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Training for Hills on a Turbo

Might be a daft question but here goes....

I am doing a mountain bike ride for a charity thing in a few weeks and there will be a few(!) hills. Whilst I am trying to get out and do some "real" training (no substitute for the real thing) I do struggle with time due to work etc.

One thing I can often do is grab a 60-90 mins on turbo in evening (too dark for "real" training) so is there any routines which will help with hill work e.g. Intervals

In case it matters the Turbo is a Cyclops Fluid 2 (i.e. not a fancy programmable one)

cheers

Comments

  • Hill intervals are good. I do them twice a week on a static bike.

    90sec intervals with 90sec recovery (at low resistance) and increase resistance at each interval to a level where you're starting to feel the burn, then repeat from original resistance level and increase through again.

    I sometimes mix things up by doing different cadence too, so one night 80 another 100 etc.

    Made a big big difference to overall fitness on my regular MTB route which is very hilly.
  • ShaggyShaggy Posts: 140
    Stick a couple of phone books under the front wheel and set gear/resistance to make legs work reet hard at a cadence of 60-70. Must be slow cadence and high resistance. Keep torso, shoulders and arm sin good climbing position and really concentrate on turning circles. Won't work heartrate but should feel in legs and upper body. Work up to 5x10mins with a couple of minutes recovery.

    Could do some conditioning too. Squats (legs pedal width and facing forwards), pressups, tricep dips, plank etc. Offroad climbing can really work upper body keeping a stable pedalling platform and balancing traction at rear wheel against keeping front wheel on ground.

    Ade
  • shadowone1shadowone1 Posts: 1,408
    the one about shoving books under the front wheel has been done to death and if the search function worked it would be easy to post a link.

    Sitcking books under the front wheel doesn't work. Easy. Simple.

    Get out on the road and go up and down the same hill. Repeat.

    Find a new hill, go up and down. Repeat.

    Thats what Im doing. Yes its sore but its the only way.
  • willtriwilltri Posts: 436
    Sitcking books under the front wheel doesn't work.
    Wasn't lance quoted as saying he does it?!??
  • had this debate big time before... many people on the forum disagreed with the idea that phone books under the wheel would make any substantial difference. Hill climbing is primarily about power to weight ratio. Improve this and you will improve your hill climbing. If putting books under your tyre makes you feel better then go for it but IMO it won't make any measurable difference.

    I don't mtb and have only tried it a couple of times but the big lesson for me as a roadie/triathlete is to stay seated! As soon as soon as you stand up you will loose all traction on your back end, your wheel will spin, you won't go anywhere and will probably fall over... stay seated!
  • jibby26jibby26 Posts: 261
    Surely putting books under the front wheel on a turbo session is more about simulating the position the bike would be in on a hill as you push the hard gear to work the upper body muscles required to support you in a slightly different way and get you used to the more upright position. My reasoning behind this is that I've found when doing hillier sessions on the road that my lower back and shoulders are comparatively more sore afterwards.
  • Link to the previous thread about this is here: http://www.220triathlon.com/forum/training-for-long-hills-t47308.html

    I reckon that propping up the front wheel of the bike to simulate climbing will force the body to engage a subtly different group of muscles from turbo training on the flat (with the front wheel in a standard levelling block) as it will force you to adopt a slightly different riding position (as you would on a real climb). However, I have absolutely no hard evidence to back it up.

    I'm training (once I get my mojo back!) for IMCH next year, and the roads around where I currently live will be nowhere near safe for cycling through the dark winter months (and yes I know that the TT is no substitute for getting out on the tarmac), so I anticipate doing a lot of turbo workouts during the winter. To test this theory out I'm going to do a proportion of my turbo sessions with the front wheel elevated above the level - just to see how it feels. I guess if I do a hard session with the wheel up and I'm aching in unusual places the next day then there may be something in it, and if not then probably not...

    I've been intending to do this for a month or so now, but, frankly, I just can't be arsed with it at the moment...

    I guess that, as with most things, there will be certain training ideas which work for some but not others.

    I'll keep you posted. Or I might just write a book about it and see if it turns me into a minor tri-celeb!!

    If anyone tries it before me then let me know whether to bother or not

    FK
  • ShaggyShaggy Posts: 140
    I put the phone book comment in for 2 reasons.

    I think it does change your body position, but mainly 'cos I thought it would be funny to see the response.

    Most important part of my suggestion was high resistance/low cadence. And the upper body stuff, my arms always get tired before my legs offroad climbing.
    I don't mtb and have only tried it a couple of times but the big lesson for me as a roadie/triathlete is to stay seated!
    Definitely, when it's steep you need to lean your upper body right forward to get weight over the front, keep your butt right back to keep weight over the rear, pull with your arms parallel to the ground into your stomach (whilst making sure the wheel tracks were you want) to balance the pedal stroke which needs to be really forward over the top of the stroke and through the bottom of it, not just down.

    Recommended fun for everyone.
    Ade
  • shadowone1shadowone1 Posts: 1,408
    Shaggy,
    your entitled to your opinion mate. thas the beauty of the forum
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