Here is the newest edition of my podcast. In it you’ll find:

- A review of the Hammerschmidt system

- A review of the CardioTrainer App for your smart phone

- A review of pre- and post workout drinks, including why they’re important, what I recommend and if chocolate milk is just as good

- A look at how to fix your posture off the bike and how to apply good posture on your bike for more pedaling power, better balance and less wear and tear on your joints

You can find out more about Mix 1 at www.mix1life.com and more about ProGrade Workout by clicking on this link.

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Mountain Bike Cardio Training, Mountain Bike Nutrition & Supplements, Podcasts

Alright, time to get back to some good training info and programs (not that I’m going to stop advocating for flats!).

Here is a cardio circuit we used in my facility a few months back. You can download the overview below. Enjoy!

April 2010 Punisher Circuit 1

April 2010 Punisher 1

-James Wilson-

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Mountain Bike Cardio Training

Well, it seems as if the clipless pedal advocates have decided to call it a draw – no one seems to be able to present me with any info that proves me wrong. However, since I also lacked some “science” then we could just chalk it up to preference – despite my assertion that they contribute to overuse injuries you could just say that since there is no evidence that one is better than the other we’ll call it even. Not so fast, my friend!

I got finally an email on Friday from a USA Cycling Expert Level Coach…telling me I’m not crazy! He forwarded me the slides from a presentation that highlighted a lot of research that has been done in the last few years calling the whole clipless pedal efficiency idea into question and showing that what we thought was good pedaling technique is actually less powerful and efficient than just letting people “mash” away. And this is coming from a road coach so this isn’t another dirty mountain biker who just has it in for the roadies.

I need to get permission to post the slides however the specific studies referenced on the slides or listed below. I’ve highlighted a couple slides in the presentation and explain what they’re saying.

Slide #19 (Mornieux et al. Int J Sports Med 2008; 29:817-822)

- Note how both untrained and trained cyclists pattern of force application are practically the same.

- Note how the level of force being applied and the pattern of force application stays the exact same for flats and clipless pedals.

- Note what happened when people where given feedback on how to use clipless pedals (I’m assuming the usual pedal in a circle instructions) their force application pattern changed and their peak force dropped off.

To me this study strongly suggests that not only do clipless pedals literally offer no help in pedaling but that giving them to a new rider and trying to tell them how to pedal “correctly” will decrease pedaling force and screw up their pedaling patterns. This tells me that we already know how to pedal correctly and we confuse ourselves with clipless pedals and “pedal technique”.

Slide #23 (Korff et al. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2007; 39:991-995)

- Note how the preferred pedaling technique (letting people pedal how they wanted) and the pushing technique (telling someone to purposefully push down harder) look very similar.

- Note how pedaling in a circle decreased torque.

- Note how pulling through the top resulted in a large decrease in peak torque.

Slide #24 (Korff et al. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2007; 39:991-995)

- Note how the preferred and pushing pedaling technique are the most efficient.

These 2 slides suggest to me that we naturally want to pedal in the strongest, most efficient way which is to push hard into the down stroke with no consideration as to what the trail leg is doing. When we start trying to outsmart instinct (you want to spin in circles and/ or pull through the top) we literally decrease pedaling power and efficiency.

Taken together this is scientific evidence of what I have been saying – clipless pedals offer no advantage and in fact allow you to get away with a less powerful, less efficient pedaling technique. This ultimately holds you back from being as fast as you could be. So when you were told not to mash the pedals but to “spin circles” you got the wrong advice.

This is why I’m so zealous about this matter – clipless pedals have gained their prominence through the false assumption that they helped you pedal with more power and efficiency. If you were never told that they would make you better would you really have gone through the learning curve and the anxiety that comes with trail riding on those things? If you knew that they would actually allow you to use a less powerful, less efficient pedaling technique (which you literally can not get away with on flats) would you have bought into them?

I just want to give people to info that will give them confidence to opt out. For years we’ve been told that riding flats will make it impossible to climb steep hills or to pedal with as much power and efficiency and that is simply not the case. Opting out of the clipless mindset is not a trade-off, it is a move up. As more studies are done that take both quality and quantity into account we’ll learn more about how we’ve screwed up yet again by trying to improve on Mother Nature.

-James Wilson-

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Barefoot Pedaling & Flat Pedals, Mountain Bike Cardio Training

I got into an email discussion between my buddy Gene Hamilton (www.betterride.net) and a student of his regarding standing pedaling technique while climbing. Here’s my thoughts on that plus why I’m throwing the gauntlet down on clipless pedals…

Climbing while standing all comes down to body position, or more importantly you ability to hinge at the hips and not the low back. Any rounding of the low back and/ or upper back (I call it turtleing up) will throw off your power center and your balance.

Proper standing pedaling technique is nothing more than proper hip hinge technique where you’ve got your chest puffed out, and arch in your low back and being able to maintain that spine position while hinging at the hips. The only way, in my opinion, to really ingrain this and get it right on the bike is to get off the bike and train that movement pattern. So, if you really want to see good standing pedaling technique watch my deadlift demo video and ingrain that movement. If that is how you move you won’t have to “figure out” how to do it on the bike, it will happen with minimal thought and effort.

Now, since most riders can’t achieve that position when standing and instead apply a rounded “seated” posture while standing they can’t maintain traction on the rear wheel when climbing. I can climb much better when standing, when I’m seated I feel like I’m fighting my front end from popping up. The steeper the climb the more the front end wants to wander so I stand up and get long which spreads my weight out and lets me keep the front end down and traction on the rear wheel. Core and hip strength play a big role because you can’t lean on the handlebars (we know that is bad body position) and you need all your weight on the pedals but without adequate strength in those areas you will lean into the handlebars to support your weight rather than using your core and hips to “suspend” you body over your bottom bracket.

And about clipless pedals increasing power…they do, but not how you want them too. If you have someone who has long, weak glutes and short, tight hip flexors (your average rider, in other words) they literally can not use their hips to pedal through the “deadspot” on the bottom. You attach their feet to the pedals so they can now use their already overworked hip flexors to pull through the top. It did not fix the problem, it simply made you more efficient with your dysfunction. In the face of that instant performance increase people stop there and really ingrain the “sit, spin and pull through” technique. They never really learn how to use the most powerful muscles in their body (the hips) to power through the bottom of the pedal stroke which, in my opinion, ultimately limits their development.

That is not an advantage, it is a crutch that results in an appallingly high rate of overuse injuries. There is absolutely nothing that you can do with clipless pedals that you can’t do just as well, if not better, with flats. This isn’t even taking into account how clipless pedals completely screws up the natural “rolling” motion the foot goes through. Your foot is designed to strike mid foot on the outside and roll into the arch and pushing through the center of the midfoot. This rolling action creates a natural screwing motion and avoids a linear up and down motion, which is how the leg is designed to work. By attaching the foot to the pedal at the middle-midfoot position you take away the entire roll action and place a crapload of stress on the knees and hips. 85% overuse injury rates don’t lie – something is wrong with clipless pedaling.

Just because you are on a bike doesn’t mean that everything we know about how the human body is supposed to power movement goes out the window. We were convinced not too long ago that running shoes were great and we now know that you try to improve on mother nature at your own risk. The more I look at it the more I’m convinced clipless pedals are worthless and screw your body up.

Anyways, just some thoughts…

-James Wilson-

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Barefoot Pedaling & Flat Pedals, Mountain Bike Cardio Training

Let me say right up front that I have nothing against single speeds (although single speed guy who’s whole existence is tied to his bike is a bit annoying).  What I am talking about here is the reputation that they have developed for “training”. Riders who have experienced it will tell you how single speeding made them stronger and ride smoother on their regular bike. As a result of this anecdotal evidence a lot of riders are advised to get a single speed when they think about doing some training.

Here is the problem with this, though. There is nothing magical about single speeding, it simply taps into some training principles and methods most riders don’t take advantage of enough. By understanding what these are you can actually design a much more effective plan at improving your trail skills and endurance. Read more…

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Mountain Bike Cardio Training

Most people go through life never realizing that most of “reality” is nothing more than their paradigm on stuff, shaped by physical and mental experiences. For example, most people would think that running a marathon is extremely hard, if not impossible. Based on their lack of endurance and experience running, plus the extra 20-30 pounds they are likely carrying, their mind forms the reality that a marathon is “hard”.

However, someone who trains for a marathon and runs them regularly probably has a different opinion on the subject. Their brain scans their physical shape and mental experiences and says that running for a few hours at a good clip isn’t so bad and is, in fact, enjoyable. Each person has their reality…and it can change.

If the first person decided to train hard and make it happen they could get to the physical and mental place where they too feel than running a marathon isn’t “hard” anymore. If the second person broke their leg and had to take a lot of time off their physical and mental state would change and what used to be easy is once again hard. Your reality isn’t permanent and it can be changed rather easily.

So, what the heck does all this have to do with mountain biking? There are a lot of “truths” surrounding clipless pedals that are nothing more than a shared paradigm towards working around common weaknesses. Here are a few of the ones that really drive me nuts:

- Clipless pedals let you pedal with more power. Read more…

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Mountain Bike Cardio Training