Quote Originally Posted by michelem View Post
http://www.bicycling.com/article/0,6...1304-1,00.html

http://www.bicycling.com/article/0,6...-183-1,00.html

http://www.bicycling.com/article/0,6...8581-1,00.html

http://www.bicycling.com/article/0,6...4758-1,00.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