Build A Bigger Bike Motor

Over the past several weeks I’ve had cyclists ask how to train for a summer cycling vacation in
the mountains with others asking what they need to do to simply become stronger and faster on their bike.

The answer to both issues can be described in three words: strength, threshold and hills.

Unfortunately, many recreational cyclists avoid doing bike workouts “with a purpose” and instead just go ride at the same easy and comfortable pace over the same familiar route every day.

The problem with consistently easy and comfortable rides is that the human body becomes very proficient at doing things it does over and over, so if you pedal along at 12 miles per hour for 45-60 minutes on flat roads day after day your body develops into a world-class 12 mph “motor.”

When you increase the speed to 15 or 20 mph or if you try to ride hills, that well-tuned 12 mph motor bogs down like a low-power compact car trying to pull a camper trailer.

What you need is a bigger engine with more power and — repeating the key terms — that is accomplished by focusing on strength, threshold and hills.

It’s also important to note that developing more power on the bike isn’t just for competitive cyclists. Both casual Saturday morning riders as well as serious racers will benefit from increasing the amount of power that can be applied to the pedals.

Strength on a bike is simple — it simply means you’re able to apply more force to the pedals. However, unlike strength in the weight room where the goal is to simply lift or press a certain number of pounds a few times, strength on the bike refers to applying a somewhat high force 70-100 times per minute during a ride and having the muscular endurance to continue that force application for extended periods of time.

Threshold, the second key term, is defined as the maximum sustained effort that can be maintained for one hour. It’s a general indicator of how fit you are in that a higher threshold means you can sustain a higher heart rate or power level for an extended period of time.

Although most recreational cyclists (or even professional racers) will rarely ride at their threshold for long periods of time, improving (raising) your threshold means that it becomes easier to go faster or climb hills even at sub-threshold heart rate levels. In other words, easy becomes easier and hard becomes not so hard.

Hills are the third magic component of becoming become stronger and faster on the bike because riding up hills increases power-to-the-pedals strength and also provides a great workout to improve threshold.

If you do nothing else to become stronger and faster on your bike, just adding one or two rides per week that include sections of going up hills will yield positive results. If hills are not available, you can simulate them by doing 5-15 minute interval repeats at a slow 50-70 rpm cadence in a hard gear on a flat road.

So, how do we include strength, threshold and hills into a workout schedule so that by midsummer we’ll develop that powerful motor we need for bike rides in the mountains, the bike leg of a triathlon or the local group ride?

As noted above, building strength in the gym will translate to more power on the bike (and, as an added benefit, help burn more calories). Some common exercises for strength include walking lunges, step-ups onto a box, hamstring curls and leg presses. Do several sets of these exercises twice per week, gradually increasing the repetitions and weight used if on a machine.

After a few weeks of in-the-gym strength training, start adding “big gear intervals” to one or two of your weekly rides. Warm up for 15-20 minutes, shift into a much harder gear than normal and pedal at a slower 50-70 rpm cadence “muscling” the pedals around in a circle. Start with two five-minute big gear repeats with an easy five-minute spin between and gradually work up to 15-minute intervals.

Hills also help to increase functional leg strength. The workout is similar to big gear intervals, but instead of relying on a hard gear to provide increased resistance you’ll ride up a nice hill, coast down to recover and then repeat the “go up” fun several times.

Traveling to a location with big hills such as Burma Road or the south end of Susan Peak Road isn’t necessary. I’ve done a lot of uphill repeats on local hills such as on 2288 between Highway 67 and Arden Road and also on the short uphill next to the Nature Trail at the end of Spillway Road.

Concurrently, dedicate parts of one or two weekly rides to increasing your threshold. To avoid getting into detailed specifics of heart rate zones, assume that “threshold pace” for your current level of fitness is significantly harder and faster than what is comfortable for you (breathing will be labored, legs will burn a little and you’ll be cussing the idiot who suggested this).

Just as with big gear repeats, you'll want to warm up for at least 10-15 minutes, then accelerate up to speed and hold the harder threshold pace for 5-10 minutes. It will be uncomfortable, so focus on a smooth pedaling cadence, keep applying pressure on the pedals and try to maintain the hard pace for the duration of the interval. Spin for five minutes in an easy gear to recover and then repeat the fast interval. Start with two 5 minute repeats and build up to 20-30 minutes of maintaining a hard pace.

Remember — strength, threshold and hills are the keys to developing a more powerful “motor” for your bike.


Upcoming Events

May 30: ECVFD Stop, Drop and Roll, roadlizards.org
June 5: Relay for Life 5K, roadlizards.org
June 13: Run in the Sun, roadlizards.org
July 12: LakeNasworthy Triathlon, roadlizards.org
July 25: Goodfellow Triathlon, roadlizards.org
Aug 9: San Angelo Triathlon, permianbasinevents.com/san-angelo-tri.html