CycleBanter.com - View Single Post - Standing + Big Gears Always = Knee Problems?

Mike Reed · April 4th 06, 06:24 AM posted to rec.bicycles.tech,rec.bicycles.misc

wrote:
You've got to sneak up on it a little.
Remember that your muscles can write
checks that your tendons and ligaments
can't cash. So you've got to strengthen
your connectors with some additional
patience. Immediately go back to spinning
easier gears--the knee pain should go
away. Then slowly build up resistance
to let your cords catch up. You'll be painlessly
powering big gears before too long.

I agree with this. I have had tendonitis since I broke my kneecap in
2000. This is the first year I've been able to climb without pain. What
was different this time is that I really concentrated on sprints to
build my muscle strength before I went crazy in the hills.

I do high cadence explosive sprints, starting at ~22mph at 100 rpm and
topping out at 160-180 in 20 second efforts. I worked up to being able
to do 10 of these in around 30 minutes for my short strength workouts.
These are all-out sprints. I grow fangs and try to break sh*t --
totally explosive efforts -- but always high cadence.

Once I got to the point that I could feel the "snap" was back, I went
back to the hills. My sprint was feeling like it did in 1992 when I was
a 21-year-old Cat 3. It was great. Now I could lay a trail of fire up
the steepest sections on the steeper hills around here (20% - 25%
grade) and not experience any knee pain, standing or sitting.

Even my wife could tell that my knee was healthier just by the way I
was walking and the kinds of rides I was doing. Now I'm just doing
maintenance: sprints every week or two, a hill repeat workout, some
intervals, a couple road rides, some mountain biking, maybe a PR
attempt up Jester... I'm feeling great.

-Mike