Mountain Bike for Her Issue 4 - Dec/Jan 2015 | Page 34

not saying every ride should be like
this, but sometimes this is exactly how
your ride should be. If you want to get
faster, then you need to start thinking
about how hard you are really pushing
yourself. Let’s be honest. Until you push
your body to the edge of its limits and
understand just how much it can really
take, your cardio improvements may be
sub-par or even non-existent. Keep that
in mind next time you are faced with a
hill.
WEIGHT TRAINING IMPROVEMENTS
A second reason your friends may
be surpassing you is weight training. Do
you lift? You should consider starting.
For a refresher on the importance of
weights training, read my article in the
September/October 2014 issue. Just
adding weight training to your routine
will automatically improve your hill
climb because stronger muscles equal
better endurance. On top of that, those
muscles can be trained to become even
stronger and more enduring.
Although more and more women
are discovering what sort of weight
training they should be doing, there is
still a strong trend for doing too many
reps with weights that are too light.
Although this has its place, and you
likely saw initial improvements, ask
yourself what happened after the first
couple of weeks. Not a lot. The body
adapts to push the weight, meaning you
don’t need to get any stronger.
My recommendation: Lift heavier
weights and always retain good form
through every rep. Challenge yourself
w ]HX]