push up hill

Quick Profile: When to Push up a Hill

There is a lot of climbing to this profile with only brief periods of “downhill” recovery. Most of the climbing will be done at a moderate intensity. On the first three hills, you will guide your riders to push hard to threshold (Zone 4) at one of three different parts of the climb: beginning, middle, or end. For the final climb, you will decide which of these three segments you preferred pushing, and repeat it.

There are four parts to the four hills riders will climb. It’s very difficult to push above threshold for all three uphill phases on long hills, and it’s impossible to push hard going “downhill” on an indoor bike. Riders will push at threshold (Zone 4) during the crest, climb, and build phases on three different hills, while working in Zone 3 for the other phases. This will enable them to determine when it’s best for them to push up a hill.

And just remember, what goes up must come down, so enjoy those recoveries! 

3 Comments

  1. Tony – Beyonce kept the album, Lemonade, off of Spotify in order to promote Jay-Z’s Tidal streaming service. Formation is available on all of the download sites.

  2. Thanks Bill! Going to try it tomorrow. FYI the Beyoncé song doesn’t appear to be on Spotify

  3. Author

    I hope that ICA members like instructing the ride featured in this Quick Profile as much as enjoyed creating it. Feel free to ask any questions or post comments here and on the ICA Instructor Group Facebook page. I’d love to hear alternate suggestions for the playlist.

    If one of your questions to me is ‘Do you include Radiohead in every playlist?’, the answer is: No, not every one, but most of them. In this case, the ride was created when the band released previously unreleased material from OK Computer in honor of its 20th anniversary, so I had to use it for cool down.

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