hill climb racing

[hellosunshine]

the season for hill climbs is about to start.


usually i train by reltentlessly going up steep steep hills,do you think doing squats/running would also help?i never do lower body gym work..........

[Zen]

Butt power!

One legged squats. do it on the smith machine so you can concentrate on power instead of balance.

Smith reverse lunge. Do it slower than this guy (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFKDlzAhzyg) and be sure to extend your back leg waaaaaay back. Don't cheat and push up off the back foot.

One more I like and will do my best to describe it.
lay on your back with your knees bent as if to execute a shoulder bridge.
So a shoulder bridge but extend one leg straight out, knees and thighs even. Keep that position and do about ten reps each side. Then do it again.

Let me know what you think of these.

[boy in a kilt]

Zen's hit it on the nose. Or butt as the case may be.

I haven't pinned on a race number in a long time. But when I started doing lots of butt-type exercises to prepare for mountain climbing, my climbing power on the bike improved quite a bit.

Normally, when I come to a hill, I use shorter, faster strides to make it up (sort of like shifting to a smaller gear). However, I've started working on keeping my stride about the same length as when I'm running flats, but powering through the entire stride. It takes some focus (and some Social Distortion doesn't hurt), but it also seems to be improving my climbing ability on the bike. In particular, I have more noticeably more power on hills than I used to.

[mimitabby]

Hey Zen, my knees hate lunges; the touch the ground part in particular...

any thing else that does the same thing?

[dex]

Mimi, my knees won't tolerate lunges at all, but I can do Bulgarian Split Squats with no knee crankiness. Here's an explanation and some illustrations: http://www.fullfitness.net/routines/bulgarian_split_squat.html

[VeloVT]

If you're going to be doing lots of quad-emphasizing lifts it's not a bad idea to do a bit of hamstring work too (and having strong hams may not be quite as important as strong quads on the bike, but it certainly doesn't hurt). So, I recommend deadlifts. My all-time favorite lift. Makes me feel so strong :).

I also like plain old squats, with a barbell.

For both exercises, heavy weights/low reps are best for building power. Careful of your back on the deadlifts, you need to lock your core muscles to keep your back flat (hips tilted forward). Arching your back (in a "cat back" position, with the hips tilting back) can lead to injury.

[Zen]

Hey Zen, my knees hate lunges; the touch the ground part in particular...

any thing else that does the same thing?

I can't do lunges either, those smith squats don't put emphasis on the knees though. When you use your front leg to push up the power should come through the back of the leg (heel to butt)

[Starfish]

When you use your front leg

I only use my back legs for this. Use the front legs when I need to jump up on my owner. (I realize you monkeys are much more ambidextrous with your limbs...) :p

(Apologies for slight drift...)

[michelem]

Remember to eat enough to support muscle growth as well, otherwise you will LOSE strength rather than gain it and end up slower rather than faster . . .

[LBTC]

Hey, mimi, when I do lunges I never let my knee hit the ground. It seems more challenging that way to me. But that split squat that dex posted would work very well. Sometimes I do that with my back foot on an exercise ball. (I use those things for everything)

I also agree with dead lifts / good mornings, lunges, side lunges, walking lunges, squat jumps, burpees and everything else that gets the glutes working. Heck, just take a kickboxing class once a week. :p

Sunshine, how has the training been going?

Hugs and butterflies,
~T~

[Andrea]

Squats, front squats, and deadlifts (both regular, with the knees bent as well as straight leg style). Make sure your form is right- keep your back flat or arched, and make sure your hips go back when you squat down (rather than going down towards your ankles). I tell people think of how you squat over a dirty toilet, not how you would go in the woods (mental image that most people can relate to!) Also, don't listen to the people who tell you not to squat low- deep squats (top of thigh parallel to ground or lower) are the best way to get to your glutes.
Start with sets of 8-10 while you're working on your form then start working your way up in weight & down in reps.
Jump squats are fun, too. If you want to try them, use about 30% of what you normally put on the bar for regular squats.

[RoadRaven]

I know alot of people hold stock by cross-training and/or working on specific muscle groups with specific exercises... so I am sorry if I bug anyone with this post...

But the way to get better/stronger at/on hills is to ride hills... at various intensities, repetitions, tempos... but ride hills.

How many hours do you think elite pro-riders spend in the gym working on their glutes? They know riding the course you want to be strong in is the best way to become strong in that discipline...

[indigoiis]

another good one - lean against a wall and slide down, making sure to keep your hips against the wall, and hold it in a sit for a minute. You can work up to two or three minutes.

But I agree... the best way to hill train is to do hills.

[missymaya]

When it comes to weight training, its always good to stay balanced, i.e. exercise other muscles and don't just focus on a specific group. Muscles work together, so if you're doing quad exercises, it's good to do hamstring and butt exercises as well. Also, hamstring exercises help support the knee, an added benefit.
I agree with raven, best way to train for hills is to do hills and in my case, lots and lots of hills:rolleyes: . But, it wouldn't hurt to do some isolated exercises for support.

[Bklynmom]

These exercises are so helpful - thank from me too.

As the weather gets colder, I am and whimps like me ride less, does it make sense to focus on weights more in the off season? Is there a down side to doing weight work mostly in the winter?

[Starfish]

Recently, I have been using the rowing machine at the gym as part of my cardio rotations. I am realizing that the "deep squat" position I get into at the very beginning of the stroke really hits my butt muscles. Doing even 15 minutes on that machine is helping my muscular endurance in that area. I suppose it is like doing a gazillion deep leg presses in a row (literally! ;) )

Also, just a side note about something Chris Carmichael wrote in his The Ultimate Ride book on training...

He wrote that when he has people do weight training (which he does, in the winter), he has them go STRAIGHT from the weights to the bike. Apparently some research done with the French national cycling team of one kind or another, shows that going straight from the weights to a bike workout does something to really help make the weight lifting results cycling specific.

I'm doing a poor job of trying to explain...there was more detail in the book.