CYCLING
Cycling training tips: hills
Staff contributer
Posted Tue, 30 May 2000

This article was originally written with the Pick 'n Pay Argus Cycle Tour in mind. If you are training for any other ride with steep hills on the course, simply skip past the first couple of sections, and go straight to the generic hill-training section.

If there are hills on the course of the race for which you are training, then go through them in the way I have gone through those on the Argus. This will mentally prepare you to tackle them.

If you are training for the Pick 'n Pay Argus Cycle Tour, you will need hill training.

There are four biggies on the Argus:

• Edinburgh Drive/Wynberg Hill
• Smitswinkel Bay
• Ou Kaapse Weg (Chapman's Peak)
• Hopsital Bend (Suikerbossie)

Edinburgh Drive/Wynberg Hill is right at the start of the race and your adrenaline should keep you going here, although it is a lot steeper than it looks. Again the crowds are fantastic, but the inevitable smell of frying bacon can be rather distracting.

Smitswinkel Bay is a relatively short, but quite steep hill. You will be well warmed up by now and surprised at how quickly the summit arrives.

Basics

You must do some hill training or you will slow yourself down seriously in a race such as the Argus.

Start slowly. Try and find an uphill section which is not too steep and takes 10 to 15 minutes to climb. Your cadence will be slow. Don't worry about what your heart rate is doing at this stage.

Try and stay seated when climbing, particularly in the early stages, since this will build up muscle strength better than standing. This is worth remembering if you are using spinning as part of your training regime. This is obviously easier on a mountain bike than on a road bike, and I actually seldom see mountain bike riders standing for any appreciable time.

When you first start hill training keep your gears low. As you get stronger you can use a higher gear to give yourself more resistance and increase the strength training component of hill training. Don't do this type of strength training more than twice a week though, and make sure that you recover between sessions.

As you get stronger choose longer, steeper hills, but still keep it slow. You can start to build up speed as you notice that your heart rate remains more stable when you are climbing. Or, if you do not have a heart rate monitor, you will just start to feel that you are coping better with the hill. If you train regularly on the same hills, you will see that your time decreases and your average heart rate should decrease as well, as you get fitter. As you get fitter you can start to increase the speed with which you tackle the hills.

Hill train at least twice a week. If you live in a flat area make sure that you can travel to somewhere where you can do this. If this is impossible, spinning with a high resistance will certainly help.

Ideally, use routes which have hills and flats. You can then incorporate distance and hill training in the same session.

If you live in Cape Town, try and climb all the Argus hills at least once during your training. Knowing the hills makes a huge difference to how you tackle them.

More advanced techniques

If you have already done a lot of hill training and are wishing to increase your speed, then concentrate on developing your own strong points. Hill climbing techniques vary with the style and abilities of each cyclist.

There are two commonly used climbing styles, holding a steady pace to the top and attacking in spurts. If you are not the strongest of hill climbers, then chose the former and train using this style exclusively, making sure that you are pedalling smoothly throughout. The latter technique is generally only for very good hill climbers.

If you are fast enough to cycle in a bunch, then try and ride at the front of the bunch.

Concentrate on pedalling smoothly and rhythmically and keep your breathing deep and controlled. This will help you keep going for longer.

Don't overdo it! Control your pace so that you can get to the top of the hill without having to slow down, or worse still, stop!

Get into a comfortable position. Don't hunch over the bike. Sit up which will ease your breathing. Don't make the mistake of hunching forward over the handlebars. This decreases the push you can get out of your legs and bottom muscles.

If you want to be a good climber, use the gym to develop your arms, shoulders and abdominal muscles, as well as your cardiovascular fitness.

Find out whether climbing seated or standing suits you best and train for one or the other. You will find that you use both on long hills, as much for a change of position than anything, but choose your main position and use that most.

Don't wait until you are on the steepest part of the hill to change into a higher gear. You'll lose momentum. Try and work out the gear you are likely to use for most of the hill and change into it as you start climbing. If you are a weaker climber, than use a higher gear and lower resistance, that way you can keep your cadence up and not lose too much speed.

The last word

Above all, be positive! Hill climbing adds interest and enjoyment if you are trained for it, and they never last for ever. If you are fairly fit you will certainly overtake people on a race like the Argus, which is very satisfying. It also helps to find someone to climb with and chat to at the start of the hill, since this takes your mind off the pain!

Don't be afraid of hills. They offer excellent strength and cardiovascular training, and successfully climbing them gives a good workout.