Originally Posted by
jonathanf2
I primarily focus on climbing. I do occasional group rides and I do fairly well keeping pace with the lead group. One area I feel like I'm hitting a plateau are on long climbs with other strong riders. I'm able to keep up to a point, but my heart rate starts nearing max HR and I can't sustain the pace. Even though I train consistently, it's one area I feel could gsee improvement. I do ride with younger 20-30 something cyclists and I'm in my mid 40s. I do comparatively well next to other cyclists my age range on group rides, but I still want to improve my performance before blaming my age!
Anyways, besides just riding more are there any tips be it nutritional or fitness related to improve my performance or keep my HR down? Thanks for any advice!
Most of us “occasional group riders” do way too much work at the top end at the expense of basic aerobic fitness, which results in frustrating plateaus in performance or frank exhaustion. Don’t start in with the VO2max 5 x 5s and hill repeats until you’ve done an honest analysis of your training deficits.