Originally Posted by
FBinNY
IME yes, but it depends on what we're talking about. On a long (10 minutes+) climb, I'll stand from time to time just to break things up. I don't work that much harder, if at all, but changing the position and muscles used is a bit refreshing and seems to make the climb easier. Even if it doesn't actually make a difference, it seems to, and that's enough to make me feel better.
I Think, that I put a Little less demand on my heart when standing, because my cadence slows ... I am still demanding huge volumes of blood to my biggest muscle groups, and still expecting to oxygenate that blood through wheezing ....
The simple change to slightly different parts of my measly guads might be enough. combined with the thought that I am taking action to make the pain stop, might be sufficient to create a placebo effect for a short time ... But part of the whole Placebo Effect is that it can be effective.
I hate to fool myself, but I am pretty much lying every time I tell myself, "I can make it up this hill ...." so I lie to myself further, saying "This will make it easier," to help realize the first lie.
For me climbing is pretty dishonest from the first incline ... I lie to myself when I say "This is what I want to be doing."