How to read your cadence — and why it matters more than resistance.

Most riders I meet have spent years turning the same pedal, at the same speed, against the same wall of resistance. They're strong. They're also stuck. If that sounds like you, read on — because cadence is the lever nobody told you about, and it's the single biggest thing you can change this week.

Let me define cadence first, in case we're not on the same page: cadence is how many times your pedal completes a full revolution in a minute. You'll see it labeled RPM on the bike computer. It's not the same as effort. It's not the same as resistance. It's a separate dial on your stove, and you're probably only using one of its settings.

The three zones I teach every client

I split cadence into three functional zones. Each does something different to your body. The magic is moving between them on purpose.

Zone 1 — Climb (60–75 rpm)

Heavy resistance, slow pedal, lots of muscle recruitment. This is where you build leg strength without needing a weight room. It feels grinding in the quads and glutes. You'll know you're doing it right when you can't sustain it more than 3–4 minutes.

Zone 2 — Flat (85–95 rpm)

Your default. Moderate resistance, conversational breathing, comfortable posture. This is your Sunday long ride zone. If you can only pick one cadence to live at, this is it — but it's also the one most riders never leave, which is why they stall.

Zone 3 — Sprint (100+ rpm)

Lighter resistance, fast legs, big heart rate spike. Builds neural speed and cardio ceiling. Most new riders hate this zone because it feels "out of control." That feeling is the point.

Cadence is the lever nobody told you about. Change it, and you change what your body is being asked to build.

Why this matters more than resistance

Here's the thing about resistance: your bike has one dial, but your body has many. When you only change resistance, you're asking the same muscle fibers to work harder. When you change cadence, you change which muscle fibers fire, which energy system is taxed, and which adaptation you drive.

• Low cadence, high resistance → Strength. Slow-twitch fibers. Mitochondrial density.
• Mid cadence, mid resistance → Aerobic base. Cardiac output. Fat oxidation.
• High cadence, low resistance → Neuromuscular speed. VO₂ max. Sprint capacity.

A good workout moves between all three. A great workout moves between them with intention.

A 45-minute workout you can do today

Try this — it's one of the first sessions I program for new clients, and it covers all three zones:

• 0:00 – 5:00 Warm-up. 85 rpm, easy resistance. Wake up your legs.
• 5:00 – 15:00 Hill block. 65 rpm, heavy resistance. 2 min on, 1 min recovery, × 3.
• 15:00 – 25:00 Flat cruise. 90 rpm, moderate resistance. Conversational.
• 25:00 – 35:00 Sprint block. 110 rpm, light resistance. 30 sec on, 90 sec easy, × 5.
• 35:00 – 45:00 Cool down. Drift from 85 down to 70 rpm, nothing heroic.

Notice what you feel in each zone. That's data. Over weeks, you'll start to feel cadence like you feel temperature — constant, specific, useful.

One last thing

I'll leave you with the thing that took me years to learn: you cannot out-resistance bad cadence. If your legs are collapsing at 60 rpm and you're turning the dial up further, you're building compensation patterns, not fitness. Drop the resistance. Find the cadence. Then rebuild.

If you want to see this coached in real time — which is how I teach it, because watching your form matters — the first session is on me. Link at the top of the page.