Question: When you do 10 spins, how do you power yourself? How much is from the leader and how much comes from yourself? How many times do you have to pedal for 10 spins?

Answer: The power for multiple spins comes from your preparation.  I’m not talking about an exaggerated preparation where you are twisting and over rotating your body. Instead, be more grounded, compact and quick in your preparation, keeping your entire body moving as one unit.  You want to increase the speed in all initial stages of a spin:

• Establishing your axis
• Creating a grounded preparation
• Starting your spin

The faster you get through those stage, the more power and speed you will have for your spin. If you want speed, you have to generate power somewhere.  So,  think of arriving at your preparation and leaving that position quickly.  The remaining speed and continuation of the spin(s) will be signaled through the connection between the follower and leader.

The leader is not responsible for pushing the follower through each and every spin. The concept is more like a windmill, once it is in motion, the wind doesn’t need to blow that hard to make it move; a small gust will keep it motion. Basically, the follower and leader play off of the initial preparation and momentum of the spin for increasing or decreasing speed, and determining the number of spins.

As for the number of times I pedal for 10 spins, it varies. If the floor and the lead are good, I can execute more spins without pedaling. If not, I might pedal every other spin.  Practicing the technique of pedaling is not so to force your body to pedal every time. The purpose is so that you have the ability to provide extra power if you should need it.