Quote Originally Posted by Bklynmom View Post
I am also wondering if the right weight workout in the gym will help you gain power in your legs?
Deadlifts and squats are great. Lunges prob.not bad either (but I just don't like them for some reason). You want to target BOTH quads and hams/glutes. If you like machines (I don't really), quad extensions would be helpful, as would hamstring curls (the one where you lie on your stomach). I suppose you could do leg presses too but they target the same muscles as squats and squats are more fun/less tedious.

Hill running (and sprinting) are also good for building power in the ham/glute region. Just remember that it's not specific, so running on hills won't translate into direct one-for-one improvement in biking hills. And you don't want to neglect your quads which are still important riding hills. But it will definitely help both with power and with aerobic conditioning, which is also an important component of riding hills (in my opinion at least -- if you don't have to gasp as hard you can probably ride faster !).