Fitness

Should I stretch between sets?

I cycle to and from work each day, and the last bit of the route back to my house is a steep hill. I’ve been doing it for almost a year now and the hill doesn’t seem to be getting any easier. Why isn’t my fitness improving each time I do it?
Obi Terika, London

Matt Hart replies: First, are you sure the hill isn’t getting any easier? You may find that your perception of exertion hasn’t changed, but if you were to time yourself from bottom to top have you improved over time? If you haven’t, you could try varying the intensity of your daily rides, so that you ride hard up the hill on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and easy on Tuesday and Thursday. The ‘light’ days will help you to recover physically and mentally, enabling you to push harder on the other days.

You might want to look at your nutrition too. Make a point of eating foods that are high in carbohydrate and low in fat because this has been proven to enhance high-intensity endurance performance.