Getting stronger at climbing...need advice!

[BikerJen]

Ok, so I am upset with my terrible climbing abilities. I'd like to get stronger on climbs especially for mountain bike racing. Need advice, strategies... Please share your past experiences. THANKS!!!!

[TriMom217]

I'm a crappy climber as well. The only advice I have is: climb more. I'll never be good so I just aim to be better than I was. Every time a hill seems a bit easier is a huge victory for me.

Good luck and keep climbing.

[mimitabby]

and for a while, just don't worry about how fast you're going, just try to climb long hard hills.

[Grog]

I find that a lot about climbing is technical, about handling your gears correctly to gain maximum momentum on the way down and maximum power on the way up. What combination is best really depends on the specific hill you're attempting to climb, so you need to practice, practice, practice. Sorry there's no other way.

[jobob]

Also, sometimes it's good to climb with people just a little stronger than you are, or are willing to adjust their pace so that they are going a bit faster than you would on your own, but don't leave you in the dust.

Climbs often seem go a bit easier - or at least seem get over with sooner - when you have someone to chat (or whine, or complain, or grunt) with.

[mimitabby]

yes, they are in front of you like a carrot on a stick. but it can (for me) be very discouraging, and i tend to overdo it trying to catch up to them. For me,
there's a fine line between riding my own ride and that initiative to push harder and do better.

all i can say is agree to do something you think is a bigger hill than you ever have done before; and DO IT.

[limewave]

I'm working on climbing too.

This tip has helped my climbing in mntn biking, esp steap hills: Get as far to the front of the saddle as you can and stay low. Keep on top of the gears and try to "spin" up the hill as opposed to mashing a harder gear. You need to keep you momentum going as long as possible.

[Andrea]

Assuming you don't live in the mountains, ask around your local shops for two things: the longest climb in your area and the steepest climb in your area. Go to one of the two once a week and do repeats until you're ready to scream. Once you've gotten better at those, other hills you encounter on your everyday rides will be a piece of cake (or at least not as hard as they used to be).
A lot of climbing is mental, too. I did a time trial earlier this season that was 2.5 miles long at an average of 10% grade. After that, none of the hills in my area seemed very hard. My hill climbing skills didn't improve because of that one-time effort, but it changed the way I perceived the hills themselves.

Losing weight helps, too, but that's no fun :p

[michelem]

I've heard mixed messages as to where to sit on the saddle - scoot back, scoot forward - scooting back seems to help me the most (from article 4 below, this seems to be related to height - short, scoot back; tall, scoot forward). The thing I'm working on now is keeping my heart rate steady (or at least not blasting it into the stratosphere) when climbing. Easier said than done, and I doubt it will ever stay completely steady, but the goal is to get better at keeping it within range.

Here are some links:

http://www.bicycling.com/article/0,6610,s1-4-41-1304-1,00.html

http://www.bicycling.com/article/0,6610,s1-4-41-183-1,00.html

http://www.bicycling.com/article/0,6610,s1-4-41-8581-1,00.html

http://www.bicycling.com/article/0,6610,s1-4-41-14758-1,00.html

[AZSpinner]

I added weight lifiting (mainly leg press - I prefer multi-joint exercises so I can get my workouts finished more quickly :) ) squats and lunges (watch those knees to make sure they don't pitch too far forward :eek: ) and noticed a lot of improvement. I also have a trainer, so an occasional work out on that is: I pick a gear that allows me to go only 60-65 rpm and my goal is 20 minutes. I started with 5 minutes and worked up from there.

Good Luck! Looking forward to hearing about your successes!!

[DrBadger]

I agree with AZSpinner on the weight lifting and using the trainer.

The 2 things that have helped me the most with my climbing are spin class twice a week and adding some weight training. I don't really like working out in the weight room, and don't feel like I push myself as hard as I should, so I was going body pump, which is a group weight class with music and coreogrphed tracks. The thing about this class that really helped my climbing is that it focuses on muscle endurance, so relatively low weight with lots and lots of reps. I would suggest lots and lots of squats (done correctly!) with varying counts, i.e. some at 1 down 1 up, some with 2 counts down, 2 counts up, some with three counts down, 1 up, and some really slow (4 counts down, 4 counts up).

[rapid cycler]

I'm glad this thread got started; great advice so far, and it brings to mind a related question:

How many of you stand up off your saddle during climbs?

The couple of times I've tried it, it's felt more exhausting to me than remaining seated, but then again on Sunday I was passed by two different riders—one male, one female—both up out of their saddles, while ascending relatively shallow hills. (And they were both breathing a lot easier than I was!)

I'm guessing that getting out of the saddle is actually a bit more tiring in the short run but that you cash in on the long-term momentum gain? Any training techniques other than the obvious for the standing surge?

[DrBadger]

I'm glad this thread got started; great advice so far, and it brings to mind a related question:

How many of you stand up off your saddle during climbs?

The couple of times I've tried it, it's felt more exhausting to me than remaining seated, but then again on Sunday I was passed by two different riders—one male, one female—both up out of their saddles, while ascending relatively shallow hills. (And they were both breathing a lot easier than I was!)

I'm guessing that getting out of the saddle is actually a bit more tiring in the short run but that you cash in on the long-term momentum gain? Any training techniques other than the obvious for the standing surge?

Hey Rapid Cycler-
I used to not be able to stand at all climbing, spin class has really changed that! Part of it for me is just getting those standing muscles stronger as it does use different muscles than when you are seated.

I am guessing that the people that passed you were standing on the shallow hill because they were powering up without changing gears fro what they were using on the flats. I have started doing this some on the smaller hills on my rides. It is actually a lot of fun!

I still do most of my climbing sitting, but it is nice to be able to stand when the hill kicks up to a steeper gradient and I haven't shifted or I just want to power up a short hill while still in a harder gear.

As for training techniques... practice, and I really find that it is easier to learn on a spin bike, or a bike on a trainer. Also, you will find that if the gradient of the hill hasn't changed and you want to stand that you will probably have to shift up one or two gears (harder gears) since you will have gravity working on your side when you are standing.

[rapid cycler]

Badger, this is great. Thank you! An unspoken question in my post was whether or not practicing on a trainer, which is what I mostly ride during the week, would yield any real-world payoff. Thanks for your psychic answer!

Also, I guess I hadn't even considered that I should shift to harder gears first, but of course it makes perfect sense to me now!

[SouthernBelle]

I second (or is it third) practicing on a trainer. Over the winter I used uphill grind from the spinerval series and it also helped my climbing. It really improved my technique and helped me to judge when to stay seated and when to come out of the saddle. I'm still not a good climber, in part due to lack of physical strength. So I plan on going back to the weight room this winter.

[Mr. Bloom]

I find that a lot about climbing is technical, about handling your gears correctly to gain maximum momentum on the way down and maximum power on the way up. .


I agree wtih Grog, this is my biggest challenge. But beyond this, I do hills well....I suspect it's because I:

did extensive elliptical training prior to cycling
am very comfortable standing (which relies on the muscles that grew with my elliptical training)
learned to enter tougher gears when standing and loosen up 2 to 3 gears when sitting


Practice, Practice, Practice

[Jiffer]

How many of you stand up off your saddle during climbs?

The couple of times I've tried it, it's felt more exhausting to me than remaining seated

I was going to bring up this very thing. I'm still pretty new to cycling, but I have found I really like standing from time to time, though I'm still developing the muscles. I rode a tandem before I got my single. I remember the first time I stood on the tandem up a fairly minor incline (about 3 or 4 months ago) my muscles were killing me almost instantly. I couldn't do it for more than maybe 8 seconds or so. Since then, I got my single and have been standing more on that, developing those muscles some. Today, we rode the tandem and stood at about the same spot as we did the very first time we tried. When we sat back down I told Dh we were up like 10 times longer than the first time we ever tried it. At least it felt that way. We just kept going and going! I was so proud of us! :D (Especially me since it was never much of an issue for Dh).

Anyways, if you're not used to standing, it does take time to develop those muscles and, for me, the cardio, which it takes more of. I have tried powering up a hill standing, and then I'm so exhausted when I sit that don't have anything left to get up the rest of the way. So, I've actually been working some on just spinning in a consistent cadence and exercising my patience, in order to keep my heartrate reasonable and not kill my muscles too soon into the climb. But that's because I'm still working on developing both the cardio and standing muscles. I think both skills are good to have. I definitely like the feeling of powering up a hill without sheer exhaustion, which was most fun today on the tandem. :D We did it a few times.

On my single, I tend to work on my standing more at the bottom of a hill when I want to keep my momentum going, or when I want to sprint to make it through a green light, or just because I feel like sprinting, or maybe at the very beginning of a hill, but not let myself get too wasted before sitting down and spinning easier.

Dh said Lance Armstrong used to do a training ride where he'd do intervals with standing and sitting, progressively standing longer and longer. I haven't done a specific interval training ride yet because I'm still progressing simply by riding more and standing every now and then.

I also heard Floyd Landis say recently that the best way to get better at hills ... is to ride hills. :) Quite simply put.

[quint41]

Excellent thread, ladies!

Oh, and Mr. Silver. :D

[RoadRaven]

I have been trying to improve on climbing for a while now...

After discussion with my partner, my latest training schedule includes hill reps as it always has, but these are hill reps with a difference. Due to weather, the last three weeks of my new training schedule has meant only one week so far to begin it. But every Wednesday I am going to "attack" a hill that emulates a hills i climb in a 50km race I am training for in October.

Instead of just going up and down, I am going to pretend i am in a race and charge up as fast as I can... starting with 2 reps, and slowly building to more and faster...

It makes sense, I hope it will make a difference!

Good luck

[rapid cycler]

Thanks, everyone, for the thoughts (and encouragement).

Yeah, I've lately been trying to work in some hilly terrain with every weekend ride. Since I live smack in the middle of a valley, I have plenty of time on the ride toward my canyon loop to loosen up and get in the right mental state. Here's how that goes on my less-motivated days:

Mile 4: I don't think I have it today. Maybe I should just go to the basin (a mostly flat 5-mile loop where I can simply go round and round, unchallenged, until tired).

Mile 6 (having bypassed the basin): Just because I ride over to the canyon doesn't mean I have to enter it.

Mile 10: Maybe I should stop at Jamba Juice.

Mile 12 (having not stopped at JJ): There's no shame in getting off the bike and walking if I need to. I'll feel better for having tried.

Mile 14 (having entered canyon and breathlessly crested first hill): This is humiliating.

Mile 16 (having ridden over several inclines to the point of no return, where turning back would be just as hard as moving forward) Water's awfully low. (After replenishing hydration reserves, sits outside canyon store, psyching self up for remainder of the pass.)

Mile 17 (standing beside bike, catching breath, trying to act casual when greeting passing cyclists): Only two more climbs!

Mile 18 (having completed climbs, exiting canyon via luxuriously long decline): Wheeee!

Mile 20: Stops at Jamba Juice, now feeling much more deserving of "Protein Berry Pizazz" (with additional protein boost).

Miles 21–24: I could so totally do that again! … But, you know, I have to get home.

Miles 25–30: I rule.

[smilingcat]

http://www.bicycling.com/article/0,6610,s1-4-41-1304-1,00.html

http://www.bicycling.com/article/0,6610,s1-4-41-183-1,00.html

http://www.bicycling.com/article/0,6610,s1-4-41-8581-1,00.html

http://www.bicycling.com/article/0,6610,s1-4-41-14758-1,00.html

Really wonderful advice.

If you want to stand up, always shift up in gear or two. Remember too that you burn lot more energy because your center of gravity is going up and down. And its this action of up and down motion of your center of gravity, is what allows you to generate more power on the down stroke.

One thing that was sorely lacking in the advice is that climbing is not just physical. There is a lot of mental thing going on. I said it elsewhere on this forum "all good climbers have this mental toughness". I've had conversation with racers and when it comes to the hills it was a matter of "hurt you wanted to put on the other guys. Never mind about yourself." That was the psyche of good climbers. Doing the reps on hills will do a lot of good on your stength but it will also toughen you mentally. You get acclamated (sp) to the "hurt".

For a recreational cyclists, you may not want to push yourself to the "hurt" but the idea is still the same. You push until it becomes tad uncomfortable. And you learn to ride at that level. This will allow you to climb faster. And you as the ider has to decide what is okay in terms of your comfort level.

Yes I do reps on long hard hills and I hurt a lot. but that is how I like to train.

Smilingcat