High Cadence cycling drills
The drill that all my athletes start by not liking but after a few weeks love! High cadence has key aspects that will help you in your cycling progress. In general the general thought for triathlon is a cadence of 80-85 sometimes up to 90. So why do we practise high cadences drills
- For when the wind is behind you in a ride or event.
- Downhills
- Agility (brain to foot connection)
The factors your working on with these drills:-
- They reduce muscular load but increase the cardiac load.
- Improves the neurological condition, in other words you working on your brain to foot connection (a form of agility training).
- It helps you identify dead spots in your pedal stroke. Therefore improving your pedal efficiency.
- Stimulates muscle for recruitment in the pedal stroke.
Cues to help with the drills:-
- Soft hands and grip. (supple)
- Keep relaxed in the elbow to release upper body tension.
- Sit heavy in the seat.
- Relax the legs a little.
- Focus on the initial phase of the pedal stroke (imagine 1-4 of the clock face in the pedal stroke)
How will you see it factor into training:-
- Using a range of 95-130 rpm.
- Using mostly lower power, zones 1-3 to ensure your working on your control.
- Often lower length due to the focus and concentrate required to nail the drill!
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