- Here's a question we get asked a lot at GCN.
How do you train for mountains
when you've got none near you?
- Yeah, it is a very good question
and one that lots of you are gonna be asking
given that you've probably entered sportives
or Gran Fondos with huge mountains in them.
And, in fact, we have too,
we've got the Maratona dles Dolomites coming up.
The good news, there are plenty of ways
to train for mountains if you don't live near any.
(grinding guitar music)
- Firstly then, let's have a think about
the demands that a long climb places on us,
and essentially it's very simple.
A long climb forces you to ride hard
for an extended period of time.
There's often no chance to freewheel,
not much chance to take a break
unless you physically stop at the side of the road.
So, training for long climbs is also quite simple.
You need to find a way of pedalling hard
for a long time without any rest.
- Tip number one, then, is to find a long road
or a circuit with no interruptions,
and by interruptions we mean traffic lights
or junctions or even heavy traffic,
but then it's also things like sharp corners
and steep descents.
Anything really that would mean you have to stop pedalling.
- When I want to train for long climbs
I've got a local 10K circuit that I ride anti-clockwise.
That means that any time I get to a junction
I've at least only got to look in one direction.
Anyone living in a country where you drive
on the right-hand-side though
should therefore choose a clockwise circuit.
My circuit does have some undulations
but the descents are steady and straight enough
that I can still maintain desired power through the pedals.
- One thing I wish I'd done though
is better utilise some of the terrain next to my house,
because local to me there is an abundance
of fire roads and gravel roads like this one
which all link up,
and that's perfect because there's no junctions
and of course there's no traffic as well.
Plus, you've got the extra resistance off-road
which perfectly mimics the kind of resistance and power
that you're gonna have to put out
when you're on a longer climb.
So, it's easy to do 30 minute intervals
or even longer than that.
So, if you've got loads of gravel roads near you,
definitely worth a consideration.
- They're also epic, Dan, aren't they?
- Yeah, black and white, my gravel roads.
- Possibly even better than that though is indoor training.
Where better to replicate the demands of a long climb
where you can't stop pedalling than on an indoor trainer
where there are no interruptions
and nothing to stop you putting the power down.
Then added into that fact is that
you can simulate a gradient.
So, many trainers will have adjustment
to increase the resistance,
and particularly the latest batch of smart trainers
where they will do it automatically
and where, if they are simulating an eight percent gradient,
it really does feel like an eight percent gradient.
Then pair it up with something like Zwift
and you can train on long climbs to your heart's content.
Another option is to give yourself
some extra resistance on the road.
Now, that could be riding around with your brakes on,
although that's not something we particularly recommend,
but it could also be wind.
That's right, a headwind.
Although often incredibly annoying,
they can actually be used to improve your climbing.
So, if you ride into one for half an hour
you're gonna be putting out some big watts
at pretty low speed, just like climbing.
- There is though a modern alternative
to holding your brakes on, and it's called an AIRhub,
a device we've actually seen a number of pros
using over the last couple of years in training.
It's a front hub which allows you to choose
how much extra resistance it gives you,
say, for example, an extra 200 watts,
and so that allows you to put loads of power
through your pedals without picking up much speed,
safely enabling you to train for long climbs
on flat road.
Now, for a lot of you,
it's gonna take all of the fun out of cycling
but if you're really serious about training
for mountains on flat road
it's certainly a viable option,
although you could just use wind still.
- So, once you've found a way of putting
power through the pedals for extended periods of time,
what sort of training should you actually be doing?
Well, wait for it, sweet spot, that's right.
Technically, sweet spot is defined
as being that zone between 83 and 97 percent
of your functional threshold power.
So, to put it into context, if your FTP is 250 watts
then you should be holding somewhere between
about 204 to 240 watts.
- Yeah, this really is the perfect intensity
because it allows you to do extended blocks
of maybe half an hour, an hour, or maybe even more,
but also do those blocks on back to back days,
because it's not as fatiguing as training
at or above your FTP.
But it's still a very potent form of training
which should push your FTP up.
- Yep, and that is exactly what you want
from your climbing training.
If you put your FTP up and you keep your weight the same,
you will climb faster.
That is pretty much science.
And then, of course, the fact that most of the riding
you'll be doing on your climbs
will probably be about sweet spot intensity,
it's actually a really specific way of training as well.
- So, those are our tips for training for long climbs
when you've got none near you,
but we would love to hear if you've got any
tried and tested methods of doing exactly the same thing.
Leave them in the comments section down below
for us and for others to read.
- Yep, then your next thing you should do
is make sure you subscribe to GCN.
To do it, just click on the globe, it is completely free.
And then some more videos too that may well help you
on your quest to climb long climbs.
Firstly is finding out how much difference
body weight makes to your climbing speed,
that one's just up there, and then, if you need to,
how to lose weight through cycling,
that one is just down there.