Cardio and weight training

To improve your fitness in climbing it is recommended to train your endurance multiple times a week and makes trips of around 100 km. In this training you mostly focuse on making a lot of kilometers. This is because this builds up your endurance fitness, further preparing you for the challenging climb. Mr. Scholten (2024) has mostly done cardio to prepare fot this climb. Besides that weight training is also really good to do. This is not to build muscle but this is to make your muscles stronger. Because more muscle is more weight that you need to drag up with you to the top of the mountain. You should mostly train your back abs and legs. Mr.  Scholten also advises anyone who would like to train for the climb of Mont Ventoux to go to the hills in Limburg or Col Du Vam in Drenthe.

Personal preparations

Mr. Spiering (2024) prepared for climbing Mont Ventoux by going on a cycling holiday with a friend. This experience was not only very pretty but also really good for his fitness. In total he cycled around 650 km but litrature suggest that you should cycle around 1000 km. It is most important to stay consistent because consistency is key. This was a bit challenging for him. You don't have to do all sorts of crazy training to improve your fitness, it's the most important to just cycle. Three weeks before the trip to Mont Ventoux he did a fitness test. This was useful for him. This gave him an indication at what heart rate he was acidifying.

Types of training

There are three types of training (Reurings en Janssen Steenberg, 2017) :

• Climbing: 100-minute climb. If a 100-minute climb is not available, try to keep the interval between climbs as short as possible. Switch back to a lighter gear in time. Keep an eye on your heart rate for this. This training allows you to get used to acidification.
• Interval Training: four times 20 minutes at high speed on flat terrain. Between the blocks you ride on endurance training for 5 to 10 minutes to recover. This training provides carbohydrate burning, recovery and heart muscle strengthening.
• Endurance training: long and easy with possibly small hills, at least an hour and a half. When you have warmed up, make sure you don't cycle too fast. This training gets you used to sitting in the saddle for a long time, fat burning and increased oxygen uptake in your muscles.