What does this plan do?
This plan is designed to build mountain/long hill-climb specific fitness leading into a target hill climb event. After following this plan, your abilities on climbs lasting 20-40 minutes should be improved. You will also be equipped with an improved knowledge of how to pace hill climb efforts, and opportunities to work on mental toughness while digging deep on a climb.
This is achieved by targeting improvements in your threshold power (maximum wattage you can hold while lactate stays stable) and VO2max (the maximal rate at which oxygen can be take on and processed by the working muscles - a major performance determinant in hill climbing). We also spend time working on stamina while riding close to your threshold, and incorporate some near-maximal hill climb efforts so that you're mentally ready to race.
This plan includes two taper weeks, which you can select between, depending on whether your event falls on a Saturday or a Sunday.
Who is this plan for?
This plan is specifically designed for athletes building towards a target mountain/long hill climb event, where races typically last between 20-40 minutes. Ideally this plan would be started 8-weeks out from your target event.
As this plan follows a pyramidal intensity distribution, with training intensities that are tailored to your fitness level, this plan is suitable for athletes of a range of abilities, including masters athletes, provided you have completed at least 2 months of training with a volume of around 10-15H/week in the recent past.
Key Features
We believe our plans stand our from the crowd. We’ve done our very best to provide an experience that’s as close as possible to having on-hand coach support, with ample guidance on how to get the most out of our plans, and clear information on what we’re trying to achieve both session-by-session and week-by-week to keep you motivated. Our plans are grounded in science and supported by over a decade of full-time coaching experience.
This plan includes:
- A comprehensive PDF user guide, providing information on how to implement the workouts correctly and how to adapt the plan if necessary
- Structured sessions, meaning all sessions can be automatically exported to your headunit or synced to training platforms like Zwift or TrainerRoad and are ridable in ERG mode
- Each workout’s purpose and key adaptations clearly communicated, including references to scientific papers
- Notes summarising the week's training and the goals for the next training block, so that you always know where your training is heading
High North Performance is a cycling training and metabolic testing consultancy based in Harrogate, UK. We provide customised training programs and performance diagnostic services to professional and amateur athletes using both established and novel training methods, leading testing and analysis technology, as well as a scientific and strategic approach to planning and preparation.