How To Boost Your Power On The Bike | GCN Pro Tips

We all want to know how to improve our power output when riding. After all, who doesn't want to be faster? Ex professional rider Simon Richardson is here to teach us how.

It's not going to be easy, but these training tips from Simon are tried and tested to increase your power on the bike. Looking at some specific session ideas, Si offers advice on ways to vary your riding efforts to target power.

And can you really get free power from simply changing your cadence? Watch to find out.

Three of Simon's drills include;
-40/20's
-1 minute max efforts
-strength intervals

Do you use these training methods? Let us know how you improve your power in the comments below 👇

Watch more on GCN...

Music: Make it rain - Vincent Alferi & Matthew Waugh
Hypercolour - Matthew Davies & Adam Boothroyd

About GCN:

The Global Cycling Network puts you in the centre of the action: from the iconic climbs of Alpe D’Huez and Mont Ventoux to the cobbles of Flanders, everywhere there is road or pavé, world-class racing and pro riders, we will be there bringing you action, analysis and unparalleled access every week, every month, and every year. We show you how to be a better cyclist with our bike maintenance videos, tips for improving your cycling, cycling top tens, and not forgetting the weekly GCN Show. Join us on YouTube’s biggest and best cycling channel to get closer to the action and improve your riding!

Welcome to the Global Cycling Network | Inside cycling

Thanks to our sponsors:

Leave us a comment below!

[gcn]

How do you improve your power on the bike? Let us know here? 💪

[SwedishHouseFifa]

40/20 is my favourite workout, really good!

[yigitpunkyigit]

I'm doing 40-20s on a local 2 km 7% gradient, it has a great of view of sea and green meadows. On my way back it's %7 again but for 3 kms. I'm new to road cycling and i must say, it is a damn good exercise!

[steve-bsqp]

How to increase power? Doing hill repeats is the best bang for your buck

[userpmzjah]

so basically if u wanna improve speed, power, climbing, sprinting or whatever, just do it with intervals right??

[icejunki]

I really enjoyed the instruction. It was well explained, I didn't even have to go back and watch it over and over to understand. Thanks for the ideas. Tour De France here I

[FLMKane]

To get more power you need to do a little bit of work....

Congrats Si, you passed Physics!

[kathr]

how to boost your power? isn't that the button on the ebike?

[NToB]

this channel has really helped me get into cycling

[mcone]

Thanks for the great interval ideas. I ride at least 5 days a week. I am very busy with my career, so my rides are short (8 to 15 miles per ride) and pretty much on the same bike trail. For the past several months, I have tried to ride with high output on that route every ride - all the way through. But now I am experimenting with intervals that include a better warm up and then interval bursts. It is definitely more fun - and I think a better way to train. So, I'll give your ideas a try soon. Thanks again!

[magnaviousyk]

My workout to increase power : ride hilly route 3 times a week, and then go 2 times flat route to maintain the power level

[TheWaxChainFanClub]

There was a really great comment on how to improve your average speed video a while back, a guy asking how to get faster. After a while he updated having achieved his goals. "I just tried harder" was how.
Si, as Simon Says, effort and hard work can't be cheated.

[oscarlaight]

Small question: for the one minute maxes, is it paced so after the minute you are smashed or is it 100% all the way so you're virtually crawling at the end of the minute?

Other than that love the vid and training advice!

[HoldFastFilms]

Any tips on how to obtain power in the first place without putting any effort in? Asking for a friend.

[anokabball]

3x8min, 3x10min, 2x15min @ 90-100% of FTP or 3x3min (2 sets) @ 110-115% of FTP, 10x1min (2 sets) @ max power

[whitefields]

He got mixed up in his early statements by confusing energy and power and then talking about "power equations" later on and finally vaguely relating power to cadence.

Torque = Pedal force X crank length

Power = Torque X RPM of the crank

Energy = Power X Time.

Energy is the amount of power (Watts) delivered over a period of time (hrs) = Wh.

So in cycling terms, the harder you can press on the pedals the greater the torque on the crank, the faster you can turn the crank (cadence) at this pedal force the greater the power at the crank. Finally, the time you can keep this up for is the measure of the energy produced. If a rider can manage 250 Watts for 4 hours then that rider will deliver 4 X 250 =1000 Whrs of energy to the pedals.

Torque, the twisting force on the crank, is the most important thing and the force that eventually turns the back wheel. We each have different physiologies that means that this maximum torque is produced at different cadences and those cadences can only be maintained for finite periods of time.

So power and energy are related, but totally different things as the latter is a function of time.

[haxhxm]

Just cycle into headwinds trying to keep the same speed it works but first I need a powermeter

[cameronoliver]

Once did 1 minute max, 30 seconds easy, 10 times, 5 minutes rest and repeat, took me a while to recover from that!

[gamecat]

2 x 20 minute 85% FTP intervals twice a week, if training power. On a trainer, because longer road intervals are just really hit and miss.

[tundrafunk]

Once a week, find a local Cyclocross course from past series, or make your own (1-2mile circuit), set the clock for 50 minutes and hammer. When the timer runs out=bell lap! Make the last lap your best lap.