how do i improve my hills?
- Thread starter Slimzoe
- Start date
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Hi Zoe,
I ride with Coventry Road Club, we meet at the Styvechale Arms every Sunday at 9. From the post your other half has put on it sounds to me as though you are much better than you think! I'd bet you are better at hills than you think too but know exactly what you mean about it being a mental thing. As I said I'm really not good at hills either but if you ever wanted to meet up on a Saturday (until race season at least) and do some hill repeats together I'd be happy to do that as I really need to work on them too! Drop me a message if you are interested.
Shut Up Legs
Down Under Member
Mmm... Wales, you lucky, lucky bastards 
. One of my favourite work lunchtime activities (that is, when I have lunch breaks) is to browse through Google Maps in terrain or street view, ogling all those lovely Welsh hills, and wishing I wasn't so damned far away, so I could cycle up them 
. The way I see it, the descent only serves one useful purpose: it gets you to the bottom so you can ride up the hill again! (OK, I'll shut up, now)
By the way, one way to improve your hill climbing is to try to keep up with a better hill climber. It will hurt, of course, but persist and you will get better at it
.
. One of my favourite work lunchtime activities (that is, when I have lunch breaks) is to browse through Google Maps in terrain or street view, ogling all those lovely Welsh hills, and wishing I wasn't so damned far away, so I could cycle up them . The way I see it, the descent only serves one useful purpose: it gets you to the bottom so you can ride up the hill again! (OK, I'll shut up, now)By the way, one way to improve your hill climbing is to try to keep up with a better hill climber. It will hurt, of course, but persist and you will get better at it
.
Dangermouse
MousePower
I was going to stay out of anything to do with hill climbing, but...........I am not the fastest rider in the pack, pretty slow to be honest but when it comes to climbing I don't like it, but seem to get up better and faster than anyone I am riding with, my normal strategy when attacking a hill is to keep the cadence quite high when a hill is coming up and before I hit the hill make sure I am in the gear I want to be in at the top, on our local 24 degree hill I wind down to the lower front and go all the way up to the three from the top at the rear, that normally gets me up any big hill, lungs burn but it gets me up, don't forget to keep the legs turning once you are over the crest, don't stop pedalling otherwise other fatigue problems can start once you are over the hill........works for me
welsh dragon
Thanks but no thanks. I think I'll pass.
I am useless at hills, but hopefully this year I can get fitter and will be able to at least tackle some....
kedab
Veteran
- Location
- nr cambridge
Dangermouse
MousePower
3rd gear then?
That's the one, but as daft as it sounds some people wouldn't know what third is, so made it easier to understand without sounding patronising
kedab
Veteran
- Location
- nr cambridge
not sure it was easier but i liked it anyway 
- could also depend on how you count your gears. I could say my bike has 22 gears but i only use 11 of them.
- could also depend on how you count your gears. I could say my bike has 22 gears but i only use 11 of them.
midliferider
Guru
- Location
- Northampton
Before I offer my suggestion, I would like to know
What is your bike?
What is your gear set up? Triple or compact?
Rear cassette?
What is your bike?
What is your gear set up? Triple or compact?
Rear cassette?
sunsport coach
New Member
- Location
- Manchester
Hi Slimzoe
Great idea to ask the question on a forum like this! you'll get some great advice. I didn't actually read all the threads so apologies if i repeat anything but I wanted to give you some advice.
I could talk all day about how to improve your performance but i think it is more appropriate to summarise on here:
So my advice to improve your performance (based on some assumpations) would be:
1. Understand your current body composition and how this affects performance. Most likely look to improve this ie reduce body fat % and reduce overall body weight.
2. Ensure your aerobic endurance is good as this is the foundation of your fitness.
3. Understand the importance of good nutrition ie what you eat before , during and after the event as this will have a huge impact on performance.
4. Assess current core strength and flexibility with some simple strength testing.
5. Once you have started to address the above fitness issues then you can do some specific sessions to increase your power output when climbing. The higher this is for a given weight, the faster you go uphill. The length/duration of the climb will actually determine the training sessions required.
Have you ever considered a peformance fitness test? Fitness enthusiasts and athletes regularly look towards their bikes/equipment or nutrition in an attempt to take their performance to the next level but some physiological testing is a great way to benchmark your fitness and plan how to improve!
Have fun!
Last edited by a moderator:
Bike is a trek Lexa slx wsd it's a compact with a 12-28 rear cassette.
midliferider
Guru
- Location
- Northampton
My suggestions/ advice depends my attitude and beliefs. Those are
1. I am a leisure cyclist, meaning I cycle for pleasure. I will never ever dream of doing racing etc. So I do not keep an eye on my speed, cadence, heart rate etc. I just cycle and when I feel tired I stop.
2. Cycling helps me to eat what I want and not other way around. I don't eat to support cycling. But I have a balanced diet. I am totally against all forms of diets and nutrition plans. They are not for me.
3. I believe that mind is as important as body with regard to all activities.
4. I am a self proclaimed geek. So I have read various articles on the subject to understand the science.
Based on the above, my view is that climbing hill is an art based on science.
The science is mathematics, physics and physiology.
Physics/ maths will tell you that lower the gear ratio, easier it is to climb. So I have chosen my bike to give me a gear ratio of one. My bike has a triple, 50-39-30 and rear cassette of 12-30. If you continue to struggle, you may consider changing your gear set up.
Then there is the art of when and how to change gears. As a basic rule, you must change gears before you run out of energy.
The technique of pedalling is important to get the maximum benefit of pedalling.
Physiology will tell you that your heart needs to pump faster, lungs need more oxygen. Therefore you can adopt a posture to open up your lungs and deep breaths rather than short and rapid ineffective breathing.
With regard to the mind, you need to approach hills with a positive mind.
I suggest that you look at following youtube clips to understand what you say.
Finally, it never gets easy, you just go faster, I can't remember who said that.
1. I am a leisure cyclist, meaning I cycle for pleasure. I will never ever dream of doing racing etc. So I do not keep an eye on my speed, cadence, heart rate etc. I just cycle and when I feel tired I stop.
2. Cycling helps me to eat what I want and not other way around. I don't eat to support cycling. But I have a balanced diet. I am totally against all forms of diets and nutrition plans. They are not for me.
3. I believe that mind is as important as body with regard to all activities.
4. I am a self proclaimed geek. So I have read various articles on the subject to understand the science.
Based on the above, my view is that climbing hill is an art based on science.
The science is mathematics, physics and physiology.
Physics/ maths will tell you that lower the gear ratio, easier it is to climb. So I have chosen my bike to give me a gear ratio of one. My bike has a triple, 50-39-30 and rear cassette of 12-30. If you continue to struggle, you may consider changing your gear set up.
Then there is the art of when and how to change gears. As a basic rule, you must change gears before you run out of energy.
The technique of pedalling is important to get the maximum benefit of pedalling.
Physiology will tell you that your heart needs to pump faster, lungs need more oxygen. Therefore you can adopt a posture to open up your lungs and deep breaths rather than short and rapid ineffective breathing.
With regard to the mind, you need to approach hills with a positive mind.
I suggest that you look at following youtube clips to understand what you say.
Finally, it never gets easy, you just go faster, I can't remember who said that.
midliferider
Guru
- Location
- Northampton
jdtate101
Ex-Fatman
- Location
- Boring Birmingham
Practice, practice & practice some more.
Shift as much weight as you can (easier said than done for most of us)
Spin don't grind, so get the right gearing.
If a long climb then ride to a tempo that you can sustain. Best if you can judge this by power or HR, if not go to the point you just start to lose the ability to hold a conversation and hold the effort there. Relax your arms and shoulders and breathe with rhythm deeply.
Shorter climbs you can muscle it up and a bigger effort but keep going over the top, don't relax once at the summit, you can recover on the way down. Thee climbs are usually standing affairs.
Make sure you are not overdressed. You body needs to keep cool in order to work efficiently, too much and you will overheat and suffer.
If doing a long route with many climbs make sure you eat and drink regularly. Dehydration can cause a serious loss of power and speed the appearance of cramps.
Shift as much weight as you can (easier said than done for most of us)
Spin don't grind, so get the right gearing.
If a long climb then ride to a tempo that you can sustain. Best if you can judge this by power or HR, if not go to the point you just start to lose the ability to hold a conversation and hold the effort there. Relax your arms and shoulders and breathe with rhythm deeply.
Shorter climbs you can muscle it up and a bigger effort but keep going over the top, don't relax once at the summit, you can recover on the way down. Thee climbs are usually standing affairs.
Make sure you are not overdressed. You body needs to keep cool in order to work efficiently, too much and you will overheat and suffer.
If doing a long route with many climbs make sure you eat and drink regularly. Dehydration can cause a serious loss of power and speed the appearance of cramps.
