[oncamber]

Hey all,

As the winter season is now in full swing, training for next years DH race season is upon us. As I am located in a snowy city and cant ride, what non biking activities/workouts do you do that pay off come May?

Figured this may be a helpful thread (for those of you that want to share your secrets)

Thanks!

 

[FlipFantasia]

skiing, and lots of it...and no biking, until spring...

 

[Mike Buell]

This is the best program that I am aware of, I used the Ultimate MTB workout program last offseason, had awesome results and will be training with it again this season. Its good stuff!
http://www.bikejames.com/products/

 

[jonKranked]

Personally, I can't ride much either and have access to a pretty good gym where I work, so here goes:

Do plenty of cardio! I generally do 20-30 minutes on an exercise bike as warmup before I lift. I do intervals, so low intensity, followed by high intensity (to simulate sprints).

Lifting/weight training: go for fitness, not bulk. Go for maybe 60-70% of your max, but do more reps. I do generally 3 or 4 sets of 15-20 reps each depending on what muscle group I'm working.

DO NOT FORGET TO WORK YOUR CORE. This is crucial. Abs, hips, and lower back.

Work your ancillary muscles a lot. Using free weights over machines helps with this.

Lately I have started doing 15-20 minutes on a rowing machine in addition to the time I do on a bike.

If you have access to a pool, start swimming. This is one of the best cross training sports/exercises I've found (then again I used to swim competitively). It gives an excellent full body workout (legs, core, upper body), as well as cardio and respiratory.

 

[Jettj45]

This is the best program that I am aware of, I used the Ultimate MTB workout program last offseason, had awesome results and will be training with it again this season. Its good stuff!
http://www.bikejames.com/products/

+1 for that.

 

[Total Heckler]

+1 for that.

I am starting this system very soon. Pretty excited about it.

 

[captainspauldin]

Do plenty of cardio! I generally do 20-30 minutes on an exercise bike as warmup before I lift. I do intervals, so low intensity, followed by high intensity (to simulate sprints).

Lifting/weight training: go for fitness, not bulk. Go for maybe 60-70% of your max, but do more reps. I do generally 3 or 4 sets of 15-20 reps each depending on what muscle group I'm working.

You don't feel tired after warming up with cardio before lifting? In general I'll stretch before lifting to warm up, get my lifting done and then finish off strong on cardio/circuits.

Only reason I ask is I've heard from multiple sources that cardio is more effective after lifting rather than before(James Wilson, guy who does the mtb strength systems has workouts setup as Stretching-lifting-cardio/circuits as well).

 

[jonKranked]

You don't feel tired after warming up with cardio before lifting? In general I'll stretch before lifting to warm up, get my lifting done and then finish off strong on cardio/circuits.

Only reason I ask is I've heard from multiple sources that cardio is more effective after lifting rather than before(James Wilson, guy who does the mtb strength systems has workouts setup as Stretching-lifting-cardio/circuits as well).

Not really. I'm only doing 20-30 minutes (then again I can regularly go out and hammer 2-3 hours of xc without killing myself). Followed by about 30 minutes of weight training, and now I'm tagging on another 15-20 minutes on the rowing machine. When I first started training again this fall I was a little tired afterwards, but that has since gone away. In these instances, I would scale back, and only do 15 or 20 minutes of cardio, then worked my way back up as I got back into shape.

I didn't make mention of it, but I *always* stretch before starting to exercise or ride (and generally afterwards too).

FWIW, I've been told by a number of coaches and fitness trainers that doing a short cardio warmup is good because it gets your heart rate up, and also because it gets your muscle groups active and your circulation up. This way, your muscles are getting plenty of oxygen before you start doing weight based exercises, and this supposedly makes the exercises more effective.

 

[Damo]

Snowboarding.

And eating.

 

[chicodude]

FWIW, I've been told by a number of coaches and fitness trainers that doing a short cardio warmup is good because it gets your heart rate up, and also because it gets your muscle groups active and your circulation up. This way, your muscles are getting plenty of oxygen before you start doing weight based exercises, and this supposedly makes the exercises more effective.

Yeah, by short, they mean like sub 5 minutes.

I think if you want to concentrate on lifting, the short warm up, then lift, then cardio

If lifting is a secondary concern then cardio/lift.

If you want good training advice, I would generally ask those who are/or work with a trainer

 

[DirtyMike]

Cardio at teh gym. I like to set the seat on the bikes a touch low since I am primarily on a DH bike....Not too low though.

Hiking is great.

Balance excercizes will help out alot.

Belive it or not Pillates<sp>


Other than that...Push ups, and situps

 

[DirtyMike]

Yeah, by short, they mean like sub 5 minutes.

I think if you want to concentrate on lifting, the short warm up, then lift, then cardio

If lifting is a secondary concern then cardio/lift.

If you want good training advice, I would generally ask those who are/or work with a trainer

Straight from my personal trainer.

Warmup till your heartrate is steady and elevated<times vary by the person>
do your cardio workout, half hour fourtyfive minutes whatever your level is
Go lift..... kep a pace that keeps your heart rate elevated, but not as elevated as on teh cardio machines

go cool down back on the machines.




Works great, slims down fast, builds muscle fast





Only thing I will add to this is to remember to watch how much your burning/intaking. When your working hard like this, your going to burn alot, so make sure you replenish properly.

 

[chicodude]

Straight from my personal trainer.

Warmup till your heartrate is steady and elevated<times vary by the person>
do your cardio workout, half hour fourtyfive minutes whatever your level is
Go lift..... kep a pace that keeps your heart rate elevated, but not as elevated as on teh cardio machines

go cool down back on the machines.




Works great, slims down fast, builds muscle fast





Only thing I will add to this is to remember to watch how much your burning/intaking. When your working hard like this, your going to burn alot, so make sure you replenish properly.

Interesting. Are you trying to...Slim down?

My general workout is short warmup, stretch, Lift, Cooldown (In a nutshell)

Im skinny as **** and need to add some muscle. If I don't do 1/2 hour of cardio I can lift ALOT more weight with less reps.

 

[jonKranked]

Yeah, by short, they mean like sub 5 minutes.
I think if you want to concentrate on lifting, the short warm up, then lift, then cardio
If lifting is a secondary concern then cardio/lift.
If you want good training advice, I would generally ask those who are/or work with a trainer

One good thing to point out, lifting isn't my primary focus. I'm not trying to get jacked, I'm going for fitness / endurance. Also, this is the workout routine that I've found has worked for me over the years.

Warmup till your heartrate is steady and elevated<times vary by the person>
do your cardio workout, half hour fourtyfive minutes whatever your level is
Go lift..... kep a pace that keeps your heart rate elevated, but not as elevated as on teh cardio machines

Yup. I can get my heart rate up to peak (upper 150's, rest for me is like 105 or so), but takes me a little longer to be able to keep it there.


FWIW, I'm in reasonably good shape for my age. I'm 26, 6'1" and weight about 197lbs with roughly 13% body fat (its a little high right now, but I wasn't able to work out for the majority of this year for a number of reasons). When I was in high school, I was the same height (my growth spurt came early, and I was within an inch of my adult height when I started 9th grade), but I weighed a TON less. I was a competitive swimmer, I trained pretty much year round, 3 hours a day 5 days a week in the summer (not including other activities like biking), and for winter season (high school team) 1 hour in the morning, 3 hours in the afternoon during weekdays, and then a 4 hour session on Saturdays. I was down to just under 160lbs, with about 3% body fat, and I was on about an 7,000 to 8,000 calorie a day diet (I was eating about 5 meals a day). Eventually, I got pretty burned out on swimming and quit.

What does this have to do with the topic at hand? Its about what works for each person (which is what I thought this thread was about). My workout routine isn't going to make me a world cup racer, but that's not what I'm going for. I'm just trying to stay healthy and fit so I can participate in the sports and racing I enjoy, and not have a heart attack at 46. I race downhill because I think its a lot of fun, and I've made a lot of friends and been a lot of cool places because of it. I've been on the podium before, which was great, but I've also been DFL, which did suck. But I didn't lose any sleep over it, and my life wasn't traumatically altered, and I still race DH. I don't have any sponsors, but that's by choice. I don't want to feel like I have someone to answer to other than myself every time I get on a bike (I know not everyone has this mentality, but that's just the way I'm wired).




As for that Bike James guy, I'm sure his program is great and it'll improve my downhilling performance, but I'm never gonna try it. Why? Because frankly, the guy is a pompous douche. Back when Rachel Atherton got hit by a car in SoCal, instead of having some sympathy for a fellow cyclist, he used it as an opportunity for a shameless plug of his program:

http://www.bikejames.com/cardio-training/why-was-she-out-there-in-the-first-place/

He claims that "this isn't meant to slam rachel in any way", but that's straight horsesh*t, and a feeble attempt to seem sympathetic. Yea, he may have a point about training & fitness, but for anyone who's ever been hit by a car or had a friend hit by a car, you need to know there's certain things that you just have to bite your fvcking tongue and keep to yourself. But instead of doing that, he goes and posts it on his business website.

 

[nh dude]

in the summer ride the top 2 bottom runs@ local dh joint
ride the pumptrack in intervals or how long you can last
ride the xc bike time your favorite loop n better it
ride the moto bike if you got one (next year maybe?)
swim in the lake when its to hot or your to lazy to ride.
try not to get burned out in july. keep it fun keep it varied don't get bored.

in the post season like november until snow = relax do nothing but relax and enjoy being home on a weekend and not driving and unloading.

january-no snow april?= gym and lifting and cardio. lots of lifts that mimic movements on the dh bike. some crossfit bs some bikejames bs is mixed in with normal stuff @ least 2x a week. plus somesnowboarding feed the gravity fix. lots of intervals. lifting while standing on a voodoo board is good . box jumps are good. pull ups are good.

pre season: lots of xc on a short tech loop with good ups and downs 10 min tops. time it a bunch try to beat your record. get the dh bike set up. time something else and keep that time faster through the summer.

 

[gemini2k]

Hmmm, or just continue to do top to bottom 10-15 minute DH runs through the winter . With a little lifting during the week, occasional XC when I feel like it, and DJ/pump track/DS riding once or twice a week, maybe during my lunch hour.

 

[guiepinto]

This is the best program that I am aware of, I used the Ultimate MTB workout program last offseason, had awesome results and will be training with it again this season. Its good stuff!
http://www.bikejames.com/products/

This program is great... I felt a lot better after a few sessions. Too bad I had to quit it because of a shoulder surgery.

James is now the official Yeti team trainer. So it's not just a few riders who think he is good...

 

[manhattanprjkt83]

i do everything from my house...non heavy weight training and core stuff.

pushups
situps
hanging bar leg raises
dumbell curls
dumbell presses
and some flys...

im not some fitness freak but i try to get about 4 days a week of core type training in...my leg work outs i get from xc (i know that isnt great for explosive speed but im not that hardcore).

i think it really helps to have general good fitness for dh...a solid upper body really helps when you are riding long days at resorts.

 

[yopaulie]

What about wind sprints on the bike? I did those in football...those SUCK but work!

 

[FullMonty]

i do everything from my house...non heavy weight training and core stuff.

pushups
situps
hanging bar leg raises
dumbell curls
dumbell presses
and some flys...

im not some fitness freak but i try to get about 4 days a week of core type training in...my leg work outs i get from xc (i know that isnt great for explosive speed but im not that hardcore).

i think it really helps to have general good fitness for dh...a solid upper body really helps when you are riding long days at resorts.

a couple simple ones to help build a bit more explosive power are single leg squats and burpees making sure you jump when you come up.

 

[Big J]

skiing, and lots of it...and no biking, until spring...

I second this....mmmmm, bumps.

Plus weights & running. IMO running is an excellent measuring tool of one's overall fitness w/ out getting too geeked out about a fitness program, k.i.s.

J

 

[KeyboardRider]

My regime follows quite closely to JonKranked's.

I usually run to the gym to warm myself up a bit and then start hitting the weights. I don't have a set routine at the gym, I try to listen to my body depending on how hard the work days been. Which is usually the reason I go to the gym before work.

On a side note does anybody have any recommendation on trials riding specific gym workouts? Mainly want to work on strengthening my wrists and increase my static hops on the bike. I've scoured the web and came up with nothing on this.

 

[DirtyMike]

Interesting. Are you trying to...Slim down?

My general workout is short warmup, stretch, Lift, Cooldown (In a nutshell)

Im skinny as **** and need to add some muscle. If I don't do 1/2 hour of cardio I can lift ALOT more weight with less reps.

No not trying to nessecarily slim.... It cuts fat pretty fast, for the most part, depending on what I eat, it rearranges weight.

If your looking to bulk up, then no matter what lifting regiment you do<as long as its a proper one> the best thing you can do is fuel accordingly.

 

[LMC]

My regime follows quite closely to JonKranked's.

I usually run to the gym to warm myself up a bit and then start hitting the weights. I don't have a set routine at the gym, I try to listen to my body depending on how hard the work days been. Which is usually the reason I go to the gym before work.

On a side note does anybody have any recommendation on trials riding specific gym workouts? Mainly want to work on strengthening my wrists and increase my static hops on the bike. I've scoured the web and came up with nothing on this.

for your wrists i would look into a wrist roller. you can buy them pretty cheaply or make one from pvc pipe and some rope/chain if you prefer.

as for the static hops, i would look into high pulls for your upper body,
squats and plyometric excercizes eg box jumps for lower body. You gould google routines for how basketball players increase their vertical jump for a good point of reference.

 

[ronan]

No not trying to nessecarily slim.... It cuts fat pretty fast, for the most part, depending on what I eat, it rearranges weight.

If your looking to bulk up, then no matter what lifting regiment you do<as long as its a proper one> the best thing you can do is fuel accordingly.

it 'rearranges weight' ?

can you explain this a bit more?

 

[drkenan]

As for that Bike James guy, I'm sure his program is great and it'll improve my downhilling performance, but I'm never gonna try it. Why? Because frankly, the guy is a pompous douche. Back when Rachel Atherton got hit by a car in SoCal, instead of having some sympathy for a fellow cyclist, he used it as an opportunity for a shameless plug of his program:

http://www.bikejames.com/cardio-training/why-was-she-out-there-in-the-first-place/

He claims that "this isn't meant to slam rachel in any way", but that's straight horsesh*t, and a feeble attempt to seem sympathetic. Yea, he may have a point about training & fitness, but for anyone who's ever been hit by a car or had a friend hit by a car, you need to know there's certain things that you just have to bite your fvcking tongue and keep to yourself. But instead of doing that, he goes and posts it on his business website.

Why do you care if he uses Rachel's accident as an example of what not to do for training? I just read that link and don't feel like he's slamming her at all.

Do you know her or something? Just judging from her running her mouth over the past season, I'd say she talks way more sh!t than some little blog by "bikejames." Not really my business but just my .02.

 

[DirtyMike]

it 'rearranges weight' ?

can you explain this a bit more?

Yeah, its pretty simple.... it takes my fat gut, burns it down, and builds up my upper body and core, Hence "rearrange".

 

[Pip3r]

Anyone do a good bit of rock climbing? I bought some gear last year but only went once, would like to try to actually commit to regularly going this winter. It seems to work the same arm/hand muscles I have the biggest issues with when racing DH

 

[Jettj45]

Anyone do a good bit of rock climbing? I bought some gear last year but only went once, would like to try to actually commit to regularly going this winter. It seems to work the same arm/hand muscles I have the biggest issues with when racing DH

Yeah I go to an indoor bouldering place near me. Help's so much. My hands/forearms never get sore anymore.

 

[Stan_Ireland]

This is my first year training properly for the next racing season.

Im trying Crossfit + Running + Night XC Spins + Paleo diet

 

[jonKranked]

for your wrists i would look into a wrist roller. you can buy them pretty cheaply or make one from pvc pipe and some rope/chain if you prefer.

as for the static hops, i would look into high pulls for your upper body,
squats and plyometric excercizes eg box jumps for lower body. You gould google routines for how basketball players increase their vertical jump for a good point of reference.

I'd recommend a wrist roller as well.

For static hops, work your core. Exercises like a rowing machine or swimming that require coordination between legs, core, and upper body will help. Also, do some standing type jumps, or exercises that will help your body give sudden bursts of strength, if you can follow my train of thought on this.

Why do you care if he uses Rachel's accident as an example of what not to do for training? I just read that link and don't feel like he's slamming her at all.

Do you know her or something? Just judging from her running her mouth over the past season, I'd say she talks way more sh!t than some little blog by "bikejames." Not really my business but just my .02.

From a business perspective, its unprofessional to try and capitalize on someone else's misfortune.

 

[Jettj45]

I'd recommend a wrist roller as well.

For static hops, work your core. Exercises like a rowing machine or swimming that require coordination between legs, core, and upper body will help. Also, do some standing type jumps, or exercises that will help your body give sudden bursts of strength, if you can follow my train of thought on this.



From a business perspective, its unprofessional to try and capitalize on someone else's misfortune.

I agree with that. He was definitely wrong in using her accident as an example of why road biking in his opinion is a waste of training time. Definitely took away of what I thought of him, will still use his program though...it's good.


But back on topic. Just a note: for people asking about forearm exercises. Remember you should be doing 20-30 reps because the majority of your forearm is slow twitch muscles. They are very resistant and recover fast.

 

[chuffer]

beer curls?

 

[LMC]

I agree with that. He was definitely wrong in using her accident as an example of why road biking in his opinion is a waste of training time. Definitely took away of what I thought of him, will still use his program though...it's good.


But back on topic. Just a note: for people asking about forearm exercises. Remember you should be doing 20-30 reps because the majority of your forearm is slow twitch muscles. They are very resistant and recover fast.

He was very quick to post a explination/apology of sorts afterwards.. my personal feeling is that he probably got a bit overexcited and posted before thinking. I dont think he meant any bad intent, still it was a definate doozy on his behalf.

Thats a good point about the rep range.
Another excersize i like for grip strength is looping a towel over a chinup bar, then either supporting my weight by gripping the ends of the towel, or actually performing chinups. Grip strength has a good carry over to riding and training in general.

 

[willem]

If you are like me and hate the gym... Ride MOTO.

That is a full body work out especially when you are fighting ice all day. I also ride my stationary bike for about 30min a few times a week.

 

[FullMonty]

ride BMX/4x... we have an awesome series here in sw BC.

http://www.pipelinebikepark.com/index.php?categoryid=8&p2_articleid=48

 

[cecil]

go to rays every weekend

 

[gemini2k]

go to rays every weekend

That place is probably the ultimate workout. I don't think I've ever been more tired than after a weekend of riding there. Doesn't beat you up like a DH resort, but man, you can just keep going and going and going and going around the jump lines till you pass out.

 

[Lelandjt]

Steroids and enduro sex.

 

[cecil]

gemini2k santa barbara is far far away from rays!!!
yes rays will give you cardio, core, and big smiles, we just need to figure a way to make a dh course in a high rise building for the winter race series