Getting Up and Down Hills with Efficiency on Your Expresso Bike

I use the Expresso HD Bike at my local YMCA right here in North Kingstown. I love riding this particular exercise bike because it is easy to use, it has helped me lose a ton of weight, and it is actually a lot of fun to use. Expresso HD Bikes are interactive exercise machines that have a virtual reality screen that features you on your bicycle riding straight roads, up steep hills, and down long, winding curved hills. You can experience a truly interactive workout with an Expresso Bike. If you are unfamiliar with this bike, ask a YMCA staff member to show you how to use one.

One of the features I really like on the Expresso HD Bike is the hill climbing and downhill training aspect of the program. If you ride outdoors, rarely if ever do you find a course that is completely flat and devout of hills. The hill training on the Expresso bike can really help your cycling outdoors. One of the most important things to remember when you are going up and down hills is the pace or RPMs. Here is what I do to keep pace on the hills.

When I ride straightaways on the Expresso HD bike or climb a steep hill or traverse down a mountain, I am always keeping an eye on my pace. There is an RPM or revolutions per minute gauge on the bike right underneath your speedometer. I like to keep my pace between 60 and 80 RPMS, whether I am going up hill, down hill, or just on flat ground. This way, my legs are not working too hard to keep up the pace. By maintaining your pace, you tend to exert less energy on hills and have that extra bit if you need it later on in a long ride. Use the gears to shift up and down to keep yourself at a comfortable pace for your fitness level. I really believe if you use proper pace, your workout session will improve and in turn, your ability to go up and down hills will become more efficient.