Hill fitness through the non-summer months

[kelownagirl]

one-legged drills on the trainer made a difference to me this year.

[makbike]

A trainer and evil Coach Troy.

[OakLeaf]

I spent two winters in North Dakota ("40 below keeps the riffraff out"... so I left) and let me tell you, San Francisco is COLD.

Maybe not any colder in the winter than in the summer. But that place is cold.

[Thorn]

Uhh....the temps you call "winter", I call "ooh, a thaw, let's get out the bikes"....sigh...temperature is all so relative....

But, I digress, Evil Coach Troy--Uphill Grind is short and fun (yes, fun). The intervals change frequently to keep you from forgetting the pain. Hillacious is longer, but good. It has some long intervals at the beginning, but I think they helped. Tucson Training rides. Besides getting to see lots of cacti to thaw out your bones, both of the rides on it have you grinding the hills.

[bluebug32]

Absolutely. You can vary your stance for squats to hit different areas. Keep your feet closer together to hit the outer glutes & quads. Wide stance with toes out will hit the inner thighs (squeeze on the way up.) The lower you go the more you hit your glutes but be sure to keep a normal curve in your lower back. If you don't have a lot of flexibility, you might need to keep your squats shallow for awhile.

Low reps with weights build more strength (4-8 reps). Higher reps (12-20) will build endurance. Do both.

Lunges are good too. You can do stationary or walking. Steps ups are great for quads & glutes.

Thanks!

In terms of the low/high reps and doing both. Do I do them both in one session or do high one day, low the next time I do legs?

[gnat23]

Yes, I know, San Francisco does not touch the real winters that I grew up with in Wisconsin, but...

I do know not to push it when I'm not having fun, and commuting in the pitch-dark with full-rain gear and a headwind is about when I call it a day, never mind any hills on top of that. Just looking for alternatives that are close enough to keep the fitness rather than earn hardcore points.

Thanks for the ideas, everyone!

-- gnat!

[Misandal]

I definitely recommend the Spinervals DVD "Hillacious" - I'm one of the cyclists in the workout. I'm the one stuck in the back on the stationary bike. That is a great workout and Evil Coach Troy is actually very nice.

[Kalidurga]

Some chilly-weather hikes through Muir Woods might help to keep both quads and lungs in climbing shape. I hoofed it along one trail there a few years ago that was pretty tough, and I'm betting it was actually one of the easier trails.

[gnat23]

Some chilly-weather hikes through Muir Woods might help to keep both quads and lungs in climbing shape.

Hah! You totally reminded me of a COLD ride near Muir Woods last spring:
http://www.specializedriders.com/blog/116/post/show/117

I believe the phrase was "I thought my IT bands would curl up into my buttocks for warmth if they could."

-- gnat! (wimp, I know...)

[Dogmama]

Thanks!

In terms of the low/high reps and doing both. Do I do them both in one session or do high one day, low the next time I do legs?

High one day, 48 hours later do low. Rinse and repeat.

[malkin]

When I lived in the bay area, I didn't own any real winter stuff. It seems like there's no point in it because it is hardly ever cold enough.

I spent a miserable week in Honolulu (ok, really still lots of fun) because I only had clothes for 85 degrees and it was in the high 60s, drizzly and windy.

[OakLeaf]

When I lived in the bay area, I didn't own any real winter stuff. It seems like there's no point in it because it is hardly ever cold enough.

That's weird. Now that we go south for the winters, the only time I wear my winter stuff is when we go to Monterey every year. In July.

Like I said, 40 below is nothing compared to 45 above and 90% humidity. Brrrrrr!

[katluvr]

A trainer and evil Coach Troy.

I just love calling him "Evil Coach Troy" when I do Spinnervals!

Since I live in Florida I am ALWAYS looking for hill training. So even though I can ride all winter long--I find the trainer the best thing for this. Just building leg strength. And yes, the wind on the flats is another strength booster. With wind you never get the downhill! (Hard to believe but it seems there is never a tail wind always a head wind!)

Wow, so sorry to hear summer is ending for some of you. I am looking forward to some weather that allows me to not have to be up before the crack of dawn to get my workouts in!