57. TORQUE TRAINING: HOW MUCH FORCE AT EACH COMBINATION OF EXERCISE INTENSITY AND PEDALLING CADENCE?
In a previous KisW Research Note, we saw that there is no clear evidence suggesting low cadence training can improve cycling performance. (Read more here) However, torque training is widely used in the field both by amateur and world tour cyclists.
While torque training is generally referred to any exercise performed at an imposed low cadence, it can correspond to very different combinations of exercise intensity (power output) and pedalling cadence (rpm), which could induce different training adaptations. This may have contributed (in part) to the conflicting results obtained in studies investigating the effects of torque training on performance.
A recent study (1) published by Barranco-Gil et al. (Universidad Europea de Madrid, Spain) in 2024 on Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport tried to understand:
how much of the maximum dynamic force is stimulated using different combinations of exercise intensity and pedalling cadence?
WHAT DID THEY DO?
11 amateur trained male cyclist (age ~29, VO2max ~65). performed a specific test (trying to do one pedal stroke with incremental very high resistance) on a bicycle ergometer to record their maximum dynamic force.
On another day, they performed several trials at different exercise intensity and pedalling cadence, to understand how much of their maximum dynamic force (MDF) was stimulated at each combination. the % of MDF.
HERE THE RESULTS:
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