I know this is a couple months late, but this video came out this August and does a great job of looking at the science behind the differenced between climbing while seated or standing.
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I had a look at the links of Simon giving techniques for out of saddle riding. He looked to be much further forward than the EOS suggested, or at least my interpretation of it, and so I have been trying to do it from a further back position, The toes pointing down is something I have not tried .
It just feels as if my quads are carrying my body weight as well as driving the pedals , their load more than doubles in an instant, when already working hard, so they turn to toast in seconds
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@alchurch Sounds like you are on the right track! Now you need to get the ‘waggle’ going which works in the hip flexors, core, and lower back muscles then you are all set to climb like Micheal Cotty out of the saddle for hours. LOL!
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Is the ‘waggle’ practice included in the yoga videos? 
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greatly reduced "Angels@ yesterday. Tried the first stand but did not make it to the top of the first slope. .40 watts or so under threshold but still too hard to pedal while standing.Really sore quads the rest of the day.I am not sure it is even worth me persevering .I do not mind sprinting out of the saddle but for general riding, it just does me in for the rest of the ride
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You have to do what works best for you. Please don’t quote me on this but I do believe that the science says it is more efficient to climb while in the saddle.
This is great! I have no problems standing to climb a hill outside, but I just spin like crazy trying to support my weight on the trainer in ERG mode when I stand. The weighting of the back foot suggestion explains everything. Can’t wait to try it!
Check out the Dylan Johnson video for more scientific details. It’s a little more detailed than that. It depends on how much power you’re putting out and your body type. But yes as a general rule sitting is usually more efficient until you are at higher power outputs.
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As a relative newcomer to cycling, bike skills and balance (or lack of both) are my issues and standing while cycling ends in stomping the pedals - once, sit start pedaling again, get up and stomp one more 1/2 rotation. I think I will have to set aside some time on the trainer to just practise the skill outside of a workout.
My NM power is based on what I can do seated at the moment (around 800w), I wonder what that might end up being if I ever learn how to stand and pedal.
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SUF newbie here. I HATE standing, as it tires me out to the point of near exhaustion after 20 seconds, but, that said: I’m trying to stand, especially for higher power, lower cadence climbs and working on keeping my pedaling smooth (following Elements of Style). Although still incredibly tough, I’ve noticed that while standing, i tend to switch between a smooth pedaling stroke to a jerky one. The jerky pedaling accelerates the exhaustion I feel. So, there must be something to the idea of engaging glutes that helps with standing. Perhaps I’m imagining it but over the past 2-3 weeks (Fitness Kickstarter with a few personally chosen workout substitutions) I seem to have made minor improvements in ability to stand.
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I did AVDP, this morning. The third and fifth intervals were the hardest because of the standing. The third was hard because the standing was for extended amounts of time that I just couldn’t keep up for that long, so I would sit down before I was told to. Then in the fifth I did the first few, but my legs were tired and you have to switch between standing and sitting so often that it’s impossible to get a rhythm. But a rhythm was what my legs needed to be able to get thru it, so after the first minute I just stayed sitting until the sprint at the end.
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I have been watching the climbers on the Giro and Vuelta. hands lightly on the bars, bottom off the saddle, feet dancing on the pedals, so what is holding body weight? and how does this effect the coordination and effort of a pedal stroke on these pro’s?
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My unscientific approach to SUF workouts is to prioritize meeting power targets then cadence then standing. If power and cadence targets are high then Grunter says to stand, I virtually always ignore him because standing may mean I won’t be able to finish the workout. High power + high cadence = high suffering = completing difficult intervals or going as far as possible on the Half Monty ramp test. There are benefits to be realized from standing when told but I figure they don’t outweigh the benefit realized from hitting power targets.
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What about rollers? I really struggle to even keep on my bike standing up while riding my smart rollers.
Hi
Been browsing through the post but I can’t really find a solution to the issue I have, although “elements of style” will probably be suggested as a way to sort out what’s happening to me, namely, when I have to stand up the resistance does not increase sufficiently for me not to “spin out” (using a Elite Suito in ERG mode) - I find myself just having to support my weight with my arms and spinning wildly, which for me compared to real world riding is just unnatural.
I will stand up when riding outside if there is a short steep hill, or if I have to sprint, or during a long climb to engage different muscles: basically cadence will be pretty much the same (maybe a bit lower) but power will be higher. so I have something to “push against”.
With the workouts I find there is not enough resistance to: a) justify standing up in a real world scenario, b) hit the power levels and cadence required .
Maybe it’s the set up of the rollers, maybe it’s my technique (been riding for over 25 years, so bad habits die hard I guess) or maybe the workouts are just designed to be like that and I am not built to do high cadence/low power while standing up, but would appreciate any tips on how to make it work - just would want a more immediate resistance change (I have to say it also takes a few seconds for resistance to change while seated) - if this is one for the tech support forums/trainer connectivity, would appreciate directions, this is the first time posting.
Thanks
I think that the NM control of the pros when standing is just on another level, with Contador above them all. I suspect that he could probably take his hands of the bars when climbing stood up because he is so perfectly balancing his weight between the pedals in the same way us mere mortals are able to walk up a set of stairs.
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I apologize that you haven’t gotten a response to your post/question in so long. It sounds like there’s nothing wrong with your trainer, since I know that a lot of the standing efforts in the SUF videos don’t actually come with an intensity or resistance change. A lot of times, you’ll be riding along and then get a stand prompt without any other target changes. Over the years, the sport science team has been updating the workout videos and targets to make them more realistic and do-able, since many of the workouts were created many years ago before the sport science team existed. And quite honestly, a lot of those workouts were created to make you suffer, with no scientific basis. So if you feel like the power is too low and cadence is too high, you have a couple of options.
1- Get out of the saddle and just go as long as you can and return to sitting when you fatigue.
2- Drop your cadence to a more realistic out of the saddle climbing cadence
3- Ignore the stand prompt altogether
At the end of the day, what really matters is that you challenge yourself in a way that you feel good about. If you don’t stick to the cadence target when standing, that’s ok. You’re still going to benefit from doing the workout, however you modify it if that’s what you need to or choose to do.
And over time, we’ll eventually get to ALL of the workouts with silly stand prompts at high cadences 
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Many thanks Suzie
To be honest, I have been improving this aspect, and it now seems I am able to maintain the requested cadence when standing, although I still find it difficult to nail it specially as the cadence field is all over the place when I go over 95/100 rpm approx. Seems that data transmission is not seamless for cadence; fortunately, power and HR seem to be spot on.
This brings me to a question I do have regarding cadence - most of the workouts that require real high cadence (over 100 or more) are just way too difficult for me: I have relatively long legs and I have never considered myself a gear grinder, instinctively defaulting to 80 rpm (give or take) as a natural cadence, but spinning over 110/120 rpm just has me flying all over the place; so, considering power is not the limiting factor (as I always hit the power level requested) can I be 10% under the requested cadence without the workout loosing effectiveness? Basically, what margin can I work with for cadence?
Thanks again
Regards
I’m pleased to hear that you’ve made progress in the ability to hit more of the standing cadence targets. Goes to show that practice makes progress! 
In regards to the high cadence targets being hard for you, that’s very common. I don’t know how often you do any of the Cadence Builds, Builds and Holds or Drills workouts, but we actually find that most people would rather do Nine Hammers than Cadence builds because riding at high cadence is so difficult. If you’re doing these workouts regularly, keep at it and you’ll find that you’ll improve your neuromuscular firing patterns and be able to ride at those higher cadences more smoothly and for longer periods of time. It’s not an adaptation you make overnight, it does take time, so just keep at it. If you’re NOT doing them, well, I hate to say it but you need to do them!
As for a margin of difference, when it comes down to it, we’re not in your pain cave with you holding you to every target. You don’t really HAVE to hit any of them…they’re really just suggestions. BUT since you’re making an effort and asking the question, clearly you want to do it right. A 10% margin is a good place to start. Once you’re there, aim for 5%. And once you’re there, aim for the target spot on. As long as you continue to set those goals and make an effort to work toward them, you’re improving yourself as a cyclist, and arguably as a person too! So bottom line, like always, do your best and enjoy the ride. As long as you do that, it’s always going to be a good day on the bike!
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I have a question on this. Some MTB coaches argue it is better and more efficient to stand on the climbs due to varying terrain conditions that can cause to a loss of traction. Because the study was done on the road, how does it translate to off road disciplines? I’m very curious.
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