How do you train for uphill mountain biking?

Speed,momentum,gearing,sight,tires,power,and even the right fork can
get you up that hill, even gravel or rock garden. Even in the dark.

<[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Speed,momentum,gearing,sight,tires,power,and even the right fork can
get you up that hill, even gravel or rock garden. Even in the dark.

Or you can just ride up the hill and not worry about any of that [censored]...

- CA-G

Can-Am Girls Kick Ass!

novice said:

I realize the best way is just to climb steep hills but if you are in
good cardio shape from some other sport can you just jump on a bike and
fly up the hills or do you need to build your quads?
I was in a duathlon recently and everyone in the back half pushed their
bikes up the hills. Steep gravel hills are very difficult to climb. It
is almost like lifting weights or something. Very intense.

Fitness doesn't give you the proper riding position or the ability to
feel when to back off because the wheel is about to spin out. Practice
does. A fit rider can power up a lot at a great energy expense. A
rider with a bit of finesse can climb the same hill with less power
and/or go faster.
Practice.

Shawn

Carla A-G said:

<[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Speed,momentum,gearing,sight,tires,power,and even the right fork can
get you up that hill, even gravel or rock garden. Even in the dark.

Or you can just ride up the hill and not worry about any of that [censored]...

Well put. And then when you get to top turn and go down it then back up
it, repeat till you puke. 🙂

Shawn said:

novice said:

I realize the best way is just to climb steep hills but if you are in
good cardio shape from some other sport can you just jump on a bike and
fly up the hills or do you need to build your quads?
I was in a duathlon recently and everyone in the back half pushed their
bikes up the hills. Steep gravel hills are very difficult to climb. It
is almost like lifting weights or something. Very intense.

Fitness doesn't give you the proper riding position or the ability to
feel when to back off because the wheel is about to spin out. Practice
does. A fit rider can power up a lot at a great energy expense. A
rider with a bit of finesse can climb the same hill with less power
and/or go faster.
Practice.

Shawn

That being said, being in great shape doesn't hurt any either.
Being in lousy shape hurts a lot!

Matt

Time In The Saddle (what's the acronym now?)

MattB said:

Shawn said:

novice said:

I realize the best way is just to climb steep hills but if you are in
good cardio shape from some other sport can you just jump on a bike and
fly up the hills or do you need to build your quads?
I was in a duathlon recently and everyone in the back half pushed their
bikes up the hills. Steep gravel hills are very difficult to climb. It
is almost like lifting weights or something. Very intense.

Fitness doesn't give you the proper riding position or the ability to
feel when to back off because the wheel is about to spin out.
Practice does. A fit rider can power up a lot at a great energy
expense. A rider with a bit of finesse can climb the same hill with
less power and/or go faster.
Practice.

Shawn

That being said, being in great shape doesn't hurt any either.
Being in lousy shape hurts a lot!

Yup. All that practice does good things for fitness too.

Shawn

MattB said:

That being said, being in great shape doesn't hurt any either.
Being in lousy shape hurts a lot!

Climbing on the last two days of my visit with some strong Fruitians
and a couple of Bad Czechs made me realize I need to ride a little
more. Even so, I haven't lost anything on the flip-side, which is
encouraging.

JD

novice said:

I realize the best way is just to climb steep hills but if you are in
good cardio shape from some other sport can you just jump on a bike and
fly up the hills or do you need to build your quads?
I was in a duathlon recently and everyone in the back half pushed their
bikes up the hills. Steep gravel hills are very difficult to climb. It
is almost like lifting weights or something. Very intense.

As an indoor cycling instructor working to expand my repertoire, I take
the other group classes (kickbox and weight lifting). They often kick my
ass, especially the weight classes.

Often the instructor tells me they want to get in shape to teach
cycling. (Hell, I didn't know you could "teach" cycling a few years ago.)

Fitness, especially at the competitive level, is specific to the
activity. Putting the gold medalist marathoner in a mountain bike race
is something like driving an F1 car in the Paris-Dakar rally: big
engine, but that's about it. There are always exceptions.

--
Lynn Wallace http://www.xmission.com/~lawall
I have nothing but contempt and anger for those who betray the
trust by exposing the name of our sources. They are, in my view,
the most insidious of traitors."
George H.W. Bush, April 16, 1999,

Well, your internet name betrays a refreshing honesty and humility, so
I'll answer you in all sincerity. Ride uphill more. Strength, fitness
and finesse just take time.

Other things you can do?

Interval training
Long base rides
Running stadium stairs
Walking stadium stairs with a 25lb dumbbell in each hand
Lunges with and without weights
Plyometrics
Step aerobics
[fill in the blank...]
and so it goes....

But you'll only learn the gearing, weight allocation, and so on from
time in the saddle.

If your legs are hurting, shift down. If your lungs are hurting, shift
up. If they're both hurting.... you're probably on a mountainbike!

CDB

I don't train for anything, except the ability to have more enjoyable
mountain bike rides. What works best for me is to ride very
consistently, and never, ever have a weekend without mountain biking
during the season. (But you do need time off the bike -- even living
here in sunny Phoenix, I took more than a month off of mountain biking
this winter.)

If you are serious about sport there are several books available by Joe
Friel and Ned Overrend on training, and a good out-of print book by
Greg Lemond.

I especially like The Cyclists's Training Bible by Joe Friel. (The
number one takeaway from the book is that you should do only enough
training to accomplish your goals.) There's also a good book on riding
technique, Mastering Mountain Bike Skills by Brian Lopes and Lee
McCormack.

theMinister of Misinformation

Paladin said:

Well, your internet name betrays a refreshing honesty and humility, so
I'll answer you in all sincerity. Ride uphill more. Strength, fitness
and finesse just take time.

Other things you can do?

Interval training
Long base rides
Running stadium stairs
Walking stadium stairs with a 25lb dumbbell in each hand
Lunges with and without weights
Plyometrics
Step aerobics
[fill in the blank...]
and so it goes....

But you'll only learn the gearing, weight allocation, and so on from
time in the saddle.

If your legs are hurting, shift down. If your lungs are hurting, shift
up. If they're both hurting.... you're probably on a mountainbike!

CDB

I'll add two of my favorite cross training activities that have great
intensity for this sort of thing.

Single speeding and telemark skiing.

Matt