Originally Posted by
Moishe
<snip>I find his argument very persuasive. I came across this article when I finally decided to heed the advice of three successive bike fitters and fully address my shoe-pedal-foot interface issues, which related to knee pain. With high-arch inserts, varus tilt support, and heel wedges, not only is my knee pain is gone, but my pedal stroke is noticeably smoother, more efficient, even at higher cadences than I had been used to.
https://www.stevehoggbikefitting.com...-arch-support/
Hogg doesn't mention the involvement of our basal ganglia. They can learn exactly what and when to file when we give them a general signal to act, that is, they are programmable by us rather than being preprogrammed. Children learn to walk, etc. Thus as Hogg intimates, we can use the sensory apparatus in our feet to consciously reprogram our muscles. Everyone knows this and every sport teaches this, except maybe cycling. I can still remember the first time I pedaled three "perfect" pedal strokes in a row. Running mechanics can be improved, swimming mechanics the same, but not cycling mechanics, oh no. I think that's because cycling is classed as a "non-technical" sport, meaning it's stupid simple. Or at least it seems so.
One can modify one's unconscious pedal stroke through conscious action, but it takes a lot of practice, just like tennis or playing the guitar. What is it, 10,000 hours?
If anyone wants to really get off into the weeds on this, here's something to attempt to read:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5374212/
Basically, this learning, like most learning, is reward-based. Correct action must have some sort of reward for it to be selected for and then wired in.