Cycling Power

On 30 June 2026 a masterclass will be given by Jim Martin
Location: Barcelona

Coffee breaks and lunch included

Time 09.00-13.00

Introduction

A bird bursts into the air, wings beating as it rises. A fish accelerates to escape a predator, body undulating side to side. A cyclist sprints to the finish line, legs extending and flexing at high cadence. What do these activities have in common? They all require cyclic muscle contractions in which muscles become activated, produce force while shortening, become deactivated, and undergo lengthening. Thus, these activities require integration of force-time (activation and deactivation), force-velocity, and force-length characteristics.

Many of you may have learned these characteristics as reductionist properties in which only one variable is changed while others are held constant. These reductionist properties are useful for presenting concepts of muscle physiology but they do not convey the complex interaction of those properties during voluntary cyclical locomotor activities. Indeed, in my experience teaching cyclic contractions, traditional lectures often left students frustrated. In contrast, students who assisted with experiments in my lab quickly gained understanding through hands-on learning.
These dissimilar learning outcomes motivated me to create “Virtual Muscle Lab” (VML) which duplicates laboratory those experiences. VML control panels include muscle parameters, which allows you to change muscle properties to represent a variety of muscle conditions and observe the effects on cyclic muscle power.

This Masterclass will begin with the reductionist properties, then progress to cyclic contractions using VML. In these virtual experiments you will learn:
1. The importance of activation and deactivation; properties that are often overlooked and can be altered with training.
2. The effects of fiber type, strength training, and fatigue on cycling power. Insight gained from these exercises will help guide the training you prescribe for your athletes.

In summary, in this Masterclass, you will gain a deep understanding of cycling power production that will broaden your understanding of training and fatigue beyond reductionist muscle properties and into the sphere of integrated neuromuscular function. Put another way; many sport scientists claim to have expertise in cycling but only a tiny percentage truly understand how muscles produce cycling power. By participating in this Masterclass, you will join that elite group.

About the instructor

JIM MARTIN (Dr), is an Associate Professor in the Department of Nutrition and Integrative Physiology, within the College of Health at The University of Utah and a Fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine. He teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in biomechanics and muscle physiology. His research areas include neuromuscular function, biomechanics, physical activity, and performance modeling. Applications of these areas range from optimizing elite sport performance to facilitating physical activity in desk bound office workers. He in an author on 50 papers in peer reviewed journals and three book chapters which have been cited over 2000 times. He has been an investigator on research funding totaling approximately two million dollars. He is the sole inventor on one patent and a co-inventor on one other. He has served as a consultant to several sport organizations including the USA Cycling, Australian Institute of Sport, the English Institute of Sport, Canada’s Own the Podium, High Performance Sport New Zealand, and Oracle Team USA where he has worked with World and Olympic Champions. He holds a Bachelors degree in Mechanical Engineering and Masters and Doctoral Degrees in Exercise Science. Dr Martin’s publications can be viewed on his Google Scholar Profile. When not working, he enjoys spending time with his family, hiking, cycling, and woodworking

REGISTRATION FEES MASTERCLASSES SCIENCE & CYCLING 2026

(Including 10% Spanish vat)