Spinning vs. Grinding: What cadence is best for you?

Coaches and athletes have been arguing over which cadence is best for cyclists and triathletes for decades. And the answer is, it depends. It depends on your race distance, terrain, and body type. Back in 2015 I worked with Brett Sutton and he had a pretty radical approach to big gear work. He believed that it was crucial for athlete development, especially for triathletes who are riding relatively low volumes. By his advice last year I rode 5 months straight in nothing but my little cog, either 53/11 or 39/11 in hilly San Francisco. So believe me, I have lived the big gear lifestyle for better and for worse. Here are a few things I have picked up through the years:

1) Ideal cadence is HIGHLY individual. Research has shown that a self-selected cadence is generally the most efficient one. Whatever cadence you naturally choose is better than forcing yourself to hit certain targets (to an extent).

2) The higher the effort the higher the cadence. As race distances increase there should generally be a drop in cadence. 1km track racers will spin at around 120 rpm as they put out huge amounts of power, while I'd say an optimal Ironman cadence is going to be closer to 85 for most athletes. This is because a higher cadence will shift more workload to the cardiovascular system, and for an Ironman race you don't want your heart rate unnecessarily elevated for that long. So you need to shift more of the focus toward the musculoskeletal system, and you do this by reducing your cadence and grinding a bit more.

3) The bigger your legs are the slower your optimal cadence may be. Studies have shown that as cadence increases so does the amount of energy you are using to simply move your legs through space. If you have tree trunk thighs like me, it may be best for you to slow down your legs a bit and put that muscle to good use.

4) A few concerns and misunderstandings I see with athletes:

- Lance Armstrong used to spin at 110 rpm for time trials so shouldn't I?

Answer: Armstrong had a VO2 max in the mid 80's and a gigantic heart and lungs. He's a freak, and most of us aren't. Also his TT efforts were usually under an hour where he'd be putting out over 400 watts without needing to run after. This is not at all relevant to an age grouper's Ironman bike split.

- Won't my legs get tired if I reduce my cadence and grind for my Ironman or 70.3 race?

Answer: No, not if you train that way. Don't spin in all your training sessions and expect to grind through your next race. That is a sure way to shred your legs and wind up walking the run. As the race distance increases so does the need to focus on big gear work. A draft-legal sprint racer's VO2 interval sessions at 100 rpm should look drastically different from an Ironman racers tempo intervals at say 80 rpm during the season. If you're performing for example 3x20 minutes at Ironman pace try dropping the cadence for the second interval to 60-70 rpm. Or maybe every other week do shorter threshold intervals on a hill in the big ring. You don't have to cut your rear derailleur cable, but you do have to be strong enough to put a little pressure on the pedals come race day.

The moral of the story (in my humble opinion): Don't force yourself into a specific cadence as self-selected is usually optimal. As the race distance increases your optimal cadence will likely decrease. If you're training for a long distance race be sure to include a decent amount of big gear work in training. Especially if your legs are on the bigger side, I don't wanna see any clydesdales out on course spinning like hamsters. For shorter distance races you'll benefit minimally from this approach as your race cadence should be a little higher.

And remember as always, "big gear no fear." Don't be scared to throw it in the big ring to keep yourself honest. And make sure that if anyone is taking pictures don't get caught in the little ring. A good friend will spot it and call you out.