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How to climb a hill in the saddle
By Christina | June 24, 2009
I am by no means an avid cyclist but I am a fitness professional since 1986 and I spend a lot of time researching and continuing my education on all aspects of fitness and cycling is one avenue that I have spent considerable time researching, practicing and teaching Spinning classes since 1998. For those that are unfamiliar with Spinning from a training or educational perspective, the certification course actually teaches you how to road ride to simulate the flats and hills, sprints and races you would experience in real life.
I recently became interested in the proper way to “attack” a hill, or climb it forcefully. I knew the information but decided to delve further to create a strategy that I could both use on my cycling classes and also impart on those of you competing in races.
You need all the elements of proper technique to execute a strong climb up a hill; you need to maintain balance, move both fore-and-aft and side-to-side.
From my own experience I know the initial reaction of any beginning cyclist is to stand up on the pedals and push forward stroke after stroke until they have reached the pinnacle or simply cannot stand and run any longer because they have reached exhaustion.
To have a successful climb, stay in the saddle and keep your leg speed high. Easy? No. Can you train for it? Yes. This approach assures a maximum transfer of your energy into power. Want some additional power? Drive your hips and glutes to the back of your seat as you push on the downstroke. Keep your body leaning slightly forward, elbows flexed and slightly pull on the side of the handlebar opposite from your downstroke. This helps you use your gluteal muscles as well as your leg muscles.
If you need to stand because you are officially out of gas, you are going to want to “weight and unweight your feet” this means you shift your body weight as you pedal. Keep your body over the weighted foot. If you pay close attention, you’ll find that your hips and shoulders move side to side just a bit to give the downstroking leg more power.
You must move your body side-to-side to obtain a full revolution of the pedal which means you are expending some of you precious energy so focus on moving your bike not your body. As you execute the downward stroke, lean the bike to the other side of the foot delivering the stroke. Keep your body in a straight line over the weighted foot. Lean forward on the handlebars to deliver even more power, but keep your elbows loose. When you have completed the stroke on one side, transfer your weight to the other foot. Think of your bike as a lever to help pull your weight over to the other foot. The bike should now be leaning toward the unweighted foot and your body should be in a straight line above the weighted foot. Think this comes easy? Think again. You must practice.
One great skill I learned is the scrape and pull motion to create a smooth perfect circle – something I reinforce during my classes. Do it over and over, then practice with just one leg doing the work then the other.
Okay, the body is ready, where is your head? Most good climbers have not only learned when to stay in the saddle and when to stand, but also how to trick themselves into staying in the saddle longer or standing longer when needed. Think about your form, your stroke, the small details versus the mountain ahead of you. Personally, I count each stroke and that’s what gets me through. Or I ask myself “Why are you here?” You can also give yourself small benchmarks to get to, for example, I will keep going n the saddle until that marker up ahead and then find your next goal until you are at the top!
Topics: Exercise |
