MTB fitness and strength when climbing
Discussion
Whats best way to improve?
Just practice, rinse and repeat? Repeatedly cycle up hills I struggle with in the surrey hills as that's where I ride?
Worth me introducing weights back into my life?
Was out with a group last weekend and they left me for dead up some of the steeper stuff in surrey around winterfold and even on pitch. Was embarrassed. Its not like I could even match their pace up hills for a a brief moment. Really want to get out with them again as they made me push myself harder than I have for ages but I also don't want to hold them up all the time, they were patient with me though.
Just practice, rinse and repeat? Repeatedly cycle up hills I struggle with in the surrey hills as that's where I ride?
Worth me introducing weights back into my life?
Was out with a group last weekend and they left me for dead up some of the steeper stuff in surrey around winterfold and even on pitch. Was embarrassed. Its not like I could even match their pace up hills for a a brief moment. Really want to get out with them again as they made me push myself harder than I have for ages but I also don't want to hold them up all the time, they were patient with me though.
How long have you been riding?
I've been through this over the past couple of years, having started MTB again 2.5 years ago in my late 30's after a 15+ year gap.
My fitness at the start was lacking, so much that in the pedally trail centres I was riding, I wasn't able to enjoy the downhills as I was still buggered from the uphills!
Being able to climb well involves 2 main things - endurance and strength. Endurance, or stamina is when you're spinning away on a 'normal' climb and your heart is going 170bpm and you're out of breath, when those around you are chatting away about their latest upgrade.
Strength is that short, stupidly sharp climb which you can't spin up, or the 7th brutal climb of the day when your legs just don't want to push any more...
I've been there with a lack of both.
The cure? Riding. Lots.
The best thing to build stamina and strength is just to put in the miles, try and ride 2-3 times a week.
If you can't ride that much, look at running...
Last winter when we had 6 months of rain and mud, I knew I wasn't getting out as much as I needed to keep my fitness up, and I knew I didn't want it to slip and fall into the 'unfit' zone again, so I started couch to 5k in December. 4 months later I was running 10k, and I've pretty much kept it up since then - alternating between running and riding primarily.
I'm now the fittest I've ever been, with the strongest legs, at age 39 - however due to me focusing on running, I've found that I've had the endurance in spaces but my legs were running out of strength before my aerobic capacity was done, the last few weeks I've been riding much more and climbing really steep, technical climbs has been much easier.
So, tl:dr - ride lots and lots, if you can't ride, run (it really does build up leg strength dramatically) and when you've started to get a decent level of fitness, keep it up - you have to maintain it once you get there.
I did a 48 mile ride on Saturday with a few k ft of climbing, then 11 miles the next day with 1600ft climbing on which my HR barely got over 150bpm (max is 188) - 2 years ago I'd have needed a weeks rest after the 48 mile ride...
I've been through this over the past couple of years, having started MTB again 2.5 years ago in my late 30's after a 15+ year gap.
My fitness at the start was lacking, so much that in the pedally trail centres I was riding, I wasn't able to enjoy the downhills as I was still buggered from the uphills!
Being able to climb well involves 2 main things - endurance and strength. Endurance, or stamina is when you're spinning away on a 'normal' climb and your heart is going 170bpm and you're out of breath, when those around you are chatting away about their latest upgrade.
Strength is that short, stupidly sharp climb which you can't spin up, or the 7th brutal climb of the day when your legs just don't want to push any more...
I've been there with a lack of both.
The cure? Riding. Lots.
The best thing to build stamina and strength is just to put in the miles, try and ride 2-3 times a week.
If you can't ride that much, look at running...
Last winter when we had 6 months of rain and mud, I knew I wasn't getting out as much as I needed to keep my fitness up, and I knew I didn't want it to slip and fall into the 'unfit' zone again, so I started couch to 5k in December. 4 months later I was running 10k, and I've pretty much kept it up since then - alternating between running and riding primarily.
I'm now the fittest I've ever been, with the strongest legs, at age 39 - however due to me focusing on running, I've found that I've had the endurance in spaces but my legs were running out of strength before my aerobic capacity was done, the last few weeks I've been riding much more and climbing really steep, technical climbs has been much easier.
So, tl:dr - ride lots and lots, if you can't ride, run (it really does build up leg strength dramatically) and when you've started to get a decent level of fitness, keep it up - you have to maintain it once you get there.
I did a 48 mile ride on Saturday with a few k ft of climbing, then 11 miles the next day with 1600ft climbing on which my HR barely got over 150bpm (max is 188) - 2 years ago I'd have needed a weeks rest after the 48 mile ride...
Weight wise im overweight, but gone from mid 16 stone down to 14 8 today. Continuing at around 1 or 2lb a week. Not drank since December, diet is fairly good now
I cant run, I hate it and I've injured myself so to get round that I bike probably 6 times a week, road bike most evenings but the rides will vary from a quick 8 mile blast to a 20 mile ride (with good sustained effort). Will increase that mileage soon just because fitness is allowing it and i have decent lights now. New to road biking.
Mtb is usually 2 hrs on an evening a few times a week although darkness has stopped that for me now, to 3 hrs on a weekend, usually both days
Been riding just over a year, lockdown absolutely f
ked my fitness which is why I got a road bike. But im about where I was before lockdown. Its not that i can't do the climbs its just i have to do them slowly at 170bpm while the others are chatting about cars or upgrades half was up the hill as you say. I started at Swinley last year and I couldn't make it to the top of any of the hills there without being severely out of breath or stopping yet now if I go there I barely struggle at all so somethings improved.
I'll see if I cant sort some lights out for the mtb and get out with them on an evening and just keep pushing myself.
I cant run, I hate it and I've injured myself so to get round that I bike probably 6 times a week, road bike most evenings but the rides will vary from a quick 8 mile blast to a 20 mile ride (with good sustained effort). Will increase that mileage soon just because fitness is allowing it and i have decent lights now. New to road biking.
Mtb is usually 2 hrs on an evening a few times a week although darkness has stopped that for me now, to 3 hrs on a weekend, usually both days
Been riding just over a year, lockdown absolutely f
ked my fitness which is why I got a road bike. But im about where I was before lockdown. Its not that i can't do the climbs its just i have to do them slowly at 170bpm while the others are chatting about cars or upgrades half was up the hill as you say. I started at Swinley last year and I couldn't make it to the top of any of the hills there without being severely out of breath or stopping yet now if I go there I barely struggle at all so somethings improved.I'll see if I cant sort some lights out for the mtb and get out with them on an evening and just keep pushing myself.
Bathroom_Security said:
Weight wise im overweight, but gone from mid 16 stone down to 14 8 today. Continuing at around 1 or 2lb a week. Not drank since December, diet is fairly good now
I cant run, I hate it and I've injured myself so to get round that I bike probably 6 times a week, road bike most evenings but the rides will vary from a quick 8 mile blast to a 20 mile ride (with good sustained effort). Will increase that mileage soon just because fitness is allowing it and i have decent lights now. New to road biking.
Mtb is usually 2 hrs on an evening a few times a week although darkness has stopped that for me now, to 3 hrs on a weekend, usually both days
Been riding just over a year, lockdown absolutely fked my fitness which is why I got a road bike. But im about where I was before lockdown. Its not that i can't do the climbs its just i have to do them slowly at 170bpm while the others are chatting about cars or upgrades half was up the hill as you say. I started at Swinley last year and I couldn't make it to the top of any of the hills there without being severely out of breath or stopping yet now if I go there I barely struggle at all so somethings improved.
I'll see if I cant sort some lights out for the mtb and get out with them on an evening and just keep pushing myself.
Mountain biking can be a funny thing fitness wise. i can be at my fittest, racing road and cross bikes and jump on my MTB and make child birth noises all the way up a hill. I cant run, I hate it and I've injured myself so to get round that I bike probably 6 times a week, road bike most evenings but the rides will vary from a quick 8 mile blast to a 20 mile ride (with good sustained effort). Will increase that mileage soon just because fitness is allowing it and i have decent lights now. New to road biking.
Mtb is usually 2 hrs on an evening a few times a week although darkness has stopped that for me now, to 3 hrs on a weekend, usually both days
Been riding just over a year, lockdown absolutely f
ked my fitness which is why I got a road bike. But im about where I was before lockdown. Its not that i can't do the climbs its just i have to do them slowly at 170bpm while the others are chatting about cars or upgrades half was up the hill as you say. I started at Swinley last year and I couldn't make it to the top of any of the hills there without being severely out of breath or stopping yet now if I go there I barely struggle at all so somethings improved.I'll see if I cant sort some lights out for the mtb and get out with them on an evening and just keep pushing myself.
I figured it was due to my core being weak. Sure, you need core on a road bike, but I find on the MTB is comes in to play much more. A good core means you engage the glutes more, which is a big muscle group and really can make a difference.
Also, look at your gearing and cadence, try to hit the hill almost spinning out and then let the drivetrain take up the slack, rather than hitting a slope and changing up as you go.
Also, I ride clipped in, tried flats but found that I could be more efficient if clipped in - try that if you use flats.
Finally, use the winter to build endurance - no more than zone 3 on the road bike for 20 miles. At this stage you need to build bottom end, no need to concentrate on high intensity, threshold stuff. Just steady 80% effort max to spin the legs and build the base.
Bathroom_Security said:
Weight wise im overweight, but gone from mid 16 stone down to 14 8 today. Continuing at around 1 or 2lb a week. Not drank since December, diet is fairly good now
I cant run, I hate it and I've injured myself so to get round that I bike probably 6 times a week, road bike most evenings but the rides will vary from a quick 8 mile blast to a 20 mile ride (with good sustained effort). Will increase that mileage soon just because fitness is allowing it and i have decent lights now. New to road biking.
Mtb is usually 2 hrs on an evening a few times a week although darkness has stopped that for me now, to 3 hrs on a weekend, usually both days
Been riding just over a year, lockdown absolutely fked my fitness which is why I got a road bike. But im about where I was before lockdown. Its not that i can't do the climbs its just i have to do them slowly at 170bpm while the others are chatting about cars or upgrades half was up the hill as you say. I started at Swinley last year and I couldn't make it to the top of any of the hills there without being severely out of breath or stopping yet now if I go there I barely struggle at all so somethings improved.
I'll see if I cant sort some lights out for the mtb and get out with them on an evening and just keep pushing myself.
Road biking is good for fitness, but an 8 mile ride is probably barely worth it, unless you're going flat out for those 8 miles. On a road bike you should able to average 13-16mph fairly easily so 8 miles is 40 minutes, if that.I cant run, I hate it and I've injured myself so to get round that I bike probably 6 times a week, road bike most evenings but the rides will vary from a quick 8 mile blast to a 20 mile ride (with good sustained effort). Will increase that mileage soon just because fitness is allowing it and i have decent lights now. New to road biking.
Mtb is usually 2 hrs on an evening a few times a week although darkness has stopped that for me now, to 3 hrs on a weekend, usually both days
Been riding just over a year, lockdown absolutely f
ked my fitness which is why I got a road bike. But im about where I was before lockdown. Its not that i can't do the climbs its just i have to do them slowly at 170bpm while the others are chatting about cars or upgrades half was up the hill as you say. I started at Swinley last year and I couldn't make it to the top of any of the hills there without being severely out of breath or stopping yet now if I go there I barely struggle at all so somethings improved.I'll see if I cant sort some lights out for the mtb and get out with them on an evening and just keep pushing myself.
If you're doing a weekend road ride, try and aim for 30+ miles, so 2 hours or more. Running is much more efficient time wise, so if you're only cycling you'll need to do an hour minimum each ride to see much benefit.
Intervals can be good, but I like to think that MTB is one big interval session
climb hard, chat and recover and the top, charge downhill with a decent HR, then repeat... TBH, sounds like you're already doing what you need, it won't hurt to introduce some weights (core and compound stuff will be good, ie squats, deadlifts, rows, farmers walk, planks etc.) but the best thing to get fit for cycling is cycling. Unfortunately it's not something that happens overnight, but you'll probably not notice it until you're on a group ride and realise you're one of the first to the top of each climb.
Losing weight will help massively for climbing too, the lighter you and your bike are the less your body has to work. I'm 6ft 3in and 12st 7lbs and probably won't get much lighter, it's still disheartening when someone 5ft 3 and 10 stone scampers up a climb like a whippet out the traps
A good idea if you have strava is to pick a local climb/segment and ride it as fast as you can, then every 8 weeks or few months or so, attempt it again - it's a great to see your progression that way.
There's a 2.6 mile, 550ft climb near me that I pb'd at 16:12 in May 2019, then 15:32 in June 2019, then 15:06 in April 2020, and then 14:50 a few days ago. So a minute and a half knocked off in that time.
Edited by Tall_Paul on Monday 7th September 18:27
You probably don’t need strength, you probably need aerobic fitness.
It’ll come fairly quickly if you are consistent with the training. Don’t overdo the training to the point where your training consistency suffers. I went from pathetically weak/unfit to fairly fit in 6 weeks.
My arse hurt though. It wasn’t the saddle!
It’ll come fairly quickly if you are consistent with the training. Don’t overdo the training to the point where your training consistency suffers. I went from pathetically weak/unfit to fairly fit in 6 weeks.
My arse hurt though. It wasn’t the saddle!
Kawasicki said:
You probably don’t need strength, you probably need aerobic fitness.
It’ll come fairly quickly if you are consistent with the training. Don’t overdo the training to the point where your training consistency suffers. I went from pathetically weak/unfit to fairly fit in 6 weeks.
My arse hurt though. It wasn’t the saddle!
Yeah deffo aerobic fitness if he's chugging up the climbs at 170bpm.It’ll come fairly quickly if you are consistent with the training. Don’t overdo the training to the point where your training consistency suffers. I went from pathetically weak/unfit to fairly fit in 6 weeks.
My arse hurt though. It wasn’t the saddle!
For that - some base miles (zone 2/3 for 1-2 hours) but also just getting in the miles. That's why I took up running and will start it again in earnest in a few weeks when the weather turns, I'll be doing 20-30km a week with 3x runs, or 2-3 hours running, that would be 6+ hours riding for the same effort for me.
frisbee said:
Check they aren't riding e-bikes!
Haha I thought this too!As many others have said, do the miles. But also worth on your breathing rhythm, make sure you're using the right gears at the right time, and maybe a few bodyweight squat and lunge sessions will help build.some strength Inbetween rides.
And stretches for recovery!
In addition to what others have said, one of the ways I try to improve my core whilst on the road is to find a gentle slope upwards and ride no-handed as far up as you can go. Improves balance too. Unless you fall off, then it undoes everything.
For me, its riding with SPDs. I've recently gone back to flats to improve my technique, but I'm still significantly quicker uphill when clipped in.
Using Strava or similar is a good way to test your improvements or to set a goal on a decent climb. It doesn't have to be KOM or top 10, maybe top 20% or similar, or better than one of your mates
For me, its riding with SPDs. I've recently gone back to flats to improve my technique, but I'm still significantly quicker uphill when clipped in.
Using Strava or similar is a good way to test your improvements or to set a goal on a decent climb. It doesn't have to be KOM or top 10, maybe top 20% or similar, or better than one of your mates
I cycle in the Surrey hills too and just had 4 weeks off riding and it hurt to come back!
My advice is do some running if you can (3km is enough) to improve your breathing and heart rate, and do lots of MTB riding, hitting the hills. Road biking won't help you train much for hills, it's such a different style of riding.
What bike do you have, and what bikes do they have? If you're is full sus, is it locked out? You can lose a lot of energy with the bike just jumping up and down as you peddle. Some bikes are made to make climbing easier, but try going uphill on a "downhill" enduro bike and you will suffer badly. You may just have the wrong bike.
Rich
My advice is do some running if you can (3km is enough) to improve your breathing and heart rate, and do lots of MTB riding, hitting the hills. Road biking won't help you train much for hills, it's such a different style of riding.
What bike do you have, and what bikes do they have? If you're is full sus, is it locked out? You can lose a lot of energy with the bike just jumping up and down as you peddle. Some bikes are made to make climbing easier, but try going uphill on a "downhill" enduro bike and you will suffer badly. You may just have the wrong bike.
Rich
Rich135 said:
My advice is do some running if you can (3km is enough) to improve your breathing and heart rate, and do lots of MTB riding, hitting the hills. Road biking won't help you train much for hills, it's such a different style of riding.
WHERE DO YOU PEOPLE GET THIS STUFF! It's actually insane.
My input would to be to lose weight.
Since 1/1/20 I’ve been on a weight loss program and I’m currently at 85kgs having started the year at 102kgs.
This alone has made a ‘night vs day’ difference to my riding and every hill is now approached ‘at full gas’ as a challenge, rather than a hindrance.
That +18kgs makes such a difference.
Since 1/1/20 I’ve been on a weight loss program and I’m currently at 85kgs having started the year at 102kgs.
This alone has made a ‘night vs day’ difference to my riding and every hill is now approached ‘at full gas’ as a challenge, rather than a hindrance.
That +18kgs makes such a difference.
Edited by wobert on Tuesday 8th September 11:48
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