Low gear / torque work is done be athletes in different disciplines with very specific goal in mind: muscular endurance and fatigue resistance. It can be done at threshold or tempo wattage intervals (even Zone 2, as seen with Kwiato). There is video of Wout van Aert explaining that he does torque work to lower his VLamax. Some athletes need more torque work than others depending on their goal. The primary goal is to stimulate your slow and mid fibres to absorb bigger work load without tapping in to glycolytic system too much which helps with spring your glycogen reserves. Basically if your weakness is fatigue resistance and muscular fatigue specifically torque work allows you to target that without taxing your whole metabolic system so you can do more of it. Then when you do threshold intervals during build phase you are less limited by your muscular endurance
Did these for years in a build up for racing but was never much into gym work (other than body weight squats). I also worked on sprint training, with sprints starting in a low cadence, 2 days a week all year round and was very successful in my world. Dylan Johnson did a deep dive into the science and the evidence was that there was no advantage to low torque training, so I cut them one year and tanked, I just lost my hill climbing advantage and had my worse year ever, just did not have the strength. I mostly do them in Z2, now a days only for about 4x4 mins climbing at a time 50rpm but in the past would do up to 3x15 minutes, around 50rpm. Now that I no longer race (events have all but disappeared in my country since covid and tough times) I still do the occasional 3 week block (once per week) and I do enjoy them, but riding a SS seems to maintain the gains for some time as well. I really should start the sprint training again, just for health reasons.
My coach called this low cadence technique "weight lifting on the bike" I live in an area that is flat on the coast in Southern Ca. in the afternoon there is a constant wind blowing in off the ocean. I use this wind to my advantage by grinding out of the saddle in the biggest gear possible into the headwind for miles at a time, super low cadence definitely a mega leg burner.
Hey Landry! Hope all is well. Not sure if you remember me, but I am still grinding away. How many torque interval sessions do you recommend per week? Thanks!
good discussion, you have missed 2 crucial aspects of low cadence/torque training (and use in the real world) one is being able to push good watts for a lower heart rate and 2 is the importance of the 'core' engagement as providing a solid platform for higher load. In fact a weak core will really be exposed under high load and of course at 40, 50, 60 cadence there's your bobbing, square pedaling inefficient cyclist as a result. Apart from training off road with the higher resistance required; torque has a role in conserving energy whilst still putting out good power ... another tool in the box.
if you are healthy and don't already pedal at a very low cadence, it could be worth trying! I wouldn't focus on age so much as if it fits properly into your training program
I am a heavy 62 year old rider and hasnt done planned low cadence, but the hills have been trowing low cadence efforts at me. This video is an encouragement. I will do more low cadence, and I will do it focusing on smoothening my pedaling. I am naturally slow so I need a lot torque to maximize watts. On the trainer yesterday I produced more watts than ever, but when I was putting 300 watts or more, the cadence was usually ca 74. Not very low cadence, but lower than the recommended 80-90.
You say torque training isn't instead of gym work but has anyone ever researched doing the same amount of torque training on the bike as they would including gym work? I personally don't like gym work and can't be motivated to go but I can always do hill repeats and include torque training in that. I also believe climbing out of the saddle in training is important even if you predominantly remain seated on climbs. Training your muscles to do what you want them to do (i.e. cycle one leg at a time) seems more logical to me than say squatting both legs at 250kg.
the biggest difference is that you can't get nearly as much force with high torque as you can with gym work...even strength training far away from maximal load is much more than what can be created on the bike
@@EVOQBIKE I understand that but unless you are a track sprinter, having massive thighs is not going to be that much benefit for an endurance cyclist on the road. A lot is spoken about type 1 vs type 2 muscle fibers but I think specificity is the most import point to concentrate on.
@@EVOQBIKE see a research of van Diemen and Bastiaans where they say strengthtraining for cyclist is mostly about building pure power but by doing very high reps with challenging weights (squats) u strenghten the slowtwitchfibers. Ideal for climbing efforts. They also say something about trying to mimick that on the bike.
Low gear / torque work is done be athletes in different disciplines with very specific goal in mind: muscular endurance and fatigue resistance. It can be done at threshold or tempo wattage intervals (even Zone 2, as seen with Kwiato). There is video of Wout van Aert explaining that he does torque work to lower his VLamax. Some athletes need more torque work than others depending on their goal. The primary goal is to stimulate your slow and mid fibres to absorb bigger work load without tapping in to glycolytic system too much which helps with spring your glycogen reserves. Basically if your weakness is fatigue resistance and muscular fatigue specifically torque work allows you to target that without taxing your whole metabolic system so you can do more of it. Then when you do threshold intervals during build phase you are less limited by your muscular endurance
I only did low cadence training when I first started, mainly 5 on 5 off or 2x20 and my ftp went from 180 to 347 in one year….it works!!!
In the beginning, your ftp will increase what ever you do.
Did these for years in a build up for racing but was never much into gym work (other than body weight squats). I also worked on sprint training, with sprints starting in a low cadence, 2 days a week all year round and was very successful in my world. Dylan Johnson did a deep dive into the science and the evidence was that there was no advantage to low torque training, so I cut them one year and tanked, I just lost my hill climbing advantage and had my worse year ever, just did not have the strength. I mostly do them in Z2, now a days only for about 4x4 mins climbing at a time 50rpm but in the past would do up to 3x15 minutes, around 50rpm. Now that I no longer race (events have all but disappeared in my country since covid and tough times) I still do the occasional 3 week block (once per week) and I do enjoy them, but riding a SS seems to maintain the gains for some time as well. I really should start the sprint training again, just for health reasons.
My coach called this low cadence technique "weight lifting on the bike" I live in an area that is flat on the coast in Southern Ca. in the afternoon there is a constant wind blowing in off the ocean. I use this wind to my advantage by grinding out of the saddle in the biggest gear possible into the headwind for miles at a time, super low cadence definitely a mega leg burner.
It really helps for ultracyclist😊
this is exactly what I need
Hey Landry! Hope all is well. Not sure if you remember me, but I am still grinding away. How many torque interval sessions do you recommend per week? Thanks!
good discussion, you have missed 2 crucial aspects of low cadence/torque training (and use in the real world) one is being able to push good watts for a lower heart rate and 2 is the importance of the 'core' engagement as providing a solid platform for higher load. In fact a weak core will really be exposed under high load and of course at 40, 50, 60 cadence there's your bobbing, square pedaling inefficient cyclist as a result. Apart from training off road with the higher resistance required; torque has a role in conserving energy whilst still putting out good power ... another tool in the box.
As a 60 year old non competitive cyclist with 10+ years of cycling behind me would you still recommend this type of training? Thanks
if you are healthy and don't already pedal at a very low cadence, it could be worth trying! I wouldn't focus on age so much as if it fits properly into your training program
@@EVOQBIKE Fantastic thanks
I am a heavy 62 year old rider and hasnt done planned low cadence, but the hills have been trowing low cadence efforts at me. This video is an encouragement. I will do more low cadence, and I will do it focusing on smoothening my pedaling. I am naturally slow so I need a lot torque to maximize watts. On the trainer yesterday I produced more watts than ever, but when I was putting 300 watts or more, the cadence was usually ca 74. Not very low cadence, but lower than the recommended 80-90.
You say torque training isn't instead of gym work but has anyone ever researched doing the same amount of torque training on the bike as they would including gym work? I personally don't like gym work and can't be motivated to go but I can always do hill repeats and include torque training in that. I also believe climbing out of the saddle in training is important even if you predominantly remain seated on climbs.
Training your muscles to do what you want them to do (i.e. cycle one leg at a time) seems more logical to me than say squatting both legs at 250kg.
the biggest difference is that you can't get nearly as much force with high torque as you can with gym work...even strength training far away from maximal load is much more than what can be created on the bike
@@EVOQBIKE I understand that but unless you are a track sprinter, having massive thighs is not going to be that much benefit for an endurance cyclist on the road. A lot is spoken about type 1 vs type 2 muscle fibers but I think specificity is the most import point to concentrate on.
it's not about massive size, but neural strength! Strong legs does help with riding a bike for 5 or 6 hours!
@@EVOQBIKE see a research of van Diemen and Bastiaans where they say strengthtraining for cyclist is mostly about building pure power but by doing very high reps with challenging weights (squats) u strenghten the slowtwitchfibers. Ideal for climbing efforts. They also say something about trying to mimick that on the bike.
@@EVOQBIKE Standing start sprints pushing 1000watts at 45rpm sure feels like the same amount of force as doing a leg press in the gym.