L4 question

I wonder about this one myself. I have taken riders who have done a lot of hill training and had them do flat intervals for either pursuit or time trials and low and behold they still raced rather well on the hills.

I do try and get people with a fear of getting dropped on the hills to think of each climb as a Time Trial and to focus on riding their PB to the top. Most times this works on improving the way they approach hills.

Hamish Ferguson
Cycling Coach

I've had good results in spring hill climb TTs with only 2 previous climbing rides in the mountains. I climb seated most of the time. I found that L4 training on flat terrain close to FTP helped my climbing tremendously.

A lot of people around here just climb for climbing's sake in L2-3 while I do 1x60 or 3x20. They do the majority of their rides in the mountains while I only climb once a week and do the rest of my intervals at lower altitude on flat/rolling terrain. They do more climbing than me yet they are slower.

I would have thought that longer L5 (~8 minute) intervals would help also.

If the climbs are 10-15 minutes, this fits right in between L4 and L5 power, as opposed to FT power which is associated more generally with 1 hour durations.

Thanks for the advice, I think I will mix both hill and flat L4 intervals. I don't have a fear of being dropped, I just get dropped and then I know I need to get stronger.

Thanks.

buckhorn said:

Thanks for the advice, I think I will mix both hill and flat L4 intervals. I don't have a fear of being dropped, I just get dropped and then I know I need to get stronger.

Thanks.

What gearing do you have? (sorry if I don't use proper term) I mean 39-27 or 23?

Do you have access to the cadence number?

SolarEnergy said:

What gearing do you have? (sorry if I don't use proper term) I mean 39-27 or 23?

🙁 34- 25 (compact of course)

Do you have access to the cadence number?

Just got the PT, and haven't been on a hill ride with it yet as I am tapering for a race tom.

Thanks.

buckhorn said:

In group rides I struggle to keep up with the pack on the longer hills (10- 15 min climbs). I am 200 lbs., but at my height of 6'4", am not carrying much extra weight. If I understand power zone training, I need to do intervals in level 4 to build my FT. So the question my question is- Is all L4 work the same? If I am looking to get better on the climbs, does it matter if I train L4 on hills or flats? I assumed that to get better climbing hills, I needed to climb more hills.

Thanks.

Yes, get better at the intensity you need for those hills, but especially with your size (similar to mine) you will benefit from doing lots of the training on hills because of the effects on you of momentum and how that affects your pedaling motion and cadence.

Many, many riders, from amateurs to pros make use of strength endurance training or "SFR", low cadence on hills to help with what you describe. Good core body strength (pilates) can help you too.

WarrenG said:

Yes, get better at the intensity you need for those hills, but especially with your size (similar to mine) you will benefit from doing lots of the training on hills because of the effects on you of momentum and how that affects your pedaling motion and cadence.

Many, many riders, from amateurs to pros make use of strength endurance training or "SFR", low cadence on hills to help with what you describe. Good core body strength (pilates) can help you too.

Thanks. All of my core strength comes from swimming, but I do plan to do a medicine ball/ circuit class this winter that will help as well.