Training & Nutrition - Training for Hills

As a recently was selected to go into a weight-loss competition with about 32 other coworkers (big company) I became addicted to spinning as that is my trainers forte. I have always had big quads (former skiier and hockey player) and really took to getting out of the seat and pedaling away at high resistance.
Telling this to my friend (a big cyclist) he suggested that I get road bike in shape and get out riding for real. We also discussed hills and my drafting him (or a team) up the hills. To tell you the truth, I like hills and liked the idea of eventually specializing in them.

Is this something (drafting up hills) that is normally done with a group of cyclists?

Is there a need for guys who like hills?

Also, any other training/nutrition recommendations you guys know of?

It is good to be back and posting here again, it certainly has been a while.

While riding uphill, drafting is not that advantageous as your speed will be lower. Wind resistance is an issue at high speeds, not low.

The best way to train for riding in the hills is to . . . dun dun dun . . . ride in the hills. You can do hill repeats. That is, basically find a hill and ride up it, then go down it and back up over and over until you pass out.

Yes, you can draft uphill. It's noticeable even at 10-12 mph. The stronger you are or the shallower the grade, the more you'll notice the draft. But perhaps the main thing is that trying to hold someone's wheel teaches you how to climb and how to suffer. Pacing is extremely important in climbing. You may just love it.

You also may find that big quads are not an advantage. Strength goes up as the square, but weight goes up as the cube. Cross-sectional area vs. volume, you see. So that's why The Chicken climbs so well, even though he's so skinny. If you want to be a climbing specialist, you need to weigh like 135. I'm grossly overweight at 155.

Don't know if this will help you or not, but it may get your body used to standing for extended periods. When i was a racer, we used to do repeat drills standing on the pedals while on flat ground, usually 5 repeats of 5 minutes each. Our goal wasn't to improve climbing, but to be able to do sustained efforts standing so we could attack on the hills and wear out the competition. In any event, it gets you used to standing.

Don't know if this will help you or not, but it may get your body used to standing for extended periods. When i was a racer, we used to do repeat drills standing on the pedals while on flat ground, usually 5 repeats of 5 minutes each. Our goal wasn't to improve climbing, but to be able to do sustained efforts standing so we could attack on the hills and wear out the competition. In any event, it gets you used to standing.


ditto


do a lot of standing as training. a lot of it with no break. suffer.

then when you do need to actually stand when it matters it'll be a piece of cake
and normal...also, you don't really need to stand a whole lot in the real world. you just need to find
that standing is a familiar place to be, so when you do need it, you don't have to think

Thanks guys. I think I will try some of these and see how it goes. Plus riding with others will teach me a lot too.

Don't know if this will help you or not, but it may get your body used to standing for extended periods. When i was a racer, we used to do repeat drills standing on the pedals while on flat ground, usually 5 repeats of 5 minutes each. Our goal wasn't to improve climbing, but to be able to do sustained efforts standing so we could attack on the hills and wear out the competition. In any event, it gets you used to standing.

Interesting drill. Was this done in a higher gear or fast spinning?

Thanks

We did the drill in a high gear and ponded as hard as we could for 5 minutes to get our bodies used to suffering. Didn't really improve climbing endurance or speed, but if we could get 2 or 3 guys in front on a climb, we could each attack one after the other and really split the field up. Good for racing, but i think it is still best to sit down and find your own rhythm climbing. Also, when you get comfortable standing during a climb and you get the bike rocking back and forth really well, it just feels right.

If you have the typical "hockey player" build, you may not really enjoy hills... :p

I played hockey for over 20 years (from the time I was 6 years old, through high school and college and then in the local mens league thereafter). I have big quads too and I'm 5'10" tall and 180 pounds (not exactly a pure climbers build... however, my quads NEVER got as big and cut as they are now... from cycling. Doing sprint/speed and climbing intervals will completely transform the look and power of your legs.

Weight is the enemy when it comes to climbing. If you were like 5'9" or 5'10" and weighed 135-140 pounds that would be a GREAT start. Us genetically challenged folks have to rely on shear power when going uphill. When properly motivated, I can climb quite well... unfortunately, I'm using alot more energy than the skinny guys! :o


As a recently was selected to go into a weight-loss competition with about 32 other coworkers (big company) I became addicted to spinning as that is my trainers forte. I have always had big quads (former skiier and hockey player) and really took to getting out of the seat and pedaling away at high resistance.
Telling this to my friend (a big cyclist) he suggested that I get road bike in shape and get out riding for real. We also discussed hills and my drafting him (or a team) up the hills. To tell you the truth, I like hills and liked the idea of eventually specializing in them.

Is this something (drafting up hills) that is normally done with a group of cyclists?

Is there a need for guys who like hills?

Also, any other training/nutrition recommendations you guys know of?

It is good to be back and posting here again, it certainly has been a while.