hill training position

mogse said:

...standing up in the pedals is a totaly different position to tucking in on the aero bars....

You definitely want spend time in the aero bars training the way you'll race. You're right, the muscle groups are different while standing, they're even different while riding a road bike on the tops or brake hoods. If you want to be comfortable and generate power while riding races in aero bars then you need to spend some to most of your training time riding in the aero position. You'll also want to spend some time on flatter courses getting used to the gears, cadence and pedal force requirements of your target events. Standing up and grinding on steep climbs will generate sustainable power (if the efforts are sustained in nature and not short bursts) but that may not translate all that well to higher speed riding on the flats.

Bottom line, specificity counts, tailor your training to your racing. That doesn't mean you have to mimic racing in all your training but try to make your training more similar in terms of terrain, speeds and bike position to your target events.

Good luck,
-Dave

mogse said:

I'm training for the cycling part of the sprint duathlons I compete in on a compact road bike fitted with aero bars.I'm a runner primarly.,I'm currently down to 24 mins to 14k on the course which is windy and bendy but flat (avg 35k). i've only been using a bike for a year so i'm not too disheartened in my tme.

my question is
as part of my training I do 25k hilly training course, the hills are very steep about 25-30% so allot of time i have to stand in the pedals in the lowest gear to get up them with lungs bursting.
my legs burn so i know i'm working them but my thought was when i'm racing duathlons its always flat and i'm on the aero bars 90% of time.
By standing up on my hill training will I be working on the wrong muscle groups? standing up in the pedals is a totaly different position to tucking in on the aero bars.

what do you experienced riders think about this?

During your "training sessions" train in the position you race in. During your rest days go and have fun and if this means you ride in the hills then take it easy on the flat but have a little dig up the hills. But too make your training as effective as possible - train like you race.

Read, watch and learn.

Read everything you can about time trialing. There are probably a few good folk on here that have some good links on position and technique.

Watch videos of those who are good at time trialing - both the Tour riders and top Triatheletes.

Train in your race position as often as you can.

Find what position you can ride in now (ie how low you can comfortably go with the handlebars and how narrow you can get the elbow pads but remain in complete control) and then try and work out where you need to be. If you have a trainer to put the bike on use a video camera or a well placed mirror and see what you look like when you ride. Compare to "the best" - if you have a road frame with a relaxed seat angle, look at the position of the likes of Lance, Greg LeMond etc. If you know where your position is now and where it "needs" to be (adjust the bike to get that killer position and note all the key points like saddle height, bar height, aero bar settings etc etc) you can make a small adjustment every couple of weeks and you'll slowly get there and because you're making small adjustments you minimise the risk of added soreness or even injury from riding in a position that you're not familiar with.

That said, and "good training" whether it be in the hills or on the flat is going to be beneficial.

Have fun... and good luck.