Fixed My Sprint and Broke 1000 Watts! (Beginner Cyclist)

[@ff2e]

It's wild how different physiology can be. My first sprint was over 1400 watts, but my ftp was like 150 and I'd actually die if I put out anywhere near the power you put down up hills. I also feel the opposite about training. Base training is cake :)

[@MitchBoyer]

Wow, 1400 watts!? You're totally right, we're all built different. I don't think I'll ever see those numbers. Really incredible dude 💪

[@jermstaallen4913]

1400 wol!! If this is correct and you’ve just started cycling imagine your potential!!

[@BodieMoto]

@@jermstaallen4913 nah its pretty normal for big strong guys, my first sprint was 1200 watts (for 2 seconds lmao) as well but I'm my FTP was only 163, I'm 210lbs and have been weight lifting for a decade so I have PLENTY of power under 30 seconds, like waaaaay higher that it "should" be lol but on intervals ICU my max 1 hour power is only 152 but my 15 second power is 800+ lol

[@maximefortinmusic]

Same here! 1400w right out of the gate, 130W FTP 💀. I got up to 230W, but I know I will most likely never have a 300W FTP.

[@BodieMoto]

I wanna come back to this to say my FTP is now 228 lol

[@rgborget]

Wow, this is awesome Mitch! I have had similar frustration never hitting 1000 watts! I’m excited to try some of this! Looks like i need some help from the RCA Academy too!

[@MitchBoyer]

Being right on the edge is so frustrating! Good luck! Lemme know when you get it 😅

[@BulletGaming012]

Really enjoying the videos. I'm 4 months into training and have seen huge growth in power but this is something I also need to work on

[@MitchBoyer]

Thanks for watching!

[@roadcyclingacademy]

Great video Mitch and top tips there from RCA Head Coach Ryan Thomas. 💪

[@MitchBoyer]

Legend!

[@markedwards7601]

Awesome video! Great to see your progress!

[@MitchBoyer]

Thanks, Mark! Appreciate you 🙏

[@carlmons]

As a cat 2 track sprinter turned roadie, I'm still baffled TDF "sprinters" don't learn from trackies - stand up for the initial kick of acceleration, when your bike starts swaying sit down, get low, and spin up without shifting up. You'll never ever see a track sprinter cross the finish line standing, but it's all they ever do in road sprints. You can spin a lot higher RPM seated, so you can reduce torque while increasing power, and engage different muscles, extending sprint duration. You do have to practice generating torque at high RPM to be effective. If you do it right you'll feel like you turned on an electric motor when you sit down - that's how much energy is wasted swaying all over the road like TDF "sprinters". And, for the love of god, don't celebrate before the finish line!

[@carlosfernz2576]

Great video! Gonna put it into work tomorrow. Later when you work on your mechanics show us!!

[@MitchBoyer]

Thanks, will do!

[@JoseMendozaLifeLearner]

low cadence at high resistance smallest gear largest crank, for a few seconds, letting your heart slow down and let your body tighten up , as if you were lifting weights. When you feel you are ready to speed up then move quickly to the middle or upper gears ( each person is different) and speed up your legs to over 140 rpm, (the first few kicks are critical) should get you an easy 1000+ for a few seconds. The trick is maintain that. Also try it as soon as you are well warmed up, don't wait until you are getting tired, lol.

[@EffectsAffects]

Do you mean you downshift before increasing cadence?

[@JoseMendozaLifeLearner]

​@@EffectsAffects of course, but (surprisingly) some people who read these posts, sometimes might not understand what you mean by "downshifting". I find it therefore much better to describe the action, than to just use "commonly known words"; that leaves some of the readers picturing a different process than what you want to present.

[@williampalacio8369]

Great video. Especially the 80's B movie motivational music.

[@codykelly1949]

I’ve always thought about doing high cadence jumps but one needs to be getting up 36+ mph to be competitive. Usually after a hard lead out too. So finding that perfect gem of a gear is key and then developing around it to cope with slightly higher or lower cadence. I’m no sprinter, but speed is always the most important over any power number and it isn’t always relative

[@willemagenbach511]

Your video is well done, and is quite informative. I didn’t think it would be of any value to me for my solo riding, concentrating on endurance for climbing and longer intervals, but I’m going to start adding a bit of sprint training also. (I’m still on sub-1000 W)

[@MitchBoyer]

Glad it was helpful! Ryan had so much good info to share, I could probably make 10 videos. It was hard to pair it down.

[@EnigmaticAnomaly]

Sprinting is the bane of my cycling/Zwifting existence! I can get a rather decent peak power, but it only last for a few seconds. Even though my cadence is increasing, my power nose-dives, sometimes by nearly 300w. I've never been good at the high-cadence sprinting; it just always feels like I'm going full out berserker, and I look up to find I'm only generating a little over 500w. Now, on the other hand, if I start is 52/13, I can also get a pretty good peak, but my cadence is only a bit over 90rpm, and power still tends to flatline around 550w. Nothing I do works. The best I've got is about 11.2wkg over 15. And that's not winning me any Zwift races.

[@brosettastone7520]

keep training. build those muscle groups up. not much else to say

[@jeffp1377]

This does a great job of connecting why BMX creates the most powerful cyclists

[@MitchBoyer]

All that high cadence work 💪💪

[@janeblogs324]

On a bmx you lean over and pull on your handlebars, they are twice as wide and you can generate watts with your arms while putting the bike upright.

[@John-dh1gh]

True though, I've always seen BMX guys absolutely smash it straight out of the gate with high cadence. If you've been doing that since a young age...then it adds up.

[@valerieen]

Nugget, shirts, haircut, sprints 10/10

[@evox1487]

Three good kicks for the win..let's go!!🚲💨🔥 Great video.💪🏽

[@MitchBoyer]

Thanks again for the tip, Chris! 🎉

[@Thankful_n_Grateful]

Wow !!! 150 cadence is not going to happen at this stage of my life.... But it's interesting to know it's done...

[@rodrigocastro9323]

THE PRESENTER OF THE PEOPLE. Nice

[@yourdentist]

Love it!

[@spotsill]

So not a sprinter but epic at climbing hills and living in the mountains of western Pennsylvania mountains are everywhere 👍👍😂😂. I train for sprints on my stationary trainer on my short training and strength training days.

[@MitchBoyer]

Nice! Sprinting on the trainer is tough! Still haven't figured out a good technique for myself.

[@lil__apan]

mitch, Im 14 and i hit 1150w max power, 1100 w for 3 seconds in my first year of training, i started my training in may, now its september

[@Razofen]

first time here on behalf the alogorythm. Earned a sub right away!

[@Flashback_Jack]

I'm an out of shape middle ager that just purchased my first real road bike and my max after roughly a month of measuring with ny cycling computer, I'm at 1,073 over three seconds and I don't find it particularly difficult to get there. I think that's pretty good; I used to be a track and field sprinter when I was younger ans was pretty good at long jump competitions.

[@DanCave]

Welcome to the 1kw club

[@dylanl9532]

I broke 1000w from 800w after watching this video. "three good kicks" is genius

[@MitchBoyer]

Awesome to hear!

[@ronm7114]

I lolled hard at the beginning. I was like... am i looking at myself here 🤣These assholes putting out 1500 like its nothing and i can barely do half of that riding my ass of🤣

[@bee_whisper]

trainer road does a very good video on how to sprint .

[@MitchBoyer]

The one with the slow motion side-by-side? Totally agree, super helpful!

[@bee_whisper]

@@MitchBoyer yeah that one

[@kenvysmiguel8817]

I am having problem in my wrist during sprinting, may wrist is bumping the handle and having bruise after that ride. Maybe i have to tweak my hand position during sprints or maybe i am too far forward.

[@ozmadman]

Hi just discovered this video and it's really interesting. Like the previous comment I am still a bit confused. One section mentions high torque low cadence sprinting practice and then it moves on to low torque high cadence sprinting? Is the high torque work just a muscle / strength building exercise as a base and then to get a good sprint in the real world use low torque high cadence. Also did you stay in the small ring to get your wattage? Didn't you spin out? Or can you go into the big ring as long as you can hit a high cadence? Many thanks

[@MitchBoyer]

From what I understand, the high-torque low-cadence sprints help build muscle and build new neuromuscular connections. Those are the sprints Ryan mentioned utilizing in base training. The high-cadence sprints will likely allow you to get to a higher max power than you could with the low cadence sprints because of the pedal mechanics and relationship to fatigue (see my example below). As for big-ring/small-ring, I think it all depends on the scenario. I asked Ryan for tips on how to hit your max sprint in training, so I don’t think you should shift to the small ring during a competition scenario. Additionally, If you’re going down hill or you already have a lot of speed and momentum coming into the sprint, you might be able to hit the high cadence without needing the smaller ring. My particular lesson was that I was generally too high up in the cassette when I started my sprint and it took a lot of torque to instantly turn those gears over, so it took a long time for my cadence to ramp up. By shifting down a few cogs, I could spin up faster and hit a higher cadence more quickly and therefore a higher max power before my output began to dwindle. Hope that helps!

[@ozmadman]

@@MitchBoyer hi, thanks for your detailed reply. Yes very helpful and answers my questions. Thanks for spending the time to help. BTW. I am nearly 69 years of age been cycling seriously for two or so years I am 60 kgs and my current best 5 sec sprint on the trainer is 762watts. Hoping to ramp that up a bit now I know how to do it! Cheers

[@MitchBoyer]

@@ozmadman that’s awesome! 💪💪

[@ozmadman]

@@MitchBoyer we have a 16 year old In our club who weighs the same as me and can put out just over 1300 watts @ 200 rpm. It didn't dawn on me until I saw your video the link between high cadence and power. I wondered why he would hit a hill at some ridiculous cadence on our club rides. Some more work to do. Thanks again

[@asianbumz]

@@MitchBoyer thank you, Mitch! Great thorough explanation!

[@tengamangapiu]

As a non drafting triathlete I guess I don't really need those 10 sec powers. Maybe a 30s and 1m power for passing others ?

[@MitchBoyer]

Yeah definitely very different in the race. From what I understand, you can still gain adaptations and lift your overall tempo power via sprint training. So even if you don't sprint in a race, it might still beneficial!

[@Suedesi]

nice video, but still a bit confused.... so small ring in the front, towards the smaller gears in the cassette, and then try and spin as hard as possible?

[@MitchBoyer]

Yeah exactly. I think you should be spinning around 90 or whatever your usual cadence is at the start. And then kick up the cadence for the sprint. I was only spinning up to 95 rpm and still got close to my max. Gonna shoot for 120-130 and hopefully I’ll hit a new personal best

[@Suedesi]

Thanks @@MitchBoyer

[@ryanthomasRCA]

@@MitchBoyer Just want to clarify here Mitch and Kom, when I was referring to starting your sprint at high cadence I should have referred to a number, my mistake haha. Anywhere from 90-110rpm is good to start your sprint and you don't necessarily want to aim for you highest cadence but it will naturally get up to that 120rpm range when you're standing around 5-10seconds into your sprint. The main point of different for you was starting at 60rpm now compared to ~90rpm. Hope that makes sense.

[@MitchBoyer]

@@ryanthomasRCA Thanks for the clarification! 🙏

[@spotsill]

@@Suedesi basically you are training your cardio system and to learning how to do i higher cadence so load is not as important as being under load like in hill climbing. Try training on a stationary trainer to develop your sprints .

[@rickyhughes9391]

Hello Mitch ...................question about your height and the size of your BMC.......I'm interested in the same bike

[@MitchBoyer]

Hi Ricky, it’s a great bike! I’m 6’1” (187 cm) and ride the 56. I have long longs and a short torso, so the sizing might be a bit different for someone else with similar specs. Definitely worth trying a a bike shop if you can. Good luck!

[@DanCave]

Fast twitch muscle fibers 🙂👍🏻

[@francisdomdom4752]

Watch the trainer road vid on how tobe explosive on the bike

[@MitchBoyer]

Good stuff! I've probably watched the video of Pete and Nate sprinting for hours 😂

[@SHUBH4UUU]

@Mitch: Is hitting >200 bpm heart rate during sprints regular for you!?😮 I too touch 200 sometimes during longer sprints… but my pounding heart scares the shit out of me.

[@MrHatt7777]

This might be a dumb question but does the power put into your pedals always translate to higher speeds?

[@MitchBoyer]

Not always. Aerodynamics play a huge part. My watts are increasing, but my aerodynamics while sprinting are poor because I am standing. If I can get my head further down while sprinting and keep my power output the same, I will be able to go much faster because of the lower air resistance.

[@MrHatt7777]

@@MitchBoyer Thanks. Yep, for me I need to stand when sprinting because it kills my back to get aero and also hate to say it my stomach fat gets in the way of my legs

[@yonglingng5640]

@@MrHatt7777 Sprinting is always done out of the saddle unless you're talking about seated sprints. As I don't have a powermeter, the only recorded data point I can aim for in a sprint is my top speed. My best sprint stats so far Top speed: 50+ kph, 55 kph seated (no high-end components, not even carbon wheels) Max. power output: 700+ W (on something like a WattBike) Longest sprint duration: 7 - 8 secs I think Now, I can't even get close to these numbers being off the bike for so long due to back-to-back LBS work.

[@jorisjanssen12]

but sprinting in zwift and riding in zwift is so different. youre fatique on zwift due to higher tempertures and such are not to underestemate. outside i can ride around 300 watts for 1,5 hours and do a sprint of 15 seconds around 1100 watts but inside my power drops to 270 and i do not even hit the 900 watts in a sprint.

[@janeblogs324]

Where's the update?

[@MitchBoyer]

Hi, thanks for watching! I got side tracked training for my ultra distance ride across the Loneliest Road in America 😅, but there will definitely be a followup video soon now that winter is coming and Zwift season is in full swing. In the meantime, if you wanna see how much my sprint has improved, check out the "Are cycling shoes worth it?" video.

[@jegroid]

tl:dw: skip to 6:18

[@waterdeptworker]

7:15 1031 watts for 18.7 mph???

[@sybrenkoninckx]

i did a 1300watts on my old citybike after 2months of training i saw it on strava and it was more than 1 time so it wasnt a glitch

[@BeCriticalitsOk]

The amount of editing made me tired just watching. Nice work

[@waterdeptworker]

9:21 I need to work on my spring...You got over 1000 watt sprint I only got 900 but my one hour average is 218 watts and yours is 146 watts.

[@ThisHandleIsAlreadyTaken839]

How long had you been training when you wrote this comment?

[@waterdeptworker]

@@ThisHandleIsAlreadyTaken839 maybe 1 year.

[@WHALEx3]

I don’t get why instead taking the time to explain base training, you take that same time and tell us to just read context clues…

[@francisdomdom4752]

Learn to grip the drops firmly

[@MitchBoyer]

Really good tip! My form still needs a bunch of work. Looking at the footage, I really gotta get my head down a bit

[@John-dh1gh]

Lol, what makes me laugh about this cycling is that every guy is like a nearly grown up kid. Better bikes, better gear, better speed.. wanting to not get dropped. It's funny, like being at school.

[@BLITZKRIEG1]

that nugget looks undercooked 🤢

[@hill160881]

Lol I don’t even cycle and I have a 1800watt sprint on zwift. Hell I hit 1500 seated.

[@MitchBoyer]

That’s awesome dude! Wish I had those genetics. You should try some track racing!

[@jo_raid4436]

Lmao I just hit 2000W with injuries please

[@NickSmith-hv9zi]

So this guy nailed it and what I've been saying all along related to these clowns claiming bike fit is crucial which is bs. If you can push 400+ watts sitting on your head, that is how you should train. Body adapts and your muscle through training will adapt. Of course i am not saying you should be off by feet but as long as you are within margins, spending 100ds of dollars in bike fitting is nothing but marketing hype for these idiots to have a job.