Hi all, anyone have any tips for hill climbing? Always my weakness, I'm 6'2" 195 lbs. Too heavy to be a good climber or what?
Hills
- Thread starter Harri_in_NS
- Start date
The more you do 'em, the easier they are.
One mental tip: I always break up the climb mentally and visually, telling myself "just keep the cadence until that next telephone pole" (or any other object that's not too far away, but sets a reasonable interim goal) - when I get there, I inevitably have some momentum that takes me quite a bit closer to the peak; if not, I give myself a very short "break", easing off for maybe 30-45 seconds, then kick in with another visual/mental interim goal until I reach the top. It's really helped me climb better - try it and see if it helps you.
One mental tip: I always break up the climb mentally and visually, telling myself "just keep the cadence until that next telephone pole" (or any other object that's not too far away, but sets a reasonable interim goal) - when I get there, I inevitably have some momentum that takes me quite a bit closer to the peak; if not, I give myself a very short "break", easing off for maybe 30-45 seconds, then kick in with another visual/mental interim goal until I reach the top. It's really helped me climb better - try it and see if it helps you.
Train on them often. And as Allen has mentioned, set small goals. Try and keep you cadence up. I found that letting it fall and then trying to pic it up is difficult, so I try not to let is fall more than 5 rpm under what I'd like it to be.
Sit further back on the saddle when climbing, and pull on the handlebars.
Also dont look at the crest of the hill. focus a few meters ahead of you but never look at the crest, it will drain you mentaly.
Sit further back on the saddle when climbing, and pull on the handlebars.
Also dont look at the crest of the hill. focus a few meters ahead of you but never look at the crest, it will drain you mentaly.
Know thy self... what I mean by that is work out what style suits you, alot of bigger guys make the mistake of trying to spin to fast on a hill like Lance does, alot of small guys try to punch up them like Jan does.... know what suits you and it will help you climb better, me, im a big gear climber.....can stay with most when im fit but if I try to spin on hills I just make a fool of myself
Originally posted by Harri_in_NS
Hi all, anyone have any tips for hill climbing? Always my weakness, I'm 6'2" 195 lbs. Too heavy to be a good climber or what?
Like most aspects of sport, your physical 'profile' really doesn't affect your ability, unless you're talking about the top 1% of the sport. As a forty year old former(and maybe future ?) racer who sucked at hills when I first started racing, I know how difficult it is to become a good hill climber.
Bicycle racing is the toughest mental sport I've tried - and I've tried a lot ! Team sports have their own subtleties and rewards, but 'individual' sports, such as cycling (I know - team tactics are increasingly important as you move up the ranks) require an understanding of the sport to achieve your goals. The main and most important difference between bicycle racing and many other endurance sports is that you not only have to be able to suffer, but you have to be able to suffer 'bigtime' when someone else wants you to do so !
Hill climbing is the classic example of this mentality. To improve at hill climbing, find a training partner who is better at hills than you, and hold on as long as you can ! Eventually, you will stick with them longer and longer - and maybe even pass them on the last 100m ?!
To paraphrase the great 'Eddy' - Pain is temporary; Glory is forever !
As a fellow 'Nova Scotian', I can relate to the difficulty in locating suitable hills. If you live in the Halifax area, consider some training trips to the Annapolis Valley (where I'm located) or Cape Breton. This will give you more opportunity to improve your skills and enjoy some wonderful training routes.
Good Luck,
Dale Murphy
Thanks for the tips Dale, actually I live in the valley too. I especially like riding the gaspereau valley area. Harri
Originally posted by Harri_in_NS
Hi all, anyone have any tips for hill climbing? Always my weakness, I'm 6'2" 195 lbs. Too heavy to be a good climber or what?
A couple of general tips that may be too elementary for you but here goes anyway.
1. With due respect to what another poster mentioned, spinning is usually better than mashing on hills. Riding in a big gear, especially if you're a big guy, increases the chance of muscle and knee injury and leds to faster lactic acid buildup which makes climbing even harder. Keeping a high cadence, especially on hills, takes a lot of practice. Don't worry about speed getting up the hill when you're first learning to spin, worry about form. The speed will come.
2. Stay seated as much as possible. Standing gives you more power in the short run but it is less efficient and you will wish you had the energy later in the ride. The pros make it look easy but good good form when standing is difficult. Poor form leads to a lot of thrashing back and forth and twisting at the hips which wastes a lot of energy and can lead to back soreness and tightening on longer rides. Standing occasionally and briefly on long climbs to bring different muscles groups into play is a good idea.
3. Pedal in a circle. You’ve got a whole leg and 360 degrees of arc to move it through. Use the whole thing. Climbing is tuf enuf without trying to do it with only part of the available muscle power you have. Clipless pedals make this a lot easier.
4. Drop your heels. Keeping the heels low brings more of the hamstrings and glutes into play. These are very powerful muscle groups – use them to get you over the hill. Many riders tend to point the toes downward which puts less stress on hams and glutes and more on calves (frequent calf cramping is a good indicator you’re pointing your toes down).
5. Change working muscle groups. There are several ways to do this. If you typically ride with toes pointed down or feet flat, drop your heels for a bit to bring your hamstrings and glutes more into play and give your quadriceps (the muscles on the front of the thigh) time to recover. Likewise, if you usually ride with your heels dropped, raise them so your feet are flat or point your toes down. Shift forward and back on the seat. Sitting on the front of the seat accentuates the quads, sitting on the back accentuates the glutes. Stand up for a brief interval and then sit back down. Just before you stand, shift into a bigger gear and then shift back to the smaller gear when you sit down. You will have more power when you stand and if you stay in the smaller gear you will lose momentum. Use these techniques for 10 to 30 pedal strokes periodically throughout the climb to buy recovery time.
6. Keep a loose, relaxed grip on the handlebars. As you strain up the hill it’s easy to grip harder and harder. This can lead to numbness in the hands. More importantly, the tension in the hands will spread up the arms to the neck, shoulders and chest. Tightness in the chest will restrict breathing which will reduce oxygen consumption. Oxygen is necessary to remove lactic acid from working muscles. Your legs will tire more quickly and you’ll have a harder time finishing the climb if you are not breathing freely.
7. Gear shifting. This is perhaps the most difficult hill-climbing skill to develop. Because of the way the gears work, when there is load on the chain, such as when you’re climbing a hill, downshifting to an easier gear puts more strain on the chain and the shifting mechanism than shifting up to a higher gear. You’ll often need to downshift to an easier gear during a climb but if you don’t do it soon enough, there may be so much stress on the chain that you can’t make the shift and then you’re stopped dead in a gear that’s too big to get up the hill. On the other hand, if you downshift too soon, you lose your momentum which can turn an easy climb into a hard one in the blink of an eye. It’s all about timing. The trick is to relax your pedal stroke for a brief instant and shift a split second before you have to so that you can put forth the same effort throughout the climb. The only way to get good at this is to practice. There’s nothing like a perfect climb where each shift comes smoothly at precisely the right moment and you feel like you’ve just flown over the hill as if it wasn’t there.
8. And as has been mentioned repeatedly - practice, practice, practice. There is a lot here to try and put together and it’s easier to be successful on the small hills than the big ones. Also, success on the small hills today will lead to success on the big ones tomorrow.
Hope this helps.
--Kevin
Kevin: Great rundown; agree with all your points.
I've discovered most all your tips are easier when you have the right gearing for the grades and speeds you need to climb. Your #1, #2, #5, and #7 are all tough to do when grinding up a %10+ grade at 40 rpm or less.
Also would add to try to stay aerobic as much as possible on the long rides, ie, Centuries. I often go out with the pack in the beginning, and find I'm climbing way above LT in the first few hills. It's fun, but I pay if there are big climbs late in the ride.
I've discovered most all your tips are easier when you have the right gearing for the grades and speeds you need to climb. Your #1, #2, #5, and #7 are all tough to do when grinding up a %10+ grade at 40 rpm or less.
Also would add to try to stay aerobic as much as possible on the long rides, ie, Centuries. I often go out with the pack in the beginning, and find I'm climbing way above LT in the first few hills. It's fun, but I pay if there are big climbs late in the ride.
I have never been the best of climbers....Nor, a good sprinter. I am more of a rouller. Maybe that is why as an athlete my best sport is middle-long distance speedskating. And, is also the reason as a cyclist I prefer to focus on cyclo-cross.
The point I am trying to make is that not everybody can be a good climber, time trialist and/or sprinter. At the end of the day, it is our genitics that determine what sport and/or discipline we will excell. And, most likely...I believe (with the except of the pursuit of recreation/enjoyment) most people are probably invovled in the wrong sport. Without proper guidance and lots of experimentation no one will be able to easily identify their speciality. In my case, speedskating is (or was) my gift. But, unfortuantely I do not have convient access to decent facilties...So, I have chosen something I enjoy (cross) and just except my ability for what it is and what it will be with consistent training.
The reason I brought all of this up was to mention a Q&A article I read @ www.cyclingnews.com the other day. So, here is the quote that inspired this ramble:
"Elite road cyclists, regardless of perceived or stated specialty, are very homogenous in physiological characteristics. All have a predominance of slow twitch muscle fibers, high aerobic capacity and relatively high anaerobic/lactate thresholds. The reason top sprinters like Petacchi, or Cipo can't get over climbs like the Poggio with the front group is that they don't train that way. Similarly, the reason many rouleurs aren't taking sprints is that they don't train that way."
Stephen J. McGregor, Ph.D.
So, I guess I have to agree with everyone else on this thread....With practice we will all make improvements.
Scott
The point I am trying to make is that not everybody can be a good climber, time trialist and/or sprinter. At the end of the day, it is our genitics that determine what sport and/or discipline we will excell. And, most likely...I believe (with the except of the pursuit of recreation/enjoyment) most people are probably invovled in the wrong sport. Without proper guidance and lots of experimentation no one will be able to easily identify their speciality. In my case, speedskating is (or was) my gift. But, unfortuantely I do not have convient access to decent facilties...So, I have chosen something I enjoy (cross) and just except my ability for what it is and what it will be with consistent training.
The reason I brought all of this up was to mention a Q&A article I read @ www.cyclingnews.com the other day. So, here is the quote that inspired this ramble:
"Elite road cyclists, regardless of perceived or stated specialty, are very homogenous in physiological characteristics. All have a predominance of slow twitch muscle fibers, high aerobic capacity and relatively high anaerobic/lactate thresholds. The reason top sprinters like Petacchi, or Cipo can't get over climbs like the Poggio with the front group is that they don't train that way. Similarly, the reason many rouleurs aren't taking sprints is that they don't train that way."
Stephen J. McGregor, Ph.D.
So, I guess I have to agree with everyone else on this thread....With practice we will all make improvements.
Scott
Just like what everyone else said, plus + :
*Look just far enough ahead of you to plot a straight/hopefully unbumpy ride. This way, your not focusing on the tall hill.. or mountain ahead of you... which can deplete your motivation factor.
*Smile when you climb. I heard this from some big-whig cycling anouncers...... , by smiling you release endorphanes... which help to relax you.... and some other stuff- which I forget
*Attack it...... dont be affraid of it........ cherish it. If you want to go down fast 40+mph....... you first have to GO UP !!!!
*Droping the heals is key , by incorperating the glutes +hammy's much more so +++++++++++ kudo's !
Light wheels also help greatly , along with proper gearing... and proper shifting of gears
*Look just far enough ahead of you to plot a straight/hopefully unbumpy ride. This way, your not focusing on the tall hill.. or mountain ahead of you... which can deplete your motivation factor.
*Smile when you climb. I heard this from some big-whig cycling anouncers...... , by smiling you release endorphanes... which help to relax you.... and some other stuff- which I forget
*Attack it...... dont be affraid of it........ cherish it. If you want to go down fast 40+mph....... you first have to GO UP !!!!
*Droping the heals is key , by incorperating the glutes +hammy's much more so +++++++++++ kudo's !
Light wheels also help greatly , along with proper gearing... and proper shifting of gears
Yep, break the hill into seperate stages (if there is any distance to it. Knock each stage out one by one.
The other thing to do, to smooth the whole thing out, is to ride wide on the corners (without getting taken out by a tin-top).This increases the distance that you ride, but mellows the gradient (the longer the distance it takes to get from the base height to the summit height, the less the gradient). The smoother you can make the climb (less acceleration / deceleration), the easier it is to stay within your tempo. If, on the other hand, you are making a break on some other riders, shoot into the apex to make a rapid vertical gain and get the jump.
Regards,
Eoin C
You have the same problem as me. You're heavy to be climbing hills. Having said that, you're also very tall and it may be you have a low fat level with heavy bones that make up your weight.
Sure, you'll be able to climb if you get fit enough but at 195 you'll certainly have to grit your teeth and work to get up steep, long gradiants. If you have any puppy fat it would be a good idea to lose as much as you can so you're lean. You can experiment with different types of climbs. My own favourites are the long but not excessively steep ones where I can stay seated for most of the time but wind up breathing pretty hard.
Personally, I love climbing hills whether I'm good at it or not. Hills make me feel like I'm working hard.
Sure, you'll be able to climb if you get fit enough but at 195 you'll certainly have to grit your teeth and work to get up steep, long gradiants. If you have any puppy fat it would be a good idea to lose as much as you can so you're lean. You can experiment with different types of climbs. My own favourites are the long but not excessively steep ones where I can stay seated for most of the time but wind up breathing pretty hard.
Personally, I love climbing hills whether I'm good at it or not. Hills make me feel like I'm working hard.
Originally posted by Harri_in_NS
Hi all, anyone have any tips for hill climbing? Always my weakness, I'm 6'2" 195 lbs. Too heavy to be a good climber or what?
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