The British Cycling 4-week Climbing Training Plan is designed as a final training block for advanced and intermediate riders who are targeting a hilly or mountainous event. It’s an ideal bolt-on to our 12-week Century Ride and Advanced Sportive Plan.

The plan and the workouts within it are most suited to power users but can be adapted for heart rate. All of the cycling workouts are fully built within the plan and so, it’s compatible with smart trainers and many head units. The midweek sessions are also scripted to be used as custom workouts on Zwift.

To start the plan, you should have been consistently riding three or four times a week for 8-12 weeks, be familiar with structured training and be capable of riding for 4 hours.

The peak week’s volume of training is 10 hours. If you’re already familiar with TrainingPeaks and its metrics, the peak week’s TSS is 475.

The cycling training is typically broken down into four rides; two mid-week and two at the weekend. The mid-week rides are more suited to an indoor trainer but can easily be completed on the road. The first weekend ride has specific efforts prescribed, which should ideally be completed on climbs. The second focusses more on pure endurance and can be flatter terrain.

There is also an optional session that gives you the opportunity to do some cross training. Cross training, although optional, should be part of your training. Don’t worry if you can’t manage dedicated sessions, even doing regular mobility work at home will benefit your riding. Cross training helps to prevent boredom, provides options if you are unable to ride and builds all-round injury preventing robustness. Be aware though that the cycling training in this plan is demanding and you might need to make your cross training more restorative, such as yoga, Pilates or swimming, or even take an extra rest day.

You should schedule this plan so that your event falls at the end of Week 4. Week 2 is the highest training load week and then you’ll start to taper down to your event with a reduced load Week 3 and then a full recovery week to ensure you’re fully rested.

The plan is fully supported by content on the British Cycling Insight Zone, where you can find advice on skills, training, nutrition, equipment, clothing and maintenance.
www.britishcycling.org.uk/knowledge