Outside of actual competition, mountain biking is probably one of the least trained sports. The majority of mountain bikers see it more as a recreational activity than a sport per se, and approach it accordingly: buy a bike, rock up to the trails, ride with some friends who might or might not know what they’re doing.
The thought of training off the bike, or even getting appropriate instruction, doesn’t occur to most MTBers, a concept that is simply weird to those who engage in pretty much every other complex physical activity. It’s not like mountain biking is easy either; the physical, technical, and psychological demands are high, and the learning curve is steep.
Even skilled riders (again, with the exception of competition-level) often approach a day on the trails differently from how other sportspeople would. It’s common to throw the bike in the car (often without adequate checks or maintenance), along with some gear (often of questionable hygiene), and simply rock up and ride. Hungover? Not a problem. Unfit? She’ll be right. Big session on the beers afterward? Sure…
This lackadaisical approach to riding is probably fine for most; if mountain biking is just a way for you to get out and about with friends from time to time, turning up is enough. But what if you want more? What if mountain biking is actually a big deal in your life, something you spend a lot of your time and money on? Surely it’s worth doing a bit more off the bike to maximise your enjoyment, skills development, poise, and benefit from your time on the bike (not to mention your ability to keep doing it without injuring yourself)?
Your Body
If you play amateur soccer, you probably train for it – at the very least you’ll do a bit of running or gym work to improve your strength and endurance. You might even do specific drills to improve skill, speed, or agility. You’ll definitely warm up before a match. Mountain biking, not so much.
The reason that even recreational soccer players train off the field is to improve their ability on the field, and being more able during a match turns out to be more fun. Amazingly, being fitter, stronger, and more agile on your bike makes for much more enjoyable riding. Getting to the top of the hill without being destroyed is great. Descending without arm pump or having to sit in the saddle makes for much more enjoyable (and faster) downhills. Faster reaction time and better fine motor control make you more responsive, and less likely to crash. All of these things are relatively easily improved with a few hours of weekly training off the bike.
It’s common for mountain bikers to assume that simply riding is enough – and, sure, if you can spend more than two hours a week on your bike it might be (although if riding alone was enough, competitive MTBers wouldn’t spend so much time in the gym or cross training). Although being on your bike develops some skills, and increases fitness and strength to a point, it doesn’t create appropriate physical balance or account for flexibility and tends to result in specific weaknesses (i.e., systems that aren’t activated on the bike, but that still enhance riding when properly developed).
One of the best things I ever did was to work with an exercise physiologist (think personal trainer with a graduate degree and a proper knowledge of how to improve your ability with suitable physical activity). In a few sessions, an exercise physiologist can help you develop an appropriate, doable, and incremental mountain bike-specific training program, which you can complete in your own time.
A few follow-up sessions every three months or so to assess your progress, and to tweak and modify as needed, will also make a world of difference. Given you probably spent more than $5k for your bike (plus gear), a few hundred dollars spent on working with a professional who knows how to help you get fit and strong on the bike is pretty much a no-brainer.
Here’s another idea: As alien as it might sound, yoga is actually the perfect complement to mountain biking. Forget the pseudo-spiritual yoga of the 90s. Modern flow yoga is the ideal way to get strong, flexible, focused, and loose. It helps you to learn to breathe properly in challenging physical positions and helps you to look after your back, neck, and joints.
Importantly, it also helps improve your balance and stability, two essential mountain bike skills. Last, yoga is a pretty good way of managing stress and improving mindfulness (see below), so it makes for a great double whammy in training both your mind and body.
None of these ideas require much time, equipment, or money – just a desire to enjoy your riding a bit more. They work even better when you can do them regularly with your riding buddies (like most things, it’s usually more fun and motivating to do something with people you like).
Your Mind
At a competitive level, mountain bikers take mental preparation and training very seriously. Most will work with a sport psychologist to deal with distraction, stress, and fear, to improve focus, to maximise resilience, and stay motivated. These days, the most effective psychological techniques are based around mindfulness (not the hippy type): specifically, being able to focus and sustain attention in the presence of discomfort, emotion, strain, or distraction.
Short of working with a sports psychologist, there are a lot of things you can do to help improve your psychological health, including yoga and meditation. One of the simplest and best “mindfulness” exercises though, is what I like to call “dropping anchor” – it’s like a mini meditation that you can do pretty much anywhere at any time, and it’s a great way of refocusing your attention on or off the bike, especially when you’re stressed or in a fear-provoking environment.
How to Drop Anchor:
Awareness (A) – Take a very quick note of whatever is distracting you or competing for your attention. Literally anything: stress; being tired, uncomfortable, or hungry; fear; or just not being present. Don’t try to do anything with it, just notice it (it helps to say to yourself something like “Right now I’m really annoyed/hungry/tired”).
Connect/Control (C) – Pay close attention to and take control over basic body systems. Start with your feet: notice them and move them around. Then repeat with your hands, and then your shoulders. Be deliberate. Finally, take a couple of slow, controlled breaths (in and out through your nose), pulling the air down into your belly (i.e., diaphragmatic breathing). Notice that you are more “in your body” and that you have more basic control over what you’re paying attention to physically.
Engage (E) – Very deliberately notice three things you can see, a few things you can hear, something you can feel, and where you are. Notice that doing this gets your attention. Notice that you are more “present” and less distracted.
With practice, you should be able to get this routine down to about 10 seconds and be able to do it pretty much anywhere and at any time. If you’re really serious about getting good at it, try practicing 20 times a day (if that sounds like a lot, remember it only adds up to just over three minutes!).
A sound mind in a sound body – Putting it Together
I’ve never been a fan of New Year’s resolutions – they’re usually exercises in pointless speculation because they’re seldom backed up with sustained action. But they do often represent a desire to change, and if you actually love mountain biking, the new year is the perfect opportunity to put some simple, regular things into your life that will improve your enjoyment of riding, increase your competence on the bike, reduce your likelihood of injury (letting you ride for longer), and as a nice side-effect, improve your overall physical and psychological health.
Can you add a couple of hours of training to your weekly schedule? Maybe start with a discussion with an exercise physiologist about your goals, and available time and resources, and build from there. Perhaps “drop anchor” whenever you notice you’re distracted or overwhelmed? It usually takes about a year of dedicated practice of something to reap the benefits properly. Why not make this year about being a fitter, stronger, more resilient person, and watch yourself enjoy your riding more?
