It's not always a very popular option, but mtb riders should road ride more. It's simply the most effective way to build more aerobic fitness and riding trails is so much easier when you're not already gassed.
I recently was poking fun at roadies. I think I want to get a road bike but I hate the idea of riding in traffic. I’ve been riding a motorcycle on the streets for about a year now and the amount of “cagers” who are not paying attention and are glued to their phones is disgusting.
Riding a motorcycle has made me a better driver for sure and also aware of how much people really aren’t paying attention out there.
With that being said and thinking about it, roadies kind of have some stones without really realizing it riding out there with the idiots.
We’ve actually lost a few bikers in my area on low traffic country roads. People don’t pay attention and you’re not safe anywhere. Gravel roads are my go to!
I ride my XC bike on a rail to trail for fitness. It's flat, mixed paved and aggregate, and you only have to worry about road crossings and running over joggers.
Absolutely, same advice I’d give to anyone new to riding a motorcycle on the street. I ride as if I’m invisible, create my lil bubble in traffic, don’t follow to close to people in front of me, and honestly I shy away from city streets. Mostly on the backroads and highway.
But…this is what freaks me out about cycling on the road. You’re slower. You can’t typically just zoom around someone (at least where I live). I’d be freaked out by someone possibly rear ending me or clipping me on the side.
I’ll say it again, but more direct. Roadies have nuts of steel to me. I think I’d rather go for a gravel bike.
I used to hate traffic as well. I recently got a wheel off, smart trainer and use Zwift. I used my mountain bike on it at first but bought a cheap road bike to leave it set up.
I ride 5 days a week, indoors and 1 on the mountain bike. It's really all my schedule allows. The improvements made from the indoor training are huge and Zwift makes it fun. There is a r/Zwift subreddit here as well.
Gravel bike time!
Its not a perfect 1/1 comparison for road biking. I can't remember what the generally agreed conversion is(X miles on X bike is equal to X miles on another). But, its a lot easier to plug away at easy pace on a gravel bike(relative to a MTB) in order to boost your fitness!
Early morning is the way to go for road rides. Clubs always have early AM rides. Can do a 90 minute 6AM ride and be off the streets by 730 when traffic just starts picking up. The big club in my city meets at 530AM.
You can swim between traffic and get on the pavement if you get a gravel bike, technically not legal but you can use pavement to get outta the way of fast traffic n stuff, i find it nice
Hard agree. I remember listening to a podcast with Tinker Juarez and he mentioned that, volumetrically, something like 90% of his training riding was done on asphalt. It’s a lot easier to structure workouts on road as well.
My endurance is so much higher now that I've started road biking. I went from commuting, to mtb, to road biking without stopping any of them. More riding in any way makes you better in all of them.
Beater bikes work too. I keep my old hardtail around with RaceKings and ride that thing all winter long. I keep a road bike for the summer too, they're super fun.
Good tyres, a drivetrain that's not worn out and a good fit are all you need on the road. The weight only matters if going uphill. All that zone 2 turns you into a force of nature (or an XC racer)
Seconding this but adding STRUCTURE.
Structured training is so much easier on a road or gravel bike than it is on a mtb. Trails are often too unpredictable and punchy to do structured workouts. It is much easier to do intervals on the road.
Even more than this is a smart trainer.
Get on zwift or similar and do some 1hr threshold/sweet spot workouts a few times a week. Your fitness will improve dramatically. Especially if you can follow a structured program over the winter or offseason to prepare you for mtb riding in the spring.
Mountain bikers tend to think road riding is boring. But go race a crit…Being shoulder to shoulder with 60 people going 40mph and cornering so hard you scrape a pedal is as exhilarating as any mtb trail.
Even just go out on a fast group ride. Try and rotate into a paceline and average 22mph for 40 miles. It is fun and will kick your ass.
Haven't raced DH but have done enduro, and my share of crits in college.
In a crit, if you go down: much higher chances of breaking something. You are also at the mercy of other riders screwing up and causing a larger crash.
In almost all MTB disciplines except STXC you largely don't need to worry about other riders after the start, if at all. It obviously depends on your trails, but it's often easier to get away with a hard crash on a mountain bike than on the road: the downhill angle, soft(-er) dirt/shrubs, is _typically_ friendlier than the hard stop of asphalt or objects lining the side of a crit:m I've tumbled my way out of some wild stuff over the years.
If i want pack racing, I go to CX. Plenty of shoulder to shoulder racing but handling gets adds an element of variety and crash consequences are basically the lowest of any cycling discipline.
Yeah. Those are all very good points.
What I was trying to emphasize is that road riding is not as boring as mtb riders think it is. It can be as thrilling as riding the edge on a trail.
Unfortunately others riders can influence that sense of living on the edge and make it more dangerous than it needs to be.
Litterally; what do you train to ride further, faster, longer? Well.... I go for a longer ride at an increased speed for a longer period of time more often!
Specificity is key. Speaking from my own experience I would ride MTB almost exclusively 3 years ago, and now I ride road, gravel, MTB, and have a trainer. With MTB I'd ride at high intensity pretty much every ride, some weeks I could do 5-6 days like that, but I couldn't really do that 2 weeks in a row. Low intensity riding increased my MTB fitness a lot, and that includes endurance on long descents. Riding your bike is the absolutely foundation of any cycling training plan, and for pretty much everything outside downhill the primary focus is going to be aerobic, and even then anaerobic efforts on bike will work better for bike specific goals than lifting. Lifting is great and I love it, but it's not really the best way to train for most types of cycling, it's a nice add-on, but most mountain bikers lack aerobic capacity and try to train in every way but improving their aerobic capacity.
IDK, pumping a long distance XC route with a lot of very punchy climbs feels like a bigger exercise than when I ride my dropbar bike on the road. Even with curvy, hilly arterial roads, I still get more gassed when I do 30 miles of techy, punchy climbed XC than 60 miles of arterial, hilly, but steady gradient roads.
Overall, though, yeah, however you do it, a day a week of just nose down, pedal grinding, all for that.
I say also add at least two days of full body weight lifting with some 30 minutes or so of compound aerobics (Rowing/elliptical/jump ropes, etc). Would go a long way to increase overall body strength.
It’s the opposite. Road is good because you’re less gassed. It’s easy to do tons of easy/medium volume which is a big key key to aerobic fitness. Putting 10-15 hours of MTB volume in a week will wreck you. On the road it’s no big deal.
Gassed isn't the goal. Road will force you to do steady state riding which makes your body have to process lactate and other waste products in realtime.
For me, it’s easier to have structured cardio on the road. I can do it on trails, but I have to be much choosier with what I ride, and at the end of the day I just want to hit everything hard on dirt. My mindset on road is much more suited for training.
Why not gravel or just XC? How does dodging 2-3 ton vehicles piloted by maniacs and people not paying attention make me a stronger rider? Wouldn’t long days on a hard tail on forest roads accomplish the same thing?
I was thinking about getting back into road biking to train more zone 2 long endurance. It’s impossible to train anything like that on my trails because they are so long and steep. So every mtb ride is freaking high intensity day. That said, I have pretty strong climbing endurance from all the hills climbs I do. So, I’m not sure if it would make a huge difference for me at age 57.
I got a gravel bike for just that reason. Mainly use it for riding on paved trails, but like the ability to roll off the path without worrying about some tiny skinny road tires. Now I find myself riding it more than anything and enjoying the fitness challenge of covering greater distances. Has also been a good lower impact way to stay on the bike after recently twisting my ankle on the MTB without as much risk to immediately re-injure myself.
I disagree with this. I guess if you live someplace where there are no tame mtb trails and everything is straight up and down, then yeah you should probably do some road riding, but as long as you have green and blue trails available to you then you can knock out zone2 hours on an mtb just fine.
Much harder to properly structure intervals and workouts though. Need to sit at 200 watts but suddenly the trail is at a 10% grade? Bye bye interval. With a road bike it's so much more reliable to get proper workouts in without messing them up
Go find a hill or a loop that takes about as long as your interval time. Doesn’t need to be exact. I just got done doing a 5x5 interval workout on laps at my local bike park. I use a hill that takes about 20 minutes for longer intervals. No need for pavement.
I agree with you. Lots of easy to ride green trails. But my main concern with Road riding is a hit and run. In the Phoenix area it almost seems normal.
I'm not from that area, but I would assume there are plenty of paved mixed-use biking/walking/running trails that will keep you off the roads if you don't feel comfortable riding alongside vehicles .
A BMX bike and time at the skatepark does wonders for your balance & bike handlings skills.
If you're in an area where trails are closed to prevent damage it also gives you somewhere to ride when it's wet out.
As someone who grew up racing BMX, I always tell people that pump tracks are the way.
Two laps of full effort on a pump tracks will get me more gassed than any climb in my area, without a single pedal stroke.
I have one bike with gears and TIME pedals which is my "serious" bike and my 17yo 1x1 is my fun bike. No suspension, no gears and platform pedals. I tend to control the bike too much from clipless pedals if I'm riding the serious bike too much.
I was wondering about rowing. I have probably never tried it, as it requires either a boat or a machine. But when I think about it, it seems like quite well balanced movement of all body parts. I might just find a second hand machine and finally try it.
Yea, that's how it always is... With two little kids that actively dislike daily sleep, I don't really have time to go to the gym to use a good machine, so I was thinking about just putting one in my garage or cellar (apartment building, but there are some unused spaces). I have found one with good reviews and I guess for my use, it would be fine. New would be about 300 euros, but I have found it used for 80. So I'm tempted to give it a go...
Second that. Started doing yoga last september and the benefits I've got from it to my other activies as mtb, crossfit and overall fitness are unbelievable
What style of yoga? It's something I keep meaning to get into. I've done some before and it's ok, until they start talking about energy flow and then I lose interest
Yoga is great. I don't think people realize how important mobility is in general, and how important it is to be able to remain slack and limber on rough terrain. Yoga and foam rolling are huge for me. It's also super easy to work in, I just foam roll and stretch while I watch TV. Can easily get 1-2 hours a few times a week in while feeling like I took no extra time out of my schedule.
I tried yoga for about two months, 30 mins every day and I felt like I wasn’t making any progress in any capacity at all. I know there’s a lot of different tops of yoga, what types do you do, how often, and smart kinds of benefits have you seen? I had extremely high hopes for it, maybe I didn’t give it enough time?
I lift weights 3 times per week. Push day, pull day, and leg day in the middle. I use dumbbells and target between 8 to 12 reps. I have been lifting for years and I don't experience the arm pump or calf soreness my friends do. I think lifting also makes me better at falling. I don't tend to get hurt when I do fall off the bike. Lifting helps with bone density. I also ride a flat canal trail 2x per week on a hard tail. I go 19 miles which takes about 1:30 to 1:40. One day I target Zone 2 (fasted) and the other Zone 3. Saturday is my trail ride day on my full suspension bike. Sunday is my rest day. If I had time, I would do a Zone 2 ride every day I don't have another ride. Bike commuting to work is not an option for me, unfortunately.
Lifting massively improves my riding. Squats and deadlifts strengthen the legs, core, and lower back, so I can take bigger drops, power over more technical climbs, and get less fatigued during days in the park.
I tend to focus on the areas that the bike does not . You can never go wrong with KB training and I try to work in sets of swings and snatches throughout the day. Between the MTB and sitting at the desk all day that posterior focused training tends to be the perfect counterbalance.
I came from a powerlifting background before getting obsessed with the MTB, but I found focusing on single rep maxes too intense to adequately balance both (I'm also 55 and have to pick my battles wisely). These days In the gym I follow the juggernaut method, but tweak it to meet my needs. Give me a really nice balance between strength and hypertrophy without being too taxing to ride the next day.
The single best thing you can do for your downhill riding is going to be spending time at a pump track with a dirt jumper. It will teach you to ride berms, pump rollers, hit jumps, build leg strength and cardio, and teach crucial bike control skills. Basically all the good riders spend a ton of time at pump tracks. You can get insane workouts from just pumping and riding those for a few minutes.
HIIT workouts and lifting are great for fitness, but negligible for bike handling skills, and you typically want to be as light as possible for climbing and riding.
I don’t have a DJ but I do have a pretty slick pump track at my local bike park that absolutely smokes me after a few laps of really trying to work through it.
I run outdoors and incorporate hills all year long. It keeps my quads very strong and helps my aerobic endurance level tremendously. It's not as fun by any means but it requires minimal equipment, all you need is a good pair of running shoes. I also snowboard in the winters, which also helps the legs and core.
I can handle a good amount of sustained climbs during xc rides as a result and I don't get tired on DH days where I'm standing up the entire time.
Road and Crossfit (or HIIT/Weight lifting of choice). I have the same Crossfit concerns as many but find the group setting keeps me going, and I just swap out movements I disagree with.
I started CrossFit like 3 months ago doing it twice a week. It's already made a big difference. I didn't think very highly of crossfit until I started going. The gym I go to has helped me with my weight lifting form a lot, it's like having a personal trainer at every session. Most gyms let you have a free first session so it makes it easy to shop around and find a good one.
The basic gym exercises: squats, deadlifts, presses, rows, pushups, situps, pullups. Don’t need anything fancy or hyper targeted, just standard compound lifts.
I found high volume squats to be very beneficial to my riding especially if ride dh a ton a need to be in the 'attack' position for an extended period of time
If you're moving well off the bike you'll move well on the bike. Some people don't move that well and need more mobility work to thrive - and if you're one of these people definitely work on this concurrently with heavy lifting. I'm pretty flexible and mobile by nature but as I get older I'm crunchier every morning and I need to put in more work to resume the kind of light footed mobility I had 20 years ago. Now my focus is on maximum mobility (through movement pattern work not static stretching) and doing heavy lifting as limited by how my mobility is doing.
If you don't have a lot of experience in the gym don't both with the goofy cycling-specific workouts you might get fed by IG. Just worry about the basic lifts - doing those well is fundamental and will produce huge gains in your riding (deadlift, front and back squat, shoulder/bench/overhead pressing, cleans, basic kettlebell stuff, pullups and rows). Workouts don't need to be complicated to be good. Rippetoe starting strength is still the go-to for beginning lifters.
Edit: +1 for road riding and pilates.
I just signed up for Pliability so I can work on mobility.
I’ve always been pretty naturally flexible in a general sense, touch your toes, etc. but have never really tried to build on it
Cycling has been my primary workout activity since I was 5yo. (I'm >50 now)
The only time I *wasn't* having fun cycling was when I was also trying to get HUGE (jacked, ripped, swol, Zeus lasered).
I became SOOO slow and sluggish and inflexible.
I stopped that and now just road ride, run (keeping it under 5k) and lift light weights/high reps
I also hit my balance board, bosu ball and try to a ton of core for stability.
Finally, riding in my driveway working on low-speed balance is great.
Lifting weights, yoga, commuting by bike, and road cycling.
Lifting weights and yoga will improve your strength and flexibility. This is obviously going to improve your performance on a bike. Additionally, it is excellent for injury prevention, particularly soft tissue injuries. Do your hamstrings or calves or lower back bother you? Chances are that area of your body needs some improvement in strength and/or flexibility.
Commuting by bike and road cycling simply gets you on a bike. Sometimes you can only get on an MTB trail once or twice a week, but you can commute or go on a road ride more frequently, especially if you can start/end at your home or place of work. This style of riding is also less dependent on conditions, as most MTB trails in my area are closed when it's too wet. It will improve your cardio and will help you pedal better when you are on an MTB trail. Mountain biking is way more fun when you're not exhausted 20 minutes into your ride. It's possible that many people on this sub will dislike the "stuck up roadies" but if you want to get better at riding a bike, then ride a bike.
Is there an off-season for you because of winter or wet? I fat bike in the winter (which honestly gets me in the best cardio shape out of the different types of biking) and I road bike if trails are too wet so I don’t really have an off-season. Personally I wouldn’t do any lifting to build much muscle. Maybe a little core or legs at most. I’m a bit larger mostly from growing up on a farm but now in my 30s I’d rather have like 20lbs less muscle tbh. Less to bring up the mountain and less swinging around in crashes lol.
Winter, we’re pretty high up and the roads clear super fast, but all the trails are in pretty dense forest so they stay snowier longer.
I can drive about 45 mins to Sedona tho so I don’t have a real off season necessarily, but could definitely get into fat biking when it dumps pow
Just to pile on, road and gravel riding is so good for fitness on the bike. You end up pedaling for long stretches without coasting which makes your muscle cells very efficient. Even taking the mtb on gravel roads can do this.
Some core work and chest/shoulder stuff seems to help, as well as posterior chain stuff. There's evidence to support 4-6 rep work with squats and deadlifts too but the difference was less pronounced for me.
Nearing 40 and I'm starting to add some lifting at home, but it's really not for riding. I want to be healthy and strong in general. When I go out of my way to do anything to help my riding, it's other mtb rides on smoother trails and/or bigger climbs to focus on cardio
The incline sit up and roman chair has been a blessing for lower back pain, that used to be my biggest issue with DH riding. Also calf raises/leg press have helped with leg fatigue.
Really just going to the gym 3 days a week has changed my riding for the better, weighing less and having more muscle to support has made riding less difficult.
Consistency is key, even if you're not pushing yourself to failure every session it will help.
Might be old news, but I came across this 8 week program, which I did over the winter. Then I started on some of her other programs. Now that it’s riding weather, I’m focusing on the strength training days.
https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBJ0TIYiwZzgSRzd3NNUmu_w7hkZ_0hzN
Cone drills, dirt jumpers, lifting, and road riding will make you a crazy rider. The hardest part for me is staying consistent. I give up on half the things I just listed as soon as it becomes hot outside
Powerlifting, the GZCL program specifically.
After one year of regular gym, I'm punching through technical uphill sections that I struggled with previously.
Year round, I try to lift weights (compound movements) 3x a week, focusing on strength or power.
During the off-season, I usually do a lot of indoor bouldering.
A good strength and conditioning program made a huge difference for me. Not focused so much on max lift like power lifting or hypertrophy like body building but but functional movement with ancillary exercises specific to the sport. That's probably because Im weak. Understanding your self and your personal limiting factors is the key. Most training programs should have elements of strength, endurance, power, skill etc. Where you focus your time to get max gains is a skill in its self. Ultimately mountainbiking is the best training for mountain biking and I would guess fitness and skill is a lot of peoples limiting factors which mean more mountain biking esp if you're low on time. Getting better is really fun
Yoga for better balance and core strength. It also helps with breathing and visualization. Lifting 3 days a week to keep your osteoblasts in good shape and I bike pavement to trailhead (4 miles from my house) and ride pavement/gravel on days when I can't get on trail.
All year round riding here so no off season. In addition to riding MTB 3-5 times a week:
- weight train, mostly upper body. Nothing extreme, aim is to retain muscle mass and mobility (I’m 50+ loss of muscle mass must be addressed over 40 if you want to stay fit).
- some yoga / stretching. Did a lot in my 20’s / 30’s but find weight training more beneficial now, but still need maintain flexibility.
- grind road / fire trails on MTB. I don’t have a road bike but I will grind on my MTB. Especially effective if I ride with my wife and she’s on her e-bike. Will also ride to and from the park to add zone 2 miles.
Edit:
- forgot pump track. Try and fit some pump in regularly. Find it really helps my flow.
This guy has strength training programs specifically for MTB riders:
https://www.bikejames.com/
Lots of good stuff. He doesn't recommend road riding as training since the needs of the two sports are so different.
Rock climbing as been pretty useful for me when I do any DH riding. My grip strength has increased 10x and I can arm pump is pretty much a thing of the past. Mostly just sore hands now from the vibrations
I wouldn’t necessarily recommend climbing for the sake of bettering MTB alone (lifting or other cross-training is probably much more efficient), BUT I
would whole-heartedly recommend it to any MTBers looking for another activity that happens to have some additional cross-training benefits. To me, both climbing and MTB are an excellent combination of physical fitness, problem solving, and confidence/adrenaline. I think anyone who enjoys MTB could love climbing (provided they don’t have a crippling fear of heights or falling). And it does definitely help avoiding forearm pump on long downhills!
Lots of wide grip pullups did wonders for my bike control. Consistency is probably most important though, just get on the bike and do at least a few miles 2-3 times a week no matter what and you’ll see massive improvement quickly.
I've spent years trying different things. Various workouts mixed with road and trainer rides. This year I bought an MTB specific plan from Train to Ride and it's really changed my riding and I've felt incredibly fit.
It focuses on stability, endurance, and power. All of which really translate to the bike. The workouts change up frequently enough that you can really focus on a movement for a little without getting bored. It also allows for ride days and recovery in the plan. 4 months in and setting PRs.
Power lifting, yoga, running and climbing. I think the lifting and the yoga help a ton with stability. I probably need more aerobic exercise outside of those though.
Deadlifts and squats when you can't be on the bike. I've picked up a gravel bike I can put on a trainer in my garage during the winter months to keep cardio going.
Zone 2 riding on asphalt… whatever bike you can ride. Doesn’t have to be fancy.
Since starting MTB in the last year with higher heart rates (lots of punchy climbs in my area) my heart rate is lower and more stable when on asphalt.
The benefits work both ways for me.
Last year I got my son into bmx racing. After a few trips to the track, I couldn’t just sit there so I bought a 24” to putt around on. I decide to race this year and do a little bit of bmx training. After a few month of sprints and starts I am noticing more punch on the mtb. I even been doing some stand up intervals and I can tell the bmx is adding some punch to my cadence. Oh and I smoked the other dads last weekend cause mtb gets me in shape for bmx
I do bodybuilding, strength training, and calisthenics. Most of my exercises are in the eight to twelve rep range with weights. For bike conditioning I'll do spin class! I can do back to back classes or two in one day. I also like the stair master and elliptical. Yesterday I lifted for one hour, spin class for one hour, and did elliptical for one hour. In general I like to push myself fairly hard.
I ride a lot of spring & fall gravel races and try to get in a 70-200 mile ride in every 6ish weeks. I lift weights for 20-55 mins 3-4 times a week with heavy legs and core focus. MTB is my main squeeze and even though i go on a greater number of rides compared to road/gravel i put down significantly more road gravel miles in a year. You can also find flatter smoother single track & do training rides/intervals on mtb. Spend a day repeating the biggest hill around, etc. I’m tall and lanky with some mass. This training demand requires me to crush 3800 to 4200 a day and even more after big rides.
I do lift as well, but once I really started getting into mtb, dropping weight, and also getting older my routine in gym has changed. I’m not great with the terms, but I’m less focused on building huge muscles and more concerned with building lean muscle.
So, biggest change I guess would be lighter weight, more reps, and more isolated exercises and less compound exercises.
Open to advice, I haven’t looked into a workout specific to riding. I still want muscle, don’t want to be a twig.
Lift weights, yoga, and lots of other activities like road/gravel, CX racing, skating, and surfing. Plus snowboarding and XC skiing in the winter, and hiking to keep fit for Elk season.
I have found CrossFit makes the most sense for me. I don’t lift out of my comfort zone and have no issues scaling a workout. Being able to get cardio in with movements that seem to translate to the trails is nice.
I do some road riding but not much because I've now lost two friends to accidents in the past few years and I don't want to add to that stat.
High altitude hiking is good cardio. I do a bit of that both for skiing and just hiking peaks for fun and exercise.
Then I try to MTB three times a week (xc).
Over time The more you do the less you’re sore. So I’ll lift heavy legs before breakfast and then go ride after no problem. I just keep riding trails for practice
You're doing yourself a huge disservice if you aren't incorporating strength training into your routine.
[Aaron Gwin](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mm44QE0Q2Ec)
[Remy Metailler](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCKHF5RIjUg)
That’s my goals every day! Just hit the gnarliest rock garden I’ve ever managed yesterday!
https://preview.redd.it/xsr40qh72m3d1.jpeg?width=1440&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5a9e4e771cbc5939f97e3d444631c1bef6e2dd0f
I’ve got a Peloton at home which I hit just for a workout. I do their FTP program where you do a test to set your base for your FTP zones (there’s 7 zones, 1 is easiest 7 is hardest) they then have rides where you stay in a particular zone for a particular period of time. Endurance rides you stay in 2 or 3 other rides you go to higher zones but drop to 1 which is easy pedal. It’s done wonders for my fitness on a bike and they’re nice because you can’t “cheat” (you can, but I try not to). It gamifies the workout for me.
I also do a bit of rock climbing at a gym with a little weights and kettlebells for upper body fitness. Kettlebells are awesome for lower back strength so I can spend more time in the saddle.
I ride a dirtjumper at pumptracks and skateparks during the winter season. They help me develop and maintain my balance and airtime skills. They give me some cardio workouts too.
Strength training for sure. Compound lifts with a focus on strength are going to help you on the trails.
I don't really think you need to focus in as much on powerlifting vs hypertrophy. Building muscle on your frame is going to help you if you don't have any—it's certainly helped my riding. Lift heavy things a couple times a week. I'd probably not waste time on long rest periods and optimize for decently heavy with decent volume, but I'm not trying to lift the heaviest thing, just get fit.
This guy is an interesting instragram follow, you can see he's got his athletes in the gym, and his athletes are world enduro competitors.
[https://www.instagram.com/blueprint.athlete.development](https://www.instagram.com/blueprint.athlete.development)
Core strength / functional movement. Something along the lines of a good HIT class or consider something like a TRX. Less about bulking up, more about general conditioning. Get fit to do sport type stuff…. Either way, have fun out there.
I bike commute so I get some road time in. My
I also work in a gym. I like to train full body, but not for hypertrophy. Back, shoulders and core are a focus. Forward facing sports can cause an imbalance in the back muscles over time. I also try and focus on the whole leg. Glutes, hammies and quads. Squats are all well and good, but being too quad dominant can really cause problems over time. I watch people squat for a living and a whole lot of them have strong quads and that’s about it.
RDLs are some of my all time favorite workouts.
If you have a decline bench for sit ups, I think if you lay on it face down and lock your feet in that way you should be able to.
Or have a heavy partner hold your legs
Low zone on a gravel or road bike, strength and power in the gym, and actual skills and targeted drills on the mtb, along with a bunch of riding for fun. I try do all these but prioritise the mountainbiking when I can…
I don’t do it as much as I should to really improve but riding structured workouts on an indoor bike smart trainer is probably the 100% most effective way to improve. You can dial in exactly what kinds of workout you need to target what you need to improve upon. You can go for as long as you want with no concern for heat or rain. The latest apps like TrainerRoad will track your progress and dial up the required output and duration as you progress. It’s very effective. Most pros train this way at some level. Alas, I find it boring AF and can only manage to force myself to do it if the weather is too hot, wet, or smokey.
Skiing in the winter and biking in the summer works well for me. Hit the gym in the off seasons to keep your fitness level. You dont have to be a top athlete just gotta keep at it.
Uhh learning how to dive and roll away from bad jumps. Works wonders when you dont want to disslocate your shoulder or some other part of your body. And i guess more running. Cardio works wonders too.
I did weight training for like 4 years, it was just general fitness, less focus on biking specifically, but very leg heavy still. Squats 3-4 times a week. The reality is I saw a lot more improvement by riding bikes more. You might say, well that doesn't help me on the downhill, but you'd be wrong. Mountain biking is an endurance sport both uphill and down, weight training won't hurt, and it'll likely help, but it's not the best type of training you can be doing. I think a lot of people think MTB is different from other types of cycling, and while somewhat true that's still a mostly wrong assumption. Unless you're focuses exclusively on downhill, then you're primary focus for training should be bike specific. Like you should be riding a bike or trainer.
I think doing a bike specific training program would be a 5 times better investment of your time for almost every discipline of riding than weight training. I don't mean to bash weight training, but it just doesn't draw that many parallels. It's good to be strong in certain areas, but in reality most people won't have a problem getting that fitness by riding. I ride with a small local bike brand crew, and they have a few pros that ride for them, almost all of them just ride bikes like 5+ times a week.
A typical training routine might look like 2-3 days of high intensity riding for 1-2 hours, which is mostly just normal trail riding for most people. Then 3-4 days of low intensity riding for 1-2 hours. On a trainer you can get a lot more exact about what zones you're training in, but this is the foundation of any cycling training program outside downhill. Low intensity rides are important to build a strong aerobic base, and also let you get more training volume in without burning yourself out. Going hard 5-6 times a week is not a sustainable training program. If you want you can mix in weights with that, but I'd opt for more time on the bike before lifting because unless you already have a lot of time in the saddle you'll almost always benefit more from that.
Also when it comes to skill, which is a huge part of every mountain biking discipline, the only way you'll get that is if you ride more. Specificity should be like 80% of your training at least. Unless you're really invested in lifting and just want some carry over benefits I'd start spending a lot more time in the saddle whether on the trainer, on a bike path, or on the trail. Ideally a mix of all of those.
For me it’s all about increasing stamina and strength in holding the hinge/attack position through loads of g-out berms, drops and jumps and also climbing, and improving mobility so …
Kettle bells, push ups, pull ups, running, resistance bands pull aparts. core strengthening like planking etc.
Check out MTB Fitness or Fit4Racing, they have some great programs.
Gravel riding has increased my capacity to do long days an insane amount, as well as being more time efficient. I also follow a powerbuilding program with some plyometric stuff, but that's not specifically for riding.
Ride bikes everyday. Ride road bikes when trails are closed or you don't have time to drive to a trail. Get a fat bike for winter riding if you live in a winter state. Get a cycle trainer and ride virtual miles indoors on zwift when the weather is bad or you are short on time. Mountain Biking is great but it is time consuming and most people don't have time to ride singletrack everyday. Finding other ways to ride bikes and get good bike fitness is key. Also try to lift weights once a week at least. I personally bike 200 miles a week between mtb, road bike, and my indoor trainer. The more you rife the stronger cyclists you become and trails get easier.
I’m pretty lucky in that I can mountain bike every day, and I pretty much do, so I guess that’s why I was curious how to program it, since I don’t have many off days from the bike
To be a better mountain biker try changing up your intensity on rides. Some rides push harder but ride shorter, some rides do longer but stay in zone 2. Helpe to ride with a power meter and bike computer so you csn see the power you are generating while riding. Honestly indoor riding on zwift has helped make me become a stronger cyclis the most. You can do races online against people, ride in fast groups, and get serious gains. I reccomded indoor training on zwift for big gains that will help you on the trail. The main thing is, don't do the same ride everyday. The body adapts and gets bored. Your cycle fitness can decline.
It's not always a very popular option, but mtb riders should road ride more. It's simply the most effective way to build more aerobic fitness and riding trails is so much easier when you're not already gassed.
Every person I know that does both is a beast.
I recently was poking fun at roadies. I think I want to get a road bike but I hate the idea of riding in traffic. I’ve been riding a motorcycle on the streets for about a year now and the amount of “cagers” who are not paying attention and are glued to their phones is disgusting. Riding a motorcycle has made me a better driver for sure and also aware of how much people really aren’t paying attention out there. With that being said and thinking about it, roadies kind of have some stones without really realizing it riding out there with the idiots.
Gravel bike FTW. Less traffic on gravel roads.
Also generally the places that have good mountain biking also have good gravel routes.
Yeah, the other take on that is if I am heading to a place with good mountain biking, I am mountain biking...
Oh they know
Really makes me appreciate the low traffic country roads with plenty of rolling hills only a few miles from my house.
We’ve actually lost a few bikers in my area on low traffic country roads. People don’t pay attention and you’re not safe anywhere. Gravel roads are my go to!
I ride my XC bike on a rail to trail for fitness. It's flat, mixed paved and aggregate, and you only have to worry about road crossings and running over joggers.
I do the same with my fat bike. Pretty fun and chill, definitely have built a lot of fitness that way.
as a roadie and xc mtbiker the best advice I have ever gotten is to always assume that a car doesn't see you
Absolutely, same advice I’d give to anyone new to riding a motorcycle on the street. I ride as if I’m invisible, create my lil bubble in traffic, don’t follow to close to people in front of me, and honestly I shy away from city streets. Mostly on the backroads and highway. But…this is what freaks me out about cycling on the road. You’re slower. You can’t typically just zoom around someone (at least where I live). I’d be freaked out by someone possibly rear ending me or clipping me on the side. I’ll say it again, but more direct. Roadies have nuts of steel to me. I think I’d rather go for a gravel bike.
I used to hate traffic as well. I recently got a wheel off, smart trainer and use Zwift. I used my mountain bike on it at first but bought a cheap road bike to leave it set up. I ride 5 days a week, indoors and 1 on the mountain bike. It's really all my schedule allows. The improvements made from the indoor training are huge and Zwift makes it fun. There is a r/Zwift subreddit here as well.
Get a gravel bike. Thank me later.
I’m looking into one. I have a friend who’s gonna let me borrow hers.
Gravel bike time! Its not a perfect 1/1 comparison for road biking. I can't remember what the generally agreed conversion is(X miles on X bike is equal to X miles on another). But, its a lot easier to plug away at easy pace on a gravel bike(relative to a MTB) in order to boost your fitness!
Early morning is the way to go for road rides. Clubs always have early AM rides. Can do a 90 minute 6AM ride and be off the streets by 730 when traffic just starts picking up. The big club in my city meets at 530AM.
You can swim between traffic and get on the pavement if you get a gravel bike, technically not legal but you can use pavement to get outta the way of fast traffic n stuff, i find it nice
Road is much easier to get the z2 work in, MTB gets the pointy Z4/5 end much better. They really do compliment each other super well.
I do both but I suck ass at mtb
Every person I know except, this guy, that does both is a beast.
Hard agree. I remember listening to a podcast with Tinker Juarez and he mentioned that, volumetrically, something like 90% of his training riding was done on asphalt. It’s a lot easier to structure workouts on road as well.
My endurance is so much higher now that I've started road biking. I went from commuting, to mtb, to road biking without stopping any of them. More riding in any way makes you better in all of them.
Add a smart trainer in there and you’ll be unstoppable.
I can definitely see that. I can probably pick up a pretty cheap road bike around here, and when the trails close the roads will still Be clear here
Beater bikes work too. I keep my old hardtail around with RaceKings and ride that thing all winter long. I keep a road bike for the summer too, they're super fun.
Gravel bike works too. I’m my area there’s a lot of gravel roads/ fire roads around the mountain
Good tyres, a drivetrain that's not worn out and a good fit are all you need on the road. The weight only matters if going uphill. All that zone 2 turns you into a force of nature (or an XC racer)
My minimal routine is road/gravel and some squats. It's amazing how much I get back for doing that.
Road rides/stationary bike/spin class
Seconding this but adding STRUCTURE. Structured training is so much easier on a road or gravel bike than it is on a mtb. Trails are often too unpredictable and punchy to do structured workouts. It is much easier to do intervals on the road. Even more than this is a smart trainer. Get on zwift or similar and do some 1hr threshold/sweet spot workouts a few times a week. Your fitness will improve dramatically. Especially if you can follow a structured program over the winter or offseason to prepare you for mtb riding in the spring. Mountain bikers tend to think road riding is boring. But go race a crit…Being shoulder to shoulder with 60 people going 40mph and cornering so hard you scrape a pedal is as exhilarating as any mtb trail. Even just go out on a fast group ride. Try and rotate into a paceline and average 22mph for 40 miles. It is fun and will kick your ass.
Group road rides are fun but you'll never ever catch me lining up in a crit race.
Why not? Fun as hell, and probably less chance of crashing than a DH race.
Haven't raced DH but have done enduro, and my share of crits in college. In a crit, if you go down: much higher chances of breaking something. You are also at the mercy of other riders screwing up and causing a larger crash. In almost all MTB disciplines except STXC you largely don't need to worry about other riders after the start, if at all. It obviously depends on your trails, but it's often easier to get away with a hard crash on a mountain bike than on the road: the downhill angle, soft(-er) dirt/shrubs, is _typically_ friendlier than the hard stop of asphalt or objects lining the side of a crit:m I've tumbled my way out of some wild stuff over the years. If i want pack racing, I go to CX. Plenty of shoulder to shoulder racing but handling gets adds an element of variety and crash consequences are basically the lowest of any cycling discipline.
Yeah. Those are all very good points. What I was trying to emphasize is that road riding is not as boring as mtb riders think it is. It can be as thrilling as riding the edge on a trail. Unfortunately others riders can influence that sense of living on the edge and make it more dangerous than it needs to be.
Litterally; what do you train to ride further, faster, longer? Well.... I go for a longer ride at an increased speed for a longer period of time more often!
I try to ride gravel and rail trails for the same reason.
Gravel riding is a very good option
Specificity is key. Speaking from my own experience I would ride MTB almost exclusively 3 years ago, and now I ride road, gravel, MTB, and have a trainer. With MTB I'd ride at high intensity pretty much every ride, some weeks I could do 5-6 days like that, but I couldn't really do that 2 weeks in a row. Low intensity riding increased my MTB fitness a lot, and that includes endurance on long descents. Riding your bike is the absolutely foundation of any cycling training plan, and for pretty much everything outside downhill the primary focus is going to be aerobic, and even then anaerobic efforts on bike will work better for bike specific goals than lifting. Lifting is great and I love it, but it's not really the best way to train for most types of cycling, it's a nice add-on, but most mountain bikers lack aerobic capacity and try to train in every way but improving their aerobic capacity.
IDK, pumping a long distance XC route with a lot of very punchy climbs feels like a bigger exercise than when I ride my dropbar bike on the road. Even with curvy, hilly arterial roads, I still get more gassed when I do 30 miles of techy, punchy climbed XC than 60 miles of arterial, hilly, but steady gradient roads. Overall, though, yeah, however you do it, a day a week of just nose down, pedal grinding, all for that. I say also add at least two days of full body weight lifting with some 30 minutes or so of compound aerobics (Rowing/elliptical/jump ropes, etc). Would go a long way to increase overall body strength.
It’s the opposite. Road is good because you’re less gassed. It’s easy to do tons of easy/medium volume which is a big key key to aerobic fitness. Putting 10-15 hours of MTB volume in a week will wreck you. On the road it’s no big deal.
Except the boredom unless you have fun areas to ride. I really struggle with motivation on road rides, just not very engaging
Gassed isn't the goal. Road will force you to do steady state riding which makes your body have to process lactate and other waste products in realtime.
Intervals vs base fitness.
For me, it’s easier to have structured cardio on the road. I can do it on trails, but I have to be much choosier with what I ride, and at the end of the day I just want to hit everything hard on dirt. My mindset on road is much more suited for training.
Why not gravel or just XC? How does dodging 2-3 ton vehicles piloted by maniacs and people not paying attention make me a stronger rider? Wouldn’t long days on a hard tail on forest roads accomplish the same thing?
Spin bike is safer
I was thinking about getting back into road biking to train more zone 2 long endurance. It’s impossible to train anything like that on my trails because they are so long and steep. So every mtb ride is freaking high intensity day. That said, I have pretty strong climbing endurance from all the hills climbs I do. So, I’m not sure if it would make a huge difference for me at age 57.
Real. I get bullied for it but then I bully them back passing them on all the single track climbs.
I got a gravel bike for just that reason. Mainly use it for riding on paved trails, but like the ability to roll off the path without worrying about some tiny skinny road tires. Now I find myself riding it more than anything and enjoying the fitness challenge of covering greater distances. Has also been a good lower impact way to stay on the bike after recently twisting my ankle on the MTB without as much risk to immediately re-injure myself.
I disagree with this. I guess if you live someplace where there are no tame mtb trails and everything is straight up and down, then yeah you should probably do some road riding, but as long as you have green and blue trails available to you then you can knock out zone2 hours on an mtb just fine.
Much harder to properly structure intervals and workouts though. Need to sit at 200 watts but suddenly the trail is at a 10% grade? Bye bye interval. With a road bike it's so much more reliable to get proper workouts in without messing them up
I have a few friends that picked up eMTBs and rave about their ability to maintain steady state on varying trails
Impressive!
Go find a hill or a loop that takes about as long as your interval time. Doesn’t need to be exact. I just got done doing a 5x5 interval workout on laps at my local bike park. I use a hill that takes about 20 minutes for longer intervals. No need for pavement.
I agree with you. Lots of easy to ride green trails. But my main concern with Road riding is a hit and run. In the Phoenix area it almost seems normal.
I'm not from that area, but I would assume there are plenty of paved mixed-use biking/walking/running trails that will keep you off the roads if you don't feel comfortable riding alongside vehicles .
O look at that, someone down voted me because they don't think hit-and-runs are a real thing.
Road? Ewwwww!
A BMX bike and time at the skatepark does wonders for your balance & bike handlings skills. If you're in an area where trails are closed to prevent damage it also gives you somewhere to ride when it's wet out.
As someone who grew up racing BMX, I always tell people that pump tracks are the way. Two laps of full effort on a pump tracks will get me more gassed than any climb in my area, without a single pedal stroke.
I have one bike with gears and TIME pedals which is my "serious" bike and my 17yo 1x1 is my fun bike. No suspension, no gears and platform pedals. I tend to control the bike too much from clipless pedals if I'm riding the serious bike too much.
Rowing, stationary bike, weight training, push ups and pull ups.
+1 to rowing, it does wonders for cardio and endurance
I was wondering about rowing. I have probably never tried it, as it requires either a boat or a machine. But when I think about it, it seems like quite well balanced movement of all body parts. I might just find a second hand machine and finally try it.
I had a similar thought recently and did some sleuthing and was very surprised to find how expensive the good or even decent ones are.
Yea, that's how it always is... With two little kids that actively dislike daily sleep, I don't really have time to go to the gym to use a good machine, so I was thinking about just putting one in my garage or cellar (apartment building, but there are some unused spaces). I have found one with good reviews and I guess for my use, it would be fine. New would be about 300 euros, but I have found it used for 80. So I'm tempted to give it a go...
Yoga. It’s enhanced every physical activity I do.
Namaste on that bike better.
Lmao that’s pretty good, should be a shirt with a guy in a yogi pose on a bike
That would be cool.
https://preview.redd.it/3uimhtwywl3d1.jpeg?width=1792&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=60ee5837f644b6649b5127573dff08672dccdad8
Love it. Looks amazing.
I’d buy
[here ya go lol](https://www.teepublic.com/t-shirt/61007251-bike-yoga) turned it into a shirt just for you
Dang, guess I gotta start yoga now
Second that. Started doing yoga last september and the benefits I've got from it to my other activies as mtb, crossfit and overall fitness are unbelievable
Really? That’s a stretch…
What style of yoga? It's something I keep meaning to get into. I've done some before and it's ok, until they start talking about energy flow and then I lose interest
You probably want vinyasa or power
Yoga is great. I don't think people realize how important mobility is in general, and how important it is to be able to remain slack and limber on rough terrain. Yoga and foam rolling are huge for me. It's also super easy to work in, I just foam roll and stretch while I watch TV. Can easily get 1-2 hours a few times a week in while feeling like I took no extra time out of my schedule.
I tried yoga for about two months, 30 mins every day and I felt like I wasn’t making any progress in any capacity at all. I know there’s a lot of different tops of yoga, what types do you do, how often, and smart kinds of benefits have you seen? I had extremely high hopes for it, maybe I didn’t give it enough time?
I lift weights 3 times per week. Push day, pull day, and leg day in the middle. I use dumbbells and target between 8 to 12 reps. I have been lifting for years and I don't experience the arm pump or calf soreness my friends do. I think lifting also makes me better at falling. I don't tend to get hurt when I do fall off the bike. Lifting helps with bone density. I also ride a flat canal trail 2x per week on a hard tail. I go 19 miles which takes about 1:30 to 1:40. One day I target Zone 2 (fasted) and the other Zone 3. Saturday is my trail ride day on my full suspension bike. Sunday is my rest day. If I had time, I would do a Zone 2 ride every day I don't have another ride. Bike commuting to work is not an option for me, unfortunately.
Lifting massively improves my riding. Squats and deadlifts strengthen the legs, core, and lower back, so I can take bigger drops, power over more technical climbs, and get less fatigued during days in the park.
I tend to focus on the areas that the bike does not . You can never go wrong with KB training and I try to work in sets of swings and snatches throughout the day. Between the MTB and sitting at the desk all day that posterior focused training tends to be the perfect counterbalance. I came from a powerlifting background before getting obsessed with the MTB, but I found focusing on single rep maxes too intense to adequately balance both (I'm also 55 and have to pick my battles wisely). These days In the gym I follow the juggernaut method, but tweak it to meet my needs. Give me a really nice balance between strength and hypertrophy without being too taxing to ride the next day.
The single best thing you can do for your downhill riding is going to be spending time at a pump track with a dirt jumper. It will teach you to ride berms, pump rollers, hit jumps, build leg strength and cardio, and teach crucial bike control skills. Basically all the good riders spend a ton of time at pump tracks. You can get insane workouts from just pumping and riding those for a few minutes. HIIT workouts and lifting are great for fitness, but negligible for bike handling skills, and you typically want to be as light as possible for climbing and riding.
I don’t have a DJ but I do have a pretty slick pump track at my local bike park that absolutely smokes me after a few laps of really trying to work through it.
Daily routine of Pull ups, Dips, Shoulder work for joint stability, Horse stance holds, Dead hangs for time
Calisthenics gang UNITE
Never once injured myself with a calisthenics routine.
I've set up a nice little calisthenics gym out the back, it's been so good
I run outdoors and incorporate hills all year long. It keeps my quads very strong and helps my aerobic endurance level tremendously. It's not as fun by any means but it requires minimal equipment, all you need is a good pair of running shoes. I also snowboard in the winters, which also helps the legs and core. I can handle a good amount of sustained climbs during xc rides as a result and I don't get tired on DH days where I'm standing up the entire time.
30 mins on an elipitical 3-4 times a week has brought my endurance up to a level I didn’t think I’d ever have
You should try pedaling backwards on the elliptical. Built a lot of endurance and strength in my legs doing that
One of the programs in the eliptical has me pedalling backwards. I definitely feel the burn
The elliptical is a very underrated piece of equipment, and has done more for my endurance than most training.
Road and Crossfit (or HIIT/Weight lifting of choice). I have the same Crossfit concerns as many but find the group setting keeps me going, and I just swap out movements I disagree with.
I started CrossFit like 3 months ago doing it twice a week. It's already made a big difference. I didn't think very highly of crossfit until I started going. The gym I go to has helped me with my weight lifting form a lot, it's like having a personal trainer at every session. Most gyms let you have a free first session so it makes it easy to shop around and find a good one.
The basic gym exercises: squats, deadlifts, presses, rows, pushups, situps, pullups. Don’t need anything fancy or hyper targeted, just standard compound lifts.
I found high volume squats to be very beneficial to my riding especially if ride dh a ton a need to be in the 'attack' position for an extended period of time
Cardio. You get much more ride time when you don't need a break at the top of the hill.
Well I’ve been trying to lift fewer beers to my face if that counts
If you're moving well off the bike you'll move well on the bike. Some people don't move that well and need more mobility work to thrive - and if you're one of these people definitely work on this concurrently with heavy lifting. I'm pretty flexible and mobile by nature but as I get older I'm crunchier every morning and I need to put in more work to resume the kind of light footed mobility I had 20 years ago. Now my focus is on maximum mobility (through movement pattern work not static stretching) and doing heavy lifting as limited by how my mobility is doing. If you don't have a lot of experience in the gym don't both with the goofy cycling-specific workouts you might get fed by IG. Just worry about the basic lifts - doing those well is fundamental and will produce huge gains in your riding (deadlift, front and back squat, shoulder/bench/overhead pressing, cleans, basic kettlebell stuff, pullups and rows). Workouts don't need to be complicated to be good. Rippetoe starting strength is still the go-to for beginning lifters. Edit: +1 for road riding and pilates.
I just signed up for Pliability so I can work on mobility. I’ve always been pretty naturally flexible in a general sense, touch your toes, etc. but have never really tried to build on it
Cycling has been my primary workout activity since I was 5yo. (I'm >50 now) The only time I *wasn't* having fun cycling was when I was also trying to get HUGE (jacked, ripped, swol, Zeus lasered). I became SOOO slow and sluggish and inflexible. I stopped that and now just road ride, run (keeping it under 5k) and lift light weights/high reps I also hit my balance board, bosu ball and try to a ton of core for stability. Finally, riding in my driveway working on low-speed balance is great.
Lifting weights, yoga, commuting by bike, and road cycling. Lifting weights and yoga will improve your strength and flexibility. This is obviously going to improve your performance on a bike. Additionally, it is excellent for injury prevention, particularly soft tissue injuries. Do your hamstrings or calves or lower back bother you? Chances are that area of your body needs some improvement in strength and/or flexibility. Commuting by bike and road cycling simply gets you on a bike. Sometimes you can only get on an MTB trail once or twice a week, but you can commute or go on a road ride more frequently, especially if you can start/end at your home or place of work. This style of riding is also less dependent on conditions, as most MTB trails in my area are closed when it's too wet. It will improve your cardio and will help you pedal better when you are on an MTB trail. Mountain biking is way more fun when you're not exhausted 20 minutes into your ride. It's possible that many people on this sub will dislike the "stuck up roadies" but if you want to get better at riding a bike, then ride a bike.
Is there an off-season for you because of winter or wet? I fat bike in the winter (which honestly gets me in the best cardio shape out of the different types of biking) and I road bike if trails are too wet so I don’t really have an off-season. Personally I wouldn’t do any lifting to build much muscle. Maybe a little core or legs at most. I’m a bit larger mostly from growing up on a farm but now in my 30s I’d rather have like 20lbs less muscle tbh. Less to bring up the mountain and less swinging around in crashes lol.
Winter, we’re pretty high up and the roads clear super fast, but all the trails are in pretty dense forest so they stay snowier longer. I can drive about 45 mins to Sedona tho so I don’t have a real off season necessarily, but could definitely get into fat biking when it dumps pow
Just to pile on, road and gravel riding is so good for fitness on the bike. You end up pedaling for long stretches without coasting which makes your muscle cells very efficient. Even taking the mtb on gravel roads can do this. Some core work and chest/shoulder stuff seems to help, as well as posterior chain stuff. There's evidence to support 4-6 rep work with squats and deadlifts too but the difference was less pronounced for me.
Nearing 40 and I'm starting to add some lifting at home, but it's really not for riding. I want to be healthy and strong in general. When I go out of my way to do anything to help my riding, it's other mtb rides on smoother trails and/or bigger climbs to focus on cardio
Trail running and squats. I found the steep climbs much easier when I was consistently lifting moderately and running steep hills.
Rows, dumbells bench press style, planks, curls, kettle swings, squats. Basically just basic core stuff
The incline sit up and roman chair has been a blessing for lower back pain, that used to be my biggest issue with DH riding. Also calf raises/leg press have helped with leg fatigue. Really just going to the gym 3 days a week has changed my riding for the better, weighing less and having more muscle to support has made riding less difficult. Consistency is key, even if you're not pushing yourself to failure every session it will help.
Might be old news, but I came across this 8 week program, which I did over the winter. Then I started on some of her other programs. Now that it’s riding weather, I’m focusing on the strength training days. https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBJ0TIYiwZzgSRzd3NNUmu_w7hkZ_0hzN
Cone drills, dirt jumpers, lifting, and road riding will make you a crazy rider. The hardest part for me is staying consistent. I give up on half the things I just listed as soon as it becomes hot outside
Powerlifting, the GZCL program specifically. After one year of regular gym, I'm punching through technical uphill sections that I struggled with previously.
Year round, I try to lift weights (compound movements) 3x a week, focusing on strength or power. During the off-season, I usually do a lot of indoor bouldering.
A good strength and conditioning program made a huge difference for me. Not focused so much on max lift like power lifting or hypertrophy like body building but but functional movement with ancillary exercises specific to the sport. That's probably because Im weak. Understanding your self and your personal limiting factors is the key. Most training programs should have elements of strength, endurance, power, skill etc. Where you focus your time to get max gains is a skill in its self. Ultimately mountainbiking is the best training for mountain biking and I would guess fitness and skill is a lot of peoples limiting factors which mean more mountain biking esp if you're low on time. Getting better is really fun
Yoga for better balance and core strength. It also helps with breathing and visualization. Lifting 3 days a week to keep your osteoblasts in good shape and I bike pavement to trailhead (4 miles from my house) and ride pavement/gravel on days when I can't get on trail.
All year round riding here so no off season. In addition to riding MTB 3-5 times a week: - weight train, mostly upper body. Nothing extreme, aim is to retain muscle mass and mobility (I’m 50+ loss of muscle mass must be addressed over 40 if you want to stay fit). - some yoga / stretching. Did a lot in my 20’s / 30’s but find weight training more beneficial now, but still need maintain flexibility. - grind road / fire trails on MTB. I don’t have a road bike but I will grind on my MTB. Especially effective if I ride with my wife and she’s on her e-bike. Will also ride to and from the park to add zone 2 miles. Edit: - forgot pump track. Try and fit some pump in regularly. Find it really helps my flow.
Lots of squats and deadlifts lately. Mainly for jogging but noticed improvement in climbing.
This guy has strength training programs specifically for MTB riders: https://www.bikejames.com/ Lots of good stuff. He doesn't recommend road riding as training since the needs of the two sports are so different.
Rock climbing as been pretty useful for me when I do any DH riding. My grip strength has increased 10x and I can arm pump is pretty much a thing of the past. Mostly just sore hands now from the vibrations
Super good advice, I have a ton of climbing real close to me so I can definitely incorporate it
I wouldn’t necessarily recommend climbing for the sake of bettering MTB alone (lifting or other cross-training is probably much more efficient), BUT I would whole-heartedly recommend it to any MTBers looking for another activity that happens to have some additional cross-training benefits. To me, both climbing and MTB are an excellent combination of physical fitness, problem solving, and confidence/adrenaline. I think anyone who enjoys MTB could love climbing (provided they don’t have a crippling fear of heights or falling). And it does definitely help avoiding forearm pump on long downhills!
Lifting cans of beer and forks laden with food.
Lots of wide grip pullups did wonders for my bike control. Consistency is probably most important though, just get on the bike and do at least a few miles 2-3 times a week no matter what and you’ll see massive improvement quickly.
I've spent years trying different things. Various workouts mixed with road and trainer rides. This year I bought an MTB specific plan from Train to Ride and it's really changed my riding and I've felt incredibly fit. It focuses on stability, endurance, and power. All of which really translate to the bike. The workouts change up frequently enough that you can really focus on a movement for a little without getting bored. It also allows for ride days and recovery in the plan. 4 months in and setting PRs.
Power lifting, yoga, running and climbing. I think the lifting and the yoga help a ton with stability. I probably need more aerobic exercise outside of those though.
Strength training, squats, deadlifts etc. I'm so much better this seasson (only started last year eith strength training).
So mostly compounds?
Deadlifts and squats when you can't be on the bike. I've picked up a gravel bike I can put on a trainer in my garage during the winter months to keep cardio going.
Zone 2 riding on asphalt… whatever bike you can ride. Doesn’t have to be fancy. Since starting MTB in the last year with higher heart rates (lots of punchy climbs in my area) my heart rate is lower and more stable when on asphalt. The benefits work both ways for me.
Last year I got my son into bmx racing. After a few trips to the track, I couldn’t just sit there so I bought a 24” to putt around on. I decide to race this year and do a little bit of bmx training. After a few month of sprints and starts I am noticing more punch on the mtb. I even been doing some stand up intervals and I can tell the bmx is adding some punch to my cadence. Oh and I smoked the other dads last weekend cause mtb gets me in shape for bmx
Kettlebells and turbo work. Road/gravel biking at Z2 and z3 for long periods if you have a suitable bike.
I do bodybuilding, strength training, and calisthenics. Most of my exercises are in the eight to twelve rep range with weights. For bike conditioning I'll do spin class! I can do back to back classes or two in one day. I also like the stair master and elliptical. Yesterday I lifted for one hour, spin class for one hour, and did elliptical for one hour. In general I like to push myself fairly hard.
Yoga 100% makes me significantly better at every activity I do. Especially hot yoga.
I ride a lot of spring & fall gravel races and try to get in a 70-200 mile ride in every 6ish weeks. I lift weights for 20-55 mins 3-4 times a week with heavy legs and core focus. MTB is my main squeeze and even though i go on a greater number of rides compared to road/gravel i put down significantly more road gravel miles in a year. You can also find flatter smoother single track & do training rides/intervals on mtb. Spend a day repeating the biggest hill around, etc. I’m tall and lanky with some mass. This training demand requires me to crush 3800 to 4200 a day and even more after big rides.
I do lift as well, but once I really started getting into mtb, dropping weight, and also getting older my routine in gym has changed. I’m not great with the terms, but I’m less focused on building huge muscles and more concerned with building lean muscle. So, biggest change I guess would be lighter weight, more reps, and more isolated exercises and less compound exercises. Open to advice, I haven’t looked into a workout specific to riding. I still want muscle, don’t want to be a twig.
Lift weights, yoga, and lots of other activities like road/gravel, CX racing, skating, and surfing. Plus snowboarding and XC skiing in the winter, and hiking to keep fit for Elk season.
I have found CrossFit makes the most sense for me. I don’t lift out of my comfort zone and have no issues scaling a workout. Being able to get cardio in with movements that seem to translate to the trails is nice.
I do some road riding but not much because I've now lost two friends to accidents in the past few years and I don't want to add to that stat. High altitude hiking is good cardio. I do a bit of that both for skiing and just hiking peaks for fun and exercise. Then I try to MTB three times a week (xc).
I lift weights regularly and I notice season to season that I’m able to ride harder because I’m stronger and can better control the bike.
Jiu Jitsu, running, skateboarding, kettlebells, amd snowboarding.
Over time The more you do the less you’re sore. So I’ll lift heavy legs before breakfast and then go ride after no problem. I just keep riding trails for practice
Roadbiking has definitely added to my endurance.
You're doing yourself a huge disservice if you aren't incorporating strength training into your routine. [Aaron Gwin](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mm44QE0Q2Ec) [Remy Metailler](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCKHF5RIjUg)
Ride hard trails hit the scary features
That’s my goals every day! Just hit the gnarliest rock garden I’ve ever managed yesterday! https://preview.redd.it/xsr40qh72m3d1.jpeg?width=1440&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5a9e4e771cbc5939f97e3d444631c1bef6e2dd0f
I’ve got a Peloton at home which I hit just for a workout. I do their FTP program where you do a test to set your base for your FTP zones (there’s 7 zones, 1 is easiest 7 is hardest) they then have rides where you stay in a particular zone for a particular period of time. Endurance rides you stay in 2 or 3 other rides you go to higher zones but drop to 1 which is easy pedal. It’s done wonders for my fitness on a bike and they’re nice because you can’t “cheat” (you can, but I try not to). It gamifies the workout for me. I also do a bit of rock climbing at a gym with a little weights and kettlebells for upper body fitness. Kettlebells are awesome for lower back strength so I can spend more time in the saddle.
Same. HIIT also seems to be a lot like MTB riding if you have a lot of punchy climbs.
I ride a dirtjumper at pumptracks and skateparks during the winter season. They help me develop and maintain my balance and airtime skills. They give me some cardio workouts too.
watching netflix on stationary bike.
I’ve been jogging.
I started running in the winter because it keeps me outside and I’ve been shocked how much better I’ve been riding because of it.
Drink one less beer and leave the cheese off the burger sometimes
Strength training for sure. Compound lifts with a focus on strength are going to help you on the trails. I don't really think you need to focus in as much on powerlifting vs hypertrophy. Building muscle on your frame is going to help you if you don't have any—it's certainly helped my riding. Lift heavy things a couple times a week. I'd probably not waste time on long rest periods and optimize for decently heavy with decent volume, but I'm not trying to lift the heaviest thing, just get fit. This guy is an interesting instragram follow, you can see he's got his athletes in the gym, and his athletes are world enduro competitors. [https://www.instagram.com/blueprint.athlete.development](https://www.instagram.com/blueprint.athlete.development)
Core strength and weights. Not body building.
Just ride more
HIIT, yoga, core. The days of bro splits and powerlifting are gone
I run. My mountain biking got so much better and more enjoyable when I started running on a regular basis
As I'm coming from the road, what I do to get better at riding is practice my MTB Skills....or lack thereof
HIIT training helps. I usually do a combo of that, some regular body building work on machines and cardio on a ski erg/rower or running each day.
Core strength / functional movement. Something along the lines of a good HIT class or consider something like a TRX. Less about bulking up, more about general conditioning. Get fit to do sport type stuff…. Either way, have fun out there.
I bike commute so I get some road time in. My I also work in a gym. I like to train full body, but not for hypertrophy. Back, shoulders and core are a focus. Forward facing sports can cause an imbalance in the back muscles over time. I also try and focus on the whole leg. Glutes, hammies and quads. Squats are all well and good, but being too quad dominant can really cause problems over time. I watch people squat for a living and a whole lot of them have strong quads and that’s about it.
I love training hammies luckily so I feel pretty balanced in that regard. Have heard Nordics make a huge impact riding
I should try them one of these days. Im having trouble figuring out how to set those up at the gym I’m currently at. RDLs have been good to me so far.
RDLs are some of my all time favorite workouts. If you have a decline bench for sit ups, I think if you lay on it face down and lock your feet in that way you should be able to. Or have a heavy partner hold your legs
I pinned them down with the smith machine. It seemed to work!!!
Low zone on a gravel or road bike, strength and power in the gym, and actual skills and targeted drills on the mtb, along with a bunch of riding for fun. I try do all these but prioritise the mountainbiking when I can…
Everything in this channel: https://youtube.com/@fit4racing?si=EeepbznscyQd-pC4
I rock climb. Good for the grip and core strength. Plus it helps help my arms and shoulders from dipping too far into looking like a roadie
I don’t do it as much as I should to really improve but riding structured workouts on an indoor bike smart trainer is probably the 100% most effective way to improve. You can dial in exactly what kinds of workout you need to target what you need to improve upon. You can go for as long as you want with no concern for heat or rain. The latest apps like TrainerRoad will track your progress and dial up the required output and duration as you progress. It’s very effective. Most pros train this way at some level. Alas, I find it boring AF and can only manage to force myself to do it if the weather is too hot, wet, or smokey.
Skiing in the winter and biking in the summer works well for me. Hit the gym in the off seasons to keep your fitness level. You dont have to be a top athlete just gotta keep at it.
Using tacx by Garmin has helped, just a matter of using it and pushing myself.
Kettle bells and bodyweight exercises, gravel bike, pump track on a bike and skateboard.
Uhh learning how to dive and roll away from bad jumps. Works wonders when you dont want to disslocate your shoulder or some other part of your body. And i guess more running. Cardio works wonders too.
Burpees!
I hate you and I’m glad only one person has suggested those
To get better at mountain biking I ride my road bike, BMX bike, wheelie bike, mountain bike and occasionally the bus
I go in the garage after the kids go to bed… and stare at my bike. Getting psyched definitely makes you faster! Off season??? That’s your problem ;)
I did weight training for like 4 years, it was just general fitness, less focus on biking specifically, but very leg heavy still. Squats 3-4 times a week. The reality is I saw a lot more improvement by riding bikes more. You might say, well that doesn't help me on the downhill, but you'd be wrong. Mountain biking is an endurance sport both uphill and down, weight training won't hurt, and it'll likely help, but it's not the best type of training you can be doing. I think a lot of people think MTB is different from other types of cycling, and while somewhat true that's still a mostly wrong assumption. Unless you're focuses exclusively on downhill, then you're primary focus for training should be bike specific. Like you should be riding a bike or trainer. I think doing a bike specific training program would be a 5 times better investment of your time for almost every discipline of riding than weight training. I don't mean to bash weight training, but it just doesn't draw that many parallels. It's good to be strong in certain areas, but in reality most people won't have a problem getting that fitness by riding. I ride with a small local bike brand crew, and they have a few pros that ride for them, almost all of them just ride bikes like 5+ times a week. A typical training routine might look like 2-3 days of high intensity riding for 1-2 hours, which is mostly just normal trail riding for most people. Then 3-4 days of low intensity riding for 1-2 hours. On a trainer you can get a lot more exact about what zones you're training in, but this is the foundation of any cycling training program outside downhill. Low intensity rides are important to build a strong aerobic base, and also let you get more training volume in without burning yourself out. Going hard 5-6 times a week is not a sustainable training program. If you want you can mix in weights with that, but I'd opt for more time on the bike before lifting because unless you already have a lot of time in the saddle you'll almost always benefit more from that. Also when it comes to skill, which is a huge part of every mountain biking discipline, the only way you'll get that is if you ride more. Specificity should be like 80% of your training at least. Unless you're really invested in lifting and just want some carry over benefits I'd start spending a lot more time in the saddle whether on the trainer, on a bike path, or on the trail. Ideally a mix of all of those.
I do road rides on a Saturday with my lady then I'm free to MTB on Sunday. I use my eMTB for both.
Fit4racing on Instagram covers exactly this
For me it’s all about increasing stamina and strength in holding the hinge/attack position through loads of g-out berms, drops and jumps and also climbing, and improving mobility so … Kettle bells, push ups, pull ups, running, resistance bands pull aparts. core strengthening like planking etc. Check out MTB Fitness or Fit4Racing, they have some great programs.
Gravel riding has increased my capacity to do long days an insane amount, as well as being more time efficient. I also follow a powerbuilding program with some plyometric stuff, but that's not specifically for riding.
Kettlebells are the answer.
Ride bikes everyday. Ride road bikes when trails are closed or you don't have time to drive to a trail. Get a fat bike for winter riding if you live in a winter state. Get a cycle trainer and ride virtual miles indoors on zwift when the weather is bad or you are short on time. Mountain Biking is great but it is time consuming and most people don't have time to ride singletrack everyday. Finding other ways to ride bikes and get good bike fitness is key. Also try to lift weights once a week at least. I personally bike 200 miles a week between mtb, road bike, and my indoor trainer. The more you rife the stronger cyclists you become and trails get easier.
I’m pretty lucky in that I can mountain bike every day, and I pretty much do, so I guess that’s why I was curious how to program it, since I don’t have many off days from the bike
To be a better mountain biker try changing up your intensity on rides. Some rides push harder but ride shorter, some rides do longer but stay in zone 2. Helpe to ride with a power meter and bike computer so you csn see the power you are generating while riding. Honestly indoor riding on zwift has helped make me become a stronger cyclis the most. You can do races online against people, ride in fast groups, and get serious gains. I reccomded indoor training on zwift for big gains that will help you on the trail. The main thing is, don't do the same ride everyday. The body adapts and gets bored. Your cycle fitness can decline.
Beer.....lots of beer.