Did some running sprints the other day, for the first time in a while. Was surprised how comfortable it felt and how many i was able to do over the course of only 10-15 minutes. Didn’t have much fatigue the day after either. Wondering if this would be a decent way to build neuromuscular power on the bike.
Now I know that the best way to get better at bike sprints are to do bike sprints, but the thing i really liked about the running sprints was that i didn’t have any of the usual fears i sometimes have when sprinting on bike. No chance of a mechanical failure, or coming unclipped or something that might cause me to come off the bike while going 30+ mph.
I also wonder if NM efforts and training might lend themselves more to cross training? I have no evidence to back that up, and maybe what I’m really asking for with this post is for someone to do a deep dive into neuromuscular power and training the system in general.
Strides are a great way to build NM connections and running economy.
I believe that something similar could be done with cycling, but similarly to running, these don’t actually need to be all-out “sprints.” Rather, they’re just 20-60 second really hard efforts where you’re still maintaining your typical aerobic form.
On a bike, these could be as simple as seated accelerations, and I’ve praised workouts like 30/30s and 60/60s for exactly this reason.
If you’re ever looking for some TR workouts to follow for this type of stimulus, simply filter our workout library to show “On-Offs” VO2 Max workouts. Anaerobic “Steps,” “On-Offs,” or “Intervals” might also work well for some.
The research shows that strides are critical for running performance, and I can’t see why that wouldn’t carry over to cycling as well. Neuromuscular adaptations are often neglected in favor of aerobic ones, but I think many are underestimating what’s more easily available and there for the taking!
+1 for seated accelerations, does not feel unsafe and you still get most of benefits unless standing sprints are your specificity.
I like particularly Anaerobic / Attacks kind of workouts from TR library that combine 4x 30/45 sprints + 5-8min SS/Z4 blocks. Sailed through January with those 2x/week with no FTP loss (volume ~16h/w → 2-4h/week).
Had to look up “strides”, and after doing so, what i was doing were definitely sprints not strides. I was really trying to emphasize explosive power with these sprints. I started all but one of them with a few jog-paced-steps just to get moving, and then tried to turn on every muscle as fast as possible. The one i did differently i simply did that explosive effort from a stand still.
The duration of my sprints was so short that there wasn’t even lactate build up. At least it didn’t feel like it, the same way a 2-3 minute effort on the bike does, with those heavy legs.
Look up concentric (shortening) verse eccentric (lengthening) contractions, the primary type of contraction is not the same in both sports. Also not the same muscles in the same ratios.
Cycling is concentric
Running is isotonic (both concentric and eccentric.)
Although there maybe a bit of cross over to effectively build NM power it needs to be sport specific.
I’m aware of the difference between eccentric and concentric, but i wonder if that matters from a neuromuscular perspective. Again I have no evidence to back this up, and i havent really looked in depth for any studies that might confirm/deny my theory here, but what i’m really looking to improve with these sprints is related to the motor neurons and the signaling pathways.
I’m trying to create a very strong nervous signal as quickly as possible and for as long as possible. Also, if there is any mechanism at play to clear that signal, similar to the clearance of lactate (aside from the recycling aspect of lactate clearance), then i hope to exercise that mechanism as well.
