The best way to climb better is to climb more. Since I started mtb 14months ago I told myself I love hills and climbing. Except for training, fuel, technique etc, its also a big mental challenge that you have to win from the start. I lost 21kg in 6 months, now on 86kg with 7% body fat. I made peace with the fact that I will never get down to 80kg or less. Theres just no more fat to loose. Oh yes, I'm 32year. So the next step for me was getting stronger, fitter and winning the mental battle. I also quickly realize that with mountain biking it not all just about leg strength, full body strength and core strength is just as if not more important to power yourself up those lovely technical climbs. And please remember, core strength is not having a six pack of abs. Core muscles are the ones you cant see. And its also important to exercise your core muscle to keep your body steady. I see so many guys training their core to move instead of using static core exercises like planks, renegade rows, standing ball slams etc etc. In terms of full body strength. The normal gym program sitting on a bench doing dumbbell curls, or lying down doing bench press or leg extensions etc, is not gonna get you far with mountain biking. You have to teach your muscles to work together not in isolation. Your a mtb'er not a body builder. In terms of training leg strength and fitness on the bike or even on a spinning bike. Your answer is intervals. You can get a lot more done in very little time. Start with shorter climbs, lets say 200m at 7%. Ride that hill 4-6 times at 80% max HR. If you get interval 3 and get up that hill on or under 80%, stop and go home, your done for the day. Make sure that you recover in full between the intervals, HR below 50% of max. And VERY VERY important, is recovery after training. Its almost more important than the training itself. I can write a book about all of this. But rather, send me PM and will give you lot more detailed info and also help you with training program, exercises and nutritional tips. And no I'm not gonna charge you. I share my knowledge for the love of the sport. A lot of my friends have made massive improvements using my training techniques. Myself, in my 14months of mtb'ing I have managed to get in the top 10% of all of almost all the races I'm competing in. And Ive had some bad luck with crashes keeping me off the bike for 8weeks and 6 weeks respectively. Best result is 2nd in vori berg 30km and 3rd place at vori berg 60km. Im now aiming for top 5% position for the rest of the year. PM me if you want to know more.
