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i need to get better at hills again! The problem i have is when i get to some really technical bits on long climbs that need that extra ooomph to overcome, i sometimes dont have the ooomph so fail to get over the obstacle and have to stop. Smoother stuff i can go on for ages on, and i dont think its a technique thing as about 6 months ago i was clearing these climbs, just not been on the bike so much this year.
Anyway, i like steep hill climbing on the road bike (doing big lakeland passes) and am going to start doing these as training rides regurlaly, (eg kirkstone pass from all 3 ascents) but are they good for mountain biking?
I could just keep trying technical climbs on the mountain bike, but i find if i do this whenever i fail i end up stopping, and sometimes its impossible to reclip and get going, so i end up waslking the bike for a bit then getting back on when i can, but this in effect is giving me a 'rest' from the climb. Thats why i was wondering if hammering up the passes on the road bike would be good as theres no rests??!
Interval training realy helps with this, gives you more short burst power for those tricky bits (and to recover and keep climbing afterwards)
what sort of stuff do i do for interval training to make it effective? Is this where you do flat out sprinting stuff then easier riding for a bit, then flat out again? Should i do this on hills or flat, and what sort of distances / times / reps
yep, one minute at full bore, one minute spinning - repeat 2/3 times in your first session, then build up to 7/8 repetitions over time. You can also try 2 minute full bore, one min spinning etc.
Find a small hill / use a turbo trainer.
just keep the reps up till you puke 😀
Intervals, wall sits, squats. My climbing inproved hugely with intervals on the turbo trainer.
cheers i'll try that tonight! Not sure if i should be looking forward to tonights ride or not now though 😕
No, it'll be hideous. Enjoy 😀
[i]i dont think its a technique thing as about 6 months ago i was clearing these climbs, just not been on the bike so much this year.[/i]
My technical ability drops off pretty quick if I don't keep at it. Did my first ride of the year at Cwmcarn back in April and my lack of technical abilty on the climb was quite shocking... I usally clear the lot apart from two or three dabs and this visit had me putting my feet down all over the place. Been back a couple of times since and I'm back on track again.
Strength also plays a part... agree with interval training and strength training. Squats, core exercises (V-sits etc) and plenty of press ups should see you right.
Kev
Rather than go with 'full bore' hard intervals at first, you should probably concentrate on something like:
Warm up 10 minutes
• 6 minutes moderately hard pace
• 3 minutes steady cycling at low intensity
• Repeat 4-6 x
Cool down 10 minutes
By all means move on to the full bore ones after, but I wouldn't start with them. You can also increase the 6 minutes to 8 for example
I'd also try the intervals on steady hills - say 5 mins steady but hard effort, and every 30 seconds spend 10 seconds at full tilt... but stay sat down, as I assume this is how you'll be tackling obstacles for rear wheel traction.
or every minute do 10seconds full tilt. Vary it though so your body is used to irregular efforts.
Never really bothered with intervals, just lots of miles and some quick rides. As a junior I won loads of races and did well enough as a senior. Anyway, ten years passed and I just started doing intervals on top of normal riding and commuting. After 5 sessions or so (on the turbo), the difference in my riding is vast, being able to sustain high power outputs really helps on short technical climbs, and I don't seem to suffer as much on longer rides. I can't believe I dismissed intervals for so long. It's also so unbearably hard that there's no time to get bored even on a turbo! 😀