Poor climber to beast climber - how to do it in 3 months?

[Robbie Stewart]

Wow - overwhelmed by all of the responses and help. Thank you all. I need to take some time this evening to try and work through them all and come up with a plan.

 

Current fitness levels are ok. Dec and Jan were quiet enough training wise. Feb was ok and have really ramped up (from a low base) since the last week of feb. 7.5 hrs last week (70% zone 2, 10% zone 1), on course for 10-12 hrs this week and aiming for 15 per week from next week with the clocks changing to give us more daytime.

Sorry I’ve taken so long to respond. Been at the vet with a very unwell dog this morning.

 

 

More importantly, I hope your puppy is okay? 

[Patchelicious]

Lad, I only wear secret socks

 

Sif

 

[Patchelicious]

BIG DL will become small DL

If you watch Modern Family, and saw the episode with Jay breaking into Earl's office..... 

['Dale]

Sif

 

 

 

The perfect GIF. 

 

@BigDL

Climbing ability matters and is very much a mental game (pacing, overcoming fear, not following others, rhythm or tempo management, a positive mindset and a resilient attitude) as well as a power-weight game.

Remember to work on your endurance and multi-day riding ability; stringing training rides together as part of your preparation phase.

[The Ouzo]

The perfect GIF. 

 

@BigDL

Climbing ability matters and is very much a mental game (pacing, overcoming fear, not following others, rhythm or tempo management, a positive mindset and a resilient attitude) as well as a power-weight game.

Remember to work on your endurance and multi-day riding ability; stringing training rides together as part of your preparation phase.

the mindset part is very important.

 

I often find that I'm doing ok on a climb, even though HR is high, breathing is laboured, legs are crying, blood is oozing out of my eye sockets, as long as I keep a positive attitude I can carry on, but the moment that positivity turns negative its game over.

 

On sunday I saw the same thing in my wife. She is rather unfit, we were at Rietvlei, we turned a corner and before she could even see the hill she remembered it was coming and that was the end of her, she did not even attempt it.

[DJuice]

From the 50 Col Challenge in France, my neck muscles took a beating not sure from looking up for hours on end and my hands took a beating coming down in the breaking zones.

 

For training, I only had a cellphone mask to do repeats on and many of them I did.

Weekends would do 150km ride and ride repeats at the end of the session.

 

You will probably run out of gears and that is fine, even shadowing shifting just to make sure there are non left, keep it in gear and enjoy the whole experience!

 

Good luck with your training!

[DieselnDust]

I have a 5 day MTB stage race/ride in Italy in either May/June or at the end of August (covid dependent). Routes were published last night and are worse than I (ignorantly) anticipated.

 

The long and the short of it is that the 5 days total distance is 227 km (doesn't sound like a lot) with total climbing of 8,850 m (sounds like a *** load to me at least), with the toughest day being 2750 metres climb in a 55km stage. There are lots of incredibly steep climbs on the route, as you can imagine.

 

Anyway, I am very much a Diesel engine type rider, without a huge amount of climbing endurance. At 104 kg's and 193 cm, I am at best a grinder up hills and have never really sought them out just for fun.

 

So, I am looking for advice on the best way to quickly get stronger on hills without completely destroying myself through stupidity. I have searched the forum but can't really find any threads since 2013, so am hoping for some nuggets. Is there a specific training plan you could recommend? Should I be doing any programs on Zwift/TR etc? My instinct is to just go and ride hills a lot, but not sure if this is correct.

 

Currently riding a Giant Anthem X 29'er (2014 model but with a 2016 frame). Should I be looking to make it lighter by upgrading components etc? Should I stick a bigger cassette on the back (currently standard 2x10)?

 

I am already in the process of losing weight and have decided to accelerate this process from today. Aiming for 89kg's which should help somewhat.

 

Any advice will be appreciated and paid for in beers at the next bikehub international get-together.

 

 

 

First and foremost, you need a healthy eating plan. Your BMI is 28 which is extra weight to carry up hills. You can get away with it in SA because we don't have really long climbs but 2750m climbing in 55km (50m/km ascent) is really tough on the lower back, and legs,

 

2 gym sessions per week to work on core and lower back strength

 

And then on the bike Hill repeats. Do all you intervals on steeper gradients. At least 2 sessions per week. Find the steepest hills in your area and make friends with them.

[Prince Albert Cycles]

Am following this topic with interest . 
reading all the advice about hill repeats . Not saying the advice is wrong but relating some personal experience ,

in the 90’s we used to race 4 day vets tours in the Graskop area = hills and hills .

I distinctly remember 2 winners, not their names unfortunately .

The one came from Kroonstad which is at the center of the Free State flats . But his power to weight ratio was excellent.

Another winner came from Canada right out  off their winter . He did all his preparation in his basement on a stationary trainer . Personally I think if you are a climber ride those hills . If not lose weight and increase your power . And work on your anaerobic fitness. A hill is just a hard interval.

[BigDL]

More importantly, I hope your puppy is okay?

Thank you - antibiotic injection and various potions. She seems much better.

[Bos]

Am following this topic with interest . 

reading all the advice about hill repeats . Not saying the advice is wrong but relating some personal experience ,

in the 90’s we used to race 4 day vets tours in the Graskop area = hills and hills .

I distinctly remember 2 winners, not their names unfortunately .

The one came from Kroonstad which is at the center of the Free State flats . But his power to weight ratio was excellent.

Another winner came from Canada right out  off their winter . He did all his preparation in his basement on a stationary trainer . Personally I think if you are a climber ride those hills . If not lose weight and increase your power . And work on your anaerobic fitness. A hill is just a hard interval.

Thats great insight. 

 

Take note of this wisdom. 

[rudi-h]

climbing is a W/kg game...

 

Either get stronger or get lighter, or hopefully a little bit of both...

 

A little reading can go a long way, I'd recommend:

for more power:  Time Crunched Cyclist from Chris Carmichael

for weight loss:  Racing Weight from Matt Fitzgerald

 

12 weeks is just enough time for finishing the Time Crunched Training Program and you should be able to shed a few kg's also without compromising your recovery and fuelling.

Edited March 23, 2021 by rudi-h

[DieselnDust]

Am following this topic with interest . 

reading all the advice about hill repeats . Not saying the advice is wrong but relating some personal experience ,

in the 90’s we used to race 4 day vets tours in the Graskop area = hills and hills .

I distinctly remember 2 winners, not their names unfortunately .

The one came from Kroonstad which is at the center of the Free State flats . But his power to weight ratio was excellent.

Another winner came from Canada right out  off their winter . He did all his preparation in his basement on a stationary trainer . Personally I think if you are a climber ride those hills . If not lose weight and increase your power . And work on your anaerobic fitness. A hill is just a hard interval.

 

 

 

Indeed a hill is just a hard interval but its a lot easier to execute an interval on a long hill than it is on a long straight stretch of road without the interruption of traffic lights, which is rather rare in Cape Town. It depends on your geography. The Netherlands has produced some of the best climbers.

The best climbers also train the mountains for altitude adjustment but also because its just easier to maintain high watts on a gradient

Edited March 24, 2021 by DieselnDust

[FirstV8]

Im a Hi Veld rider very rarely get out to ride the steep ,long hills you guys have in CPT and KZN .On average im a 85 kg person but ride every day ( retired ) 50 km at about 28kph .On my daily route i climb 500m and treat each one of those hill as "Alp du ez " . I go as hard at it from the bottom no matter how long it is . My longest climb is 3km with average gradient of 6%. .When i lose weight (to +_80 kg ) with the leg strength I've built up makes climbing a pleasure . . My advise is ride the hills you have on your routes as hard as possible , work on loosing the weight at least 4 to 6 weeks before the event , maintain it , train the way you were before losing the weight and you will ride that tour easily . 

 

I rode those vets 4 day Tours and yes they were hill , hills , hills  even the ones in Harrismith because we went into the mountains towards Clarence and past the Sterkfontein Dam .. The Kroonstad winner was Lenny van Heerdan and he was a huge man ( Jan Ulrich build ). . 

Edited March 24, 2021 by FirstV8

[Patchelicious]

Indeed a hill is just a hard interval but its a lot easier to execute an interval on a long hill than it is on a long straight stretch of road without the interruption of traffic lights, which is rather rare in Cape Town. It depends on your geography. The Netherlands has produced some of the best climbers.

The best climbers also train the mountains for altitude adjustment but also because its just easier to maintain high watts on a gradient

 

They have the wind. Riding in the wind replicates climbing.

 

From another study, a simple rule of thumb, each 10kmh = 2% (or something like that)

 

https://www.yellowjersey.co.uk/the-draft/how-much-difference-does-a-headwind-make-when-cycling/

Edited March 24, 2021 by Patchelicious

[DieselnDust]

Long flat sort of straight cycle paths with a consistent autumn and spring wind coming off the North Sea. You build power pretty quickly