I can understand the reasoning for running hills once a week but what can people tell be about the purpose behind doing hill repeats on a bike.
Relatively new to the sport, (former competitive swimmers and have completed a couple of marathons) I am putting as many K’s on the bike as my ass, legs and wife/family can tolerate and my average speed for hour long rides seems to be inching slowly but consistently.
Forgive the stupidity but what is the difference between a very high gear on even ground and a smaller gear up a hill other than the fact that it s a lot easier to bail on the flats.
i’m no expert, but i’d like to think that i’m on my way to being one. my humble opinion, which you should take with a grain of salt, is that when going uphill, you’re at a different angle relative to gravity than you are when you’re in the flats. it’s not just that gravity is working against you - it also has to do with your position on the bike. when you’re going uphill, your upper body changes position, so the activation of the muscles of your lower body takes a slightly different pattern. this slight difference, as i understand it, is enough to substantially strengthen muscles that don’t get strengthened during work in the flats.
this is not to say that doing big gear work, into a headwind, in the flats is not a decent substitute for climbing - but as i understand it, you’re leaving yourself unprepared for hills by trying to mimic them rather than just tackling the real thing.
Find a nice flat stretch of road and push a big gear for 2 miles.
Next find a nice 2 mile hill, say 4-6% grade, and try to spin an easy gear.
Check back after and tell us which was harder. You will definitely know the answer when you do a race with a long sustained climb if you don’t practice hills.
Simple…you ride hills for the same reason that you run them. They build leg & mental strength, improve your technique, and provide you with some good LT work. Variety is the key to improvement. Besides, unless you go out of your way to avoid hilly courses, you’ll have to face 'em sometime. It’s better to approach a hill thinking about catching and dropping a couple people than dreading every inch of it.
one more reason. this is less scientific, more spiritual. maybe it’s just me, but NOTHING gives me more pleasure than ascending a hill. when i get to the top, i have a true sense of accomplishment, no matter how burned i am. plus, i have this system worked out, where the harder i work to get up the hill, the faster i allow myself to descend. weeeee!
somewhere in the archives of slowtwitchia is an article that dan wrote (i think) with a quote that i really like about how he loves climbing, whether running up a hill or cycling up it… and how if one could do such a thing, he’d probably love swimming uphill too. i can’t find it. i’ve spent the past hour looking for it. an hour when i should’ve been working. i hope you’re happy.
so go climb hills for the pure, childish joy of it. be proud and sore and youthful.
Other than the obvious differences of difficulty and higher workload, the biggest difference between riding hills and riding a big gear on the flats in or out of the saddle (say, trying to simulate hills) is this: when you ride a real hill (in the appropriate gear), the bike and wheels have very little forward and rotational momentum since you are going quite slow (in mph or km/h). So, if you stop pedalling or reduce pedalling pressure even momentarily, the bike IMMEDIATELY begins slowing down (and will quickly come to a complete stop if you let it).
This means that you have to constantly pedal and apply a lot of force throughout the entire pedal stroke, including the top and bottom of the stroke (where a lot of us typically slack off on the flats). Trying to simulate this on the flats is not easy, as the higher speeds on the flats give the bike and wheels a lot more momentum which keeps the bike and drivetrain going if you momentarily stop pedalling or reduce pedalling pressure. It is quite a noticable difference. Does that make sense?
Probably the best way to simulate a hill (if you don’t have a real one) is to get on a stationary trainer with adjustable resistance. Put a phone book (or two) under the front wheel (for a little incline) and crank up the resistance to the max you can, but ride with a low and appropriate gear and stay seated.
By putting the resistance to max, you will be forced to ride in a lower gear which will keep your rear wheel speed as low as possible (less rotational momentum) and give you pedal resistance throughout the entire pedal stroke. If you were to use less resistance on the trainer and had to use a bigger gear to get a high workload, you would end up with the same problem as simulating hills on flat roads.
I believe nearly anyone can ride in the flats… At speed is a different question. But there is nothing more personally satisfying (on a bike;()) than conquering a big hill and feeling good at the top.
I agree with previous post, do your own testing and get back to us. When practicing hills keep in mind the FULL pedal rotation. Before you know it, you will be as excited as the rest of us when the TdF hits the Alps and Pyrenees… All the stages prior to hills are just warm ups!
Not only that, when riding with friends or in a group, it’s fun putting the hurt on them in the hills!
Seriously, the difference between hills and training on flats in a hard gear (everything that Greg said) is simple. There’s no rest on a climb. You can ease up, but you’re still working.
Thats the answer I was looking for. I found a hill beside my work that took me two minuts to get up it and hammered 6 times. Certainly forced to apply force through the whole stroke. It was tough but fun. Coached for two hours and then road home easy. I wasn’t paying attention and thinking about what was for supper and then I hit a small uphill that I don’t usually notice. Arrrghh - I guess my workout was pretty specific.
Kidding.