Improving my climbing

sarkster

After getting chewed up and spat out on the hills recently by my mate I thought I should try and improve my climbing.

I have decided, given that I live on the 'down' bit of a 1 mile circuit with a large hill that the best way to improve is to ride laps, recover on the downs, attack the climbs with the ultimate aim of slowly increasing my max-laps-before-i-die count and using my garmin telemetry (cadence, HR, splits) to analyse best gear/stance/approach etc.

Is this the sensible way to do it or is there a better way to improve my climbing?

Thanks!

masterchef

seems a gd way mate!, i dont have many hills around where i live but when i got out 3 times a week i try do 40-60miles(per ride) inc some hills:)

Anonymous

The best way is to get fitter and lose weight.

Whether you ride up hills or on the flat to achieve this, it will make you climb better.

That's how Robert Millar got good enough to win King of the Mountains in the Tour de France and it's working for me...

Ben6899

NapoleonD wrote:

That's how Robert Millar got good enough to win King of the Mountains in the Tour de France and it's working for me...

NapD, are you looking to win the red and white polka-dot jersey? You LEGEND!

Seriously though; the best way to impove at climbing is to drop/rise to an efficient climbing weight. Power to weight ratio is a big factor!

smithyt68i

A lot is in the mind, I decided that I could not climb well. But over the past few weeks I had a change of mind set and now I feel 90% better now.

Still hard work that’s never going to change

Rich Hcp

Hills will never be easy, they just become less hard

John.T

Rich Hcp wrote:

Hills will never be easy, they just become less hard

Or maybe just faster.

PostieJohn

ND's right, you could do all of that, or lose 2 stone, simples.

mrchrispy

doing the hill repeats will work.

You are likely to get an increase in power but it'll be the decrease in wieght (from the tarining) that will make the difference.

sarkster

PostieJohn wrote:

ND's right, you could do all of that, or lose 2 stone, simples.

He's only right to a point. if I lost 2 stone, id weigh 9 stones and be literally just skeleton.

Lillywhite

Since putting a compact chainset 50/34 on my new carbon steed I am trying to climb in the big ring. It seems to be working on my 40 mile ride this morning.

I weigh about 70 kgs btw but am the wrong side of 60 so there's hope for all you young lads out there.

softlad

hill climbing is about being able to sustain a given effort for a given amount of time, irrespective of your weight. In principle, you don't necessarily need to ride hills to improve your climbing efficiency, you just need to be able to maintain a high effort for at least several minutes, or several hours - depending on where you are planning to do your climbing.

sarkster

quite interesting that you should mention 'high effort' my garmin reckons I am peaking at about 175bpm on the uphills and i did a 10mile tt the other night and my hr was constantly at the 170 mark then too. Is that too high to be running like that for any length of time?

softlad

sarkster wrote:

quite interesting that you should mention 'high effort' my garmin reckons I am peaking at about 175bpm on the uphills and i did a 10mile tt the other night and my hr was constantly at the 170 mark then too. Is that too high to be running like that for any length of time?

that depends on what your max heart rate is. You will need to work that out before you can establish what percentage 175 is of your maximum.

Lillywhite

sarkster wrote:

Is that too high to be running like that for any length of time?

I wouldn't bother with that since you'll soon know when you're in the red.

JackCB

I've always been suspicious of the "lose weight, climb faster" mantra. Yes, this may be true if you want to climb the Alps on your way to a Yellow or Polka Dot Jersey, but how important is weight loss for the sort of riding that will be done by 1) an amateur 2) in the UK.

Given that most of the climbs you will be doing in the UK will be short and sharp (relatively) I would have thought that optimal power to weight ratio, would be less important than optimal power output. I always come back to someone like Fabian Cancellara, who isn't the sprightliest rider and yet he does well on classic races over terrain that I would (inexpertly) judge to be more British and less Alpine.

(Of course, losing weight, if it is excess weight will obviously be advantageous to all aspects of your cycling.)

Lillywhite

JackCB wrote:

......but how important is weight loss for the sort of riding that will be done by 1) an amateur 2) in the UK.

A damn site more important than trying to spend a fortune trying to shave a few grams off the weight of your bike buying lighter components.

JackCB

Obviously if the average person wants to shed weight the most efficient way to do it is by losing the gut. I was questioning the importance of the weight loss in the first place.

hells

Everyone tells me I should be good at climbing as I am quite thin (5''5 female and 48kg) but I kinda suck. I have become abit better since i got my lighter weight Scott addict (1st bike alu trek 1.7) both bikes have compact gearing and I am trying to keep in the big ring and do alot more standing up whereas I used to always keep my bum on the saddle. I can't really lose anymore weight without slipping into the underweight category. I also seem to lose more speed when riding into headwinds than others for some reason so i'm guessing my power is rubbish (no power meter). How can I get better?

softlad

hells wrote:

How can I get better?

you could read what I wrote earlier in the thread for starters....

hells

I already have done what you said regarding heart rate and being able to do hard efforts for several minutes, my climbing has not improved through this but speed on flats has.

irezumi

hells wrote:

I also seem to lose more speed when riding into headwinds than others for some reason so i'm guessing my power is rubbish (no power meter). How can I get better?

To do with power vs wind resistance/aerodynamics. Create more power as you mentioned or get in a better position aerodynamicly, ie on the drops.

hells wrote:

I already have done what you said regarding heart rate and being able to do hard efforts for several minutes, my climbing has not improved through this but speed on flats has.

Stick your bike in the hardest gear you can push up hill putting in max effort. Stay seated all the way even if almost stalling. Go back down and do this again, you should need to use an easier gear now. You don't need an power meters/computers etc. You know if you're putting in max effort yourself.

Also people spend ages working on their heart rate zones etc but never take in to account the skill of turning the pedals efficiently. It takes a lot less effort to turn harder gears at a higher cadence than most people think. If you are constantly pushing down significantly harder with your forwardmost foot/leg then you're doing it wrong. Learn to smooth things out and to keep momentum.

sarkster wrote:

Is this the sensible way to do it or is there a better way to improve my climbing?

As mentioned, just whack it in the hardest gear to spin possible. Your body will adapt. Once you go to use an easier gear (ie your normal one for climbing) you will find it much easier, or be able to push an even harder gear.

Also once you think you are absoloutely shattered and have done enough climbs, do one more.

johncp

Its really just down to general fitness, maybe with an element of mental attitude thrown in. This year I'm going better than I ever have and find that I can now keep up with club rides up certain, lower gradient hills, but above say 8-10% I still go off the back. In other words my power to weight ratio has increased enough that 6% feels much easier than it used to but above 8-10% I hit the limit (need less pies :roll: ) and go backwards.
As Softlad says, increase your threshold and the hills will get faster (not easier - cycling never gets easier, only faster :shock: )

STEFANOS4784

I would add that changing route is also a good idea. I found a wopper yesterday in the lanes and i couldn't get up it in 1 go so will be back tonight and every day until i can blast up it (relatively )
I have a couple of regular routes with hills but you just kinda get used to them after a while and it doesn't help that much IMO