5 Tips To Climb Faster Without Being Fitter

- Climbing mountains is one of the most beautiful
parts of the sport of cycling.
Hard, but immensely rewarding.
But it's always nice to go a little bit faster, isn't it?
- It certainly is.
So, with that in mind,
here are five GCN hacks to let you go faster,
without the need to get any fitter uphill.
(dramatic music)
- First up, many elements of cycling
are simply a mental thing.
None more so, in fact, than climbing mountains.
It's going to hurt.
You might as well just accept that.
As the old saying goes, it doesn't get any easier,
you just get faster.
- Yeah, it's mind over matter, really.
And, just as important as getting in the right gear
is getting your head in gear.
And once you accept that it's gonna hurt,
it'll actually hurt far less.
Embrace the pain, embrace the lactic, and you'll soon
be one step ahead of your previous self.
Come on, Dan.
(dramatic music)
- That said, your gearing is still very important.
The pain you're experiencing shouldn't be knee tendonitis
because you're pedalling at 40 revs per minute.
Even the pros are fitting easier gears these days,
so there's no reason for you not to.
You're more likely to be able to ride to your optimal power
if you're at your optimal cadence.
So get yourself a compact chain set,
combined with a 32 at the rear,
and you'll almost always have the optimal gear to use.
No matter what the gradient, no more grinding away.
(dramatic music)
What's better for climbing:
in the saddle or out of the saddle?
It's an impossible question to answer because
what works for some, doesn't for others.
However, what we would suggest, is spending around
95% of your time in the saddle,
but deliberately getting out of the saddle every so often.
Just use slightly different muscle groups
and give your other muscles a break.
- Yeah, so try knocking it down a gear or two,
getting out of the saddle for around 10 seconds.
You don't actually need to put any extra power
through the bike at all.
Once the 10 seconds are up,
sit back down in the saddle and get back into your rhythm.
You may actually find this gives you an extra mental break,
as well as a physical one.
It certainly works for lots of people, including myself.
(dramatic music)
- Losing weight often comes as a result of training
really hard and, therefore, getting fitter.
But you can also lose weight without getting fitter at all.
And that is well worth it.
Last year at the Tour de France,
Matt and I did an experiment on a five kilometre climb,
ones with our normal weight and ones
with a five kilogramme ruck sack.
And the results were quite emphatic.
It was on average 90 seconds slower
with the extra five kilos.
- Yes, if you're somebody with a little bit
of weight to lose,
you could be quite literally sitting
on some potential speed gains.
So, lose those extra pounds or kilos
and go faster uphill with the same power.
- Faster for free.
- And we love free, don't we.
(dramatic music)
- Pacing yourself up a big mountain is crucial
if you really want to get to the top
as fast as you possibly can.
The trouble is, it's always so tempting to really
hit the start of the climb very hard,
because you're so excited about getting there.
But make sure you don't do that because
if you go into the red zone,
you will pay for it the rest of the way up.
Start steady and make sure you leave plenty of reserve
for the last half.
- On a similar note, you need to make sure you pay attention
to how much you do even before you get to the climb.
Because the more energy you can save,
the more power you'll have on the climb itself.
So, beforehand, take things nice and steady,
or just sit in the wheels.
- So those five GCN hacks for getting faster on climbs
without actually getting any fitter:
number one, get your head in gear.
Number two, use the right gears,
number three, lose some weight.
- Number four, vary your position,
and number five, don't start off on the climb
too fast, i.e. pace yourself.
- Yeah, hopefully they will help you.
Let us know how you get on
in the comments section down below.
And, if you've got any of your own tips,
please also share those with us
in the comments section down below, as well.
If you haven't yet subscribed
to the Global Cycling Network,
you can do so now by clicking on the globe,
which Matt believes he's pointing to,
but it's probably somewhere completely different
on the screen now.
And coming up, a couple of videos,
which you might well be interested in,
which could too help you on the climbs.
Down here for how to lose weight through cycling.
- And just down here for how to pace yourself on the climb.
- Don't forget to like and share this video, as well.

5 Tips To Climb Faster Without Being Fitter | GCN 's Pro Tips

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