Will I ever master the hills?

[JohnQ]

Been cycling for many many years and over the past few seem to be getting worse and worse going up the hills.

 

 

 

I"m 6'3, 97kgs, big build. I know I'll never be a pro up the hills but its really starting to get me down. Over the past year for just about every fun ride I do I suffer up the hills and lose way too much time Flats and downhills are fine

 

 

 

I thought it might be my weight, but have seen a few guys probably double my weight cycle past me up hill. In fact everyone cycle's past me uphill - its almost like I'm cycling through mud.

 

 

 

What can I do to get better at hills? I'm been practicing hill work and doing leg weight training at gym - doesn't seem to help much.

 

 

 

Was also thinking of maybe visiting somewhere like the Sports Science Int. Could it be a problem with my riding style?

 

 

 

Any advise would be helpful - at this point I'm not enjoying my cycling

[obree]

At 97 kg NO you wont master the hills !! I am taller, by a small bit, than you and my fighting weight is 82kg, 5% body fat, and I still get left behind on the hils. Choose your races carefully, Race the flat ones and train on the hilly ones.

[JohnQ]

Going to have lose a good few kilos then.

 

 

 

How come I often see these massive overweight guys flying past me then?gregmcc2010-02-14 04:49:35

[Overlord]

6foot 4inches

73kg

4,6% bodyfat

Can climb.

 

How?

Training. Do not give up. Just do more hill training. I used to be the same and that was the only thing that helped. Training,training and more training.

 

[Guest colonel]

What 1time said

[JohnQ]

6foot 4inches73kg4' date='6% bodyfatCan climb.How?Training. Do not give up. Just do more hill training. I used to be the same and that was the only thing that helped. Training,training and more training.

 

[/quote']

 

 

 

Thanks for the info.

 

 

 

1 - I need to lose more weight.

 

2 - I need to concentrate more on hill work which will hopefully lead to more weight loss.

 

 

 

I'm off to find a training hill.

[leet22]

Yip what they said. Just ride as many hard hills as you can find, the harder the better and try push your self up them even when u think you cant.

[Putty]

 

I"m 6'3' date=' 97kgs, big build. ([/quote']

 

Whats your body fat %? Hopefully for your climbing future its quite high, cause if so, then you can lower that down to single figures and you'll see a huge improvement as well.

[Weight Weenie]

Get in the right gear so you can keep a steady cadence while seated if its a long hill.  also try to keep your breathing steady, deep in and exhale.

 

If theres a downhill before the hill or a big flat, get your speed up as the momentum will help you carry a bigger gear for a portion of the climb and youll go faster then.

 

hope that helps

 

WW.

[ianrodger]

It's odd that you're geting worse at climbing; either you're riding too hard on the flats to compensate and aggravating your climbing weakness; or you're not training the hills correctly; or your position or gearing may be incorrect.

 

After a review of the above, you're still going to need the conventional hill-training of similar duration to the climbs you face during races, and at the correct intensity, i.e. anywhere from 85-95 % of maximum heart rate, depending on your fitness and health.

 

With your weight, you're never going to fly up hills, but you can go a lot faster with the appropriate training and pacing; leg-weights are never going to remedy the situation.

 

Climbing is all about how much power you can produce relative to your weight, so you need to look at both parts of this equation - how much weight can you safely and realstically lose is important to know. From there its about increasing your power output, and riding smartly to get the most from your ability.

 

I have been coaching cyclists of all disciplines and abilities for many years; contact me directly if you would like to find out more about individualised training.

 

 Ian Rodger

 

 

[Canaris]

there is this guy who is giving wierd advice that works on another thread..........

['Dale]

gregmcc,

 

 

 

[here are some more mental tips as I work with athletes in the mental / psychological sphere]

 

 

 

Make sure to not overtrain and underrest.

 

Often the desperation too improve can reverse results.

 

So, between hill training runs make sure to get good rest / sleep/ break days.

 

 

 

Try to not compare yourself to other riders that has the same amount of body mass as you. This is a tough one! Race your own race. Reference to others can just demotivate which is energy wasted.

 

 

 

Yeah, you'll be surprised what a lil' bit of weight loss will do. Eat small meals every 2.5 hrs or so and avoid the 'ravenous' wolf inside you that wants to gulp down the refrigerator. It takes discipline.

 

 

 

Check your gears. Most of my overweight chommies have made special adjustments / adaptations to their group sets.Power cranks, etc.

 

 

 

All the best!   

[Bram_on_Madone]

Are you able to maintain a reasonable cadence on the climbs (say 60 +)?  If not, then what Geno says about changing the gearing on your bike will go a long way.  It might be as simple as changing your casette from, e.g. a 11-23 to a 12-27.

[shimano 105]

I weigh 97 kg and 6.1 foot.Yes,we have much more weight to carry uphill,but when I started,I started training hills.When I look back 7 months ago and compare with were I am now,I see a huge difference for the best.Let the smaller guys and girls go past me,I am progressing.My weight has become my training partner.I am getting stronger and stronger and slowly getting faster and better.I am making my weak point my strong point.In a years time when I have lost say 9kg or so ,just think how strong I will be.I allready see progress.Another thing,get your mindset right.

[SwissVan]

Been cycling for many many years and over the past few seem to be getting worse and worse going up the hills.

I"m 6'3' date=' 97kgs, big build. I know I'll never be a pro up the hills but its really starting to get me down. Over the past year for just about every fun ride I do I suffer up the hills and lose way too much time Flats and downhills are fine

I thought it might be my weight, but have seen a few guys probably double my weight cycle past me up hill. In fact everyone cycle's past me uphill - its almost like I'm cycling through mud.

What can I do to get better at hills? I'm been practicing hill work and doing leg weight training at gym - doesn't seem to help much.

Was also thinking of maybe visiting somewhere like the Sports Science Int. Could it be a problem with my riding style?

Any advise would be helpful - at this point I'm not enjoying my cycling [/quote']

 

What is your limiting factor on hills, i.e. do your legs get tired and which part of your legs or do you get out of breath and hit max heart rate?

 

Doing gym is probably the 2nd least effective way to improve your climbing ability. Rather spend the gym time doing specific on the bike climbing exercises.

This would involve doing some long slow climbs and some hill repeats at low and high cadences at intensities ranging from medium to just below lactic threshold effort.

 

 

 

[Andyr249]

Do the hill repeats as Swissvan said.

Keep doing your gym and weights but finish your work outs with a bit of a ride on the bikes at gym.