Sandro’s Story
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So, long story short...
Sandro made the mistake of
Not using my upper chainring
My Advice to You is
Shift often. Experiment with your chain and listen to your body
Here's the whole story
When I first bought my bike I was advised to stay off of the upper chainring (the larger sprocket) until my legs developed enough to support the resistance. I've really enjoyed riding my bike but I'm pretty inconsistent and I'm definitely not "training" or purposefully trying to gain muscle, I much prefer the gradual approach. The reason you stay off of the upper chainring is to promote "spinning", or keeping your legs moving at a constant, quick pace. Apparently, you get your best workout while spinning.
So, the other day I caught some good wind on my ride back to my car and spinning on the lower chainring was just plain exhausting! I switched to the upper chainring, decreased my cadence but substantially increased my speed. The switch felt incredibly efficient and I started using a completely new set of muscles. I continued switching back and forth for the remainder of the ride and by the end of it I was really happy with my progress, looks like I'm now capable of spinning on my upper chainring.
Comments (1)
I always thought that "spinning" was some exercizse invented for overweight moms to feel better about themselves. I've been told it does barely anything aerobic or muscle-building.