and we're gonna do a progressive effort.

It's gonna be a good one, enjoy.

- Thank you very much James, hopefully we will.

Welcome to a GCN real time training session.

As James has said, we are riding up Passo Gardena.

It's 5.9 Kilometers long, an average gradient of 4%.

So it's gonna be a quick one, over and done with

in just 20 minutes.

So Chris, what is in store for us?

- So this is one of my favorite sessions,

that you can do early in the morning,

or before a race, or an event.

And it's kind of like a long warm up really,

because you'll start out real gentle,

like we are now, kind of walking pace.

So, if you're tired first thing in the morning,

this is brilliant.

And then we'll build right up towards

a max intensity effort, and that will

be really invigorating.

- Nice, I like it.

If you have a smart trainer, like we have,

Chris is on the Elite Drivo II, I'm on the Elite Direto,

You can actually set them up so they will

take you through a ramp scenario.

Whereby the intensity, and the resistance

increases in every 90 seconds.

But, I don't know about you, Chris, I'm going old school,

I'm gonna use my gears this time.

So, if you've got a normal trainer,

then you can do it in exactly the same fashion.

- You know what Simon, I'm doing the same.

It's just like being out on the road the, isn't it?

- Alrighty, so we've got 20 seconds

until we start to increase the intensity.

What's gonna be coming up first, Chris?

- [Chris] So we're going through 90 second ramp increases.

So every 90 seconds the intensity will increase

a little bit, and we'll take it up a notch.

To start with we're gonna wrap up our cadence,

in eight seconds, and that will increase

our breathing rate, and our exertion.

And we're going to be into an effort level of number two.

- [Simon] Okay, so here we go then 80RPM.

Just a small increase to start with.

So, a very, very gentle introduction, I quite like that.

- Yeah, this is great on tired legs,

or if you're not feeling particularly fresh

on any given day, it's a real good warm up.

And by the end of it, you actually feel

a lot better than when you start, guaranteed.

- [Simon] Nice, that's the kind of training that I like.

- [Chris] Or your money back.

(laughs)

- [Simon] Right then.

So, what kind of intensity should we be feeling?

Like heart rate, is that gonna be creeping up at all?

- [Chris] Well it will be throughout the session,

certainly as you increase your cadence.

Right now you should be feeling

like we're going for a steady walk.

The sort of intensity you could do all day,

even if you run out of food.

- [Simon] Alrighty.

As we 're on the lower slopes of the Gardena, now.

- [Chris] Just leaving town.

- [Simon] It's a beautiful climb, isn't it?

Absolutely fantastic, and what a day to do it on.

If you are joining us early in the morning,

then that is an inspiring sight

to set you up for the day, no mistake.

- [Chris] So just 30 seconds now,

until the first real increase in the ramp.

And we'll take it from an exertion level of one,

right up to two.

- I think I can manage two.

Now, even though this is just a 20 minute session,

remember to keep drinking as you go through it.

Because you will a sweat on, towards the end.

So you want to keep on top of your hydration.

(energetic music)

- There we go, cadence up to 85 now.

Probably keep it in a very similar gearing.

But, because we're pedaling a little bit faster,

on the same gear, you'll be trying a little bit harder,

and then you have an exertion level of two.

Which is, again, the sort of exertion you can keep up

for most of the day, if you had to.

The thing I like most about this session is,

it really eases you into it before

you have to try hard, towards the end.

But by the time you're finished trying hard,

and you recover, you'll be ready whatever event it is,

or what ever session you're gonna plan next.

Or just for the day ahead.

- [Simon] Yeah this is, as you said,

the ultimate warm up, isn't it?

So, if you've got a race that's gonna start fast,

like a time trial, or a crit, this is exactly

the kind of thing where, it gets your body working

really hard, without actually making

your legs hurt very much.

So it's a very gentle introduction,

to get your body working super hard.

So, off the back of this, you could just leave it there.

Or, indeed, you could do another training session as well,

and this will be the perfect warming.

- [Chris] Yeah, it's pretty much the warm up

I would have followed throughout my career because,

after five minutes of easy spinning, between the end of this

and the start of the event, it gives you enough time

to really breathe deep and get ready for what's ahead.

But, also, your legs are open, your lungs are open,

and you're just feeling really good.

- [Simon] Okay, we've got another ramp increase coming up

in just 10 seconds.

- And the best thing about the increase rate on this one is,

every 90 seconds you've got something new

to set as a target, and it really helps the time go quickly.

There we go, on to exertion level three now.

Same speed on the legs, same cadence.

You're trying a little bit harder.

And this is starting to feel like your outdoors ride now.

The sort of tempo you might hold for,

you know, a longer ride.

You start to hear the turbo trainer drone a little bit more.

As you can hear, there's more intensity

going through the fly wheel.

Quite a soothing noise, actually.

- Yeah.

Can feel my breathing just start to increase a little bit.

I can feel that I'm doing a bit of work now.

My core body temperature's starting to rise,

I feel like I'm just starting to open up.

- [Chris] And, my heart rate shot up for a hundred,

right up to 124, now 125.

So you can start to feel, it's really having an effect,

and your body's really starting to open up.

30 seconds left now.

(upbeat music)

But it's progressive, it's gentle,

it really eases you into it, and it really enables you

to adapt to each level before you push on

to the next one above.

- [Simon] Okay, 10 seconds now,

until the next increase on our ramp.

So get ready for it.

- And, up again.

So, cadence up to 90 this time.

This is the first time we're really starting

to pedal a little bit quicker,

and your exertion's gonna go up to a number four.

That's the sort of pace you're gonna hold

for a couple of hours, if you're out on the road.

And you really feel it in your breathing,

that you have to take deep breaths between each sentence.

- I think the temptation here is gonna be

to go too hard, too soon.

So just make sure you look at that effort level,

and make sure that you're not maxing out too soon.

This isn't about an all out 10 minute

pain session at the end.

This is, as Chris has said, a gentle introduction,

to open you up.

- You know, I'd almost describe this

as a real good feel good session because,

when you get off the turbo, you do feel better.

So if you're having a bad day, and you just need 20 minutes

to clear your mind, this is perfect for that,

because it's a good confidence boost, as you build up

to your max intensity, without shocking your body.

- [Simon] And that kind of session should not be underrated,

because there are days when you just feel tired,

and you feel like you should be training.

And, actually, this will just sort your head out

and make you feel good, and ready to go on the bike,

either later on, or the next day.

- Just eight seconds now,

before we take it up a notch again.

And my hear rate's 132 now, so you really seeing

the increase from the previous effort, into this one.

There we go, effort number five.

- I'm going to the big ring.

- What?

- The size of a key in, I reckon.

(upbeat music)

- [Chris] So this is the sort of effort that you can do

for a short endurance ride.

You really start to feel it on your legs,

you can start to feel the load on the turbo.

But, because you've got a nice light cadence,

it's not uncomfortable.

And you can still talk like this but,

again, you have to take that deep breath.

It is hard to distinguish between the intensity changes,

to start with, but by the end of the 90 seconds

you'll know that you've gone up a notch.

- It's also a great way of really

getting in tune with your body, isn't it?

- Yeah.

- Because you don't need your, power meter on this.

You don't need a heart rate monitor.

Every time you change gear, or increase your cadence,

if you really think about it, you can feel your body start

to work a little bit harder.

Listen to those tell tale signals.

Like your breathing rate increasing,

maybe feeling like you're just about to get a sweat on.

You can certainly hear that my breathing rate's increased.

(energetic music)

- It's a real morale boosting session.

It's the sort of session that you finish, and you want

to do something else, because you feel good for it.

And because it's so short, it's really easy to cram

into any sort of day, even if you're really busy.

Five seconds now, until the next ramp.

Here we go.

- He's in the big rig, I'm not there.

- [Chris] So my heart rate's just under 140, now,

so you can see that last 90 seconds has really pushed it up.

And we're going up towards the sort of power

you can do for 90 minutes, that sort of feeling.

So, you feel your legs a little bit now,

you know that they're pushing.

They're conscious of every pedal stroke,

but nothing's hurting yet.

- [Simon] You know where I will definitely

be using this session, Chris?

So, when we go away to a trade show, and we spend hours

every day walking a halls, scouring for new tech.

And you come back to the hotel in the evening,

and you want to ride your bike, but your legs are tired.

This will be perfect.

- [Chris] Yeah, it really would be.

- [Simon] Sat on a dodgy exercise bike, in a hotel gym.

Pedaling away the fatigue of a day on your feet,

and leaving yourself feeling good.

And reminding yourself that you are a bike rider.

Brilliant.

- [Chris] Yeah, and you really gain that connectivity back