April 16, 2020

For many of us, indoor riding is our only option right now, however, that shouldn't stop us from training or improving our fitness and ability to get faster, and climb harder. So who better to help us than the UK National Hill Climb Champion and Band of Climbers Ambassador Ed Laverack. Here, Ed gives us his favourite 3 indoor riding sessions to climb faster.

 

 

Ed's 3 Favourite Sessions to Climb Faster

1. Supermans Cape

This is a 30 minute block which aims to push us above threshold and build power and strength through limiting the recovery period. To do this session :

  1. Ride a 10 minute gradual warm up
  2. Ride 60 seconds at 110% of FTP (or above threshold if not working to power)
  3. Rest for 30 seconds at 65% of FTP
  4. Repeat those 60 second / 30 second intervals 20 times
  5. Cool down for 5-10 minutes 

2. Zone 3 Over and Unders

This is a steady state effort session with over threshold intervals thrown in to push the legs to work hard for a short period, building the body's ability to climb faster. This session can be ridden at Tempo, Sweetspot or at Threshold, before hitting the over and under intervals.

  1. Ride a 10 minute gradual warm-up
  2. Ride 10 minutes at Tempo/Sweetspot/Threshold (your choice)
  3. At the end of the 10 minutes go straight into over unders
  4. Ride 30 seconds above threshold
  5. Rest for 30 seconds
  6. Repeat those 30 seconds on/off 4 times
  7. Ride at rest pace for 5 minutes
  8. Then repeat the above blocks 2 more times
  9. Cool down for 5 minutes

3. Empty the tank

The name says it all. This is not a session to take lightly. Ed advises we have a day or two without riding before taking on this session. It's designed to push the body way beyond its comfort level, riding for 40 minutes over threshold. To perform it:

  1. Ride a gradual warm-up for 10 minutes
  2. Ride 8 minutes at 105% of FTP 
  3. Ride at 50% of FTP for 8 minutes to recover
  4. Repeat those 8-minute intervals 5 times
  5. Cool down for 5 minutes

Ride with us - #BoCATHOME

We would love to see you try these sessions at home, and share them on social media. Take a photo while you're riding these and share it with the hashtag #BoCATHOME so we can give you some kudos.

Also JOIN OUR STRAVA CLUB and post your rides on there using the #BoCATHOME and ride title. 

Thanks again to Ed for producing this video and giving us his tips. You can subscribe to Ed's excellent YouTube Channel here.

 

 

 


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