šŸŽ„ Sprinting 101: How to Be Explosive

Racing
43

No worries! Thatā€™s literally the point of the video; critiquing me to see how we can all get better. :smile:

45

To Chadā€™s point: since watching the Sprinting 101 i have been regularly doing several low-power standing sprints in each workout. Typically at recovery or endurance level wattage, instead of standing to just stretch I now instead slow my cadence down to 50-60 & focus on:

(1) pulling back instead of up;
(2) pulling back on the same side iā€™m pushing my leg down on;
(3) getting the proper posture so my hip flexors are engaged

I wasnā€™t doing any of these things previously, and as a time-crunched individual spending 90% of my riding on a trainer i need to take every opportunity to make these fundamentals 2nd nature. I believe at low cadence & low power you can spend a few seconds with this approach and get a sense of the sway motion before you have to stop due to lack of tension & lack of horizontal movement. I figure the small efforts will eventually add up when Iā€™m able to get on the road.

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46

I think the ā€œlow and slowā€ approach is very wise.

I was about to make the recommendation to Nate, but as I may not be the best to suggest improvements on sprinting, I held back. But since the general idea is openedā€¦

I know Nate was deliberately sprinting with a lower gear to work on technique, instead of aiming for big power.

  • But I think the lower gearing is leading to a cadence that is too fast for him to control and learn from.

  • I think that a bigger gear, and attention on the motions (not pushing big power) may lead to better ability to focus on the technique.

  • Itā€™s akin to the idea of working to grow cadence overall. We donā€™t jump right up to 110 rpm, but we work gradually at 95, then 100, then 105 and so on.

  • I think Nate can still use the bigger gear, think about the process in a slower mode, and try to get the body position along with the related motions down in a slower speed. Then work to increase the power and/or cadence a bit, while still watching overall form.

  • As with any drill, the point that the form falls off (especially if itā€™s due to too much power), you should reset and go back to the basics at a more controllable power and cadence.

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47

It was not my intention to be confrontational and I will heed your advice in future. The point I was making to Ray had zero effect on his opinion anyway. And while I donā€™t understand his approach to new things, I suspect he knows what his followers want.

Regarding your comments on rocking motion and sprinting, I canā€™t say Iā€™m on board with all your explanations. Maybe itā€™s because I donā€™t really share your enthusiasm for conventional rocker plates. I think they created false expectations. Given the difference between the floating fork and rocker plates, we now have a new point of reference. Specifically, I think the floating fork makes out of saddle riding much more practical, while still providing the basic seated comfort everyone likes. The more I use mine, the more I think they provide something elemental, though I canā€™t quite put my finger on what it is.
I know youā€™re experimenting with something like the floating fork, so I expect youā€™ll be able to shed some light on why it works.

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