Whether you've won the Tour de France or you're trying to beat your local climb, there's always room to improve your climbing. Hank and Manon show you their most effective drills and sessions to help you become a better climber, and conquer those hills!
Chapters:
0:00 - Intro
2:01 - Before You Drill
2:35 - 20/40s
3:46 - Hill Reps
4:36 - Overgeared Efforts
5:41 - Surges On A Climb
6:48 - Out Of The Saddle Efforts
7:40 - Attack Over The Top
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What's your favourite climbing drill? 🚵
Drinking beers with Llody
Climbing the stairs
My daily routine is all uphill anyways; it's pretty much just "embrace the suck" and "dodge the trucks" 😂... Cheers from Colombia.
Climb??!! For God sake I only do flat rides😀.
Try to create a route with as much vertical feet in the shortest ride possible. Then keep trying to beat it.
Hats off to the lorry overtaking Manon at 3:39. Super wide pass. ❤
Not a usual occurrence on that climb. They usually sit the behind all the way up at 8mph or do that for a while then pick a really stupid place and close pass as there is a vehicle coming the other way.
It shows that drivers in the UK have respect for cyclists. Unfortunately, it's not the case here in Kazakhstan. Usually, drivers pass me less than meter away and even honk sometimes(
Or he clocked the camera on the back of the motorbike ahead so thought it best to be good 👍 🤔
@@Matvey. they are just trying to give you a good draft benefit, and a friendly "hello" (sic). :D
@@Matvey. Well i did that to not on a hill but on an older road quite narrow with next to no shoulder, issue is with a truck you have very bad acceleration and curves and blind spots makes passing safely damn hard, and no i am not in the UK.
Hated climbing at first but I now find the challenge fun. Not always easy but I just love the feeling on getting to the top and sweat.
It never gets easier you just get faster 💨
Hank is an inspiration to all if us who rely on nothing other than enthusiasm, guts and grit to get up the hills and to enjoy riding the miles.
There are two things that have made big improvements to my climbing abilities, and they are doing standing intervals on the indoor trainer, and core workouts at the gym. I live in an pretty flat city though (Toronto), so the climbs are are really not too difficult
that "ouch" when Manon stood up @2:00...we can all relate to that lol
Overgeared is my go-to climbing drill... With my slowest gear being a 42 front and a 24 tooth rear, overgeared is the default way to tackle any hill steeper than about 5% for me 😀
Choose increasingly steeper hills for as long as you can hold zone 3. If you can generate the power, you'll increase your speed over time to your limit. I got to the point that I could climb 7% at 17 mph and then age caught up with me. Now I climb at 6 mph. But if I could do that at 65 with damaged lungs, anyone could.
Watched it few times to get all those scenarios into my head...Well done & very thoughtful insights :) Thanks :)
I've not long started doing out of the saddle training, I'm now up to one minute and keeping a heavy gear & speed, my wife comes out with me on her etrike and acts as pace maker.
Thanks chaps , that’s a brill work out , tell you what the lorry driver was a real plonker on that road !!. Keep it up GCN ❤🎉🎉
GCN is climbing all the way to my Heart. Love you guys
hahahaha our pleasure 🙌 Are you a climbing fan?
I've hated climbing at first. But I've discovered that I could just dance it all the way. I just match my cadence with my breathing. I don't usually put a lot of power while climbing this way, I only use my body weight.
Yeah, I sort of accidentally/subconsciously found this rhythm too! :)
finding your rhythm is so important 🙌
It's funny because I do the opposite : when I realize my breathing is aligned with my cadence, I force it to desynchronise. The reason is not based on solid knowledge but on the impression that always breathing out when the same foot is pushing down might lead to some effort imbalance between left and right. I do get the "dancing" feeling though.
Hank riding a rim brake bike just like Ritchie Porte its definitely catching on great content as usual.
Who needs Discs when climbing?😂
If it's good enough for Ritchie it's good enough for Hank 🙌
@@gcn Sounds like his BB needs some love though... bit of a creak there. It's his old race bike isn't it?
Thank you for mentioning Florida 😊 the bridges is all we have, I mountain bike for Adventure Races and some states have mountains and hills that I am never ready for, thank you for the advice 🫶🏽
This was outstanding!!!
Nice work! I don’t understand how you guys at GCN manage to upload a video each day in that quality. The content, editing etc. are amazing! Awesome work! =) Please make some GCN Epic Climbs again. My suggestion will be Trollstigen located in Norway. I’m heading there this summer =)
Trollstigen is amazing, have fun 👍🏻
Great video - thanks for the great content you put up. Living in Switzerland it's all about getting up the NEXT climb as well. So the easiest I find is loosing weight. While I am always the slowest on the way down (no one suffers) it's way easier to get up . And +15 kg of body weight are hard to compensate even with the lightest of bikes.
Yes, I live in Andorra so 45 min to 1 hour climbs are available. It is hard to go for a ride here and to not climb 1500 to 2000m in a single ride over only three climbs. 50kms and 2500m is very possible. To make it easier to climb, lose 5kgs! or 10kgs...
I know what you mean hills are everywhere 😂
I'm gonna try these, thanks.
Thanks guys, really nice drills… most of them already known but a couple of new one I can really make a good use of…. Many thanks!!!!
Glad we can help! Will you be getting after the climbs in summer? 👀
My best drill is riding my winter bike which happens to be on a 10-speed Campy groupset with no easy gearing options, so you automatically have to do many of these exercises by nature. Other than that it is just endurance and FTP-building efforts in Zwift, I signed up for a 27k/1700m hill-climb race later this year, so I'll probably need it.
Ive got a hill close to my house that I used to ride climbs on fairly religiously. The reps were ride up one side. Go over the top and down to where you can make a U-turn at the traffic light and ride back up for 1 rep. I saw a tip from a local cycling club that was 1 rep climb sitting cadence. 1 rep climb standing cadence - yes... all the way up standing, and then 1 rep climb sprinting ( for as long as possible. rest. repeat ). The hill on the long side was over 7 mins worth I think. It's been a while. Over the other side it was the return trip back up. However I changed up that standing cadence sometimes to this. Id start in a set gear for fairly easy spinning on that shorter ( but steeper ) side. And at roughly 1/4 intervals I'd go up a gear all the way up while still maintaining my speed as best as possible in my standing cadence. It almost always forced me to ride faster in the higher gears to keep my spinning pace up. OMG my legs burned after that rep but it helped me GREATLY!! At the top in the last gear change it usually turned into what I remember Lance Armstrong said he'd train some in - lactic acid training.
Brilliant, I'll have to go try a few of these. Love a good climb. I've set myself a challenge to get PR's on some of my local climbs this year. One of those is Frocester as used in this video, great climb unlike the little one Hank is using for his over geared efforts, that one is savage!
We hope you'll be smashing PB's soon 🙌
Great views of the Severn valley on Frocester Hill 👍
Now all i need is hills! :)
You mean smaller gear on the front… bigger gears on the front would be for speed on the flats
I enjoyed that one!
It's took me a couple of years to improve my climbing, yes I know I could just eat less but where is the fun in that 😁😁 Lots of low cadence stuff, just squeezing a bit harder rather than heading for the gears on little lumps. Climbing out of the saddle 50/50 with seated adding strangth to the calves in order to support the effort and blood flow seated requries. Pushing after the top and going down the block after the summit, just as teh guys were saying in the videa, I don't race so no need ot sprint. It's not a quick process and I've found I have to fit it into my weekday rides, so a mix of different processes within one ride. It will come just don't expect miracles overnight.
The way I got my most noticeable speed gain up hills was to switch to a bike with no lazy gearing. It's amazing how much harder you try when the only other option is dismounting and doing the uphill walk of shame 😁
By the way, if you ever find yourself in Florida looking for hills, come to Clermont! We’re the highest point in Florida! Great hilly trails perfect for cycling. A 60 mile bike ride on the trail here had me clock up 2600ft of elevation gain.
Nice practical vid! Thanks Queen of the Dragons and Son-of-Hank's-Dad!!!
I love Climbing I’m a in the Saddle climber. I’m fortunate enough to live in a area where I have very hilly loops. I live In Massachusetts so I can go little west towards J-POW’S part of the state and find some steep hills to climb 😁
I always feel for the GCN presenters when they have to do one of these "talk and climb at the same time" videos!
We wish we could get Hank to stop talking sometimes 😂
@@gcn fair point! 🤣
I’m going to Mallorca in March for 5 days of mountain cycling so this is perfect for me! Thanks 😊
Enjoy! There is some great riding around there! 🙌
@@gcn thank you
Is that Fred Dibnah I see lurking about on Hanks Chimney?
Once, while doing hill repeats, while making a u turn at the top, I was taking my vest off and clumsily let it touch my front wheel. It immediately got sucked into my front wheel/fork at which point I went right over the bars. Fortunately, since I was actively turning around I was going slow so it wasn't that dramatic by the standards of going over the bars but still, would not recommend 😁
might be the fact that i live in switzerland and basicly every ride has tons of climbs but i rly love it i love to endure pain
For a moment I thought this was going to be advice to help me climb up the stairs after a few too many beers 🍻🍺
Dan Lloyd would be best at that advice.
You mad man
This must have been why you were late this morning 🥴
Doing a race in Switzerland in September with just over 4000m of climbing. I think these drills will help a lot. Thanks GCN
Good luck! Some tough riding in Switzerland 💪
@@gcn indeed doing the mini tour des stations (inspiration from Cillian and Ollie) 🤣😅 send help 🤣
Mountain bike, small gearsets, both on the chainrings, and the cogset. A lot of low-pitched climbs long enough to equal steep, and some that are practically walls.
Love Hanks chimney
Awesome video. My only issue with climbing is I won't be doing any climbing till it warms up around March or April. On a side note since getting my Atheos hills have gotten little easier.
Hahaha yep the gravity defying Atheos! Very nice bike 🙌
And your wallet is also much lighter which helps on the climbs as well 😁 Just jokes, the Aethos is a stunner!
4:00 (steep) Manon no problem talking. Respect
Ever since I started cycling, I love climbs. What I did is climb using the big chainring at the front, and no, I don't cross chain, I choose a gear at the back that allow me to still spin even in a very low cadence.
Here in Southern Oregon, there are plenty of mountain roads to train on year around. The altitude can get high which helps to train your lungs.
I do weight training which is very beneficial for developing climbing muscles. back squats, military press, bench press, chin-ups
There is some great off the bike training to be done! Great to hear you've got your routine down 💪
You should see me climb on to this sofa. Really stunning form.
I like to climb ina low gear because it allows me to climb for long distances. Out of the saddle sprints do work with strength training.
I can attack at a speed of 146 RPM which as a noob I'm grateful for. Though I need go focus more on my cardiovascular training because I have the power true, however I can't last that long on a sprint/attack as I'd like too.
That first hill is Frocester Hill, very close to where I live, well my best up there is 12 reps, that’ll do!
I like to climb hills because there is alot of scenic roads to ride up here in Southern Oregon.
Its gear to see I'm doing things in training that people better than me recommended atm that's 7mins on a reasonable gear 2:50 standing well over geared and a 10 second full gas sprint all while aiming for above 75rpm
As a beginner with inferior strength, staying out of saddle and making the most of my body weight and gravity, as well as my arms and chest, is pretty much the only way I can get up steep climbs. Well suited for the short, ultra steep hills in the city/urban, but not so great when heading into the mountains 😅
Completely my strategy as a 6’8 270 pound meathead turned cyclist 😅🏋🏽🚴🏽♂️
During Covid I got really bored (not alone I know haha) and made myself ride up VenTop on Zwift all out of the saddle. When I got off the bike I fell on the floor. 😅
Ah nasty! Not easy is it 🥵
Rimbrakes!
@gcn Hi gcn which brand is Manon saddle bag? Please It looks great
Best drill to climb better is add 2 more hours of zone 2 to your training per week, on the flats or climbs, whatever. Repeat until over trained then back off. ;)
Florida shout-out!
Manon's bike is top tier👌
The only thing I practiced when climbing was to take them at different intensity. I feel like I was always good at going up. I think my body measures have a lot to do with it. Surprised no one mentioned measurements in the video.
Mannon, Hank, Thanks for this great video! A question for you guys: I have a very steep climb (10%-12% for about a little over .25 mile) when I leave my house for a ride, which no matter how I try, my heart rate jumps to zone 5 very quickly and that usually impacts the rest of my ride. What do suggest to lower the impact of an immediate climb at the beginning of a ride?
Hey Mohammad, I live on a 12% hill with another 3 hills out of my village. I just walk up the first hill to get going. Walk it!! 😁
@@tmilner762 I’ve thought about that, but it’s kind of a mood killer for the start of the ride 😂
Should also teach how you can talk comfortably during climbing. You make it look very simple 😁
Good inspiring vid, thanks :) But... what about the 1-2-3?! ... as in breathing in for 3 pedal strokes then breathing out for 3 strokes. Has anyone heard of it? Do most people do it subconsciously? In my admittedly limited experience of asking other cyclists these questions, the answers are almost always 'No'. Maybe this is not surprising because, although I learned about it from a magazine article 20 years ago, I can't find any reference to it nowadays. However, I've used it ever since and think it works really well. If I recall the article correctly, this is the theory: - There is an optimisation between the act of breathing (which is actually an impedes us) and the need to intake oxygen. - Unfortunately, we have only a few possible frequency options of pedal strokes per breath, but there will be an optimum frequency for a given gradient range (which will be slightly different for everyone). For me, the 1-2-3 works up to about 8% sustained gradient or maybe less than a minute at 10%. Breathing every stroke or every 2 strokes at or below these gradients is not optimal and slows me down. - It can be done in the saddle and whilst honking. - In a bit more detail, the ideal is to make the '1' a real power stroke, treat the '2' as a very slight recovery, whilst in the '3' you deliver more power again, but not so much that it compromises your next '1'. In terms of % effort, I guess you could think of it as, for example, 80%-60%-70%. - The 1-2-3 gives more even distribution of effort between the 2 sides of your body, because 3 is an odd number.
How about those rim brakes on the hills, eh? As an aside, I'd prefer hills any day to brisk head or side winds. Hills at least have summits.
Hey Manon. When did you stop riding your Orbea and get a Canyon? Do a video on your new bike. Cheers
So what's your gear of choice when you attack say if the finishing line of a race is at the top?
Remember; it never gets easier, you only go faster.
Manon: Your taillight, what brand? I also have an Aeroad and the wide seatpost makes it hard to find a suiting light for it.
I did hill repeats when I was training to climb Mount Ventoux for my 60th Birthday. Speed was not my goal, I focused on getting my brain and body used to climbing for up to two hours.
Yep, totally agree, riding up a long, steep climb requires mental strength with focus on constant pace rather than speed. If I have to stop for a breather on a climb, I analyse what went wrong, take appropriate action to correct, and return to that route on other days until I can do it non-stop. I usually find that the lessons learnt will fare well on other climbs if I assess them when planning beforehand; know your enemy before you meet them!
Being an Amputee (lower left leg), I am finding it hard to get out of the saddle. There is no foot or calf muscle to help out. It feels unbalanced and awkward. Any pointers? I'm using a Wahoo Kickr with a climbing block for the front wheel to change to a climbing geometry indoors and a Trek Checkpoint outdoors.
I'm not sure I'm of help, I'm not amputee but I actually pedal in or out of the saddle without engaging my calves (calves are fully disengaged and nearly unused). My heels drop during the downstroke as a result of this. It's my preferred / favorite way to pedal and some Pros also pedal in such way. I think what you can do is to practice pedaling with heel pointed down on your right foot so the calves on your right leg is disengaged / unused. Keep doing it until your body adapts to the technique. It might help with balance issues.
@@marksIItimewarps Thanks for the tip. I will give this a try.
I love the cars appearing during the climbs it just fuels my anxiety
I ride a recumbent trike...I have a 13 gear inch granny and wonder what drills are best for recumbents where you can't stand out of the saddle to get up the hills.
Grx 1x derailleur, 11-42 cassettes on my 105 and I am like a mountain goat
Hi, I live in North Lincolnshire - UK. Quick question; what is a "Hill"?
You talk of engaging your glutes. I’d love video/explanation at least on what role the glutes play in the cycle and how to engage them. My hamstrings are the first to go and I think that may be because my glutes just aren’t engaged and doing their part of the bargain.
Um Castelli really needs to rethink the direction of the "tassle" zips on the zipper pockets on the front of Manon's top - lets just say once you see them you can't un-see them... 07m50s
I actually find that doing drills along a relatively flat route where you can do laps without stopping, without coasting, at around your FTP is better training/conditioning for long climbs than doing multiple laps on a short climb. Because doing laps on a short climb, you often need to coast on the downhill part if the gradient is steep enough. While you can try to pedal at FTP on the downhill part, it can be dangerous, especially if vehicular traffic is present. Doing laps on routes with mild gradients at best allows you to pedal around FTP through the whole lap. You can still do out of the saddle intervals in the flats just shift to the high gears.
Just don't do ftp effort for short climb like that. You do anaerobic/full gas effort. Different training zone for different interval lengths and add variery to training.
@@benjapolcycling Yup, I do such training often as part of my weekly schedule. However, I still do road FTP sessions. Road FTP or even trainer FTP sessions is about the best way to condition your body for long climbs. It works even if you do laps on relatively flat terrain. But even if you do road FTP training on flat roads, it is still critically important to do out of the saddle intervals to nail your out of the saddle technique. While you don't need to pedal out of the saddle for long periods, doing it frequently enough even for short periods can help avoid saddle soreness on long rides and even allow some of your tired leg muscles to recover. But only as long as you're doing it correctly which can only happen with lots practice and finding out what technique works best for you.
proportion of that cranck set and drive train on that medium small aero frame was already distracting, and then the close-up of Manon’s chain ring hits the screen at first minute, displaying a 53-39 possibly the grindiest setup available considering Manon’s crancks lenght realm. 🙈🙉🙊
I'd love to be doing 70 rpm on some climbs even in my lowest gear
A year ago I laughed at the idea of recovering up a hill because I was grinding up the hills in my area in my lowest gear. How times have changed now that the same hill is a warm-up, and opener if chosen. Also, no, I did not put lower gears on my bike. I just got a better bike that actually doesn't have as low of a gear as my first one.
When I uit climbs, I always want to go above LTHR and bonk at the top xD Shouldn't do that but yeah, it's fun anyways
Without a power meter I used to use VAM on my gamin.
How do reduce intensity on something like an 8% climb without rolling backwards?
I still want to see a video of you guys doing these videos on a bike that the rest of us can afford.
Watch out for the Lorries, matey!
These are all racing drills. Just get yourself a power meter and climb the hill at your 20 minute power. The power curve on Strava will tell you what your 20 minute power is. If your 20 minute power is 200 watts then climb at 200 watts from the bottom all the way to the top. Build your power from there and look for long climbs.
I don’t do drills I just ride hills. I like to ride in the saddle, I’ll jump up to push over the crest of the hill or if its a long climb for a change off cadence and muscle use. Steeper sections I’ll push my butt to the back of the saddle and kinda roll my hips back this helps change my peddle stroke angle to feel like I’m actually pushing my power into the gradient while bringing my shoulders up and back so I’m kinda pulling back on the handlebars. Of course now with all these “granny gears” this is probably obsolete for most riders lol
I meant, “change of cadence”. Sorry
Having the ability to overpower and pass people on climbs is a lethal weapon. Climbs affect athletes not only physically but mentally, specially when they get passed on the climb and their tank is empty! They are done, if you look back you can see it in their face😂
I didn't realise it was considered harder out the saddle. Loooove this video using the overheated practice for sure and the 20 40. Personally I can already spend about 6 minutes at a time out the saddle.
does my climbing speed increases if i just ride on climbs? (in Zwift) My thinking is that if my body gets used to climbing i will automatically become better at it. or is it a waste of time 🤔 i have been Riding for a month and done Alpe du Zwift twice now 🥵
These roads look so narrow, I hope the cars behind are understanding!
climbing tips- 1) get your cadence as comfortable as possible by changing gears 2) work on your cycling fitness that's it
Are these drills effective on Zwift too?
I love how Manon was pretending to have trouble up hill at the start, then at 3:50 she's just powering up a ridiculous incline talking to camera like she's not pushing out 6 W/kg for 30 seconds.
I recently learned in a podcast of a former pro that she had to do 35rpm in overgeared sessions on climbs during their training camps
Wow. This is savage.
If it's good enough for the pros 👌
Climbing is a major issue for me, but that is because i live in the netherlands and there are no big hills.
The end of the zips on Manons jersey made it look like she’s wearing tassels! 😂
I thought exactly that too. Hope that's not inappropriate?
And that is relevant how? 🙄 Yes, inappropriate.
@@carolynheaney715 It's of very little relevance but it is mildly amusing to anyone with a puerile sense of humour. Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus!
Manon - what? An "ow" at minute 2:00? Hope you are rocking and rolling anyway. 🤕🤞
I find that climbing while mountain biking takes more torque. If I mix in a little bit of mountain biking every so often I become a more punchy climber on the road.
There is some great bike handling skills to be learnt on mountain bike climbs 🙌
Anyone know if it's possible for a complete beginner (30) to climb a 9% hill for the duration of 800m? There's a route nearby me but starts with this climb
This is definitely possible and a good test of fitness & endurance. Make sure you have gears that are comfortable on a steep incline & start off at an easy pace. I live in a hilly area and find that the right gearing and ability to go at my own pace are key. Accept that it will be tough! It gets easier with practice 😊
Reverse the route and at the end of it, after having gone down that hill, double back and try to get back up as high as you can.
My climbing got better, just hung up my 24 year old steel bike and got 8.5kg new Aluminium thing......wow.