4-WEEK CLIMBING BOOSTER
Improve your climbing strength, technique, and pacing in just four weeks while exploring some of the world’s best climbs.
Each session works on improving key parts of your climbing and uses a unique combination of ERG mode (where FulGaz automatically sets your watts for you), with realistic gradients and real-time instruction from Bernard, our virtual coach.
It’s a tough four weeks, so we don’t recommend this program if you’ve only just started training. However, if you’re already reasonably fit and you’re looking to give your climbing a much-needed boost, commit to the program and you’ll be surprised how much you can improve.
There are four sessions per week to complete with one long ride to keep you on your toes. The long ride can be done either inside or outside!
You can find this training program in the FulGaz under the Training Programs section.
WEEK 1
WEEK 2
Week 3
Week 4
This week is focussed on setting the pace for the journey ahead. The key to all our programs is consistency. Consistent, regular workouts are the key to seeing improvements on the bike. You don’t have to give 100% all the time, just turn up and give it your best.
KING LAKE FTP TEST
This is the beginning of all our training programs to measure your base FTP so you can track improvements. A warmup then a 20 minute effort as hard as you can go up the popular Kinglake climb
MOUNT GREYLOCK OVER UNDERS
Mount Greylock is the highest point in Massachusetts. We’re using it for a session to start raising your FTP by repeatedly riding just below it and then just over it. A short warm-up is followed by nine above-FTP intervals, with a short below-FTP “recovery” in between. These intervals will improve your FTP, while also improving your ability to recover from these efforts when riding closer to your threshold power.
This is a tough session, so ensure you have plenty of water and your fan is on!
PASSO DI GIAU STEPS
Passo di Giau is a 2236m pass in the Italian Dolomites. We’re using it for a series of step-up efforts to take you above your steady climbing power. This session will improve your ability to climb at above-threshold power. After a longer warm-up, you’ll ride three repeats. Each repeat will build your power up in steps starting below FTP and finishing above it. Stay smooth and remain seated through the entire interval.
MONT VENTOUX TEMPO
This session is optional for beginners and time-crunched athletes. We’re off to the one and only Mont Ventoux for a longer, steady session working on aerobic fitness and smooth pedalling. While all of today’s intervals are below your FTP, it is a longer session that you may find quite taxing by the end.
The intervals get shorter but more intense as the session progresses. This session will teach you to pace your climbs while keeping tabs on your form to ensure pedalling smoothness and efficiency.
LONG RIDE - LITTLE CAYMAN
For this week’s long ride, we’re going on an easy cruise around Little Cayman, the Jewel of the Cayman Islands. The aim of the session is to keep the power below FTP, even on the rises. This is about aerobic endurance today, not smashing up hills. If the weather and time allows, feel free to switch this for a long (but easy) outdoor ride in the sunshine!
This week we have a few solid workouts for you. Try your best to complete all these and make sure you embrace the rest days.
ALPE D'HUEZ TEMPO
The Alpe d’Huez is arguably the most famous mountain in pro cycling. Today’s session is not as ferocious as some of the battles from the Tour de France, it’s a solid sub-threshold tempo session.
COL DE SARENNE STRENGTH ENDURANCE
We’re off to France to get STRONG! This session doesn’t look too bad, but the lower cadences involved mean the torque your legs need to produce is way higher than when you pedal up longs climbs normally.
LOS GIGANTES BUILD-UPS
In this classic Tenerife ride starting in Puerto de Santiago, we’re going to be repeating blocks where you build up to, then go beyond FTP.
PASSO STELVIO TEMPO SURGES
This is an optional session for time-crunched athletes. Today we’re riding to the top of one of the most famous mountain passes in cycling. The good news is the efforts get shorter as you go up, the (bad?) news is they get harder. This is an excellent session for building endurance and developing the ability to change pace on a long climb.
LONG RIDE - 5 BORO RIDE
Ride through New York City without cars and pedestrians! The aim of this session is to keep the power well below FTP. It’s a steady cruise for over 2 hours. If that’s too long, just go as far as you can. It’s perfectly fine if you want to do the equivalent of this ride outdoors. Just remember, if you’re feeling good – go longer, not harder.
Week 3 is a bit of a make-or-break week for training programs. Keep pushing yourself to do the sessions and you will see results at the end of this training block.
FURKA PASS FTP BUILDS
This time we’re off to a stunning climb in Switzerland as we do more blocks that work on raising our FTP. A simple yet effective training session!
PUIG MAJOR STRENGTH ENDURANCE
The Puig Major climb, situated in the cycling mecca of Mallorca is the location for our second strength endurance session. Think of it as weights and an aerobic workout at the same time. In this session we’re dropping the revs a bit lower than last time.
MOUNT BULLER V02 SPECIAL
In this session we’re off to Australia and adding a new training concept to the program. We’re doing structured intervals to build your V02 Max, then for the final section of the climb, we’re dropping you off on the real climb to help you practice riding at that intensity on real terrain.
PASSO FOSCAGNO FAST LEGS AND POWER
We’re back in beautiful Italy and adding another training concept to the program. This time, during the shorter efforts that are designed to improve the top-end power needed to cope with steep hairpins or surges, we’re automatically switching your trainer to SIM mode for the effort. This means you need to judge the effort yourself. Long story short- you get STRONG!
LONG RIDE SHATIN - TAI PO LOOP
This ride is a mix of cycle paths, jungle and other fascinating roads that will give you a real taste of what cycling in Hong Kong is all about. The aim for today is to go long and slow. Nothing over FTP, even on the small climbs. Ideal pacing is lots of time on Zone 2 (50 to 70% of FTP). It’s perfectly fine if you want to do the equivalent of this ride outdoors. Just remember, if you’re feeling good – go longer, not harder.
The FINAL week, just a few more sessions until you’re ready to race.
CERNADOI TO ARABBA CADENCE WORK
Ride through some of the most scenic Italian mountain roads you’ll ever see while working on pedalling efficiency. It’s important not to get stuck in a single, slow rhythm on longer climbs. This session helps you become a better all-around climber by varying your cadence under load.
MORGAN STRENGTH ENDURANCE
In the final Strength Endurance session of the program, we’re off to one of the best climbs on the Canary Islands, working our way up from Morgan to the San Nicolas lookout.
MT TAMALPAIS V02 SPECIAL
There are several ways to get to the top of Mt Tamalpais, but this route is arguably the most challenging. This time we’re working on short, self-judged high power efforts during the ride to build your top end power and V02 Max. Plus you’ll be judging your own effort through the final rolling section then up the steep pinch to the finish.
COL DE LA MADONE EFFORTS
Famous as a favourite testing climb for generations of top pros. It’s such an iconic climb that Trek named their flagship road bike after it. We’re working just below FTP to start with, then pushing on with shorter, harder efforts for the second half of the ride.
LONG RIDE - THE SHLECK LOOP
We’re out to over two hours again, concentrating on as much time in Zone 2 (50 to 70% of FTP) as possible. This means backing off on the climbs to below FTP. It’s perfectly fine if you want to do the equivalent of this ride outdoors. Just remember, if you’re feeling good – go longer, not harder.
TRAIN FOR RESULTS
On some of the rides, we train you to ride at set intensities for the first part of the sessions, then challenge you to reach the summit using your own pacing and gear selection. The result of this is you learn how to pace yourself well on challenging stretches of road.
UNIQUE TECHNOLOGY
Because the workouts are based on real roads, not only can you enjoy the beauty of some of the worlds best climbs, we can also use them to develop your fitness and pacing in unique ways. For some of the shorter efforts, we switch from the traditional ERG mode used in most structured workouts, to SIM mode for the hard effort. This allows you to push harder or back off a bit depending on how you’re feeling on the say, and prevents the trainer from locking up under the sudden load.
BERNARD
Watch out for Bernard, our virtual coach. He’ll be giving you his own unique brand of encouragement as you work your way through the sessions. He won’t hold back if he thinks you’re not putting in! You can adjust how he speaks to you in the full sessions screens.
LONG DAYS
We’ve included a long ride each week. Two and a half hours on a trainer can be a big challenge, so these sessions don’t need to be done indoors, you could head outdoors instead. Just remember the golden rule for these rides. If you feel good, go longer, not harder.
RECOVERY
If you’re planning to use this program to get you in shape for a big event, time the program to finish a week before the big day. This will then give your body enough time to adapt to the increased training load you “enjoyed” during the program.