Climbing Tips
Posted June 05, 2015 09:31AM by
Skye in the
Cycling Forum
5880115
In the spirit of working on my weaknesses, I'm trying to do more climbing this month. Fortunately, a bunch of climbing tips happened to come across my feed so I thought I'd summarize them here. Staying loose is definitely something I'm having to learn, I'm pretty good at reminding myself to relax my upper body on the flats, but not on climbs. I can't seem to climb at my FTP consistently so I think there's some psychological barriers I need to overcome. Nothing a few thousand meters won't fix!
Fly Up Hills
Five climbing secrets that will have you soaring in 30 days
1. Meditate Uphill - think light thoughts and relax all the muscles you're not supposed to be recruiting
2. Find Your Power Position - straight back, chest open, experiment with saddle position. Keep your center of gravity over the BB when climbing out of the saddle
3. Raise Your FTP - yep, that means interval training 1 or 2 times per week, plus some Sweet Spot wouldn't hurt
4. Consistent Practice - 1 or 2 climbing days per week. Try over-unders while climbing, and climbing vo2max intervals.
5. Work on Low Cadence Power - Improve your peak pedal force by doing some low cadence climbing, 50-60 RPM. Good practice for those times you're stuck on a hill with the wrong cassette too.
The Biggest Mistake You're Making on Climbs
Get to the top faster—and fresher—with these smart strategies
Pacing is incredibly important on climbs, as they say, "let the effort come to you"
1. Use the right gear - Push at least 70 rpm and spin your way up, use those slow twitch endurance fibers
2. Engage your core - Stay relaxed up top but keep your core stable for efficient power transfer
3. Stay seated - We all know a certain pro rider that ignores this, and variety is good, but it's more efficient to climb in the saddle
4. Switch positions - Try moving forward or back on the saddle to change the work ratio of glutes vs quads
5. Have a chat - If you're gasping for air, you're probably going too hard
Have you got some climbing tips to share? Post them below!
Fly Up Hills
Five climbing secrets that will have you soaring in 30 days
1. Meditate Uphill - think light thoughts and relax all the muscles you're not supposed to be recruiting
2. Find Your Power Position - straight back, chest open, experiment with saddle position. Keep your center of gravity over the BB when climbing out of the saddle
3. Raise Your FTP - yep, that means interval training 1 or 2 times per week, plus some Sweet Spot wouldn't hurt
4. Consistent Practice - 1 or 2 climbing days per week. Try over-unders while climbing, and climbing vo2max intervals.
5. Work on Low Cadence Power - Improve your peak pedal force by doing some low cadence climbing, 50-60 RPM. Good practice for those times you're stuck on a hill with the wrong cassette too.
The Biggest Mistake You're Making on Climbs
Get to the top faster—and fresher—with these smart strategies
Pacing is incredibly important on climbs, as they say, "let the effort come to you"
1. Use the right gear - Push at least 70 rpm and spin your way up, use those slow twitch endurance fibers
2. Engage your core - Stay relaxed up top but keep your core stable for efficient power transfer
3. Stay seated - We all know a certain pro rider that ignores this, and variety is good, but it's more efficient to climb in the saddle
4. Switch positions - Try moving forward or back on the saddle to change the work ratio of glutes vs quads
5. Have a chat - If you're gasping for air, you're probably going too hard
Have you got some climbing tips to share? Post them below!
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