by Robh » Sun Nov 02, 2008 6:35 pm
In Mallocra I was shown some co-ordinations workouts and Andrew wrote the following to me on the FaCT forum :-
Coordination training can come in a number of different forms, especially if considering some of the different sports that we help people prepare for. Consider the extreme example of swimming, that has a HUGE coordination component, that amounts to nearly 90% of the improvements that most young swimmers make in performance.
But, I assume you are asking about cycling coordination specifically...
Though the sport of cycling seems simple (just pedal in circles for hours on end), the application of three joints (hip, knee, ankle) to a circular motion takes more coordination than you might think.
I focus on three different types of coordination...
high cadence sets working higher and higher cadence for as long as possible at 110/120/130/140 RPM. I can now sustain 120 RPM for up to 20 minutes, before my neurologic system completely gives out. I should note, his is really the first year I have focused on this aspect of my cycling.
The second type of coordination is recruitment of more muscles which requires "maximal" efforts, which we try to achieve by very short, very high intensity intervals, 15-20 seconds ALL OUT efforts. The theory is these sets help the neurological system to fire more muscle fibers, in coordination than during regular high intensity exercise.
The third method we use is with the aid of Power Cranks, which adds a whole new dimension to the above two sessions, as I am sure everyone will agree who has tried to spin or do hard intervals with isolated single leg sessions.
As with any of the methods we are incorporating, it is the structural adaptation we are looking for to provide the long term improvements, and it may be over a year before I will see the improvements in my results from the focus I have placed on coordination this year.
I believe Juerg has worked for quite some time with some of his athletes, and may have more specific training ideas to work with.
Our sessions are dictated by what the athlete is able to do now, with the goal of increasing fluidity of motion, and economy of effort over time. If they can ride 90RPM comfortably, we aim to increase this to 100RPM over a number of weeks, and incorporate high cadence work to help achieve this.
Interestingly, our young athlete (14 years old) with thousands of miles on a trainer in the past two years, rides comfortably at 120RPM, as he has learned to generate power through high cadence, rather than through high muscle tension, to avoid strain and the potential damage that slow cadence work might cause.
