Hill Training on the Turbo...

badly_dubbed

anyone got some good advice or workouts for training for hills on the Turbo?

not looking to ascend the Huez at record pace anytime soon, most of the hills in scotland are sharp and steep which im ok on...., but on the longer drags id like to be quicker....

suggestions welcome

Trev The Rev

badly_dubbed wrote:

anyone got some good advice or workouts for training for hills on the Turbo?

not looking to ascend the Huez at record pace anytime soon, most of the hills in scotland are sharp and steep which im ok on...., but on the longer drags id like to be quicker....

suggestions welcome

Set your turbo up with the front wheel raised so you are riding in the same position on the turbo you would on the hills and try to use the same sort of cadence & force to generate the same sort of power you would on the hills - if your turbo has enough resistance.

johnboy183

Dont know about specific training vids/workouts but it has Been suggested in the past to raise your front wheel beyond level. This (I believe) simulates the muscles used in climbing. I am prepared to be shot down about this...

Edit ^^^ beat me too it just

dave35

No turbo session will simulate riding up a steep hill whilst it's cold/wet/windy, get out on the road and ride the hills close to where you live.

MarkAshton

You could try a session like this

http://www.turbotraining.co.uk/indoorCy ... php?id=943

Basically, the only real way to replicate a hill on a turbo is to ride at the cadence & power you would normally use for that particular hill.

There's nothing magical about hills. They just force you to put out more power to get up them. Big gear work is sometimes recommended, simply because it often forces you to put out bigger power.

Put simply, increase your sustainable power for the duration of the hill...

xscreamsuk

I've been given a plan by a coach specifically for hill climbing events. It surprised me that no hill climbing was involved, but it hasn't half made me better at hills! I love them on club runs now, it's basically been cadence work and various different intervals over about a 6 week period. Also had me doing some flat out sprints in big gears, I certainly know I've worked hard when a session is complete.

Trev The Rev

xscreamsuk wrote:

I've been given a plan by a coach specifically for hill climbing events. It surprised me that no hill climbing was involved, but it hasn't half made me better at hills! I love them on club runs now, it's basically been cadence work and various different intervals over about a 6 week period. Also had me doing some flat out sprints in big gears, I certainly know I've worked hard when a session is complete.

Sounds like you have increased your sustainable power then. Did you do any hills on club runs during the 6 week period?

badly_dubbed

dave35 wrote:

No turbo session will simulate riding up a steep hill whilst it's cold/wet/windy, get out on the road and ride the hills close to where you live.

cant get out, its crap outside and i have nightshift tonight....hence why i bought a turbo... :roll:

did a session similar to what one poster suggested, rode at a level barely sustainable with plenty resistance for 2x15mins with a 10min warm up, 5min rest in-between and 5min cool down, have a tacx satori so theres ample resistance on tap....was good, better than not riding at all anyway

heres data for the session if anyones interested, maybe someone that can break it down better could comment?


HR too low? cadence to low? etc...

xscreamsuk

Trev The Rev wrote:

xscreamsuk wrote:

I've been given a plan by a coach specifically for hill climbing events. It surprised me that no hill climbing was involved, but it hasn't half made me better at hills! I love them on club runs now, it's basically been cadence work and various different intervals over about a 6 week period. Also had me doing some flat out sprints in big gears, I certainly know I've worked hard when a session is complete.

Sounds like you have increased your sustainable power then. Did you do any hills on club runs during the 6 week period?

Yep power has increased according to turbo stats, as has cadence both on rides and max I can hit. Did a month of stuff for TT training before the hill stuff started as well.

Er yep, one club run per week, and my commute has hills although I only used that for warm up. I commuted less by bike to let me train properly.

What I should have said was that hill repeats were not involved. Our flat club runs have about 3500 feet of climbing, the hilly ones 5000 plus into the Peak, so they can't be avoided.

dave35

I do nights aswell-horrid things.
High gear low cadence would be of some benefit,have a look at the Spinervals hills dvd-annoying but quite good-you may even be able to see the session in writing on their website

badly_dubbed

dave35 wrote:

I do nights aswell-horrid things.
High gear low cadence would be of some benefit,have a look at the Spinervals hills dvd-annoying but quite good-you may even be able to see the session in writing on their website

Nightshift ruins everything lol

I will check those out cheers!

Slack

Just increase the resistance and lower the cadence a wee bit to simulate a hill. It still won't be the same, as you won't be engaging your core, as you would do out on the road.

bigpikle

regular 2x20's as described above (a level that should have you just about finishing the 2nd interval and very glad its over!) done a couple of times a week for a few months will have you climbing hills/mountains like never before! Road or turbo is your choice...

Herbsman

Set the turbo up on the stairs (facing upwards of course) - this will simulate a short but steep climb. You can improve your descending skills by setting it up facing downwards.

twotyred

I've been given a plan by a coach specifically for hill climbing events. It surprised me that no hill climbing was involved, but it hasn't half made me better at hills! I love them on club runs now, it's basically been cadence work and various different intervals over about a 6 week period. Also had me doing some flat out sprints in big gears, I certainly know I've worked hard when a session is complete

I bet its made you a better TTer, and sprinter as well. Sounds like a good balanced plan to make you a better all round cyclist and being better at hills is just part of it. I reckon a lot of coaches give amateurs a standard plan safe in the knowledge that, no matter what the customer tells them they want to be better at, that just regular structured training structured will improve them overall including getting better at sprints, hills, TTs or whatever else their customer tells them they want to get better at. Trust me I've been there.

However I do agree that to get good at hills you don't need to ride them, just improve your power delivery for the amount of time it takes you to get up the hills you want to get up.

Herbsman- no one's laughing so why don't you s*d off if you've nothing constructive to say.

xscreamsuk

twotyred wrote:

I've been given a plan by a coach specifically for hill climbing events. It surprised me that no hill climbing was involved, but it hasn't half made me better at hills! I love them on club runs now, it's basically been cadence work and various different intervals over about a 6 week period. Also had me doing some flat out sprints in big gears, I certainly know I've worked hard when a session is complete

I bet its made you a better TTer, and sprinter as well. Sounds like a good balanced plan to make you a better all round cyclist and being better at hills is just part of it. I reckon a lot of coaches give amateurs a standard plan safe in the knowledge that, no matter what the customer tells them they want to be better at, that just regular structured training structured will improve them overall including getting better at sprints, hills, TTs or whatever else their customer tells them they want to get better at. Trust me I've been there.

However I do agree that to get good at hills you don't need to ride them, just improve your power delivery for the amount of time it takes you to get up the hills you want to get up.

Herbsman- no one's laughing so why don't you s*d off if you've nothing constructive to say.

Yep it's helped me no end. Final hill climb was yesterday and I actually quite enjoyed it, and the plan has certainly made me much quicker up the hills. Next task is to loose some more weight!

Herbsman

twotyred wrote:

Herbsman- no one's laughing so why don't you s*d off if you've nothing constructive to say.

How about you sod off if you've no sense of humour?

Unless you're a forum moderator I'd wind your neck in if I were you.

badly_dubbed

i was just about to try it.....but the turbos not the best at rolling down stairs...

:P

badly_dubbed

pretty good hill training though...cos its a brutal to cycle upstairs with it attached.......cheers!!