Riding with hubbie

[giant rock]

I have been riding my mtb for the last month about 2-3 times a week and my husband has just got on his mtb yesterday and gets up hills better than me. WHY??? It is so unfair though I have got my 16kilo son on the back with me but why is he better at hills than me he doesn't even get puffed unlike me. What do I need to do to get fitter and better at hills?????

 

[ley]

lol, i think its because men tend to have more testosterone and are stronger when it comes to physical doings. testosterone is a hormone that literally creates more strength and aggression in you. obviously this makes them more competitive and risk takers. they also build muscle significantly faster than we do. some women can be very strong too so dont get me wrong.

though really it also depends on the individual's fitness and wellbeing, so just because you are a male it doesn't mean you are stronger. BUT testosterone plays a big role and the male gender itself carries a bit of the reason to why they can get up the hills better than us! lol. HTH.

in terms of what to do? i get puffed out too... i think the key is to train more and transition your body to excel in your breathing patterns to improve and go that extra mile. it's like swimming, you do freestyle and start off with 1 stroke then breathe out then 2 strokes breathe out then 3 strokes then breathe out. once you train harder and harder, it will become second nature and i'm sure you won't be out of air as much.

 

[Pebble]

Yeah I used to think the same thing, I rode just about every day back then, hubby only came for a ride on rare occasions, but still seemed to be as fit as me.
Maybe it's just your competetive nature kicking in, maybe they just don't show it as much when they're puffed? I don't know, but he was heavier than me (so more body & muscle mass compared to bike weight equals more power?) and he also beat me in the "no pedalling rolling down the hill" thing.

 

[giant rock]

One thing that I do know is that I kept getting away from him on the flats then maybe he was just taking in the sites. I shall train more and my aim is to fly up the hills and leave him for dead lol.

 

[Azerin]

i was allways under the impression women were much better suited to long distance running etc than men. but id be happy if guys could take back that mantle
is your husband a marathon runner or anything like that because if so that may be why he's better at hills and what not

 

[giant rock]

I would have to say that my husband is not a marathon runner or anything like that. He is however an interstate truck driver that does not get enough exercises. Yet my goal has been set to leave him for dead on those hills not matter what lol.

 

[Pebble]

Easiest solution would be to make him ride with the kid on the back

 

[giant rock]

Yes it would be the easiest way just that the seat is set up on my bike and I ride with our son on the back more than him. Plus our son is what I call my little resistance lol... I just have to get out their a lot more, but have been thinking about buying a road bike to strengthen me up also not sure what do you think???

 

[Pebble]

Noooo not a road bike!

I must say though sometimes it is nice just riding along the road, you get into a rythm. Although true or not I've heard that mtb k's on a bike require twice the effort of road k's - so to do the same amount of physical workout you'd have to ride twice as many k's on a road bike!

If you've got a shortish steep (challenging) hill near you then riding up that regularly, trying to get to the top without getting off, then trying to get up top in a bigger gear, is a good way of building up your fitness - I haven't done that sort of thing for a long time now and my fitness is certainly lacking.

I did the whole kid on the back thing too mind you we have two kids so we had a rack (& beto seat) set up for each bike.

 

[Techno Destructo]

As a guy reflective on what our sex (uh, meaning the MALE side of the equation) is like, it might have to do with a few different things:

Possibly he has better technique on the hills?

• Seated riding is MUCH more efficient than out-of-the-seat riding. You go through your energy reserves much faster when you're up off the seat.
• The line he takes when riding up, if it's a technical trail, may be much more efficient/easier than the one you choose, meaning he uses less energy
• Again, if it's a technical uphill, the little riding techniques like popping the front wheel over obstacles so there's no collision/resistance, and getting your butt off the seat at the exact right moments (like when your rear wheel hits a bump/resistance) make a difference too.

If you get these techniques wired, you'll find your hill climbing will get a lot easier, faster, and you'll have much more energy left over after the climb. You might also get the competitive edge on your riding partners as well!

The other reason why he may always beat you and seem like he's done it easier is purely out of male ego. Many guys hate to be beaten by other people, and ESPECIALLY women in particular! So it can't be just being faster than you, but it also means trying to look like it "ain't no thang" either, which means he may be exhausted, but trying to control breathing and such so he doesn't show it.

And, as said before, guys generally have more "power" than girls. Olympics show this pretty well. The average scores/times between men and women always differ. If they were the same, then most events would be "mixed".

Now, endurance and agility are different matters entirely!

 

[Ozchuck]

G'day, I feel a little guilty on your forum, but I'll just say something quick and scoot:

As a lady, you've got probably 15-25 kilograms of muscle, pulling probably 60-70 kilograms of body up the hill. add your 16 kilo son onto that... plus the bike...

Your hubby is probably 30 kilograms of muscle tugging 70-80 kilos minus the son.

I'm going to ignore the more complicated questions of endurance and cardio efficiency and such, because your hubby has you pretty outclassed in this way, and neither of you are particularly special athletically.
The main problem is probably the fact you're carrying 16 kilos of dead weight, which is basically the difference between an obese rider and a fit rider.
you're carrying more weight with less muscle.

Men just naturally carry more muscle. it used to be REALLY useful when we had to actually go hunt food with rocks and beat up other men all the time, but in the modern era, testosterone has become pretty useless. (at least in rich countries like ours).
In your case, throwing the son onto hubbies bike will probably even things out.

 

[giant rock]

Okay so now I have been riding both the road and MTB and must say I love them both as they are just in the shed and I can get either one out when I want. Checked some road racing last Friday night seen a couple of crashes and hubby says that it is tooo dangerous and says that I am not to do the road racing thing... I am slowly very slowly getting faster and climbing hills a little bit easier not much but a little. I still get puffed very quickly and am contemplating on changes to clipless pedals. I must train more but must say I am hating the 16 kilos on the back as it kills and I have to get off and walk some of these hills as you can not get any speed up before approaching some of them. Going to look at some MTB racing as everyone seems to be calm, cool and more relaxed. Just out for fun and a laugh. Must say my social skills can be pretty bad when meting others not know what to say react or do sometimes but I will overcome it haahha.....

 

[monc]

I highly recommend going with clipless pedals, soo much easier to be effective pedalling uphill, and gives more control with obstacles. Just make sure they're set pretty loose while you're getting used to them, and I'd advise having a practice without jnr on the back.

good luck

 

[ley]

hmmm all this talk and people recommending to go clipless has got me thinking... im slightly worried as i dont know how i would manage to get off suddenly or remembering im clipped in... people falling because of that scares me but i guess if it makes it easier to go uphill that would be a big help!

 

[morto1980]

hmmm all this talk and people recommending to go clipless has got me thinking... im slightly worried as i dont know how i would manage to get off suddenly or remembering im clipped in... people falling because of that scares me but i guess if it makes it easier to go uphill that would be a big help!

It is a little worrying at first but once you ride with clipless for a while the motion of unclipping comes naturally. When I ride flats I find my feet making the swivel motion of unclipping when I hop off

Just make sure that you don't put yourself in too many risky (i.e. fall-prone) situations for the first ~20 hours of clipless riding and you'll be fine. You can always unclip one (or both) pedals if you come up to a tech section where you might need to bail - you can pedal with your heels.

 

[forgetfulfungus]

hmmm all this talk and people recommending to go clipless has got me thinking... im slightly worried as i dont know how i would manage to get off suddenly or remembering im clipped in... people falling because of that scares me but i guess if it makes it easier to go uphill that would be a big help!

you only forget and fall once and never do it again. esspecially if you do it on a road at the lights.
road bike riding is more dangerous for the training than in a race with closed off roads! the crazys out there who think their place at the lights is more important than your life are far too often popping up.
and for hilll climbing i totally agree with the sit down training, builds alot more stength. but you need a mix still. repeat hill climbing is the bomb for improved recovey time

 

[Nugs]

I have been riding my mtb for the last month about 2-3 times a week and my husband has just got on his mtb yesterday and gets up hills better than me. WHY??? It is so unfair though I have got my 16kilo son on the back with me but why is he better at hills than me he doesn't even get puffed unlike me. What do I need to do to get fitter and better at hills?????

It's because men have some sort of riding gene built into them. Welcome to my world. My bf mentions how he's unfit and then goes out and smashes a 5 hours XC ride! I've also known guys who've never mountain biked take on all sorts of technical stuff. It's not fair!