roflmao147

im 5''11 and weigh 11 stone (150 pounds) i have been cycling since last year, and recently joined a club, to start racing against people my own age, instead of just training with my 40 year old neighbours, who during the winter months forget about cycling, where as i train on myself. as of now, i am averaging 18 mph over 30 miles +. and my cadence is averaging around 100 over any distance. but there are a few things i would like to find out about, should my cadence be so high, i do not feel comfortable at a cadence of 90 or below, especially climbing, and i cant increase my cadance as i am in lowest gear for most of the steep hills were i live in northern ireland. so shud i start doing squats with weights to build thigh muscles or get a lower gearing, or shud i just grind through the hills at a cadence of 80 or 90 until my legs do get stronger. another topic is heart rate, my heart rate is averaging around 180 - 185 for training, and the highest i haveseen my heart rate at is 205, all out effort, is this correct for my heigh, age etc. and finaly, my weight, i have seen on other threads, someone said we are all to fat for this sport, but should i be considering losing weight,as i have got a bit of a gut that i wudnt mind replacing with a six pack btw i have finished growing. i would like to thank anyone who replies with a viable response, on one or all of the topics stated.

ericm979

If you have visible body fat you could lose it and get a performance gain up hill.

For the rest, don't worry about your cadence or HR. You are fine. You don't need to do squats. Just get lower gearing and ride more.
That last would take care of the gut as well.

roflmao147

my lowest gear is 34-25, im thinking of going 27 for the cassette, this should raise my climbing cadence to around 100 at the same speed? would i be correct in thinking so?

climber7

if you're 5'11'' and 150 pounds, you can't possibly have too much of a gut. just keep riding, eat well, and do some core work if you like.

i think the right cadence is whatever feels comfortable, so go with what works for you. 80-90 rpm certainly isn't "grinding" up hills, but there's nothing wrong with gearing down and spinning faster if you want. if you feel like you want more power and want to do some strength training, then squats (WITH GOOD FORM) and lunges will help, but they aren't necessary. just riding will get you there, too.

if your max HR is about 205, then 180-185 seems a little high for training rides. that corresponds to about 88-90% of your max. for comparison, i usually average around 75-80% of my max for base training rides. i don't know how hard you're pushing yourself and you're really the only one who can determine your workout intensity, but make sure some of your rides are at a more relaxed pace to allow your body to recover.

merlinextraligh

Gearing is always going to be a personal thing, given your fitness, your terrain, and your preferred cadence. That said, I think you're likely to find if you can't turn over the 34/25 you're likely not going to be competitive racing, unless we're talking some seriously steep stuff.

Also, it's normal for most people's cadence to be a bit lower climbing. So a cadence in the low 80's wouldn't be consider too low on a steep climb for most folks.