Breathing techniques and hills

[ikojo]

St Louis is hillier than where I grew up and I am still getting used to them. Does anyone here have any advice on how I can control my breathing while attacking a steep one. I don't want to huff and puff up a hill. There has got to be a proper way to breath while going up hills.

Thank you!

[dean_dem]

1. The easiest thing to do is just try to breathe easier,

and try to relax your upper body. That does a lot to slow down your heart rate when it starts speeding up, and helps you breathe deeper and easier. It's mainly psychological, but try to resist your body's natural urge to tense up. Relaxing your body will help make you breathe easier. Also try breathing in with both your mouth and your nose at the same time to bring in as much air as possible.

Another thing would be switch off breathing technique. Try exhaling hard and inhaling easy, instead of the other way around.

Also make sure you are on the top bars when you climb. Climbing in the drop bars constricts your diaphragm and will make it a lot harder to breathe in and out.

But really, the easiest thing to do is relax your body and your breathing when you climb. Resist the urge to tense up and start breathing hard. A lot of it is psychological.

[Fovea]

2. Yes, tension makes climbing harder.

If traffic permits, I try not to look up to the top of the hill. I just try to spin through the next 15 yards or so.

Also, I live in a hillier town than St. Louis, KC. I ride a recumbent, as well, and there is only one way to make it to the top, and that is to spin. Knowing when you need a break is good thing as well.

On a bent, the trick is to scoot down a bit, and push your shoulders into the seat for more power. I try to maintain a cadence of around 85-90 in mid climb. My lowest gear is about 21 inches.

In the user pic, I am riding in the Kemper Arena parking lot.

[wtmusic]

3. Wow

Huffing and puffing is a good thing. If anything, most people's bodies will not tell them to breathe hard enough.

Huff and puff like a dog. Get all the oxygen you can, especially before you hit the upslope. You'll find you have far more sustainable power going over that hill.

One more thing: don't take it too fast. Get a good steady aerobic pace going but never give it all you've got. The more hills you climb the better your speed and endurance will become.

[Longhorn]

4. I'm glad to know this. Thanks!

I'm a real huffer and puffer but I don't feel out of breath. I noticed on my ride this weekend that my breathing was in perfect rhythm with my pedaling and I felt great! I wasn't doing it on purpose but I was breathing harder in advance of hills, too, though I think it was out of anticipation. Maybe my body knows something that my brain doesn't! :D

[fortyfeetunder]

5. Envision cutting butter as you pedal

my two pennies worth:
I live in a hilly area, and my house is on top of a hill. I try to envision a soft gliding pedaling, like my feet are cutting through a block of butter. My breathing slows down and I am focusing on pedaling...
it seems to work...

[robertarctor]

6. Be sure to gear down ...

Assuming your bike has more than one gear, switch down to one that takes less effort to cycle, even if it's a so-called granny gear. And remember to think of your feet rotating the crank in a circular motion, rather than pushing it in a piston-like up-and-down motion (my wife, a former bike messenger in D.C., hipped me to that one, and it really works). As for breathing, going to a lower gear should keep you from getting severely winded. And make sure to drink lots of water, and eat enough carbs to keep from bonking midway uphill.

I ride up hills here in Sacramento; the upper three miles of the American River Parkway bike trail below Folsom Dam are pretty much straight uphill. And we sometimes ride in the Sierra foothills, which can be quite steep. Which is to say that I've tested the above, and it works for me. Hope it helps.