 By Steve Outing on 4/24/2006 Hey, MTB guru ... I need some training advice. I've got pretty decent endurance on long climbs, probably thanks to some regular hill training on my road bike. Where I get tripped up is going along nicely up a not-too-steep grade and then hitting a really steep pitch, where I just don't seem to have the power to make it up. I'm talking say a 10% climb and then suddenly there's a 20-25% section that's maybe 100' requiring some serious pumping. It feels like my lungs could handle the steep but the legs just don't have the short-burst power. So, I'm sure I need to adjust my training and get some short-burst stuff into regular workouts. What do you recommend? |
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Training for steep short climbs |
Forum: Ask Walker
walker says:
 Steve, Short, bursty climbs can be a nightmare to just about anyone traveling on a bike. The thing to remember when hitting these climbs is momentum. Have you ever watched a movie where all the actors are on a boat heading out on some perilous journey. In typical Hollywood fashion, the camera shows the beautiful actress looking over the water and the dashing hero holder her. Below them are about a hundred dolphins jumping happily along with the boat. Hollywood makes it out that dolphins do nothing all day but jump out of the water in perfect unison. Well, the fact is I know a lot of dolphins and they do other things than jump out of the water. My dolphin friends tell me that they maintain their speed by keeping their momentum in the water and out of the water. In other words, they pump their tales as hard as they can then at the perfect tale pitch they jump out of the water. After three to four feet of air time, they hit the water and flex their tales only a couple of times before jumping out of the water again. They keep perfect pace. They don’t slow their speed. They anticipate the next jump and know how many tail strokes it will take to make the next jump. The same goes for your riding. If you are approaching a short hill, you’ll want to maintain speed from the downhill you were just on (if possible), pedal hard and keep your momentum steady for the climb ahead of you. The extra speed will help you through the beginning sections of the burst-like climb. Training Tip: Find a short – power-grabbing – hill with an incline that troubles you (a road is fine for this exercise). Take a couple of minutes to warm up. Once you’re ready, gather some speed and hit the hill with a vengeance. About half way up the hill, STOP! Don’t get off your bike. Hold it steady for a couple of seconds and then hammer again until you reach the top. This will train you to anticipate losing your momentum, which causes a lot of problems on short climbs. It will also teach you to get your gearing correct – on a steep hill it is hard to adjust your gearing. Good luck! Off the road, on the mind... |
Steve Outing says:
That answer was helpful, but there's more to my question. Here's an example: In Fruita, there's a bitch of a hill at the entrance to the Chutes and Ladders trail. I'm guessing it's 100 feet high, with a couple sharp curves and super steep, especially the last pitch before the crest. Leading up to this point, you've come up a couple miles of moderate climbing. When I hit this hill I took a rest at the bottom then attempted it. Only got about halfway up before my legs failed me. This hill is doable for a strong rider. As I said, I've got endurance, but not the leg strength for nasty hills like this one. So I'm wondering if you have any other training advice to build up muscles that seem good for endurance but not for crazy-steep stuff? Maybe there are different muscle fibers involved in slow-and-steady climbing vs. puff-up-the-steep. I hear a lot about fast-twitch muscle fibers vs. slow-twitch, so maybe I've built up my slow-twitch muscles but my fast-twitch muscles need work. How should I train to get my fast-twitch muscles in shape? |
walker says:
Steve, Yes! It sounds like your fast twitch muscle fibers need a wake up call. Why just this morning I was coaching my Fiance. She plans to ride the Iron Horse bicycle race in Durango, Colorado. The ride consists of some pretty steep mountain passes. In total she'll climb about 5,500 feet. I informed her that intervals would help on those very steep sections. Intervals are a big help to a lot of riders. Basically, you sprint for a fixed amount of time. Some interval training involves $3000 power meters and heart rate monitors, but I don't think those are necessary for a rider looking to hammer epic rides on the weekends. Well, maybe they are necessary, but I don't use them. The trick to intervals is the time requirement. You might start off with 20-seconds of hard sprinting and 1-minute of recovery. Or, you could begin your interval training session with 1-minute intervals followed by a 1-minute recovery. The basis behind intervals is building your lactic acid threshold. You'll want your muscles to burn during these sessions. You'll want short recovery periods followed by intense sprinting intervals. Again, it is all about the time. Steve, I would suggest starting off with the interval training session below. I'll give this to you free of charge. I only ask that you give all of us a quick post on your success! Interval Session 1- Interval Session 2- Interval Session 3- Remember, if you get sick, go harder! Walker T Off the road, on the mind... |
Andrew Cruz says:
Workout youre lower body and take max muscle products |
by Andrew Cruz (not verified) on April 27, 2007 - 11:40pm reply Email this comment report misconduct
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