Power to the people
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Dig Deep Coaching's Dan Fleeman is a former national hill climb champion (Pic: Adam, via Flickr Creative Commons)
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Hill reps are an effective way to improve your climbing prowess
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Extended daylight hours and improved weather make it easier to get out on the bike for a quick loop
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If you are training for a hill climb, aim for short, intense sessions, whereas if you are training for a hilly sportive or race then look for volume (Pic: Tejvan Pettinger, via Flickr Creative Commons)
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British climbs are shorter than their European counterparts, so you have to use your imagination to make the most of your time in the hills (Pic: Anothony Pease)
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Training with power might still be reasonably expensive, but it's by far the best metric for measuring your effort
Power to the people
If you are to accurately pace your hill repeats – and ensure you don’t blow up before you’ve completed the session – then using your training zones will help you do that, and Fleeman is a strong advocate of training with a power meter.
While some riders prefer to monitor heart rate (which, of course, is more affordable), Fleeman believes that when it comes to climbing then a power meter is a valuable investment.
“With power meters you can use them effectively if you know your zones,” he says. “If you are looking to do a five-minute climb in zone four then you should just go straight into that zone [91-105 per cent of your FTP power] and hold the effort all the way up.
“With heart rate it’s a little bit different because there’s a lag. It may take you a minute to get into that zone [80-90 per cent of your max heart rate].
“That’s the downside of training for hills using your heart rate rather than a power meter.”
Now it’s time to ride!
Dan Fleeman is a former professional cyclist, two-time British hill climb champion and a director of Dig Deep Coaching
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