Optimum weight for hills?

[Catrin]

I've lost 30 pounds since October 1, and continue to work out at 5 days a week between spinning/weight lifting/training (not counting cycling/hiking activities). I am trying to figure out how far down I need to go - but I know it is about more than just a number on a scale. I also need strength and muscle to be able to become mistress of the hills

Is there a way of knowing when we have reached the optimum weight? Obviously practice and cardiovascular endurance is a part of the equation as well, so it is far more nuanced than a simple number. How have others approached this?

I LOVE going downhill, but one must go up first

[KnottedYet]

No.
Just ride.

When you can zoom up a hill without trouble, you know you are at optimum fitness. Weight has very little to do with it. I actually weighed MORE by the time I was able to climb the monster hill on my commute.

Weight is just a number, and has no meaning.

Focus on the bike, not the scale.

[indysteel]

I tend to think that "optimum weight," at least for anybody who isn't a professional or competitive cyclist, should be determined by something other than climbing. Strive for a weight that feels like a healthy weight for your body type and age, that makes you feel strong and athletic, and that you can realistically maintain. If you consistently do both cardio, including hill training, and strength building work, then your climbing will take care of itself. If it helps, I know a lot of really good climbers who aren't necessarily thin. I also know that at any given weight, my climbing ability had more to do with the amount of hill training I was doing than my actual weight.

[KnottedYet]

We have a member of TE who does Ironman triathlons, yet was technically "obese."

She wrote a great story once about her experience at the doctor's office shortly after an Ironman, how she got a lecture about needing to lose weight and exercise...

Weight really means nothing. Ride, ride, ride!

[limewave]

We have a member of TE who does Ironman triathlons, yet was technically "obese."

She wrote a great story once about her experience at the doctor's office shortly after an Ironman, how she got a lecture about needing to lose weight and exercise...

Weight really means nothing. Ride, ride, ride!

I'd like to read that story.

[KnottedYet]

I know her real name, but can't remember her TE name! There's a really good video a friend of hers did of one of the Ironmans.

[Trek420]

I think it's this one. Soundtrack has some off color words hence the warning. Well done film though.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGFx4xWnnnI

[Veronica]

Here's the thread.

http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showt...ghlight=doctor

Post # 5.

Veronica

[limewave]

Catrin--Have you tried pylometrics or core strengthening exercises to help keep/build muscle and power as you lose weight?

Veronica--Thanks for sharing the link. Can I RELATE!

I've always been heavier myself. At one point I got down to 155, that lasted for a month. A good weight that I can maintain is about 175. I'm usually the heaviest at alot of the events I do.

A few years back I did an XTerra Triathlon. I was the heaviest girl in the crowd. My mom's GP was also doing the tri. We met a few times and I saw him at the start. And, perhaps I was being self-conscious, but I swear I was getting that look from him like he was thinking "seriously, this obese girl is racing xterra???" In our pre-race "good-luck" conversation, he was talking down to me, giving me pointers, treating my like a child. It was annoying.

Then the race started. I came out towards the back of the swim, as I suspected. Then it was the mountain bike, all single track, hilly, technical. About 8 miles in, I passed my mom's GP. I wish I could have seen the look on his face as my fat *ss passed him

He managed to stay within site behind me the rest of the bike, but he just couldn't get enough speed to pass me. Another guy was right behind me as well. He would catch me on the climbs. I asked him if he needed room to pass and he said no. He said that he was watching me take the down-hills and technical sections so that he could learn from me!

Yeah, it was pretty awesome. It's annoying to have to prove yourself all the time, but at the same time, it is such a sweet feeling to make jaws drop

[Blueberry]

Thanks for sharing that, Limewave! I'm still working towards being that strong

[Catrin]

Thankfully my trainer is a mountain biker and has competed in the past - he also road bikes - he is a life-long avid cyclist. He and his wife seem to have taken me under their wing as I progress and he even went with me to my first ride outside of the training parking lot - I think they were more nervous than I was about my first time around cars

I train with him two days a week - and he is also my spinning instructor. He does focus on core and balance training, along with strength training and plyometric exercises. I also do my own strength training twice a week outside of our sessions - usually before spinning

As we get closer to spring I see our exercises starting to change, and I will ask him about this as well.

Thanks for your input - I suspected that I was focusing too much on the actual numbers...

[GLC1968]

Catrin - when I first started riding, my goal was to use the bike for my cardio to lose the last 10 lbs. I was significantly larger than all the women I rode with and I was thicker (if not actually heavier) than most of the guys. What stunned me and everyone I rode with was how I flew up hills. I used to look forward to the uphills on large group rides so that I could pass everyone and get some riding room! And I was an absolute beginner, too. I remember being shocked at a photo of myself after I'd been riding a few months - I felt like a lean mean riding machine but the photo said otherwise. I'm 5'4" and I was 142 lbs at the time.

Now, 5 years later I'm almost 30 lbs heavier and I can feel it when I ride...particulalry on the hills. Part of my problem is my lack of conditioning (though that's greatly improving thanks to running and swimming) but I can definitely feel my bodyweight holding me back. I have NO acceleration on even the smaller hills like I used to. And they are certainly not fun anymore.

So for me, even though I thought I was heavy and needed to lose weight, it turns out that about 140 is my 'happy hill' biking weight. 170 is not. I can use these numbers to gauge my progress or to set goals because I've lived them. For a new rider, you are going to have to figure them out for yourself. The overall key is your strength-to-weight ratio (besides cardio conditioning and bike skills) and there is a fine line in order to optimize that. I'm strong, so pulling 140lbs up hills was 'easy'. For some people I know, that would be total hell. It's all very individual. But, like wiser people than me have said, the best way to figure it out is to keep riding!

[malkin]

No weight I have ever been has been particularly happy on hills.

[TryingisDying]

Im not a small girl....size 8-10....But I also compete in du's and tris and marathons. Muscle weighs more than fat...it is about your endurance/fitness level for the average person.

[Biciclista]

the best hill climbers have a 2:1 ratio height weight OR LESS. (I read this sometime back..)
take your height (we'll use me) 63.5 inches. weight 128 --- 63.5+63.5= 127
so even though I am not the strongest or fittest rider, hills are easier for me than, say a well muscled man who weighs 185 lbs and is 5'9" tall.The ratio again: 69" 69+69=138... there's no way he's ever going to take hills easily. He's probably strong enough that he can do them, but he'll never be king of the mountain.