Subject: RE: Active.com article - TRIATHLETES: DEVELOPING FORCE ON THE BIKE good article! when i was 15, and just made my way up to A grade, I would always have the other riders (the big 'men' ) telling me to shift into a harder gear to keep up, because I would be riding along, trying to keep up by spinning @ a high cadence in the easier gears. It had worked well in training, and helped me improve a lot when i was younger... but it just didnt work when i rode in the A pack - as the article explains.
However it shouldnt be forgotten "after a rest period, depending on the length of your rest period, allow several weeks to build your endurance. During this time, athletes should do rides in their small chain ring only, to get their muscles and tendons used to the cycling motion." This idea also applies to children - by starting to spin in a easier gear (at a young age if possible ) and building up, one can push, or spin in a harder gear much more easily and effectively later on in life when the muscles are developed enough to do so. This is the reason for gear restrictions in the younger age groups - really annoying, but there for a reason...
aidan Edited by Pro_rider 2004-04-30 10:46 AM
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