My journey in better bike efficiency and power was marked by going to toestraps, then pulling the straps tight and pulling up hard to get up the 100' hill to our house, then buying cycling shoes and finally installing cleats. Shortly after, I discovered I had all I needed to race. Just had to buy shorts and a jersey and didn't even have those for my first one.
One of the first things the vets of my club told me was to "spin circles". Power all the way through. What a gift! I still do. And the benefits? I could use the "big muscles" far less for the many meaningless miles in races. When crunch time came and it was all about power (after 4 hours of riding), those big muscles sill could do it. (I an sure I wasted calories, etc pedaling "inefficiently" but no one takes stock of energy used. They just score who comes over the finish line first.)
To this day, I can "delete" any portion of the pedaling circle to not aggravate an injury, nurse tired or pulled muscles, etc and keep riding. And I love pulling up hard; for hills, for accelerations at lights or just to change pace. I have always stood a lot on hills, doing a lot of pulling as I do so. Yes, I gear down and sit for long hills on geared bikes but going so easy on the pulling that I am not lifting my foot? That means wearing out those big guys. I might want them later.
My real love and where I completely come alive is riding fix gears. And the "pretty pedaling" of don't lift your foot off simple doesn't apply there! Not if the road tips up at all