What is the best winter training a rider can do too kick some positive @ss in the spring? I think I know what works, but I whant to know what you think.
winter DH training?
- Thread starter rockbike
- Start date
Mountain Bike Strength Training Systems from James Wilson.
His system is the balls and it really works. Go check him out.
I do the system plus my road bike on a trainer and one of those Chuck Norris machines just because I am that badass, (it was free)
I also have about every MTB video that I watch on a big screen in the weight room downstairs to keep me entertained/motivated and away from staring at the time during riding.
His system is the balls and it really works. Go check him out.
I do the system plus my road bike on a trainer and one of those Chuck Norris machines just because I am that badass, (it was free)
I also have about every MTB video that I watch on a big screen in the weight room downstairs to keep me entertained/motivated and away from staring at the time during riding.
I am going to try something a little different this winter. My time is essentially limited to 3 days a week of exercising due to work, kid and wife exercise time. The biggest problem I have personally run into in the past is the loss of skill due to lack of riding in the snowy northeast. Therefore, I'd like to keep a balance of skill, fitness and strength. I don't know how this will go, but here is the "routine" I am going to follow:
Day 1 - ride local indoor skatepark (keep some bike skills, work on jumping, etc.) + stretching.
Day 2 - gym/weightlifting. 3-4 sets per body group, which wil include deadlifts/squats/dumbell bench press/dumbell row and core work + stretching.
Day 3 - spin class or ride trainer - some fitness, but mainly concentrate on timed sprints + stretching.
NOTE: fitness is fine, but for DH you need to tune into sprinting.
I am personally excited about skatepark riding (despite probably having to dodge 60 groms). To me, winter exercise needs to be fun, and hopefully being on the bike 1X a week will fulfill this. I also will need to change it up come February, as I know that's usually the time I get bored of my routine and motivation drops like a rock.
Good luck!
Day 1 - ride local indoor skatepark (keep some bike skills, work on jumping, etc.) + stretching.
Day 2 - gym/weightlifting. 3-4 sets per body group, which wil include deadlifts/squats/dumbell bench press/dumbell row and core work + stretching.
Day 3 - spin class or ride trainer - some fitness, but mainly concentrate on timed sprints + stretching.
NOTE: fitness is fine, but for DH you need to tune into sprinting.
I am personally excited about skatepark riding (despite probably having to dodge 60 groms). To me, winter exercise needs to be fun, and hopefully being on the bike 1X a week will fulfill this. I also will need to change it up come February, as I know that's usually the time I get bored of my routine and motivation drops like a rock.
Good luck!
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You mean you don't ride outside?
I don't race DH currently, but I find that winter is a great time for me to work on my overall fitness (cardio) and strength which definitely help my XC racing.
Despite having a fulltime job, family and too much to do in general, I do have the luxury of having a Gym and roller & trainer in my basement so I get to work out fairly often (3-5 times per week) while my daughter plays. We also ride the trails once a week throughout the winter unless there is really fresh new snow it's not too bad. Last year, I put studded snow tires on for the first time and they did help with some of the ice so that's my plan again this year.
As I get older, the desire to ride in the snow and ice has greatly lessened! I used to concentrate on fitness, but my weak points were skill and speed - 2 crucial areas for DH! I am a believer that to train for DH, you need to do exercises that relate to this sport; and while you need both, I think that power rules over fitness. That's why I am personally trying to keep these factors in balance. When spring comes, I hope to actually own a road bike and put some early fitness miles in.
Snowboarding. It's all I can really do in the winter.
I am however, doing 'spin classes', where about 5 of us are meeting once or twice a week to sit on our windtrainers and watch a movie. It's all I'm really interested in doing training-wise.
I am however, doing 'spin classes', where about 5 of us are meeting once or twice a week to sit on our windtrainers and watch a movie. It's all I'm really interested in doing training-wise.
I'm in training too, and live in the Northeast. I do about "training sessions" a week. I have a few different options to keep it from getting routine.
1. ride an indoor skatepark. about 30 min from the house, I do this about 2-3 a month in the winter
2. Night ride on local trails. I just purchased a really bright light, and skinnier tires. Riding at night add a whole new level of difficulty. If you can go fast at night, you can go REALLY fast in daylight. Try hitting some doubles in the dark, I promise it's and experience you won't soon forget.
3. I try to get 1-2 rides in during the weekend. Either at our local DH shuttle mountain, trail ride or, freeriding at my trail. The Ice-mud started early this year so freeriding isn't gonna be as frequent as I would like.
4. When the weather sucks and your hands are blistered from raking trails in the dark. I do about an hour of cardio between bike machine and stairclimber. I do intervals between regular pedaling 3-4min, and sprints (standing and pedaling in crouched position) 1 min each. I'm trying to be able to increase my sprint times to 3min by spring. After that I do a little weight training on whatever muscles I feel need it that day.
5. Build and maintain trails. last weekend me and an injured riding buddy cut and rough groomed 1 mile of super tech single track. I also spend a lot of time digging on my freeride trail and raking.
Winter sucks! Invest in some quality cold weather gear and a nice light, we'll get through this together!
1. ride an indoor skatepark. about 30 min from the house, I do this about 2-3 a month in the winter
2. Night ride on local trails. I just purchased a really bright light, and skinnier tires. Riding at night add a whole new level of difficulty. If you can go fast at night, you can go REALLY fast in daylight. Try hitting some doubles in the dark, I promise it's and experience you won't soon forget.
3. I try to get 1-2 rides in during the weekend. Either at our local DH shuttle mountain, trail ride or, freeriding at my trail. The Ice-mud started early this year so freeriding isn't gonna be as frequent as I would like.
4. When the weather sucks and your hands are blistered from raking trails in the dark. I do about an hour of cardio between bike machine and stairclimber. I do intervals between regular pedaling 3-4min, and sprints (standing and pedaling in crouched position) 1 min each. I'm trying to be able to increase my sprint times to 3min by spring. After that I do a little weight training on whatever muscles I feel need it that day.
5. Build and maintain trails. last weekend me and an injured riding buddy cut and rough groomed 1 mile of super tech single track. I also spend a lot of time digging on my freeride trail and raking.
Winter sucks! Invest in some quality cold weather gear and a nice light, we'll get through this together!
+1 for that
A great thing to try is at the near end of a cardio work out sprint balls out for the last 2 minutes. And as time goes on and sprinting the last two minutes becomes easier, sprint the last three and the last four. At the indoor skatepark I go to, you have to sprint all out to clear the box jump. And after I started to do the sprinting at the last 5 minutes of my workout, I can clear the jump a little easier than I used to. Also, when I ride cross country, I can get up the last 1 mile climb way better than I used to. And this climb is a windy 22% grade hill that gets to like 24% at one point.
Also, upper body strength is crucial too so you can throw the bike around better. But as far as lack of speed, the only way to improve that is to take a step back from focusing on speed and start focusing on your technique. Great way to do this is to go to your local shuttle hill and go down a relatively flat dh run with rocks on it as at a decent medium speed and stop before every rock garden and look at it. You should keep in mind that whatever line you chooses reflects the speed you are gong through it. So a great thing to do is find a line. And keep doing until over time you are able to go bombing at it until you are able to gap stuff or just learn how and where you should not use your brakes. Like brakes in a turn or ever roots or rocks are a big NO. The only time you should be braking is the clear or before a turn.
Also, upper body strength is crucial too so you can throw the bike around better. But as far as lack of speed, the only way to improve that is to take a step back from focusing on speed and start focusing on your technique. Great way to do this is to go to your local shuttle hill and go down a relatively flat dh run with rocks on it as at a decent medium speed and stop before every rock garden and look at it. You should keep in mind that whatever line you chooses reflects the speed you are gong through it. So a great thing to do is find a line. And keep doing until over time you are able to go bombing at it until you are able to gap stuff or just learn how and where you should not use your brakes. Like brakes in a turn or ever roots or rocks are a big NO. The only time you should be braking is the clear or before a turn.
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