Note on low cadence work

When I still attended spin classes before the current common era, I would disobey instructions given about cadence. “Turn the knob to the right until your cadence drops to 60” the instructor would instruct and I would ignore them. I don’t like feeling bogged down; my power drops, i feel miserable, and my knees hurt. With an easier “gear” and a higher cadence, I can work less hard, have more power, and happier knees. The shutdown resulted in an impulse buy of a trainer with power readings and a move to the world of Zwift with its ftp-power based rather than perceived effort based workouts. I appreciate that the cadence workouts based on ftp recognize that I might prefer to practice a low cadence without feeling like I am damaging my knees. I like that the watts are allowed to stay the same or even drop as you use a lower cadence, making practicing lower cadence not just more palatable, but something I rather enjoy. Normally, I would have just ignored the tractor-pull like workout assigned for today, but my enjoyment of some of the lower cadence workouts this month encourage me to try it and I liked it. 16 pulls seemed like more that I would want to do and I ended up doing 9 of the 16 efforts. I stopped when my power was being limited by the pain in my knee rather than my strength and I am pleased to have do the workout (well half the workout). Despite having done only a little over half the workout, Today’s plan credited me with full credit and the correct TS. The TS values are passing strange.

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@Elliswall Thank you for your post, I really connected to what you said. I too was an avid ‘spinner’ before I found ZWIFT. I’m also a recovering runner who has a knee problems. I’ve been with Coach Theia on this program since last summer and I have to say…I have had NO KNEE issues since followign her program and I am over the moon with pain free knees. I can truly say that I trust in the program, my knees continue to thank me. :grinning:

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@Elliswall I am glad you are able to do some low cadence work! Knee pain can be tricky, and more often than not is a sign of a weakness in the hips and/or ankles. Have you had it checked by an orthopedist? Do you do any strength training?