Originally Posted by
nycphotography
on flat ground, try starting out by taking 4 or 5 gears harder, and a very low cadence... maybe 30-50 rpm. concentrate on your balance and movement on the pedals. weight more or less upright, neither pushing nor pulling on the bars for balance, gently pulling up the bar while pedaling down, smooth flow from left to right.
have someone else observe and perhaps record and analyze your position and movement and try again.
when the motion is smooth and you are satisfied with your balance, try one gear easier and a higher cadence maintaining the same power (or speed if you don't have a power meter). practice for 15 minutes to an hour until you feel confident that you have good form.
now move one gear easier and repeat. repeat. repeat. eventually you will reach a gear where your balance and position are still good... but you get ragged on the pedals. NOW you start working on drills at THAT cadence while standing. drop to a gear lower cadence, then back to the faster cadence gear.
keep repeating until you can comfortably maintain 90+ cadence while standing.
I think this is good advice. I think of pedaling out of the saddle as a dance. You need a rhythm. Of course it'll feel awkward if you're trying to muscle it. You need to work with the bike and pedals, and not against it.
For me, part of improving my technique was giving up the idea of looking "cool". If your rhythm is on point, you legitimately look like you're dancing, which can feel odd. Muscling it might look cooler but it's not doing you any favors.
If you get your rhythm right, you can spin out of the saddle into oblivion. I believe my highest ever is somewhere in the 170s. My cadence meter stops reading after that.