So I'm not a climber

[Grits]

I think you're either a climber, or your not. It's your body's combination of fast twitch/slow twitch muscle fibers that make it so, and that's genetic. I think I could work really, really hard and maybe see a tiny improvement, but I'll never be flying uphill like a natural climber.

Remember those President's Physical Fitness Tests we had to take in elementary school? I actually practiced long jump every night at home, and still had one of the shortest jumps in my class. Not a lot of fast twitch fibers...but I won the calligraphy contest in art class, though. We all have our strengths, but it's our weaknesses that build character.
.

That is exactly the conclusion a riding buddy and I came up with not long ago. In fact, we said we should get a jersey made that said "climbers are born, not made."

[maillotpois]

It would be interesting to see what’s your friend’s actual W/kg versus yours.

3.0/250 watts at threshold. But those are just numbers. I was never good at math.

[maillotpois]

[QUOTE=redrhodie;601347
I sound great in the shower, too.[/QUOTE]

I bet you do!!!

[Zippinalong]

I hate hills with a passion. I just don't have the leg strength to get up those things. This off season I want to work really hard at building up my leg strength. But then my partner I swear was born for riding. She has fantastic strength in her legs and can go up the hardest hills without stopping. She even bests some of the more seasoned riders up hills and riding in general. She doesn't even do a lot of training which is annoying as hell.

But I think the other thing too is the mental aspect of it. Like any sport those who have a very strong drive will tend to do better. My partners mental will is amazing. She showed me a hill she went up one time and I just started at awe at the hill and the fact she made it up there. It was seriously a monster hill. Steep and long. I could see people with bikes walking up the hill. I said there's no way I would have gone up that hill. So I turned and asked her why she went up it. She looked at me and without skipping a beat said because it was there. To her everything is a challenge, meant to be conquered.

But as some of you have said, some have the natural ability and some like me don't and have to train all the time to get better.

[grey]

My riding partner and I have been training really hard for an upcoming Century, and there is a lot of climbing on the route, so that is what we have been working on: our hill legs.

After Wednesday's training ride, he decided he couldn't do it, and that he wouldn't ride with me after all. I was surprised, he had a bad day out there but all along he and I have had nearly matched paces and skill. Turned out, Tuesday night he had eaten Mexican, at a less than faboo place in town.

I guilt tripped him a little, but I wasn't going to push. He came out for yesterday's training ride after all, same horrible route, hotter day, saying if he couldn't keep up he'd head back to the start point at a convenient spot around mile 60.

During the ride, he said maybe his issue was mental. We have a fellow rider who has not been training much this year, but he is hard to ride with because he moans and groans like he is in horrible pain. At first it is funny, but then you notice your own aches and pains and eventually even small hills are friggin mountains! So at every hill, I said 'I LOVE hills! Hills are friends! Going down will be so much FUN!

He did the whole 87 with us. Even passed me on Hell Hill. Last week he had needed to stop partway up.
My point is, sometimes when we have a bad hill day, we ate the wrong thing or not enough of the right thing.
And a lot of the trouble with hills is mental.

[Sky King]

what a great thread

[Veronica]

I haven't had my power tested since 2003. Let's see, I'm ten pounds lighter and have 5 percent less body fat.

My power at VO2 max then was 200 watts. That puts my watts per kg now at 3.08. Of course that assumes I can still put out 200 watts!

Anybody know if that's good or bad?

I should probably go get tested again.


Veronica

[zoom-zoom]

I've never had my power or VO2 max tested...part of me thinks it would be cool to know these #s, but part of me wonders if they would have a negative effect. If the #s are good would I feel like a loser for being so average-to-mediocre when I have the potential to be better? Or if the #s are not good would I use it as an excuse to not push myself to improve with what I have to work with?

Pretty sure my VO2 max is not great, though. I'm asthmatic and have always been a slow runner at aerobic pursuits, regardless of training (I was still slow that year I put in >1800 miles on-foot). I'm relatively stronger as a cyclist and was a relatively decent sprinter in HS (anaerobic), which makes me think that my inborn leg power is pretty decent (these big quads have got to be good for something!).

I married a guy with HUGE and strong lungs (his VO2 max # when he was tested in HS were pretty amazing) and massive quads. He's a monster on a bike. I hope our kid inherits his dad's lungs, rather than the crap lungs that my side of the family seems to yield (it helps little that my folks were smokers when we were kids).

[bellissima]

Veronica, that is a good number. according to Coggan's power chart (see bellow) Your W/kg puts you on as Women Cat 3 racer!

ZOOM-ZOOM, FTP testing is mainly done to create your power zones and monitor your progress. I get tested 3 or more times a year by my coach. The first is at the end of the year to get my power training zones and a sample of my watts prior the base face of my training, the second is close to the start of the racing season when my fitness should be higher, that way my zones can adjusted accordingly and also we can see if the training is working as it should. The other tests are done when we need to check my fitness again.

[Veronica]

Man, that sucks, now I have to work harder on the climbs. My husband accuses me of moseying too much.


Seriously, that's kind of encouraging.

Veronica

[Owlie]

I've never had it done, and while it would be interesting to see from an academic perspective ('cause I'm a nerd), I think I'm with zoom-zoom when it comes to what to do with that information.

[smilingcat]

Good climbers have not just the right body build, right muscle composition, light body frame with massive legs and juge lung capacity AND they have the mental toughness that would make a mortal cry! Maybe a short circuit in their brain. They can't hear " STOP!! I'm hurting!!"

[gnat23]

My VO2 max is seriously high. Like on the little chart they gave me, it was in the OLYMPIC category.

And let me be the first to tell you that it don't mean nothing without an accompanying high lactate threshhold and some mental grit. :P

-- gnat!

[ivorygorgon]

Gnat: didn't you do the Death Ride and smile while doing it?

[jelee1311]

I hate to pee in anyones cornflakes but my husband is a state champ climber and he wasn't born that way. He does have amazing VO2max but not body type and struggles to be light enough. He is the toughest guy I know and for him its how he can overcome pain.Of course riding 100,000 feet of elevation in one month on 1,000 foot hills probably helped. He just tells me to relax and just keep climbing and then climb some more maybe some day when I grow up ill learn how to climb with style and grace but for now ill just keep slugging it up those hills