Movement indicates form

I don't know if you watched the marathon event on the Olympics this year or not. In some ways, I'm surprised that a network would show a marathon from start to finish. On the other hand, it provided me with an interesting opportunity. Studying movement is one of my greatest interests. Watching the way someone moves, indicates to me the effectiveness of the athlete. During the ladies marathon, I would watch various runners as they started to develop changes in their form. Maybe it was the way the swing their arms or the amount of rotation in their trunk. Other runners would begin to develop changed in their stride. I characterized these movements as "noisy". Conversely, I would observe the runners that were "quiet". These runners were smooth and fluid. There movement pattern was balanced so that it delivered the maximum effort in the direction they were running and other "non-productive" movements were minimized or absent.

As the marathon progressed and fatigue set in, runners would develop noisy running patterns. Then, on the next camera shot, they would begin to fade away. It was like an ever steepening slope of destruction. Poor movement patterns accelerate fatigue and causing more noise which causes more fatigue and so on and so on.... Then, "pop", the parties over.

The same thing occurs in cycling. Movement is an indication of form. On the road, this movement is noted in the line of the bike as well as side to side and rotation movements of the legs. All of these movements affect the center of gravity of the rider. As the center of gravity changes, the direction of the bike changes. With the bike on a trainer, the rider moves much more with poor form. Since the bike is essentially locked to the ground, it can't move underneath and all unresolved forces present themselves in the rider. It reminds me of the scene from "How the Grinch Stole Christmas". "All the Noise, noise, noise, noise, noise!"

In a perfect world or a perfect pedal stroke, all the force would be delivered to the cranks. Other forces would be balanced so that the rider is stable in the saddle.

Next time you are on the road, take note of the noisy riders. Here's my recommendation. Stay away from them because they cause wrecks. Most of the time, they self destruct because they are producing a lot of non-productive force.

Next time you are on the trainer, if you are not able to ride quietly, you have technique issues that need help. Making these changes towards effectiveness with make you faster.

Please leave the mud on your shoes and pedal better

Most everyone has heard that you need to "scrape the mud off your shoes" while pedaling. Often, clients come to me and voice this phase as a description of what they are trying to do at the bottom of the stroke. However, this image provides for critical errors in technique that cost the cyclist and create a loss of power.

Let's consider the image. If I attempt to scrape the mud off my shoe, I immediately think of a standing activity where I force my heel down and pull back with my hip or gluteal muscles. My knee is straight or almost straight. Now, compare that image to the position and muscle activity when the pro cyclist is at the bottom of the pedal stroke. Their knee is flexed and their toe is pointed down. From a muscle activity perspective, the gluteal muscles are shutting off because the hip is translating from extension to flexion the gastroc muscles are active with the hamstrings because they are secondary knee flexors. It's a completely different movement compared to scraping mud off your shoes.

Engaging the pedal at the bottom of the stroke is of utmost importance. Let's try a different image: "Actively bend your knee through the bottom of the stroke". Practice this while on a trainer. Place your foot at the bottom of the stroke. Hold the right/rear brake. Try to start pedaling with the heel down vs. heel up. Heel up engages the hamstring muscle to the greatest extent. Pulling back with the heel down engages the glutes which is completely out of phase at this portion of the pedal stroke.

Those cyclists with their saddle too high are actually at risk for injury if they try to drop the heel. It will cause the knee to extend too much which puts the knee in danger. Ultimately, the body will not let this happen and you will move back and forth on the saddle as a consequence. Way uncomfortable! and you can't ride a straight line.

Cyclists with their saddle too low will have the greatest tendency to drop the heel because the body is trying to find an efficient place to move. However, with the saddle low and heel dropped, you will loose power because you can't engage knee flexors effectively.

Placing the athlete in the athletic start position is a goal of a good bike fit. The athletic start position is the short stop waiting for the batter to hit the ball or a linebacker waiting for the snap. It's the position of greatest muscle capacity. From here, the cyclist can learn to move in a manner that provides the greatest power.

Time to get back to writing

All I can say... It's been a wild Summer. Now, the kids are back in school and it was like Summer never happened.

Here's where the interesting work is being done when I'm working with clients. I've started doing before and after video analysis. This gives a good perspective to the changes that are occurring with the bike fit. Also, I can give each client some additional information about how their technique based on the video assessment.

All in all, the initial video work just offers a peak at the value that Dartfish offers. The best way to take advantage of the service is to use it as an adjunct to technique training. Technique sessions are a combination of performance, analysis, review and teaching/training. Then, the cycle starts all over again.