6 Drills To Help You Climb Better

[@gcn]

What's your favourite climbing drill? 🚵

[@xgalvan1]

Drinking beers with Llody

[@JonCannings]

Climbing the stairs

[@deimosoverkill]

My daily routine is all uphill anyways; it's pretty much just "embrace the suck" and "dodge the trucks" 😂... Cheers from Colombia.

[@petinka721]

Climb??!! For God sake I only do flat rides😀.

[@danielkeegan2049]

Try to create a route with as much vertical feet in the shortest ride possible. Then keep trying to beat it.

[@eechaze12]

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.

[@gcn]

It never gets easier you just get faster 💨

[@Rundik]

​@@gcnit does get easier if you're absolute beginner. At least it was so for me

[@davidreeson3741]

Hats off to the lorry overtaking Manon at 3:39. Super wide pass. ❤

[@The_Cotswold_Engineer]

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.

[@Matvey.]

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(

[@The_Cotswold_Engineer]

Or he clocked the camera on the back of the motorbike ahead so thought it best to be good 👍 🤔

[@Aeronwor]

@@Matvey. they are just trying to give you a good draft benefit, and a friendly "hello" (sic). :D

[@BerraLJ]

@@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.

[@kurre_kallkvist]

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 😀

[@tomkunich9401]

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.

[@fisharefriends598]

You mean smaller gear on the front… bigger gears on the front would be for speed on the flats

[@alexhugg]

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.

[@WoolyChewbakker]

Sounds great 😊 If you ever come to the UK, try the Royal Forest of Dean. 60 miles would offer up more than 6,000ft of climb 😊

[@douglaspate9314]

I enjoyed that one!

[@BertieBrink1]

Doing a race in Switzerland in September with just over 4000m of climbing. I think these drills will help a lot. Thanks GCN

[@gcn]

Good luck! Some tough riding in Switzerland 💪

[@BertieBrink1]

@@gcn indeed doing the mini tour des stations (inspiration from Cillian and Ollie) 🤣😅 send help 🤣

[@santiagobenites]

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

[@stephankyle6460]

You should see me climb on to this sofa. Really stunning form.

[@JSC131]

Hank riding a rim brake bike just like Ritchie Porte its definitely catching on great content as usual.

[@baldomantova8466]

Who needs Discs when climbing?😂

[@gcn]

If it's good enough for Ritchie it's good enough for Hank 🙌

[@alynlambert4855]

@@gcn Sounds like his BB needs some love though... bit of a creak there. It's his old race bike isn't it?

[@The_Cotswold_Engineer]

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!

[@gcn]

We hope you'll be smashing PB's soon 🙌

[@daveyoung6680]

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.

[@davidhakes5141]

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.

[@ThomasNing]

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 😅

[@MortenCharlie]

Completely my strategy as a 6’8 270 pound meathead turned cyclist 😅🏋🏽🚴🏽‍♂️

[@jacksonbangs6603]

I like to climb hills because there is alot of scenic roads to ride up here in Southern Oregon.

[@billmccaffrey1977]

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.

[@marksIItimewarps]

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.

[@billmccaffrey1977]

@@marksIItimewarps Thanks for the tip. I will give this a try.

[@GodfreyGuitar]

I always feel for the GCN presenters when they have to do one of these "talk and climb at the same time" videos!

[@gcn]

We wish we could get Hank to stop talking sometimes 😂

[@GodfreyGuitar]

@@gcn fair point! 🤣

[@JDRELGOR]

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.

[@loud479]

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

[@curtvaughan2836]

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.

[@kinza999]

Love Hanks chimney

[@josephbaker9932]

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.

[@JonCannings]

For a moment I thought this was going to be advice to help me climb up the stairs after a few too many beers 🍻🍺

[@michaellynn9763]

Dan Lloyd would be best at that advice.

[@TBATTIECYCLING]

You mad man

[@gcn]

This must have been why you were late this morning 🥴

[@kiatography22]

that "ouch" when Manon stood up @2:00...we can all relate to that lol

[@hillezwerg]

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.

[@douglaspate9314]

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...

[@anthonylevy1020]

I know what you mean hills are everywhere 😂

[@familyhill6425]

Is that Fred Dibnah I see lurking about on Hanks Chimney?

[@lauritshjulskov3301]

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 =)

[@schuerfrau]

Trollstigen is amazing, have fun 👍🏻

[@atassisamer]

I do weight training which is very beneficial for developing climbing muscles. back squats, military press, bench press, chin-ups

[@gcn]

There is some great off the bike training to be done! Great to hear you've got your routine down 💪

[@daz4627]

How come GCN go for the all-black jersey and knicks? ... you can hardly see a cyclist on the road in that get-up and you all but disappear when you ride in the shadows... by the time you see the flashing rear light (and not all cyclists use these), you're practically up their rear end... GCN should get rid of their all black kit and at least have a higher visibility jersey... it's dangerous and dumb.

[@yeinemesis]

Should also teach how you can talk comfortably during climbing. You make it look very simple 😁

[@shyryTsr2k]

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.

[@dr_delay]

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

[@fabianwylie8707]

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 ❤🎉🎉

[@EveryThingInOneMusic]

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.

[@McLovin38FFs]

The end of the zips on Manons jersey made it look like she’s wearing tassels! 😂

[@blueninjasix]

I thought exactly that too. Hope that's not inappropriate?

[@carolynheaney715]

And that is relevant how? 🙄 Yes, inappropriate.

[@blueninjasix]

@@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!

[@Rundik]

TL;DR: do more climbing and you will be better at it

[@marksIItimewarps]

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.

[@benjapolcycling]

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.

[@marksIItimewarps]

@@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.

[@svenerlandsson5211]

Manon: Your taillight, what brand? I also have an Aeroad and the wide seatpost makes it hard to find a suiting light for it.

[@bovax6259]

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.

[@Dhungerf60]

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.

[@alanearp5019]

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!

[@kye3k1]

Without a power meter I used to use VAM on my gamin.

[@funkyfearon1]

Great views of the Severn valley on Frocester Hill 👍

[@Aureas133]

Remember; it never gets easier, you only go faster.

[@CycleNLincs]

Hi, I live in North Lincolnshire - UK. Quick question; what is a "Hill"?

[@KenSmith-bv4si]

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.

[@gcn]

Hahaha yep the gravity defying Atheos! Very nice bike 🙌

[@Mububban23]

And your wallet is also much lighter which helps on the climbs as well 😁 Just jokes, the Aethos is a stunner!

[@jocap3837]

I love the cars appearing during the climbs it just fuels my anxiety

[@Cyclingismywholelife]

GCN is climbing all the way to my Heart. Love you guys

[@gcn]

hahahaha our pleasure 🙌 Are you a climbing fan?

[@baldomantova8466]

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!!!!

[@gcn]

Glad we can help! Will you be getting after the climbs in summer? 👀

[@yeyeTF2]

climbing tips- 1) get your cadence as comfortable as possible by changing gears 2) work on your cycling fitness that's it

[@tony5269]

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 😁

[@mamoolaki]

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?

[@tmilner762]

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!! 😁

[@mamoolaki]

@@tmilner762 I’ve thought about that, but it’s kind of a mood killer for the start of the ride 😂

[@JackMott]

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. ;)

[@chadat23]

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 😁

[@pglick123]

Sorry for the distraction, but Manon's cycling jersey has zippered pockets on the front. Whaaat? Do they make that for men?

[@oldanslo]

Sadly they are not pockets but zippered vents.

[@pglick123]

@@oldanslo 😥

[@DoNuT_1985]

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.

[@MarleyMonty]

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 🥵

[@derf9465]

My climbing got better, just hung up my 24 year old steel bike and got 8.5kg new Aluminium thing......wow.

[@paulhadfield8006]

just a ebike problem solved

[@simonsepic]

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.

[@StuartandGailWatson]

An electric vehicle for your filming! Brilliant, makes a big difference!

[@SargeLikes]

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.

[@bobsy852]

I live in a hilly area. Most are 12-17% long climbs here. I just got a new bike (2x11) after 10yrs off the saddle & I just cant seem to find the right gear for hills. I keep going to lower gears then just find it isnt burning my legs but im cycling a lot for little gain. But if i gear up i cant maintain it

[@JFomo]

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.

[@paulgibby6932]

4:00 (steep) Manon no problem talking. Respect

[@MrGrusome]

And in a nutshell: if you get better at climbing - do more climbing! Who would've guess of that?!

[@gcn]

Sounds easy... but there are no easy wins 🙌

[@torus186]

Chocolate biscuit in mouth, Chocolate biscuit in mouth, Chocolate biscuit in mouth. My new drill is now Chocolate biscuit stay in packet or better still leave in shop.

[@notmyrealname6272]

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. 😅

[@gcn]

Ah nasty! Not easy is it 🥵

[@markbutcher4541]

Are these drills effective on Zwift too?

[@sfdint]

Hill reps...after painfully climbing a hill turning around and going back down so you can do it all over again. That'll be the day!

[@JustinEastmanMedia]

Global Climbing Network. I feel like every other video is has the word Climb in it

[@armandsaccomanno5420]

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.

[@gcn]

There is some great bike handling skills to be learnt on mountain bike climbs 🙌

[@dodgespur4767]

I find the more you do the better you get....so, don't avoid them, look for them, seek them out....oh, and enjoy 😅

[@theduelist5706]

I hate crunching gears on load, or being in the wrong gear going up a hill. Or having a driver trolling you when your on a climb...

[@wl7806]

Manon - what? An "ow" at minute 2:00? Hope you are rocking and rolling anyway. 🤕🤞

[@gc641]

Grx 1x derailleur, 11-42 cassettes on my 105 and I am like a mountain goat

[@JamesSmith-zs8fl]

My goal is to just simply make it to the top of each hill. There are three roads out of where I live. They are all three up hill. 😊

[@ChrisLovell-qb9lm]

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.

[@ianbates6618]

Great video, be great if you could put where the climbs you do are too, if possible

[@onehourmusicbc]

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

[@manwithnoname6580]

My drill is called “ living in Cornwall “ . Every damn ride involves going up! 🙁

[@siemens198195]

So let’s say you’re from the Netherlands and you’ll be up and down a hill within 20 seconds? Is there a way to prepare for the hills without the hills?

[@joachimlyth509]

Massive headwind? Should be easier to find, right? 😉

[@boudoir00]

70 rpm being overgeared…? Not for me, my natural cadence seems to be around 65, so when I start grinding I am in the 50’s or below. I’m working on increasing my cadence but it’s hard work!! I recently managed a 2-hr ride with an average cadence of 76 🎉😂

[@kevingregoire1042]

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. 🙈🙉🙊

[@rdefendr1737]

Climbing roads without any shoulder is the dumbest thing to do wrong.

[@steveyankou4144]

As an American, I'm extremely jealous of cyclists who live in countries where drivers don't immediately fly into a murderous rage when a cyclist costs them 15 seconds.

[@thierryappourchaux2108]

Train on proper road...seems like gravel roads in the UK ;-)

[@timtaylor9590]

percent of ftp or perceived exertion?

[@davidsullivan7290]

Um, did Hank actually say get a bigger gear on the front to help with climbing???? How about smaller, up front.....

[@Kid_ofthefuture]

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😂

[@JPatteri]

Now all i need is hills! :)

[@333wheeler]

Worst thing is when you are a 60+ vet you know what you could do when you were a junior on the very same climb and that very thing is the first thing to leave you . brute strength. Hey you guys need to get a UK 60 plus veteran presenter onboard as it a massive part of cycling ..

[@shamekalecounte1269]

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 🫶🏽

[@dalis994]

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.

[@GOlone9597]

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.

[@Choedron]

Ah, the perpetual obsession with climbing again - despite the majority being sprint athletes. We know it so well.

[@stevemullin1195]

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.

[@jacksonbangs6603]

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.

[@krishnansrinivasan830]

Watched it few times to get all those scenarios into my head...Well done & very thoughtful insights :) Thanks :)

[@janeblogs324]

Orbea no longer paying the gcn bills? Canyon filling the gap? 2023 announcement prediction