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Training for hills without hills...
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 2010-12-15 1:06 PM |
Pro  6191    |  Subject: Training for hills without hills...I'm considering doing the Pumpkinman with a friend as our first 70.3. Even if that isn't my first, I'm sure whichever one I do will be much hillier than South Florida. There are some places in Central Florida with hills that I'll be able to hit a few times during training, but not not on a regular basis. There are bridges around here, and I can definitely use them for run training, but a 55ft climb isn't going to cut it on a bike. What's your preferred method for training for hills when you don't have hills? Any tips? Thanks! |
| 2010-12-15 3:10 PM in reply to: #3249940 |
Pro 6191 | Subject: RE: Training for hills without hills... Any favorite interval sets? |
| 2010-12-15 3:49 PM in reply to: #3250122 |
Extreme Veteran 475 Watertown, MA | Subject: RE: Training for hills without hills... Ride into the wind as much as possible whenever possible. If a day is supposed to be particularly windy then get out there and find a long stretch in one direction, that's a decent simulation of a moderate climb. Big gear efforts, do alot of intervals pushing a big gear at 50-70 rpm to simulate the neuromuscular requirements of hill climbing. Repeats on bridges are fine as well, even if it's a small climb just do it over...and over...and over. Vary your intensity: 1) real easy efforts with a very short recovery (i.e. fly down the hill and get going again); 2) all-out up the bridge, with 1-2 minutes of recovery before 'bursts'. Road trip! Find a free weekend/long weekend and find somewhere that does have some climbs. Doesn't need to be the Alps, just somewhere that doesn't break the bank and provides sustained climbs of a few hundred feet or more. |
| 2010-12-15 6:35 PM in reply to: #3249940 |
Master 1686 Royersford, PA | Subject: RE: Training for hills without hills... Cycling classes are a great way to get in a good hill workout. Between those class at the YMCA and my computrainer I have gotten pretty good at hills without riding alot of actual hills. Favorite interval sets Progressive Hills: 5-6 min set adding resistance every 30 seconds remain seated as long as possible. Recover 3-4 min and repeat (and repeat and repeat). |
| 2010-12-15 6:44 PM in reply to: #3249940 |
| Subject: RE: Training for hills without hills... Which Pumpkinman, Las Vegas or east coast? Can't really help for hills, but if it's Vegas, then you will definitely need to get in some real hill training. |
| 2010-12-15 7:08 PM in reply to: #3249940 |
Pro 6011 Camp Hill, Pennsylvania | Subject: RE: Training for hills without hills... A parking garage can work. Just watch for cars! |
| 2010-12-15 8:04 PM in reply to: #3249940 |
| South Florida | Subject: RE: Training for hills without hills... 17th Street Causeway over and over and over and over on the smallest gear possible on the windiest day possible :-) |
| 2010-12-15 11:30 PM in reply to: #3249940 |
Extreme Veteran 586 Richmond | Subject: RE: Training for hills without hills... There is no such thing as hill climbing specific fitness. There may indeed be a hill climbing specific mindset though. To go up hills better, you need to make more power or carry less mass. Or both. Enjoying the experience never hurts either. There is a very slightly different muscle utilization from being tilted 5-10 degrees from the horizontal. Slight enough to be ignored. You may want to practice climbing some hills occasionally so you know what if feels like, and to make sure you have the appropriate gearing on your bike. If you are geared appropriately, there is no need to practice low cadence pedaling. Some riders prefer to sit and some prefer to stand and many riders will alternate between the two positions. This is something best learned on an actual hill as well. |
| 2010-12-16 12:21 AM in reply to: #3250328 |
Expert 2180 Boise, Idaho | Subject: RE: Training for hills without hills... TriMyBest - 2010-12-15 6:08 PM A parking garage can work. Just watch for cars! x2. Parking garages are one of the best kept secrets for training |
| 2010-12-16 12:55 AM in reply to: #3249940 |
Extreme Veteran 501 Northbrook | Subject: RE: Training for hills without hills... I was going to say sledding hills for running but i guess you dont have those where you live  |
| 2010-12-16 7:21 AM in reply to: #3249940 |
Pro 5892 , New Hampshire | Subject: RE: Training for hills without hills... Since you are training for a very specific event, I would keep the intervals as close as possible to mimic the race. Long hills means longer intervals, shorter hills, shorter intervals. The trainer is a fantastic tool for these types of things. Just make sure you raise your front wheel to mimic the grade you will be riding (phonebooks are fantastic for this purpose, plus they are free!). Also, make sure you get out of the saddle once in a while on the longer intervals so you get used to that. On flats, you rarely need to get out of the saddle and it is a skill needed for the steeper sections of the hills (and no, I'm not saying that you should always stand up when it gets steep) Unfortunately, the overpasses/bridges are simply too short to make much of a difference... When we lived in SW Florida, we booked weekends in the Clermont area to at least get some hill training in. |
| 2010-12-16 8:09 AM in reply to: #3250529 |
Pro 6191 | Subject: RE: Training for hills without hills... jeffnboise - 2010-12-16 1:21 AM TriMyBest - 2010-12-15 6:08 PM A parking garage can work. Just watch for cars! x2. Parking garages are one of the best kept secrets for training This is a good one! I never would have thought of that!! |
| 2010-12-16 8:12 AM in reply to: #3250305 |
Pro 6191 | Subject: RE: Training for hills without hills... southwestmba - 2010-12-15 7:35 PM Cycling classes are a great way to get in a good hill workout. Between those class at the YMCA and my computrainer I have gotten pretty good at hills without riding alot of actual hills. Favorite interval sets Progressive Hills: 5-6 min set adding resistance every 30 seconds remain seated as long as possible. Recover 3-4 min and repeat (and repeat and repeat). Nice set. I'll be saving this one and hating you for it later  |
| 2010-12-16 8:29 AM in reply to: #3249940 |
Not a Coach 11473 Media, PA | Subject: RE: Training for hills without hills... Hmm. I wrote a reply for this just after it was posted yesterday. Not sure why it didn't post. Anyway... As others have pointed out, there's no magic in climbing hills. Equip your bike with the proper gearing and there's little difference from riding into the wind (i.e., you will just be moving slower). So to ride better on hills is mostly just the same as riding better. You ride lots and ride hard. The only reason to "mimic" hill climbing is the mental aspects, so how much you need to do depends more on your mind than on your physical capabilities. Hills can be good to work on since they usually force you to work harder. And, as you do more of them, you gain the confidence that you can get up them. On the flats, you will have to motivate yourself to work harder. That ability to motivate yourself is every bit as valuable as the confidence gained through riding hills. So don't think of your training terrain as a disadvantage at all. |
| 2010-12-16 8:59 AM in reply to: #3250694 |
Pro 6191 | Subject: RE: Training for hills without hills... JohnnyKay - 2010-12-16 9:29 AM Hmm. I wrote a reply for this just after it was posted yesterday. Not sure why it didn't post. Anyway... As others have pointed out, there's no magic in climbing hills. Equip your bike with the proper gearing and there's little difference from riding into the wind (i.e., you will just be moving slower). So to ride better on hills is mostly just the same as riding better. You ride lots and ride hard. The only reason to "mimic" hill climbing is the mental aspects, so how much you need to do depends more on your mind than on your physical capabilities. Hills can be good to work on since they usually force you to work harder. And, as you do more of them, you gain the confidence that you can get up them. On the flats, you will have to motivate yourself to work harder. That ability to motivate yourself is every bit as valuable as the confidence gained through riding hills. So don't think of your training terrain as a disadvantage at all. Thanks! I think for the mental training, putting my front wheel on phone books on the trainer will really help. For physical training, I've already found some seriously windy spots here, and I can add resistance on my trainer for some rides. |
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