Originally Posted by
bruce19
Actually there can be. It's called technique. My power to weight ratio did not change but my climbing got better because of two things I learned from others. First, I learned to exhale with force which emptied my lungs allowing me to inhale more air. That helped me a lot. Then a professional trainer explained that some people can climb better with increased rpms while others can use bigger gears and rely on power. It depends on your body type and strength. I abandoned the former for the latter and my climbing improved again. So, it doesn't have to be just power to weight.
I've been thinking about this for a while. Actually, I've been thinking about this for years, but with few unassailable conclusions. So just thinking out loud . . .
Let's say that we have two limitations: VO2max and repeatable leg strength or RLS. I can't think of a way to quantify this RLS variable. We know that for a given submaximal power output, our HR will run higher at a higher cadence, meaning that the higher the cadence, the closer to our VO2max we will be. Therefore at high power levels, the higher our RLS, the lower our cadence can be, and thus the more power we can produce before hitting VO2max. Some are stronger in one of these variables, some stronger in another. And of course both these variables can be modified by training, but still, there's talent involved. We saw this easily in two famous druggies, Lance and Jan.
On a long climb, it's pretty easy to figure out how to balance these two variables, O2 use and RLS, momentarily by shifting up or down and watching speed or power while holding the same RPE. The question then becomes "can you keep this up for 1-2 hours without your legs packing it in?" and that's where this VO2max/RLS balance becomes noticeable. On long endurance rides, I notice that if I get bogged down, meaning that in my lowest gear I can't spin my favored cadence, my HR will drop and my power along with it. Thus if I had more RLS, my power would be higher in those situations. In another situation, climbing a short steep pitch, I might hit my RLS limit in a gear, but be able to shift down and put out more power at a higher cadence, thus an extended sprint if you will.
By this analysis, my VO2max must be higher this season as I can choose to put out the same power at a higher cadence without blowing up, thus saving my legs. My RLS must be up too, as we've been doing familiar climbs a cog or two higher at the same RPE or HR, but I think the VO2max is up more because the cadence is higher even in the bigger gear.
Does any of this make sense or seem familiar?