Reach for the Top: Tips for Better Climbing

Found this article in my inbox this morning and thought I'd share it with you all. 

Link to article: http://www.saris.com/athletes/PermaLink,guid,68aea2e5-5782-4281-84b9-ac99f0fc927a.aspx 

There is a concentration that comes about in steady hard work, knowing that in this work there is a reward of a goal achieved. Recently, while riding I was reminded of this thought after a long steady climb of many miles. As I rode, I noticed a rhythm expressed in my body; it was the rhythm of the road, the rhythm of the challenge. Like any challenge I could have chosen to back away from it by simply turning my bike around and coasting down the hill. However, most of us are motivated by reaching the top of a hill; we see the summit up the road, and it calls us to the top. These climbing tips will help you realize your fullest potential and reach the top faster and stronger.

How does one get comfortable with a hill, with hard resistance on the bike? I found myself thinking about this after many miles of climbing were behind me, and there were a few more ahead. The first step is to know your limits. This can be easily done with a Functional Threshold Power Test. For many of us, understanding our capability under stress is the first key to improving this capability while managing the load of the work. The next step is to get in touch with your body. We all have “on” days, days when we feel like we can do anything, and “off” days, days when we’d just rather roll over. “On” days present you with fresh legs, a heart rate that is steady and predictable and breathing that is regular and easy. It is on these days that you are ready to climb.

When climbing a hill, notice first your breathing and control it with the resistance of the climb. Just like the revolutions of your legs get into a rhythm with your breathing. You can manage (through gearing, cadence and body position) the hill and you can also manage your respiratory response. Make it full, deep, and complete. Inspire deeply through your nose if possible and breathe out through your nose (if possible) or through your mouth fully. Make this a pattern. Next, relax your shoulders, as shoulders that are high and tense shorten and confine your respiration and elevate heart rate. Let these relaxed shoulders extend the sensation of “calmness” through the hands as grip is softened on the handlebars. This will allow your energy to flow from your upper body into your lower body, you will now power yourself up the hill with controlled energy.

Ideally, most climbing is done in the saddle, as it is the most efficient way to climb. In general, it is only when you need a “butt break”, or are working on a specific training technique, or when the road is so steep that you can’t turn the pedals without standing should you come out of the saddle. As you gain fitness you will also notice you can ride hills at a faster rpm, this is because you are using more aerobic fibers (the slow twitch muscles).

If you are using a power meter, you can bring an outdoor hill inside by mimicking the power output required, which means you can improve your hill climbing capability by training for a particular hill or hills because you now know the demand. Riders can now use previous hills to improve performance (i.e. Bob or Betty beginner could climb at 150w for 20 minutes at 137 beats per minute). The following workout will help you climb your next hills faster and stronger (the goal is to be able to extend your Z4 and above efforts).

We all ride – indoors or out – to ultimately make ourselves better on some level. Some days it is just to clear our head, but on most days we are after a goal. For some of us it is a goal of weight loss, a goal of improved fitness or another more important personal goal. Whatever the goal, we all get stronger by the challenges we create and our personal achievement.

May your road be full of summits of success!

Happy Climbing,

Joey Adams, M.S.