Dominant foot when pedalling?

I was a dominate left-leg pedaler (I'm left handed).  A complicating factor was the fact that my left leg is slightly shorter than my right, which was causing my hips to rock quite a bit when pedalling hard.

I did several sessions with my tri coach last year on a Computrainer to work on this specifically.  As my stroke became more balanced, my watts increased significantly.   I got an orthodic insert for my left shoe to help compensate for the lenght difference.  I also try to do some single leg drills during every ride.

Mark

yes, ILT drills.  Best done on a trainer

WU: 10'

1' spin with each leg. One foot is clipped in, the other foot is unclipped and not pedaling. Then spin for 30" easy.

Do this cycle 6 times or for 15 minutes. After the 6th cycle spin high RPMS (100+) for 5', then repeat with 6 more cycles.

CD: 10'

if it's your first time, you may want to just to the first set and the hyper spin, then cool down.  Keep your resistance and gearing so that you can spin 80+ rpm.  Play around and you'll find the right combo.  For strength training, I will do this and target certain rpms.  So first time I might shoot for 90, then 100, then 110.  It is defineately one hell of a workout.  The other thing I will do during the cool down or even the rest period sometimes is with both feet clipped, to stand and pedal without moving my waist at all (really works the quads and glutes) or sit and pedal in reverse as slow and smooth as I can.

I also feel that my right leg is dominant. I also find that my left leg fatigues faster and I get a weird lower back pain. I went to my chiropractor about it and he said that if your hips, pelvis, and low back are misaligned, then your leg extension and effort can be affected.  After he adjusts that area, I am good to go for several weeks. 

 I also think that leg isolation exercises would be helpful too.  I'll have to try that.

AdventureBear- My SI joint is what always gives me problems, especially since having the girls.  Keep that in alignment really helps both my running and biking.

 As for the single leg drills, let's just say I'm a wuss! I tried that today on the bike and sucked! I could only keep it going in smooth circles for about 20sec before I started "Kachunking" away. And my quad and hams were burning.  Thanks for the tip on this exercise, I think I need them!

Mel 

I felt that my right leg was dominant, so I did what many have said here - focused on a smooth pedaling stroke, did isolated leg drills (more on the left than on the right).  Also, and this may sound stupid - when I'm going up the long escalators at the Metro or up stairs in my townhouse or elsewhere, I took two stairs on the left and one on the right.  Helps with the strength imbalance.

For me though, it was really about focusing on pedaling technique.