studies, but then again I haven't researched for articles on this specificaly.

-Gregg Germer-

 

[Gilders]

There used to be a line of argument that one-legged or one-armed exercises were useless and negated the entire exercise. I never knew whether it was true or not but preferred not to take chances where so many experts had these doubts.

Do people think that the Lance Armstrong training guide is largely responsible for this trend, along with a need to increase cadence to ten thousand rpm (excuse being facetious) in order to be a good cyclist, or is there more to it than that?

 

[dvince]

Just some questions for ric_stern/RST:

I noticed that you don't advice weight training, one-legged drills and low rpm (power-resistance) workouts for trained cyclists But those methods are used by the majority of cyclists (that I know) in winter "strenght" training. So if all this is just a waste of time, how can I train in winter to produce more power (without anaerobic or lactate treshold intervals which I think are too early to practice in winter time)? And how about (high) cadence workouts for speed training and false sprints (low gear-high rpm) - are those too waste of time if they are planned to train speed and sprints during winter?

 

[Fat Hack]

better cyclists (elite) push down more and pull up less (i.e., less "smooth") compared to other cyclists who aren't elite

WOW!! got any other little goodies like this, and are there any applicable implications of this info? In other words, can us fat hacks use this info?

 

[Not Sure]

Maintenance of positive energy through 360 degrees rotation of the crankshaft, with both legs, is what matters.

Single legged pedaling drills, as recommended by Arnie Baker, M.D., are mostly to develop coordination. enabling the cyclist to better maintain positive energy through 360 degrees rotation of the crankshaft .

Strength is best developed through strength training.

Squats, lunges, extensions, curls, calf raises, anterior tibialis curls.

 

[swampy1970]

Crankshaft? When was the last time you saw an engine designed to "pull up". Answer: Never.

Even if you spend a bunch of time with PowerCranks you'll learn that power comes from what happens on the downstroke and everything else is damage avoidance.

 

[An old Guy]

If you just push down on the pedals, you build the muscles that push down.

If you pull up on the pedals, you build the muscles that pull up.

Before there were toe clips shoes were built to only push down. With toe clips one can pull up. With clip-less pedals one can pull up.

Legs/feet may be structurally stronger in compression (pushing down) than in tension (pulling up).

The body may be limited by the amount of fuel that can be transmitted to the leg muscles rather than the leg muscles themselves.

----

I don't believe in pulling up, but I have no reason to believe that no one benefits from pulling up or doing one legged drills.

 

[swampy1970]

One reason I think one-legged drills are time wasting fluff is that you don't ride a bike with one leg. So it's all well and good trying to get better at pulling up with one leg while the other leg is off whistling Dixie but when you ride you have to make one leg push the pedals down and the other pull up - both at the same time.

When I first started using powercranks I'd done one legged drills for a month prior, hoping that it'd ease the transition. The drills were easy but when using the powercranks for the first time you realize that having to do two tasks at once rather than specifically concentrating on one makes it a whole different ball game entirely. My first powercranks ride lasted a couple of minutes at most - my hip flexors were completed thrashed after that. In comparison, cranking a monster gear for 5 minutes with one leg wasn't too bad.

Spend more time figuring ways to recruit your glutes and hamstrings more effectively and learn to relax more when riding at threshold.

 

[Alex Simmons]

Resurrecting a seven year old thread. lol

 

[fergie]

Doing it to several threads on the subject. Priceless, I expect there was a spam signature involved. Good to see moderation is more effective here than other forums but not as overly rigid as others.

Enjoy road worlds Alex.

 

[awilki01]

If you want to smooth your pedal stroke out, I recommend high cadence drills on rollers. From thing's I've read, just pedaling on rollers at a normal cadence should increase your pedaling efficiency. I feel they have helped me.