Tricks to make getting into biking shape less painful?

April 5, 2010 2:27 PM

Single-speed bike. Lots of hills. Out of shape girl. What can I do to make this better?

I know I'm just going to have to suffer for a while on the hills in my Baltimore neighborhood, but is there anything I can do to make the 'getting in shape' period easier? Any stretches or quick exercises or similar that I can do either while I'm off the bike or just before I go for a (right now, just 2-3 mile each way) ride?

posted by youcancallmeal to Health & Fitness (24 answers total)

Response by poster: Also: I have access to a gym and am *not* going to get a bike with gears.
posted by youcancallmeal at 2:29 PM on April 5, 2010

Don't feel bad about getting off the bike and walking it up the steep hill. Go as long as you can manage (give it a good go) and then just dismount and walk it up the rest of the way. Plus, remember that you can stand up on the pedals and use your arms to pull yourself down onto them, transfer some of the work to your arms. Pushing yourself a little bit further when you're up for it will pay off in the long run.

Remember to take stairs as often as possible otherwise, that exercise is also helpful to get the legs in shape.
posted by lizbunny at 2:33 PM on April 5, 2010

just be sure to be careful and take it slow at first...if the hill is too high, walk the bike up it, in a week or so, try jogging it up...in another week or so, you should be fine to ride it up.
posted by sexyrobot at 2:35 PM on April 5, 2010

When I finally hunkered down to get in shape recently, and started doing chin-ups, I couldn't even do one without leaving my feet on the ground. Six attempts later (over the course of three weeks) I can do five in a row, completely off the ground.

The point being, you don't really have to do anything different beyond trusting yourself. Your body will catch up very quickly provided you're eating right and doing it regularly.
posted by davejay at 2:53 PM on April 5, 2010

You might want to change your bike's rear cog to something a little larger, so you'll have an easier gear ratio. It shouldn't be too expensive, and you can swap back to your original cog once you're in better shape.

Your friendly local bike shop can help figure out exactly what size you need, and even install it for you.
posted by flod at 3:02 PM on April 5, 2010 [3 favorites]

If you want a technical solution to a human problem, swapping bike components (e.g., easier gears, lighter wheels, smoother-rolling tires) might help.
posted by box at 3:07 PM on April 5, 2010

Geared bikes exist for a reason. Even a 3-speed internally-geared hub will do wonders for you. But if you try to use the same gear for ascending and descending, you will kill your knees on the way up, and you won't be able to go very fast on the way down.

I ride a single speed bike in Chicago, and it's OK. But I've also been to Seattle, and anything less than a compact double with 9 or 10 gears is kind of painful. I see a lot of people walking their single-speed bikes in Seattle, which pretty much defeats the point of having a bike.
posted by jrockway at 3:38 PM on April 5, 2010

Best answer: Google Bike Maps might help with finding flatter routes, until you get in better shape. . .

Looks like they have some info for Baltimore. . .
posted by Danf at 3:44 PM on April 5, 2010

Best answer: If you can't consider a geared bike because of costs, flod's advice to try a new (or used) rear cog is a great idea. A bike co-op like Velicopede might be even better, as you could get spare parts cheaper and learn how to maintain your own bike at the same time.

If you are using your bike to get around, I'd agree with lizbunny and sexyrobot that you should pedal as far as you can manage, and walk your bike when needed. There is no shame in that, and you will get fitter bit by bit.

But because you may stop trying and getting sweaty when you're cycling socially or commuting to work, you also need to set aside some interval training time as suggested by liketitanic. And it doesn't have to be a hill you can manage right now, either: it can be a Massive Hill of Fail.

Two or three times a week, go out and build up a little momentum as you approach your chosen hill. (This is so you don't have to mash hard immediately from a dead stop and strain your knees.) See how far you can go on one full, keep breathing, redfaced effort. Or see how far you can go for a count of 10 or 20 or 30. Or see what house number you can pedal up to before you have to stop. These are all tangible markers you can check yourself against each time you go out. Then go to the bottom of the hill, breathe a little more, have a little water, and try again.

Don't spend more than 10-15 minutes on hill training. Even 5 minutes for your first session is fine. But do this at least twice a week and your regular hilly commuting will get easier.
posted by maudlin at 3:54 PM on April 5, 2010

Just wanted to second getting off and pushing. You'll find that you get further up the hill each time you try and there's nothing wrong with having a rest (or at least a relative rest !) as you push the last bit.

I cycle a fair bit and live at the top of a big hill. When I have a heavy load on I still get off and push (and I've lived here a long time !).

Keep at it and enjoy yourself.
posted by southof40 at 4:04 PM on April 5, 2010

Switch to fixed gear, run a little lower gear ratio, do squats. Make sure you use toe-clips or some other form of foot retention.
posted by thylacine at 5:03 PM on April 5, 2010

Before ascending the hill increase your speed as much as possible. Also, seriously consider getting a multiple-geared bike.
posted by axismundi at 5:31 PM on April 5, 2010

Yeah I agree with thylacine that you should switch to fixed gear. You don't mention the gear ratio you use right now but 42:15 is pretty normal (fwiw I run 52:18 but used to run 42:15 and I was able to make it up Seattle hills (ok not the really ridiculous ones I'll admit)). As long as you have a front brake (and use it) going down hills is not a problem, though you'll have to go down them slower than with a single speed. The advantage to fixed over ss is that with a fixed gear you're working both sets of knee/leg muscles as long as you use your legs (and your brakes) to slow and stop - the ones that work to push the crank arm forward and the ones that work to hold it back. A lot of people like to hate on fixies and ss bikes but in my opinion as long as you use brakes going down hills to avoid knee blow-outage then riding a fixie is not a bad thing. For me personally, switching to fixie actually helped my bad knees (because of the build-up of both sets of muscles) and I no longer have pain going up and down stairs.
posted by kthxbi at 6:06 PM on April 5, 2010

Response by poster: I'm not getting a geared bike for the same reason that I drive an automatic car: I don't like futzing with stuff. I'll take it over to Velocipede and see about getting a new cog, though. Thanks for the advice and making me feel like less of a wimp for walking. :)
posted by youcancallmeal at 6:06 PM on April 5, 2010

Also, if it matters, after switching to fixie and riding seattle hills I dropped 45 pounds. YMMV. People tend to like that kind of stuff. I sure did. It was a bitch at first, no denying that, but it's so totally worth it (building up those leg muscles).
posted by kthxbi at 6:08 PM on April 5, 2010

2-3 miles? Yeah, just walk it if it gets to be too much. Call it cross training. (Which it is.) It'll get easier later.

In your neighborhood, it's not too bad (better than The Hill mid to downtown.) Just give yourself time.

I've heard conflicting things about the value of stretching and warming up, so I guess just do what feels better.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 6:09 PM on April 5, 2010

Response by poster: CHT: I live at the top of the hill in Hampden. Every place I go is downhill which means that I have to go back up it to go home. Hence the trouble.
posted by youcancallmeal at 6:25 PM on April 5, 2010

Best answer: as people have said, lower your gear ratio. this will make it easier to accelerate and climb hills but will lower your top speed. who cares, you're probably not spinning out your gear anyway (pedaling as fast as you can and wishing you could go faster).

getting a larger cog (rear) will have a bigger impact than getting a smaller chainring (front), and be cheaper. how many teeth do your chainring and cog have? i'd say a good ratio for a girl in a hilly area would be something like 46x19, or 65.4 gear inches (assuming 27" tires and 170mm cranks).
posted by nathancaswell at 7:27 PM on April 5, 2010

Every place I go is downhill which means that I have to go back up it to go home. Hence the trouble.

So, it's not a matter of being late to where you're going, only of coming back. ;)
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 7:27 PM on April 5, 2010

By comparison, kthxbi's 42x15 ratio is 75.6 inches. Big difference.
posted by nathancaswell at 7:30 PM on April 5, 2010

I once lived at the top of a pretty steep hill while bike commuting and I actually grew to like it. In the morning when I was always late and sleepy I could just roll down the hill. On the way home I would get a workout. It was a gradual progression from stopping half way, to making it all the way up but standing on the pedals, to gradually remaining seated the whole way up the hill. Kind of a nice way to end the day. You come home all pumped up and you can feel that you've progressed. Hang in there, in other words.
posted by PercussivePaul at 8:01 PM on April 5, 2010

Also for the sake of your knees, you should go for a smaller gear ratio until you get stronger and can spin up the hill in a larger gear. Take it one step at a time!
posted by scalespace at 8:58 PM on April 5, 2010

One thing that people havent mentioned is what you are wearing during your commute and how your load is distributed.

Wearing appropriate clothing (assuming you can change if not actually shower at work) makes a ton of difference in your ride, and I strongly suggest you get toe clips or SPD pedals if you do not have them yet. I just got a new bag and it is making a world of difference as far as load distribution and general comfort (as well as snazziness) are concerned.
posted by BobbyDigital at 7:53 AM on April 6, 2010

If you are riding the same 2-3 mile ride, and doing it frequently, it can be hard to get yourself in shape. From personal experience, I think there are two main aspects to getting in shape on the bike: picking some times to ride longer and/or harder than your "usual" amount, and then--and this is essential--giving your body time to recover and build strength and fitness.

So, to apply this to your situation, if you are regularly riding 2-3 miles, pick a day to ride a bit further and harder: 5 miles? 10 miles? Then take a day or two either off the bike, or just spinning easy on flat terrain before getting back into your regular routine.
posted by alb at 8:10 AM on April 6, 2010