Triathlon SBR Magazine Winter 2019 | Page 65

your legs to spin faster without a massive amount of training. There is no case for grinding gears! Learn from professional cyclists like Chris Froome. By taking a lower gear and spinning faster, he is able to ride faster for longer up the big mountains. Riding a lower gear is not only softer on the body but also saves your legs for the run. Yes, your heart rate will be slightly higher, but the heart recovers a lot more quickly than fatigued legs. Jan Frodeno, Javier Gomez and Ben Hoffman all follow this example – with top results as we know. Of course, getting to a consistent cadence of 90 takes lots of dedicated work over a long period of time. But I promise you it will be worth your while. First off, you need to practice pedalling properly, in a round, smooth circle. Then practice pedalling faster. The best place to do this is on an indoor trainer where you have a controlled environment. Interval training works best. Do one- minute intervals, starting at a cadence of 110rpm and working your way up to 120. Keep the cadence smooth and the same for the duration of the interval. This kind of training will help you build a wider range of cycling abilities. It stands to reason that the faster you peddle, the faster you will go. The sky is the limit! RUN MORE EFFICIENTLY As with cycling, a high cadence is important. Why? By increasing your cadence, you’re doing more than moving your feet faster – you’re changing the positioning of where your foot lands. With a higher cadence, your foot lands under your hips, in your centre of gravity. This decreases your stride length and increases your turnover, which means you’re wasting less energy moving up and down. Rather, your body is focused on moving forward, making you faster. Runners who use long strides place their feet in front of their hips. This is like running with a handbrake on. It not only