I’m not fast enough. I put in so much work but I just can’t get faster. I eat this, I wear these and I sleep in an altitude tent. Why am I not getting faster?
Do a quick search for “fast” in google and you will have more than 725 million websites to choose from. That’s a lot of people asking for or offering up their opinions on how to make you go faster. So why, with all the information available are we still searching for answers? How does one get faster?
Honestly, training boils down to two simple ingredients: train and recover. Apply a stimulus that the body is not used to, let it heal and then repeat. Simple as it is people love to look for the easy ways to work around this.
You’ve probably heard of power used in around the home and maybe, if the people around you are techy triathletes, used the word in their cycling. Power is the measurement of work (an applied force over a distance) divided by the time it takes to do it. Another way way of putting it is: Triathletes in general are not as “powerful” as a football player over a short period of time. However, if you increase the duration of the exercise, which requires more work because you have to go further, the triathlete has an advantage because we can sustain a longer average power than the chunkier football player.
Okay enough blather. So how does one become more efficient? Well over the last couple of weeks I’ve been looking at what are the most efficient ways of getting from point A to point B. For example, in swimming did you know that most world class swimmers swim at a stroke rate of 0.70-0.80 strokes per second? Ever try to swim like that? Basically for the “average swimmer” it will feel like windmilling through the water.
Scientifically there has to be a point where stroke rate is going to have a negative impact on speed. Basically the arms will be going faster than the body can rotate. The key is to keep everything in perfect sync regardless of cadence. This is what a lot of swimmers experience (myself included) when they first try to speed up their stroke rate. Swim form will fall to pieces as you try to keep the pace high. That’s okay because building an efficient effective stroke takes time (TIME!).
How about running? Well elite Kenyan runners typically run 180 foot strikes per min and can go as high as 220. Next run, count how many strikes your right leg hits the ground then multiply that number by 16. This will give the total foot strikes per minute. Again, changing the natural running style will take some time.
Cycling is kind of the odd ball. Lance Armstrong proved that a 100 RPM + cadence can be very beneficial over long distances. However, this works very well with people who are small or have an enlarged heart (a large heart allows more oxygen to be pumped through the body). Riders who are heavier may benefit from pushing large gears during time trials. Their muscles allow them to push a larger gear, in theory making them go faster. This one really comes down to your physical make up. You should be open to trying different cadences and see what works for you.
Here’s what I propose before you start your season. Go out and measure each of these difference cadences and see where you’re at. I bet that in each discipline you’re at least 10% off what the “elites do”. I know what works for them might not work for you but if you want to get faster, heres an inexpensive way to try out some new speed. Plus it gives you a baseline to work from.
Next time you get stuck in a training rut, remember that efficiency will truly build a faster you.
