hill climb racing

[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.

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 . 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.