Lance Armstrong Is Faster on a Bike Than Most People

Cadence, the number of times your pedals complete a full 360-degree circle in a minute (this is why it is called revolutions per minute or rpm) is critical to riding longer distances with more speed, more fun and less fatigue.

Lance and his coach determined that a higher cadence transfers the workload placed on the body from the leg muscles (which run out of fuel) to the cardiac system. The good news is that the heart muscle never, never runs out of fuel. If it did, you would die. Not a good outcome from an evolutionary perspective.

The fuel used in cycling to power your leg muscles is glycogen. Even with extensive training like Lance does, your muscles only contain about 1-2 hours of fuel.

What does all this mean to you? It means you should do two important things while cycling.

First, eat high carbohydrate foods while on your bike. They more easily convert to required fuel.

Second, spin your pedals more rapidly. (look here for more information on high cadence) This will save your knees and move the stress to your heart from your legs. In this situation, this is a good shift.

And that, my friends is why Lance Armstrong is faster on a bike than most people.

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