need help climbing
 

hey, i'm a relitivly strong junior rider. i've place well in most of my races. my only problem is my climbing. as soon as we hit the first hill i'm usually dropped if you have any advice for training or climbing it would be apprieciated.
thanks

repeats, preten it dosent hurt. Im not a very good climber statistically, but i have a high tolerance for pain.

+1. Just don't worry about the pretending, it hurts after a while, deal with it!

IT's not even the pain i just can't move any
faster

Testosterone Baby Testosterone!!!!!
:D

Oh, well I don't know then. Hitting the wall sucks in a big way! :)

Seriously, repeats, or hill intervals will make you faster eventually, it just takes a while.

What is an ideal repeats session?

I have a hill I go up which is either 150 feet 12% climb which the ascent and decent are about a mile for the loop, or a 400 ft 12% to a 24% climb which is 1.5 miles. Not sure if this is an ideal repeat, and if it isn't let me know what is.

Use this handy formula to help with you climbing training:

1. Let A = the number of vertical feet you climb per week.
2. Let B = A + A.
3. B is your new weekly climbing goal.

That's it. Good climbers climb a lot.

Try squats. If you don't know how get GOOD advice. Good form is crucial and bad form can injure you.

i mostly mountain bike, and thus spend a great deal of time on steep inclines. what i've found is that the ideal climbing position is to sit forward on the saddle, try to keep your center of gravity low, and spin a low gear. now this might be bc (coming from offroad) i'm accustomed to having to worry about the rear wheel losing grip, but it works for me. another trick, which is entirely mental and probably only works bc i have a short temper, is to get pissed off at the hill and hammer all the way up

Put yourslef upfront as much as you can, and pull these pedals. Do not downshift, instead go for the hardest gear. Watch your breath. In some cases you will go downhill right after climbing, make sure that pedaling is even tougher.

Climbing repeats....i.e., intervals. Find a nearby hill, and climb it....descend w/ a short break....2-3 minutes or so....and repeat. Do it until you throw up (not literally....but I can usually tell when I'm done when my sides start to hurt and I feel like I want to die).

This is my climbing repeat hill:

http://www.routeslip.com/map.php?map=3364

Gains a few hundred feet or so in just a tick under a mile. Fun times.