There are a ton of great instructors and classes all across the various Peloton fitness classes. There is no shortage of butt-kicking classes in the Bike, Tread, Strength, and Yoga catalog. Over time as I have continued working out on the Peloton platform, I reached a point where I wanted to take my training to the next level. I have read a variety of cycling and running books on the best methods to train. One common element in the fitness books and when you talk to coaches and instructors is to put some focus on form.
After a tough run on the Tread recently, I wanted to take a nice easy ride to flush out the legs and cool down. When running through the Low Impact catalog, I opted to try a Matt Wilpers 45-min Low Impact Ride from Dec 20th.
This ride and many of Matt’s other Low Impact rides are focused on Pedal Drills. Pedal drills are an excellent tool to help you build good form. Doing these has helped me generate power through the full circular motion of the pedal stroke. I had also found that my left leg was much stronger than my right; doing pedal drills has helped to balance out the legs.
In this 45-min Low Impact Ride, Matt focused on a variety of Pedal Drills methods.
- Ride with one leg; you focus on powering through the pedal stroke with one leg. If you are comfortable, you can clip out one leg to ensure you focus totally on the clipped in leg. When you’re done, you clip back in and switch to the other leg.
- Toe touches; you focus on pushing forward at the top of the pedal stroke.
- Heel touches; you focus on pushing backward at the bottom of the pedal stroke.
- Toe / Heel touch combo; you focus on pushing forward at the top of the pedal stroke while pushing backward on the opposite leg on the bottom of the pedal stroke.
It has been interesting to see my progress with these over time. In this class, Matt mentions that he will do pedal drills before a big race to help get everything connected and balanced. Give it a try; it has helped me deliver power through the full 360 degrees of the pedal stroke.
Catch you on the leaderboard!
Rob – #NeverStop
