Hill training
I struggle with hills. I am very slow and have to stop to rest my legs and lungs. An ex smoker of 4 months after 40 years explains a lot. But I want to improve, I ride for 3 days on alternate weekends, 80km to 120 each day and include hills such as the Velloway or up into the hills via Gorge road etc. In between my weekends off I commute to the gym 3 days a week (15km each way), do spin 3 times a week on alternate weeks and have just changed my gym routine to include any resistance training that involves legs. So over 14 days I exercise one way or another on at least 10 or 11.
I'd be interested to hear any suggestions on how to further improve my hill climbing or perhaps change what I'm doing.
Tags: climbing
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Dean Malden on -
Well done Clive, you really get out there. Weather its on the road or in the Gym.
I to struggle up the hills, more to do with the chest tightness than the legs now. Is this maybe the Heart or Lung capacity. Is the heart rate getting up there and possibly or would it more be the lungs, and out of breath.
I know some have told me do the hills, and u will build on this. How now can i improve this?
I never have smoked.
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Permalink Reply by Patrick O'Kane on -
Keep doing what you are Clive. One thing going against you, and Dean, is weight. It's far easier for me to drag 72kgs up a hill than for you bigger blokes and I'm not sure either of you have weight to lose, you are just bigger than me.
Apart from the physical side of actually riding up a hill there's a mental side too I believe. i just get into the granny gear at the bottom and try not to look too far up the road. I ride to the first bus stop, then the first bend, then the next gate post, whatever marker I can find. Little victories all the way up.
I also struggle to get started again on a hill so keeping going solves that little problem.
If I'm doing a new hill I'll check out the length and gradient on a website first so I've got an idea of what to expect and try and compare it to a hill I'm familiar with.
You can't be going bad Clive, you've done Checkers and I'm too scared to.
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Permalink Reply by Gus K on -
I second this (although I am 71.5kgs!) Little victories. Break climbs you know into bits. Norton Summit I break into three or four. First hairpin, Terringie Drive and the end.
If I don't know the climb it's what I can see. Tree, sign, those cyclists way over there 2 switchbacks away that I departed with...
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Permalink Reply by Darren S. on -
Just ride them. Over and over again. And remember, it never gets easier, you just get faster.
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Permalink Reply by Darren Bosanko on -
Clive, time and weight loss are the two most important thing. Whilst weight loss means better performance at similar or reduced power output.
It may take a few seasons to get leg power to a level you want. This is an area I have noticed quite a bit since losing a lot of weight (and muscle mass). I'm very impatient
!
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Permalink Reply by hozozco on -
Hi Clive
As an ex-Cardiac Nurse (caring for post Bypass patients), my experience is that it takes quite some time to recover from smoking.
I could look at a patient's oxygen saturation levels post-op and pretty reliably pick when they gave up smoking (often the night before - SpO2 on air of 85%, previous month or so Sp02 around 90%, non smoker or greater than 1 year Sp02 92-94%).
So the great news is your lungs do recover, but it takes time.
Chances are you probably stop and rest on the veloway and still beat me up there!
Simon
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Permalink Reply by Wombat on -
Hi Clive
I would be interested in knowing what weights/reps you are doing on your legs at the gym. From looking at your legs, muscle mass is not an issue for you. I would be suggesting (from my time in the gym and as a sales person for a large Sporting Goods chain where our training in these things was fairly good) to do high rep/low weight(or low resistance) at the gym rather than high weight/ low rep. This will help with getting your heart and lungs to work better at pumping blood, therefore oxygen, therefore energy around your body and down to your legs.
What you are doing otherwise is awesome. The others commenting here are right. It takes time. It takes commitment and determination (both of which you have in spades) to get your body working properly again after 40 years of it being hamstrung.
The other thing to keep yourself from doing (and I have an issue with this also at times) is comparing your speed up hills with that of anyone else. You should only try to compete with yourself and to be determined to get places faster each time. Bike computers are good for that, but they are not the be all and end all.
The be all and end all for those of us who will never be athletes and have our pay cheques depending on our performances is enjoyment. It is obvious that you are really enjoying being on the bike. You are a joy to ride with and you have a great attitude to getting fit. That is the key. As long as you keep enjoying what you do, you will keep improving.
Keep at it mate. You will get there.
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Permalink Reply by Jon H on -
A trick i use from mtb is never start the hill in the lowest gear start one or two up and try not to drop back, psychologically it helps to know if you really need to you can kick down a gear and keep pushing
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Permalink Reply by Wombat on
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Oh yeah... and a good way to get an extra spin class or two in each week is to ride several gears below your usual gear on your commute. This will have your legs spinning with very little resistance. It will get the heart-rate up and help drop weight if that is needed... but the main thing is getting the legs moving in nice smooth circles rather than up and down when you are spinning.
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Permalink Reply by Brian Jenkins (BJ) on -
G'day Clive. I'd add look forward to climbing hills, so your body doesn't tense up with the thought "Here we go, this is going to hurt". Tension detracts from performance, and quickly makes you uncomfortable. Make the climbing the effort, not the thought. Joys of climbing for me are the views and the changing scenery - I love extensive views - and so I happily spin away at the pace that suits me. The more I ride in the Hills, the more I enjoy it - so many roads to "discover". I'm riding up roads now that I couldn't 10 years ago (same bike, plus pannier rack now - same skinny legs).
Be patient and keep doing what you're doing, enjoy the satisfaction of every climb achieved, and don't compare yourself to others. It's what you're getting out of it that counts. Look forward to riding up the road with you soon.
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