This Stops 90% of Cyclists Getting Faster
Summary
TLDRThis video offers a unique workout called the 'Magic Hour' to improve cycling speed, emphasizing the importance of proper body positioning and skill over sprint training. It also highlights the role of drag, suggesting ways to reduce it and increase average speed without spending extra money.
Takeaways
- đââïž The video emphasizes the importance of not just sprinting to increase speed but using a workout that can change one's speed forever.
- đ± The use of a phone to track speed and compare with others on Strava is discussed, highlighting the mistake of comparing oneself with those who may have an unfair advantage like drafting.
- đ The concept of 'magic hour' workout is introduced, which involves planning a route and doing intervals of high-intensity cycling with rest periods in between.
- â± The workout should be exactly one hour long, focusing on maintaining the effort for the duration and stopping as the hour ends for accurate speed measurement.
- đŽââïž The video suggests that improving one's aerodynamic position on the bike, specifically the 'frontal load triangle' of head, shoulders, and handlebars, can significantly affect speed.
- đȘ Strength and core work are recommended to overcome physical limitations that may prevent one from getting into a more aerodynamic position on the bike.
- đž The idea of taking photos to analyze one's position on the bike is suggested as a way to make adjustments and improve aerodynamics.
- đ The video points out that skill is a key component of speed, and that improving bike handling, cornering, and braking can lead to faster cycling.
- đ° It's noted that spending more money on gear like helmets may not yield significant improvements in speed compared to focusing on body positioning and skill.
- đ The 'magic hour' is positioned as a baseline to measure one's current speed and progress over time, with the suggestion to repeat the workout after a month.
- đ The video concludes by emphasizing that identifying and overcoming individual obstacles to speed, such as skill limitations or physical barriers, is crucial for improvement.
Q & A
What is the main focus of the video?
-The main focus of the video is to provide a workout and tips to improve cycling speed, emphasizing that traditional sprint training may not be the best approach for everyone.
Why does the speaker suggest not to compare oneself with others on Strava?
-The speaker suggests not to compare oneself with others on Strava because many people are making the mistake of comparing their average speed with group rides where others are drafting, which can lead to an inaccurate assessment of one's own speed.
What is the term used for the workout the speaker introduces?
-The term used for the workout introduced by the speaker is 'the magic hour'.
What is the significance of planning the route for the 'magic hour' workout?
-Planning the route is significant because it should be flat, away from road furniture, and ideally with a headwind/tailwind balance to ensure that wind is not a factor affecting the ride's speed.
What is the recommended length of the interval during the 'magic hour' workout for a beginner?
-For a beginner, the recommended length of the interval during the 'magic hour' workout is 30 seconds to 3 minutes.
How often should one perform the 'magic hour' workout according to the video?
-The video suggests performing the 'magic hour' workout once and then repeating it after a month to track progress.
What is the key component that the speaker says is often overlooked when trying to improve speed?
-The key component often overlooked is the frontal load triangle, which includes the head, shoulders, and handlebars, and how it affects air resistance or drag.
Why is lowering the frontal load triangle beneficial for cycling speed?
-Lowering the frontal load triangle is beneficial because it reduces the drag caused by air resistance, which can significantly impact cycling speed.
What does the speaker suggest as a solution for triceps fatigue when holding the hoods of the bike?
-The speaker suggests doing push-ups and bench dips to strengthen the triceps as a solution for triceps fatigue when holding the hoods of the bike.
What is the term used by the speaker to describe the skill level in cycling and its relation to speed?
-The term used by the speaker to describe the skill level in cycling and its relation to speed is 'speed is skill'.
What advice does the speaker give regarding the use of brakes while cycling?
-The speaker advises that brakes are meant to stop the bike, not to slow it down, and that continual braking might indicate riding at a speed that is out of control.
How does the speaker suggest improving one's skill level on the bike?
-The speaker suggests improving one's skill level by focusing on the flow with the bike, including line taking, cornering, and positioning on the road during every ride.
Outlines
đŽââïž Enhancing Speed Through 'Magic Hour' Workout
This paragraph introduces a workout designed to improve cycling speed, challenging the common misconception that sprint training is essential. The speaker emphasizes the importance of understanding one's genetic predisposition to speed, suggesting that while sprint training can be beneficial, it is not the primary method for enhancing speed. The 'magic hour' workout involves planning a route, performing intervals of high-intensity cycling, and resting as needed. The goal is to complete the workout within an hour, with the focus on maintaining a high average speed. The speaker also advises against comparing oneself to others on Strava, highlighting the need for a personal baseline and the potential for misleading comparisons.
đââïž Overcoming Drag and Improving Skill for Faster Cycling
The second paragraph delves into the concept of drag and how it affects cycling speed. The speaker explains that the body creates the majority of the drag, and thus, optimizing body position is crucial for reducing air resistance. Techniques such as lowering the head relative to the handlebars and improving core strength are suggested to achieve a more aerodynamic position. Additionally, the speaker discusses the importance of skill in cycling, arguing that skill and speed are closely linked. By focusing on improving bike handling, braking, and cornering skills, cyclists can increase their speed. The speaker encourages viewers to practice these skills during every ride and to identify and overcome the specific obstacles that limit their speed.
đ Mastering Bike Handling and Skill to Maximize Speed
In the final paragraph, the speaker reinforces the idea that skill is a significant factor in cycling speed. They emphasize the importance of smooth bike handling, including cornering, positioning on the road, and pedal stroke. The speaker suggests that by focusing on these aspects, cyclists can achieve a natural flow that enhances speed. They also encourage viewers to identify their personal limitations and work on improving them through each ride. The speaker concludes by reminding viewers that anyone can train hard, but training smart is what sets apart successful cyclists, inviting them to join a free community for further guidance and support.
Mindmap
Keywords
đĄGreasy Fast Demon Speed
đĄSprint Training
đĄAverage Speed
đĄStrava
đĄFast Twitch Fibers
đĄMagic Hour
đĄFrontal Load Triangle
đĄDrag
đĄSkill
đĄPositioning
đĄFlow
Highlights
The video introduces a workout to change speed forever without traditional sprint training.
Two tips are provided to beat obstacles holding back speed.
The importance of not comparing oneself to others on Strava is emphasized.
A method to hack Strava and beat average speed is discussed.
The concept of 'magic hour' workout is introduced with a focus on interval training.
The significance of planning the route for the workout to ensure optimal conditions is mentioned.
The workout involves varying intervals of 30 seconds to 5 minutes depending on the rider's level.
The importance of recording the workout and analyzing it on Strava for average speed and peak power is highlighted.
The concept of frontal load triangle is introduced to reduce air resistance and increase speed.
Tips on how to lower the frontal load triangle by adjusting bike position and body posture are given.
The role of strength work and core exercises in improving cycling speed is discussed.
The video suggests using photographs and apps to analyze and improve body positioning on the bike.
The idea that skill and speed are interconnected is presented, with skillful cycling leading to faster speeds.
Advice on improving cycling skill through better braking, cornering, and bike handling is provided.
The video emphasizes the importance of identifying and overcoming personal obstacles to increase speed.
A call to action for viewers to subscribe for more content and join the free community for extended discussions.
The video concludes with a reminder that anyone can train hard, but training smart is the key to improvement.
Transcripts
we need greasy fast Demon Speed speed's
what we need that's what I'm going to
give you in this video Yeah speed but uh
we're not going to chase chickens well
not yet and we're not going to do any
sprinting no is that the mistake you're
making cuz it's the mistake a lot of
people are making Sprint training to
increase speed no I'm going to give you
a workout that will change your speed
forever and I'm going to give you two
tips that will help you more than likely
beat the obstacles that are holding your
speed back let's get on with it or
should I say let's get started okay
before we kick off you've got your phone
yeah because your phone is where straa
likely is and if you're interested in
speed you're interested in average speed
and you've been comparing yourself to
others who have got a higher average
speed than you so the drill I'm going to
give you can also show you how to hack
straa and beat well most people's
average speed the way that we input the
data it's not something that's massively
interesting to me
I'm actually that old that I was riding
my bike before the internet before straa
before apps that actually speed mattered
because you were quicker than people on
the road but straa now shows us rides
that can be group rides or solo rides
and a lot of people are making that
mistake comparing themselves to people
who are sucking wheels and following 10
other Riders and the r speed is higher
than you so I want you to relax okay oh
well you've got your phone hit that
subscribe button apparently YouTube said
that 85% of people watching my videos
are not subscribed I told YouTube it's
cuz they're old okay and they don't know
where the button is it says
subscribe and it's actually spelled for
you and it's probably in the corner of
the screen hit it please help yourself
now relax take yourself back to when you
were 10 years old our 10-year-old self
is the same person we are today fast
twitch and slow twitch fibers you're
genetically gifted with more or less
fast switch fibers mean you're fast
you're fast when you're young you're
fast when you're old I don't care if
you're wearing a fat suit now okay
you're still the same muscle fibers you
cannot convert slow to fast and Fast to
slow no you recruit and you activate
fibers so you're either fast and you can
get faster with training or you're slow
and you can get a little bit quicker by
recruiting more but you're never going
to become an Olympic champion Sprinter
if you're born slow game over okay but
we can get quicker because quickness is
Fitness Fitness is fastness so by doing
Sprint training it's completely
irrelevant to somebody who hasn't got a
high abundance of fast twitch fibers you
get me but Sprint training can come
later oh later I mean join the free
community with over 3,000 other people
and you'll get longer videos on these
types of topics okay let's talk about
the workout now now this workout is so
simple remember over complicating
workouts is usually a sign that
cognitively you're not really dialed
into what you're doing even worse you
might not be enjoying the workouts so
this one is hard but it's super simple
to do now I call it the magic hour the
first thing you're going to do is plan
the bloody workout okay so you plan the
route the route is key you can keep it
flat you can keep it away from Road
furniture and you just make sure that
you've got a kind of out and in what we
call a headwind Tailwind type ride if
that's possible okay so that the wind is
never a factor for your ride yes the
wind that's something that straa doesn't
pick up on there are people people even
in my area that will get on a train with
their bike and they'll cycle home with a
tailwind and then post that they got a k
don't become one of them okay cuz you're
never going to enjoy your cycling but
what we're going to do to hack stra a
little bit is you do your warmup 10 15
20 minutes stop or lap send that to
space I was going to say there send that
to the internet okay send it to straa
and then do the magic hour now V2 is the
key so those 30 seconds to 3 minutes for
a beginner or 30 seconds to 5 minutes
for more advanced that's the length of
the interval you're aiming for in your
head so you set off hard okay set off
hard go for as long as you can dictated
by the terrain and the road okay you
rest for as long as you need then you go
again then you rest then you go again
then you rest you might get 7 10 12
intervals inside your hour it's entirely
up to you but you watch that clock 59 50
59 55 59 59 60 boom hit that LP button
boom you've got your hour send it to
straa space it'll be uploaded you can
analyze you can see your average speed
your Peak power different things that
you can extract from that it's a magic
hour and it's a baseline that gives you
a starting point you do your cool down
is a discrete workout and you send that
to straa you get three uploads for the
one but it's the one whereby you're
dialing into that average speed now
you're going to come back and do this in
a month but in the meantime there are
two little other key things that you're
going to dial into and I'm going to show
you now how to extract them from the
workout that's going to change change
your speed okay right let's now look at
one of the key components that many
people Overlook because you're going to
spend money on it and that is getting
Arrow your body is going to create the
biggest drag can we say drag now drag is
not going to fame people is it you know
what I mean okay the drag that's created
from that air resistance no matter how
much money you spend on an AO bike your
body will always have at least 80% of
that drag and You' got to work on that
and let me let you into a little secret
your AO helmet all helmets are Arrow to
a degree and the little gains that you
make by spending another couple of
hundred is not going to help us here
it's about our body shape through the
front so let's talk about frontal load
triangle head shoulders handles okay
your handlebars right so your hoods your
drops and this frontal load triangle
we're going to try and get it as low as
possible now every Cycling Club has a
guy
who's going to tell you to get that stem
slammed you're too high okay
it's all about how high our head is
compared to our handlebars we want to
decrease that okay so any structure
that's going into the wind is going to
cause drag and the higher our head from
our handlebars means there's a bigger
shape in front of that wind so what
we're going to try and do is get low now
here's the thing that no one really
tells you there are obstructions to that
what are they you've got to dial into
them so what's going on do your triceps
hot after a couple of minutes holding
onto the hoods getting really low can
you not get into your drops why is that
what are you doing about those things
many people say I can't do it so I'm not
going to do it and don't shout at me
coach I'm trying my best okay I'm not
shouting at you what I'm saying is you
got to dial into it as Mickey says to
Rocky what's this can't there's no can't
you can okay so if your triceps hot get
doing push-ups bench dips okay if you
can't get into your drops what the
hell's going on with the bike okay
you've got to practice by getting Arrow
we can add more than 1 mile an hour to
that average speed it's not fre speed
but it's certainly worth the investment
in your core work in your strength work
and your positioning on your bike so try
and get some photographs of this frontal
you can easily do a photograph and there
are apps online now where you can put
grids and you can count the grids that
you cover in the picture oh yeah now if
you come into my free community you'll
see me doing stuff like that okay it's
an easy gain right so you do the first
ride and then next month hey we're going
to do the next one and we're going to
try and get lower on those shorter
efforts sure you can set up when you're
on the recovery phase boom we're going
to get you arrow and we're not going to
spend any money no we're going to save
money
yeah okay the last point is something
that's easily overlooked and it's one of
the obstacles that many people don't
know how to overcome and I call it speed
is skill think about this at any level
any sport the more skillful we become
the faster we do it if I take myself and
I think about how slow I am at taking
the trash cans out how slow I am at
doing the hoovering how slow I am at
doing the washing I'm at those jobs
I don't often do them because I'm so bad
at them my wife won't let me cuz I'm so
slow okay no be serious the thing is
skill and speed go along you would agree
with that yeah so if that's true why are
you not cycling faster even though
you've been cycling for years in fact
you're getting slower think about the
skill of the bike think about how flow
with the bike when do you actually sit
back and think about it hey I really
rode well today I was breaking well I
was cornering well what if I said to you
as a coach your brakes are to stop not
to slow down to stop if you're
continually breaking you're maybe riding
at a speed that's out of control how's
your driving do you speed up hit the
brakes speed up hit the brakes think
about it yes of course I'm being a bit
flippant you are going to have to to
slow down going into some Corners if
you're going downhill fast of course but
think about the skill level the line
that you take so when you're doing your
magic hour the line the cornering the
way you position yourself on the road
sure you've got to be safe but the way
that we handle our bike and the way that
we flow with our pedal stroke the way
that we smooth into Corners the way that
we exit Corners this has got a great
bearing on the speed that we will travel
at so think about the obstacles you face
what are the trigger points that slow
you down what are the limitations to
your skill and how are you going to
improve them how are you going to work
on them every single ride on the bike
has an opportunity to improve your AO
positioning sure everybody's focusing on
the intensity the power of the interval
But ultimately that's easy very
few people Now dial into the feel okay
that natur natural flow of the bike and
trust me that's where the real speed is
how you let that bike flow because
ultimately the bike is designed for
Speed it's you that's slowing it down so
let's speed it up folks magic hour dial
into your arrow positioning and dial
into those skill levels that you can
increase by first of all identify what's
holding you back and then work through
it I'm going to out to do my magic hour
and if you want more of this make sure
you're subscribed if you know where the
bloody button is don't give me that
excuse I might see you in my free
community yep the links floating
everywhere and it's in the description
as well lots to share we can do longer
stuff in there as well you take care
keep
smiling keep spinning and remember
anyone can train
hard but there's only
one that can train smart
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