How to – Hill climbing, tips to reach the top.
Having spoken to some friends and followers I am going to write cycling tips every other week (I may put in some newbie mountaineering and kitesurfing tips to mix it up a little as well) Follow along my subscribing to my blog (link at bottom of home page). I hope you enjoy, comment with any questions about cycling.
To kick it off here are my top tips for better hill climbing.
Long steady hill climbs can be really tough that feeling like the hill may never end is one I have felt many times before. But don’t fear most hills end, eventually and the reward of the view and a well-earned drink stop from the top can be well worth your achy legs and perspiration on the way up.
Tip one – When reaching the bottom of a climb don’t change down into your lowest gear, not only will your legs be spinning like crazy and you will lose the speed you have gained in the previous flat or downhill but you then have nowhere to go should the climb get steeper or more tricky. Instead if you need to change down one gear lower and work on a basis of when your cadence drops counting to 10 and then changing down, that way you get the most out of each gear change.
Tip two – Breath, as it starts to get harder doesn’t forget to breath, try breathing in and out in time with your pedal strokes in through your nose and out through you mouth if you can. Try not to breath too quickly as this will psyche you out.
Tip three – Look ahead and focus on breaking the hill down into milestones. Once it starts to get hard if the climb in lasting over 10/15 minutes break it down into manageable chunks and see every chunk as a mini goal that way you don’t think of the climb as one mega beast but several small beasts joined together, much more manageable!
Tip four – To stretch out your back and also work other muscles, if the hill is not too steep stand up on the pedals for sections of the climb this will allow you to put more power through the pedals. If the surface is loose don’t stand up as your weight on the back wheel will spin/slip out.
Tip five – Steady cadence, try and keep your pedals going round at a smooth & consistent pace. If you feeling like your pushing really hard on your pedals go down a gear or two, likewise if you feel your feet are spinning then you can probably go up a gear.
So these are my five top tips to improve your hill climbing if you would like more tips and coaching please get in touch.
