Hill training...

[PaulSecteur]

So, I have been doing this loop for a few weeks now with no real improvemrnt in times. It doesnt seem to be getting any easier either!

http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/55360306/?new_route=1


BUT my flat average has gone up a bit, and the smaller local hills seem smaller and flatter than they used to be! In fact, hills that were sit down and spin in a low gear at low speed are now attacked in a higher gear, standing up with a war-cry untill its done!

So it seems that hill training has the side effect of improving general riding whilst not necessarily improving hills.

Is there anything I can do to improve my hill climbing as a side effect while riding the local, flatter sceanery?

Paul

PS-Im no race snake, 95kg on a good day.

 

[PK99]

So, I have been doing this loop for a few weeks now with no real improvemrnt in times. It doesnt seem to be getting any easier either!

http://www.mapmyride...06/?new_route=1


BUT my flat average has gone up a bit, and the smaller local hills seem smaller and flatter than they used to be! In fact, hills that were sit down and spin in a low gear at low speed are now attacked in a higher gear, standing up with a war-cry untill its done!

So it seems that hill training has the side effect of improving general riding whilst not necessarily improving hills.

Is there anything I can do to improve my hill climbing as a side effect while riding the local, flatter sceanery?

Paul

PS-Im no race snake, 95kg on a good day.

On that route, repeat hill 3 3 times on each run.
Ride up hard, roll down, repeat, repeat, continue circuit

 

[PaulSecteur]

cheers for that.

Just so you know where im at (Fitness wise) here is the garmin recordf my last run. Ignor the heart rate, the sensor needs a new battery.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/123654688

 

[VamP]

I would say, and you may not enjoy hearing this, that you should increase volume before you do anything else. Training effect on a 6 mile loop will be minimal, and adding intensity before volume (which is what would happen with the hill repeat advised above) would not make all that much difference.

Ideally you should structure your training on a weekly basis to include longer rides, as well as one intense session per week. Aim to do at least 50 miles per week, with the intent of growing that to 100+ as you gain fitness. The intense session could be hill repeats, or other structured intervals.

If you set yourself some long/medium term goals, then that will also help with the training plan.

 

[fossyant]

It's gonna take a while. What sort of mileages and frequency are you doing. Do you commute on the bike. It's a well known way of massively improving fitness without eating into family/own time. TBH I think there is no better way of getting the base fitness up.

 

[Andrew_P]

Interesting Fossy, but does that go against Vamps advice?

 

[VamP]

Interesting Fossy, but does that go against Vamps advice?

Totally not, commuting is an excellent way to get to a good volume base. Add a long ride at the weekend, and you're sorted!

I manage to do recovery, tempo and interval riding in my commutes, it's a fantastic time saver.

 

[Andrew_P]

Totally not, commuting is an excellent way to get to a good volume base. Add a long ride at the weekend, and you're sorted!

I manage to do recovery, tempo and interval riding in my commutes, it's a fantastic time saver.

The problem is that my commute is now neither hard nor easy, but at weekends the last thing I feel like doing is a 50 miler. In fact I have never done more than 24 miles, yet have clocked up loads of commuting miles.

I feel progress has plateaued and I am always trying not to knock my legs out to ensure I get my full week in, but by Friday I am no mood to do a flat out run. And the weekend is being used to recover as if I did a decent ride on Sunday I fear the week will be so intolerable the car keys will come out.

Above is a bit off topic from the OP, but back on topic hills are without a doubt a habit thing the more you do them the faster you go up them. I had one hill on my commute that would make me take the walk of shame and still be out of breath at the top, now I go up it faster and less out of breath, still hate it though hopefully by this time next year it will be hardly noticed.

If I were the op I would find a local hill that poses a pain and cardio problem and tackle it as much as possible.

 

[amaferanga]

The problem is that my commute is now neither hard nor easy, but at weekends the last thing I feel like doing is a 50 miler. In fact I have never done more than 24 miles, yet have clocked up loads of commuting miles.

I feel progress has plateaued and I am always trying not to knock my legs out to ensure I get my full week in, but by Friday I am no mood to do a flat out run. And the weekend is being used to recover as if I did a decent ride on Sunday I fear the week will be so intolerable the car keys will come out.

Above is a bit off topic from the OP, but back on topic hills are without a doubt a habit thing the more you do them the faster you go up them. I had one hill on my commute that would make me take the walk of shame and still be out of breath at the top, now I go up it faster and less out of breath, still hate it though hopefully by this time next year it will be hardly noticed.

If I were the op I would find a local hill that poses a pain and cardio problem and tackle it as much as possible.

You've plateaued because you're not doing any longer rides. Knock back the intensity on some of your commutes so they become recovery rides and then you might feel like a longer ride at the weekend. The mistake a lot of people make is riding hard-ish all the time. Much better to have some properly HARD rides and some really EASY recovery rides.

You'll never become an accomplished cyclist by doing rides of less than 24 miles unfortunately.

 

[User16625]

You'll never become an accomplished cyclist by doing rides of less than 24 miles unfortunately.

oh bugger!

 

[adam23]

the best and only way to get better at hills is to keep doing some serious hills and then you will get better over time mate,
the one your doing at the moment will get you better at riding and improve the legs but it needs to be maybe a better hill
if you have one near by.


http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/55393506



this is the one we have been doing the last couple of sundays, this year since i joined a group of riders i have gone from
doing quite a bit of riding last year but nothing big, had 6 months off then couldnt do 24 miles with a few guys then just by
making my self ride more and more and pushing on when you think you need to stop to doing my first 100 miler this year.

keep at it buddy it will get easier

 

[Andrew_P]

You'll never become an accomplished cyclist by doing rides of less than 24 miles unfortunately.

Could define accomplished? Not sure that is my aim, in two years excluding holidays I can recall 4 rides that didn't have a purpose of getting somewhere. My aim was and still is fitness improvment and weight loss/maintaining weight. For that I see commuting as the best way.

Simply put what added extra does a 50+ miler weekend ride make over and above 14.7 miles twice a day 5 days a week?

Genuine question, as if I can be convinced I may roll out the cars keys for one recovery day mid week.

Regarding recovery rides, I just cannot seem to do it on my commute, I always aim for 75-80% effort.

 

[amaferanga]

Could define accomplished? Not sure that is my aim, in two years excluding holidays I can recall 4 rides that didn't have a purpose of getting somewhere. My aim was and still is fitness improvment and weight loss/maintaining weight. For that I see commuting as the best way.

Simply put what added extra does a 50+ miler weekend ride make over and above 14.7 miles twice a day 5 days a week?

Genuine question, as if I can be convinced I may roll out the cars keys for one recovery day mid week.

Regarding recovery rides, I just cannot seem to do it on my commute, I always aim for 75-80% effort.

Didn't you say you'd plateaued? That suggests you want to improve. If you want to get quicker then you'll need to stop riding everywhere at 75-80% effort and mix up your riding a bit. As it is your body has become accustomed to riding 15 miles at 75-80% effort and you now need to do something to kickstart further gains. IMO the best way you can achieve this using your commute mostly is by doing a longer ride at the weekend (doesn't need to be every weekend - maybe 2 or 3 times a month) and stopping riding everywhere at 75-80% through the week. Ride easy some days (I know it's not easy to do this) and other days ride harder. If your commuting roads are appropriate maybe even do some intervals - 5min, 10min, 15min, 20min or whatever ridden at an intensity you can just sustain. I guarantee that if you keep at this combination of hard/intervals plus recovery rides through the week and a long ride at the weekend then you will see improvements in both your endurance and your ability to ride faster.

 

[cyco2]

What may help you to get to get faster on climbing is what I do. Whenever I get on anything of a slope or moderate climb I settle into a comfortable gear seated. I then change up and get out of the saddle. This I do until it gets painful and my eyeballs are sweating. I then sit down to recover and then do the same again. This I find on occasions can cause a bit of soreness in the muscles but I think is part of the training effect. Climbing hills never gets easier because as you get better you get faster. But this means you are using more effort.

 

[accountantpete]

You need two distinct pedalling styles - one for the hills and one for the flat.