Improve bike efficiency and speed with these 5 pedal stroke workouts

Strength, speed and power-to-weight ratio get a lot of attention during cycling sessions. All of these elements can be elevated with a simple skill that’s been under your nose the whole time.

The quality of your pedal stroke determines how effective you are at transferring power to your bike. Including workouts that help develop a smoother pedal stroke can help you get more out of every revolution.

A good pedal stroke is characterized by a fluid motion. There should be no “dead spots” in the application of force on the pedal at anytime during the stroke. Constant, even pressure along the entire circumference is sometimes described as a motion similar to painting a circle with your foot while never letting the brush loose contact with the canvas.

If your pedal stroke is broken into two separate actions, pulling and pushing, your are lacking fluidity. This stroke method destabilizes the bike and causes your body position to shift continuously, wasting valuable energy. Using excessive force is also fatiguing the muscles unnecessarily.

The key points at which a clunky pedal stroke transforms into an energy-conserving, fluid motion is when the foot transitions smoothly from pushing to pulling at the bottom and top of the stroke. Heels should be slightly down on the push phase and slightly up as the foot sweeps to the top of the stroke during the pull phase.

This takes concentration and practice because it’s not a skill that comes naturally for most cyclists. These five workouts can help you get there.

High cadence drill

High cadence drills involve spinning very fast using low resistance. Put the bike in an easy gear and focus solely on the speed of your revolutions. Aim to pedal as fast as you can without bouncing in the saddle. These intervals are not hard on the muscles as the resistance is very low, but they will get your heart ticking.

• warm up for a minimum of 10 minutes
• complete 5-10 x 1 minute intervals broken down in the following way, with 2 minutes of easy spinning in between each interval
  • 20s at 100 RPM
  • 20s at 120 RPm
  • 20s at 130+ RPM
• try to increase the RPM targets every week until you can hit 150 RPM or higher
• cool down for a minimum of 10 minutes

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Single leg drills

Single legs drill can be inserted into any workout, especially near the beginning, to prime your legs for a smooth stroke during the remainder of the session. After a warm up, include the following single leg drill before completing your main set.

• 4-6 x each leg: 30s of slow pedalling using only one leg. Concentrate on the correct mechanics of a fluid stroke and feel for any “dead spot” when your foot seems to loose contact with the pedal.

Riding the rollers

Rollers replicate outdoor riding and put your pedal stroke skills to the test. With the addition of having to engage your core and balance, rollers add an element of difficulty that can take your pedal stroke drills to the next level. If you have a poor pedal stroke it will be difficult to hide on the rollers. This will challenge your balance and force you to take a concentrated approach to pedal mechanics.

• ride 30 minutes – 1 hour on the rollers in zone 1 or 2. Focus solely on practicing your pedal stroke mechanics to keep you balanced and riding smooth.

Low cadence drills

Perform this drill on your trainer, outdoors or into a headwind. Working from the hips, find a hard gear that forces you to pedal at or below 60 RPM.

• warm up for a minimum of 10 minutes
• 3- 5 x 10 min at low cadence, on 1-2 minute easy at 100+ RPM. Focus on the transition spots at the top and bottom of the stroke. Feel for any power loss when your foot disengages with the pedal. Make sure to apply force throughout the entire revolution. Try these in aero to practice your pedal stroke in an alternate riding position.
• cool down for a minimum of 10 minutes

Hill stomps

Similar to low cadence drills, these need to be done outside on a steep hill. If you are currently locked into training indoors, use this drill to test how you’ve improved over winter, and continue refining your skills throughout spring.

• warm up for a minimum of 10 minutes
• 3-5 x short, steep hill at below 50 RPM. Focus on the smoothness of the transition at the top and bottom of the stroke. With the tension so high you will notice any breaks in power transition. Be careful not to fall over!
• 200m+ at 100+ RPM. Ride easy in the same gear with high cadence on the flats for recovery.
• cool down for a minimum of 10 minutes

It may be tempting to spend all your time hammering the bike or going for long coffee rides with friends. But spending time improving your pedal stroke is like free money when it comes to laying down the power. You will work less hard for more gain and be finishing your first coffee when the rest of the group rolls up.