Newsletter: June / July 2006

Welcome to the PowerCranks Newsletter

First off, congrats to Olympic Gold Medalist and PowerCranker Simon Whitfield on his recent 3rd place finish at the Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon. Simon had the fastest run of the day. He mentioned to us that PowerCranks has been a good tool for his running.

Simon joined other PowerCrankers at the Alcatraz Triathlon including two athletes competing on PowerCranks, Courtney Ogden (see below) and Aaron Kiefer (3rd in age group). .

Enjoy our newsletter. If you are an athlete or a coach and you have a story to share with the rest of the PowerCranks community, email us at feedback@powercranks.com. We value your input so please let us know if there are topics that you would like us to cover.

Also, please don't miss the coupon offer below for our race season 10% discount and free shipping until July 15!

Cycling Notes

From Ken Mierke

In the last decade, I have performed over 6,700 VO2 Max, lactate threshold, and aerobic threshold tests.  These tests show how strong a rider is, but also how efficient his/her pedal stroke is.  Our research indicates that 84% of the time a stronger rider (higher LT wattage) produces more wattage more because of better efficiency than because of higher energy output.  For instance, if one rider produces 10% more watts at LT than another, 84% of the time he/she used less than 5% more energy to do so.

Cyclists and triathletes tend to think that beginners need to work on their pedal stroke, but advanced riders already know how to pedal smoothly.  I think just the opposite.  Beginners can just train a little harder and a little longer and improve - both their fitness and their efficiency. Advanced riders are much higher up on their diminishing returns curve and training harder and longer won't produce the same degree of gains.  It is advanced riders who need to look to maximize every small detail that might improve performance.

I recently tested a category 1 cyclist I began coaching last October.  From October to January, her VO2 Max reduced by about 5 percent, which is expected given that she wasn't doing any high intensity workouts.  Even though she was able to expend 5 percent less energy at max, she produced 20 watts more.  She is a small rider, so the wattages aren't enormous, but for a rider of that caliber, the percentage improvements are phenomenal.  A category 1 rider can't get 13.3 percent stronger with any amount of training, but Powercranks helped this rider produce 13.3 percent more watts per liter of oxygen consumed.

Ken Mierke, Head Coach
Exercise Physiologist
www.fitness-concepts.com

Multi-Sport Notes

Steve Bentley wrote us to share his experience using PowerCranks for Winter training and then watching his running times drop in the Spring. We pass on his comments to you.

Run Performance
From Steve Bentley

I received my first set of Powercranks in October 2003. I trained with
them exclusively through the winter and in fact used them basically as
my sole source of training from November to March. The winter in
Ontario that year was particularly nasty so I only ran outside once per
month from November to March. In the spring I set out on a few runs
and was amazed at how good my legs felt. My standard fast interval run
route consisted of 4 x 1 mile repeats on a road in my neighbourhood that is exactly 1 mile in distance. Typically, I would do these repeats in 5 minutes and 20 seconds. Well, I ran a few times building up to being outside running consistently instead of just training on the Powercranks. I was surprised at how fast my turnover and speed felt. I decided to test them out on the 4 x 1 mile repeats route. I was amazed at the speed. Instead of consistent 5:20s I cranked out 5:15, 5:10, 5:05 and 4:58 mile repeats. I've been running for years so this wasn't a standard
improvement for me. With only having ridden my PowerCranks all winter
for training (except for the once a month easy longer run) I was very
very happy with the ability of PowerCrank riding to keep me in great run shape as well as help improve my riding.

Since then I recommend Powercranks to all my athletes.

Steve Bentley
Multisport Coach since 1992
Ontario Association of Triathletes Coach of the Year 2004
www.bentleycoaching.com

Featured Athlete

PowerCranks checked in with Courtney Ogden, Australian Professional Triathlete, before the Accenture Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon. Battling jet lag, some physical issues, the cold Bay and San Francisco's hills, Courtney challenged himself to race on PowerCranks. We include the first in a
series of articles published on xtri.com chronicling his experience on PowerCranks.

From Courtney Ogden courtesy xtri.com

Recently, a good friend of mine recommended PowerCranks to me. I had no idea what they were, but my friend told me of the success he had been having with them in training. He was very happy with the impact they had been having on his performances and recommended that I utilise them as a training aid myself. 

I now know that many athletes have heard of PowerCranks and wonder what they are and whether they could possibly be as good as some of the claims about them suggest. I decided to do some research on the concept and see what all the fuss was about.

To reach your full potential as a cyclist, the ability to apply torque around the whole pedal stroke is arguably essential. To develop this ability, one-legged pedalling and high cadence drills are often prescribed. The goal of this type of training is to develop the upstroke/recovery musculature to such a degree that it becomes a contributing player in the power output stakes.

Unfortunately, training principles demand that for motor patterns to be developed correctly, the desired muscular actions must be imitated exactly. Since we generally pedal with two legs, in order to imitate our normal action we would have to perform one-legged pedalling drills with both legs simultaneously - a challenging task indeed!

Evidence of the difficulty of developing the whole pedal stroke can be seen in biomechanical studies of elite cyclists. Researchers studying time-trials have shown that the contribution to pedal torque while the upstroke musculature is active is, in fact, negative. The recovery limb is actually applying a net downward force on the crank arm, which must be overcome by the downstroke musculature. The result is that the net positive torque applied to the chain is decreased and the potential power output is reduced.

PowerCranks are a fantastic training aid, precisely because they effectively enable the cyclist to perform one-legged pedalling drills on both legs simultaneously. The result is that they help to develop the correct motor patterns for positive torque application around the whole pedal stroke. At the very least, they reduce the negative torque applied by the recovering leg to zero.

This was never possible until PowerCranks introduced a clutch system, which only engages the crank axle when positive torque is being applied. If positive torque is not applied to both cranks simultaneously, the cranks will rotate relative to one another and cease to be in alignment. Since feedback is immediate, the neural system is prompted to adapt quickly to the training stimulus.

Once I'd found out about the technical rationale, I decided that I would buy a set of PowerCranks myself and put them to the test. I must admit that after the first ride with the PowerCranks, I was wondering whether I was ever going to be able to cycle normally with them. It was a 50-minute toddle on the stationary trainer and was more stop than start. The cranks kept getting out of alignment and I had to stop and adjust them constantly. My hip flexors were pretty tired at the end of it too.

But what I did learn immediately was how much muscle mass is under-utilised while we cycle and that was enough of an incentive to persevere. More muscle mass utilised means more power output - as simple as that - it just needs to be trained.

My concerns about never adapting were unfounded as after two weeks of five rides per week on the PowerCranks, I was up to a two-hour ride without too much trouble, and in 12 weeks had built up to four hours plus.

As an added bonus, your running performances are likely to receive a significant boost through PowerCranks training. Judging by the feedback from current PowerCrankers, the benefits to running are sufficient to justify their use. The recovery action of the running gait is similar to that of the cycling upstroke and training this action leads to a faster, more efficient running cadence. Elite runners utilise a cadence in the vicinity of 180 steps per minute, spending less time on the ground in the process. Regular brick sessions with PowerCranks will help develop a similar fast and efficient gait cycle.

In summary, if you are serious about your cycling and/or triathlon performances, I would highly recommend the utilisation of a set of PowerCranks. The potential benefits are too great to be ignored.

Now that I'm using PowerCranks in training, I will be writing a series of articles detailing my experience with them. Subsequent articles will focus more on the specifics of my PowerCranks training and my recommendations for achieving the best results with them.

For the published article please refer to: xtri.com

Courtney Ogden is a pro triathlete and an aspiring coach
www.courtneyogden.com

_________________________

We invite you to test a PowerCranks fitted bike at the upcoming IronMan Lake Placid.

From amateur to world chamption who wants to improve their fitness, skill and technique, let us help you accelerate your athletic potential.

Please contact us if you have a story to tell or have questions. We stand ready.

Happy Crankin',

The PowerCranks Team

Save 10% & Free Shipping Racing season as training season? Take advantage of our Racing Season 10% discount on any set of PowerCranks until July 15, 2006. Simply mention "racing season" in the comments section of your online order or when you call us at 888-733- 2572. In addition, you'll receive free shipping in the USA. Don't miss these savings! Go to the store now and enter "racing season" to save! Offer Expires: July 15, 2006

In this issue:

1. Cycling Notes
-Ken Mierke

2. Multisport Notes
-Steve Bentley

3. Featured Athlete
-Courtney Ogden



Aaron Kiefer:
PowerCranks at Alcatraz

Ken Mierke

Steve Bentley

Ogden's bike in T1:
Escape from Alcatraz