Hill Training (Cycling)

Many of us have watched professional cyclists in amazement as they pedal up the Alps for hours on end, day after day. Of course they are professionals and cycling is a full time job for them, so they are very good at it. But even you can improve your ability to climb hills. Hill training not only improves your hill climbing skills but will increase muscular endurance.

A good hill session should take about 40 minutes. Ideally you should find a hill that matches your fitness level. One that is steep enough so that it takes at least 5 minutes to climb at your fastest pace but not more than 10 minutes to reach the top. Try to find a series of hills in your area that provide a repeatable route or loop. After a climb, you should coast down hill and generally take it easy, then stand up and sprint up the next hill. The hill sessions will be taxing, so expect to do no more than two sessions per week, at least until you have improved your stamina.

The idea behind repeatedly riding hills is similar to weight training. You will be overloading your leg muscles to the point of exhaustion. During recovery, the muscles will increase in density and after a few sessions you should be finding the hills a bit easier, if not faster, to climb. If after three or four sessions you aren't noticing any improvements, consider reducing the number of sessions. Most likely your body needs more time to recover and adapt to the new demands you are making.

Technique

As most of you would know, climbing hills on a bicycle, with 18 or more gears, can be as hard or as easy as you like. Our goal in this type of training is to get up the hill as fast as possible. Most people like to stand when they are pushing hard on a bike, as standing reduces the perceived effort, and at the end of the day, the perception of effort is all that counts. Stand up and use your body weight to push one pedal at a time. Let the bike swing beneath you from side to side. You should be on you highest gear while seated but may need to change up when you climb out of the saddle. If you get tired, sit for a bit then get back up again when you have caught your breath.

If your local area only has very serious hills, you may want to consider a new rear cassette for your bike. With a larger gear, you will find the hills a little easier and more importantly, you will be able to increase your cadence. Pushing hard on the hills can put some strain on your knees and the key to reducing this strain is to increase your cadence.

Sprint Training and Longer Hills

Following the concepts in this article means you will be sprinting up hills for short periods. If you already have some sprint training on flatter rides in your schedule, you should probably ease back on them while taking up this type of hill training. You will be getting a major cardio workout from repeated hill training so it would not be efficient to double up with sprint training on the flats.

To build the longer stamina needed to race up longer hills, you will need to drop back the intensity in order to complete the hill. A weight training program will also assist in building the muscular endurance needed for longer hilly rides.

Ideally you will build the strength and technique to tackle longer hills while staying in the saddle most of the time. This type of training will require access to the appropriate terrain and even more recovery time between workouts. It is best to gradually build to a higher intensity with longer duration of hill sessions.

Safety

You will be cycling up and down hills and really pushing yourself. There will be traffic and wherever there is traffic, it is important to remain vigilant. It's easy to lose concentration when you are working hard, so make sure you have a nice wide cycle lane or road shoulder to cycle in before you start. If you plan on repeating the same hill or hills, be sure to find a safe place to turn around.


By Mike Holland


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