Improving Power to Weight Ratio
By Joshua D. Powers
March 2006

When looking at all of the tools necessary to be a successful cyclist one of the most difficult to obtain and master is the ability to roll over those crippling climbs faster and more efficiently than your competition. When you take all of the expensive lightweight gear away, all you have is the motor. It’s easy, however expensive, to cut weight from the bike, but most of us have far more to gain from reducing the amount of excess weight we’re lugging up the hills. Before you start pulling the brakes off your bike and throwing the bar tape on the garage floor let me clarify. I’m not talking about your seat bag or that half full bottle of water on your bike; I’m talking about that extra beer around your belly. The absolute number we need to consider is your power to weight ratio. The best climbers in the world are born rather than made. But as George Hincapie proved to the world last July, we all have the ability to improve no matter how tough the situation may be. The trick is to decrease your body weight while increasing power. This can’t be done by depriving your body of what it needs to recover but rather giving it what it requires to become efficient. The goal is to decrease adipose tissue (fat) not lean muscle mass.

Often as lean cyclists loose weight they loose power. So if you are already the type blown away by a gust of wind, increasing your fitness is the only way to improve your climbing. If you have a few pounds to loose then consider yourself lucky because you have the opportunity to improve both your body composition and your engine. The key is to increase sustainable power while decreasing or at least maintaining body mass. The time to work on your sustainable power is during the winter moths when you would rather be sitting in front of the tube eating chips and watching CSI. An increase in your sustainable power will come from a properly periodized routine and the smart execution of that plan.

The best way to increase your ability on the hills is to spend plenty of quality time with your front wheel pointed upwards. If you’re stuck on an indoor trainer, elevate your front wheel to simulate a climbing position. Early on in your periodized training incorporate gear restriction workouts while in the climbing position. After you’ve established your strength you can work on your lactate threshold with some specific climbing threshold intervals. These should be completed at a power output or heart rate at or just below your climbing lactate threshold. The goal is to increase the total time spent in your climbing LT zone. Initially you can accomplish this by completing multiple, shorter duration, intervals but as you become fitter you should increase the duration of each interval.

As stated before, pure climbers are born with the ability to fly up hills. If you’re not a born climber then it’s going to take more work, but there is always room for improvement. With a properly structured routine and some smart sweating, you’ll be looking for longer and steeper hills before too long.

Joshua D. Powers
BS Exercise Science
USAC Certified Coach
Professional Cyclist
Coach of Destination Cycling’s 2005 Destination Challenge Team Captain Kevin Mahaney

2006 Training Articles:
Base Training
Recovery
Avoiding Cramping
Improving Power to Weight Ratio

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