Running and cycling

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by Carrera
What do people feel about running or sprinting as a means of improving fitness for cycling?

Some years ago, a friend of mine who was a really good road-biker challenged me to try his running routine. It consisted of a short sprint that finished on a hill with a post on the top. The idea was to time your speed and sprint to the start of the hill. Once you hit the hill itself, it was necessary to pump the arms and keep going with the post in sight. It was a long uphill sprint.

The first time I tried this, I found my legs were wobbling and I was reduced to half-walking my way up. The idea of this training, however, was striclty aerobic and designed to get the heart and lungs to adapt.

Is there any evidence to suggest that running makes one a better cyclist due to the pure aerobic effects of a hard run?

for trained cyclists there is no evidence whatsoever that running would make you a better cyclist. additionally, there is no good evidence that *any* other modality will help cycling in trained cyclists. i'd consider anyone to be trained if they raced and/or had the potential to race (at any level).

in untrained cyclists, *any* exercise will pretty much make you fitter.

i'm not entirely sure i understand the exercise protocol, but if it's a one off sprint (which i think it is) it's unlikely to be aerobic (depending on how long it takes).

If you want to get better at cycling, your best bet is to increase your cycling, whether that's the volume, the frequency, the intensity or a combination will in part depend on your goals.

if your unsure how to get fitter for your goals, then people here will be able to offer advice, or myself and 2Lap who are the moderators here and both coaches and sports scientists will be able to offer specific advice.

cheers
ric

Carrera,

Couldn't you accomplish the same training effect by doing hill sprints up a steep incline on your bike? I would think this would have the added benefit of conditioning your cycling legs to ride in more "perfect" circles by applying force over 360 degrees of the pedal stoke.

Mountain bikers as a group have been found to actually have the the best pedal stoke in terms of applying the best pedaling mechanics throughout the pedal circle, even more so than track riders. They tend to climb hills while seated to avoid losing traction on loose surfaces.

Although your friend's approach could definitely improve one's level of overall fitness, I would advise everyone to shy away from running due to the impact on the lower back, knees, ankles and feet. I've destroyed my lower back from running, thus I never advocate it under any circumstance. Having said that, sprinting up a hill would be much less damaging than running on a flat surface or down a hill.

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by Doctor Morbius
Carrera,

Couldn't you accomplish the same training effect by doing hill sprints up a steep incline on your bike? I would think this would have the added benefit of conditioning your cycling legs to ride in more "perfect" circles by applying force over 360 degrees of the pedal stoke.

Mountain bikers as a group have been found to actually have the the best pedal stoke in terms of applying the best pedaling mechanics throughout the pedal circle, even more so than track riders. They tend to climb hills while seated to avoid losing traction on loose surfaces.

It's known that road cyclists do not apply force in a perfect circle, in fact in work by Coyle et al, 1991, who used *force measuring pedals* two groups of cyclist (well trained and elite), the elite group pedalled *worse* than the less trained group who managed to apply more force throughout the pedal stroke.

The elite group applied higher forces on the downstroke, less on the upstroke resulting in greater overall power.

additionally, MTBers do tend to pedal in 'better' circles, but this maybe due to the constraints of riding off-road on slippery surfaces, where 'pulses' of force may cause the rear wheel to loose traction.

furthermore, track riders are generally the biggest stompers, as cadences are so high the muscles have to be activated for applying force for the downstroke prior to reaching top dead centre.

ric

Yes, I have tried repetitive hill-climbing. Usually I pick a steep but fairly short hill for a total climb of about 10 minutes before repeating the process.
Climbing is something I really enjoy simply because there's more challenge and it's great for improving fitness.

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by Doctor Morbius
Carrera,

Couldn't you accomplish the same training effect by doing hill sprints up a steep incline on your bike? I would think this would have the added benefit of conditioning your cycling legs to ride in more "perfect" circles by applying force over 360 degrees of the pedal stoke.

Mountain bikers as a group have been found to actually have the the best pedal stoke in terms of applying the best pedaling mechanics throughout the pedal circle, even more so than track riders. They tend to climb hills while seated to avoid losing traction on loose surfaces.

Although your friend's approach could definitely improve one's level of overall fitness, I would advise everyone to shy away from running due to the impact on the lower back, knees, ankles and feet. I've destroyed my lower back from running, thus I never advocate it under any circumstance. Having said that, sprinting up a hill would be much less damaging than running on a flat surface or down a hill.