As we patiently wait for spring atop our indoor trainers, we have before us the perfect opportunity to hone our craft.  Without the intrusion of cars, and void of turns and braking, what better time to focus on improving our spinning technique?

Observing most beginning age-group triathletes pedal, reveals a technique that is mostly down-force.  This "hammering" is likely the body's "natural" motion.  While this dynamic can generate lots of power by recruiting almost exclusively the quadriceps muscles, it tends to be less efficient than "turning circles." 

By emphasizing a pedaling motion that planes more to the horizontal, we recruit more calf muscle and shift some of the workload away from our quads.  This enables us to maintain a higher cadence for a longer period of time.  In effect, we save our quads for that short burst of power when necessary to crest a small roller or pass a competitor.

If we practice this skill for a few weeks, we find our action getting smoother, because the natural up-and-down action is now complemented by the new fore-and-aft motion.  One way to practice this is to do single-leg workouts. 

Warm up for a while with the bike in an easy-to-spin gear. Then pull one foot out of the pedal and rest it on a chair next to the bike. Now pedal for thirty seconds to a minute, trying to be as efficient as possible with that one leg, concentrating on pulling up and across.  Then repeat with the other leg keeping in mind that this is a drill and not an interval.

Once the technique becomes second nature, we find ourselves pedaling at higher cadence levels.  As we move to bigger gears, our bodies will want to keep the same cadence that now seems so natural.  When we do, we'll go much faster with less effort.

The lesson here is to utilize indoor bike sessions effectively by combining aerobic base building with proper spinning technique, and when the racing season arrives we'll be ready to rock.