#67: Great Reactions to #66.

REACTIONS:  I’ve had so much reaction to my most recent newsletter, I thought I’d send out a follow up ahead of the regular schedule.

1. First, thank you so much for all your good wishes and encouragement as I take some new direction in my retirement-career. Your friendships are important to me. Indeed they are the main reason I do this.

Thank you, everyone.

2. On the subject of goofy contra-indications, I wanted to share this comment with you verbatim.

"I am so glad to read that Jennifer Sage mentioned the bad training techniques used in class to the instructors that attended. I hope many will do away with the hovering and racing at high rates of speed on little resistance - two of my pet peeves - both of which I am convinced caused me injuries at one point or another through the years. Squats and lunges on a bike were always a mystery to me - could never even figure out why an instructor thought they were helpful."

Bravo, Peg. And thank you.

3. Several of you felt there was some ambiguity in my comment criticizing "high cadence, low resistance pedaling". The question each time began, "But what about Lance Armstrong, ..."

Thanks for the opportunity to clarify what I meant.

Physics says, Power = Force X Velocity.

This is the crucial formula in all of cycling. In cycling the formula can be understood as follows

Power (road speed, work, calorie burning) = Force (gear or resistance) X Velocity (cadence).

Or, as stated by the great Eddie Merck, "He (or she) who pedals the biggest gear fastest wins".

There is nothing wrong with high cadence per se. Most recreational cyclists, in my opinion, pedal too slowly. In general I look for a cadence of 90-100rpm’s if circumstances allow.

But pedaling quickly against little or no resistance does nothing. See the formula, you do not create much power if you are only in a tiny gear. You can test this yourself by looking at the Watts metric if you ride on a Keiser indoor bike.

So the contra-indication is for you to spin a low gear at low cadence. Think, by analogy, of a squirrel spinning in a cage, or a dog wagging its tail. Looks good, very little power produced.

And no, there is neurological improvement pedaling at a rate that is uncontrollable.

So, Lance is right (of course). Higher cadence is good but it must be controlled and against resistance in order to work.

Thank you, Michael and others!

4. Regarding upcoming Tour d France classes. There were numerous suggestions but all involved French wine and pastry.

Thanks, Carl and others!

5. Regarding the quote about working out, several readers (all guys) commented on being willing to work out with Elle Macpherson.

Thank you too! You know who you are!

QUOTE: "Discipline is the habit of taking consistent action until one can perform with unconscious competence." - Jhoon Rhee, Korean taekwondo master widely recognized as the 'Father of American Taekwondo'

RESOURCES: Recent past issues of this newsletter are available at http://billroachblog.blogspot.com

Thank you.

Bill Roach, NASM-CPT, CEx

Star 3 Lifetime Certified Spinning Instructor
Certified Personal Trainer, National Academy of Sports Medicine
Corrective Exercise Specialist, National Academy of Sports Medicine
bill.roach@mchsi.com