The Riding For A Lifetime Podcast

Why Standing Pedaling is Better than Seated Pedaling

As you probably know I have some different views on mountain biking compared to most "experts". From the value of flat pedals to the ridiculousness of spending hours on a road bike to improve your mountain bike conditioning I try to get riders to stop and think about things, if only for a second. Funny things happen when riders stop and think about things. Some of them start to realize that there may be more to the story than what they were told. The world of mountain biking is littered with myths, half-truths and outright lies and I'm here to help shed some light on what it really takes to improve your riding. One area that I've talked about before but I think needs some special attention is Standing Pedaling. Most riders view Standing Pedaling as something to be avoided unless absolutely necessary. They are told that they'll tire themselves out to quickly and they think they need to sit down in order to weight the rear tire on climbs. They end up shackling themselves to their seats, which really impedes their growth as a rider. Today I posted a new podcast going over all things standing pedaling. I'll dispel the myths surrounding it and reveal... - Why it can actually be easier on your knees to stand up while climbing. - Why you have to stand up to execute skills properly. - Why clipless pedals can make it harder to stand up. - How to use standing and seated pedaling together over the course of a ride. Once you understand that standing pedaling is better than seated pedaling in many ways and how you can incorporate it more into your riding you'll never look at the trail the same way again. More riders are held back by this one myth than anything else on the trail. Break free of the seat shackle and you'll have way more fun on the trail. -James Wilson-

Heart Rate Recovery, Race Day Nutrition & Spin Classes for MTB

It' back! Due to popular demand the long lost MTB Strength Coach Podcast is finally making a return, hopefully for good this time. While I love doing the podcast, finding a format I could do on a long term basis was hard but I think I have a good idea this time - pulling some of the questions from my Tuesday Facebook Fanpage Q&A sessions to go into in more depth. In this edition of the podcast I answer... - What's the fastest way to lower your recovery time between hard efforts, ie hammering up a climb, slight downhill then hammer again? - What should you do for race day nutrition? - Is spinning a good way to train for MTB? Be sure to post any questions or comments you may have in the comments section of the blog post, I'd love to hear them. I'm sure a few people have an opinion on the spin classes at least... BTW, you still have a couple days to get your copy of the new In Season Endurance Training Block. This workout is perfect for keeping you riding strong not only today but all season long. Don't lose the High Tension Cardio and strength base you need to avoid a late season slump, click on the link below to learn more and get your copy today!

Click here to get your copy of the new In Season Endurance Training Block.

-James Wilson-

Psych: Achieving optimal mental focus during performance

As a coach I the first thing I tell new clients is that I need to work on getting things squared away from the neck up before I can worry about the rest of the body. Over the years I have observed that the few riders who display certain traits when it comes to training tend to do much better than everyone else, however those traits are not genetic and can be learned. Once I show someone how to focus properly and unleash the power of their minds their training really takes off. This means that I am always looking for ways to improve my understanding of the psychological side of training and that led my to download a copy of the book Psych by Dr. Judd Biasiotto. Dr. Biasiotto is a former high level power lifter who was, as he put it, "the worst power lifter in the world" when he started. After 2 years of coming no where near the top of any meet he learned how to focus his mind in a way that allowed him to become one of the top lifter in the world. Psych is filled with insights and lessons from someone who has had a lot of unique personal and professional experiences and had a lot of great takeaways. Below you will find a podcast review of those takeaways and how they relate to mental training for mountain biking. You'll also find the notes from the podcast posted on my blog.

Zen Mountain Biking - Improve your riding 100% in 30 days

In this episode of the MTB Strength Coach Podcast I share the lessons I took from the book Zen Jiu Jitsu: The 30 day program to improve your game by 1000%. You can find the notes from this podcast posted below.

• Zen Jiu Jitsu is a book about how to improve your Jiu Jitsu game in just 30 days. The principles talked about apply nicely to mountain biking as well.
• At the heart of the program is the ability to identify an area of weakness and then design a plan to address it. This can be tough for a lot of riders because it involves thinking about their riding in a different way.
• In order to identify an area of weakness you first have to acknowledge that 1) mountain biking isn't a "talent" and differrent aspects of riding can be improved and that 2) you suck in some of those areas.
• Some of the different areas of mountain biking include skills like pedaling (seated & standing), body position and cornering and/ or fitness like attack position endurance or standing pedaling power. The more specific you can make it the better but don't get too specific - we want to focus on principles more than specific methods.
• Once you've identified an area of weakness you need a plan to address it specifically. This too can be tough because it requires that you look at your workouts as something that can create very specific responses in the body and that you focus on a specific area rather than trying to train everythign at once.
• Again, you need to think more along the lines of movement principles than recreating specific movements from the bike in the gym. Standing on a wobble board doesn't make something more "mountain bike specific", the basic movement patterns being trained does.
• This also doesn't mean that you exclude any other types of riding or training, just that you make a conscious effort to focus on your chosen area as much as possible.
• Once you have chosen an area to focus on and have the drills and exercises you need to do so then commit to working on this area at least 5 days a week for thenext 30 days. This can be broken up into mobility work, strength work, skills drills and focus rides but everyday you train you should have some element of you area of focus present.
• After 30 days take a 1-2 week break and then repeat the process. There is always something you can get better at and as you progress those things will get smaller and more specific and will require more concerted effort to move the needle.
• Some other things I took from the book:
  • Be mindful of what you do. While turning the brain off and just "riding" is fun it doesn't help you improve.
  • It takes 10,000 hours of deliberate practice to master something. This reinforces the point about being mindful of what you do and that you need to have patience with the process.
  • Study at other "schools". In the book the author talked about the benefit of going to another school every once in a while to train. He said it was good to experience different rolling styles and energy levels of the school and students. I think this is extremely valuable for mountain bikers as well - try a different type of riding every once in while, try to go out with another local riding group or take a skills class from a new coach.
  • Keep the White Belt Mindset. Be humble and always assume that you can learn more and get better.
  • Be aware of the Anti-You. This is the thing that intimidates and frustates you. It could be a specific section of trail or a type of riding skill you don't posses (yet) but the Anti-You is the mirror you need to break to take your riding to the next level. A lot of riders spend a lot of time and effort avoiding their Anti-You instead of seeking it out and facing it which is why so many riders stop progressing at a certain point.
  • Remember the sage advice of Tyler Durden: This is your life and it's ending one minute at a time.

Maximizing Your Off Season Training

In this podcast I explain how to maximize your off season training plans. You can download the MP3 file by clicking on the link below. You can find the notes from this podcast posted below. Please post any questions in the comments section on my blog at www.bikejames.com I will get to them ASAP. What is the importance of off season training? Without a plan to maintiain or improve fitness and skill levels over the off season riders end up having to ride themselves into shape each season. This means that they spend most of the year getting back to where they were and are able to make little progress over the previous season. Eventually they start to lose so much over the off season they struggle to even get back to where they were and start to regress as a rider. What is the purpose of off season training? - You need to know what your goals are before you can decide which plan is best for you. - If you want to be a better mountain biker then you need a plan that addresses the things you need on the trail, not on the road. Common off season training methods... - Periodization: Developed by the Soviet Union as a way to plan the long term training of an athlete. It has been adopted by coaches in the US and usually starts with some sort of high volume/ low intensity "base training" phase followed by a gradual increase in intensity and drop in volume over the course of several other phases. It was originally designed to help a high level athlete, not someone starting out or with just few years of training experience. This means that a certain level of movement skill had been established before taking on a periodized workout program and that movement skill was maintained through off season cross training. This doesn't mean that you don't want a "periodized" program (periodized is just another word for planned) but you want to follow the principle of periodization, not the specific methods used by high level athletes or, if you are a high level mountain bike rider, methods designed for other sports. - LSD/ Long Slow Distance: This is the most common type of periodization but, as I'll mention later, not the only kind. This is the method where you build a large aerobic base (usually on a road bike) over the course of 8-12 weeks. High mileage is the goal and little thought is given to technique or high intensity efforts at this point. As the program progresses you usually see an increase in the use of high intensity intervals and a decrease in volume. This approach prioritizes aerobic fitness over everything else and while it is effective it isn't the best way for everybody. - The approach that I use and recommend is to flip the priorities and make sure that you have the appropriate movement skills in the first place, stress proof them through strength training and high intensity intervals and then work on your ability to sustain those efforts while continuing to maintain good form in the face of fatigue. - This approach makes sure that you are working as efficiently as possible as the program progresses and not incurring as much wear and tear along the way. It also frees up a lot more time and makes high level training a reality for more rider - if you don't have 4-6 hours a day to devote to training, or want to devote that much time to training, then you can't follow the LSD approach. - Start with movement based workouts first. These will focus on basic bodyweight and use single limb loaded exercises. You want to be able to focus on the quality of your movement so avoid the temptation to pick the hardest exercises possible - you want to be right at the edge but not over it. Cardio will consist of shorter efforts focusing on pedaling technique and body position. - Next move on to functional strength workouts. These workouts will have you using more advanced bodyweight exercises and shifting focus more to the loaded exercises. Cardio will start to work on extending your efforts with an eye on maintaining your form and focus. - Finally you can move on to the max strength and max power phases. These phases will focus heavily on developing strength or power and will be built on the movement skills and functional strength you built in previous phases. This is where you take things to the limit and you want to be sure you have a solid base to work from. Cardio will continue to extend and resemble the specific types of efforts you use on the trail. - Please note that not emphasizing long rides in training doesn’t mean you don't need long rides in your training. If you are planning on riding a solo 24 hour race then you are going to need to go out on some loooong rides to help develop your mental game and rhythm. Just don't overdue it and let them start to drag down your real training. - Some things to think about when designing your program: - High Tension Cardio - Skills - Standing vs. Seated Pedaling - Restoring natural movement and applying it to the bike - Training for mountain biking isn't rocket science but you do need to think about what you want and if the methods you are using are the best way. I have changed and refined my techniques many times over the years and only by being open to other possibilities can you continue to improve. Don't fall victim to the Fat Person Curling Soup Cans Mindset. -James Wilson-

Tension Based Cardio Training

In this edition of the MTB Strength Coach Podcast I cover my new cardio training concept and how to use it to instantly gain a blueprint for improving any area of mountain biking. You can download/ listen to the podcast by clicking on the link below. You can also read my notes from this podcast below. What is the ultimate goal of training? -Is it to improve your strength/ cardio/ fitness or is it to improve your ability to perform certain life and sport tasks as needed? - We know that lab or gym fitness doesn't necessarily lead to improved performance but we still approach training that way - increase your measurements of strength (weight lifted, reps performed, etc.) and or measurements of cardio fitness (VO2Max, Lactate Threshold, etc.) and you'll increase your performance on the trail. - What gets glossed over is that what we are really training is tension and our ability to create it and sustain it. What does this mean for training? - We have to realize that improvements in strength and cardio fitness are symptoms hope that improvements in how we measure strength and cardio fitness are a symptom of an improved ability to control tension. - Tension control refers to 3 things: your ability to create tension in a specific pattern, your ability to produce/ withstand a high level of tension in those patterns and the ability to fuel that tension appropriately. - You must be able to easily create the movements you need in your sport and life. Improving your ability to move depends more on your ability to reduce tension in some areas and improve reflexive tension in others than your ability to consciously apply tension (i.e. get stronger). However, more efficient movement can show up as an increase in strength and cardio. - Your ability to produce/ withstand an adequate level of tension in the appropriate movements determines your strength and power on the trail. This is different than "strength training" since it doesn't look at increases in weight or reps but an increased control of tension within a movement. Progressive overload misunderstood training principle. KBs use big weight increase = survive to dominate - Cardio system fuels tension production and responds very specifically to types of movements and, just as importantly, types of tension in the body. Examples: - Trail Rider who wants to be able to stand up and climb faster. This requires good single leg squat strength and produces a low RPM/ higher tension effort. This rider needs to focus on single leg squats (improving mobility or strength as needed) and also use cardio methods that require higher levels of muscular tension like combo drills. - XC racer who wants to finish races stronger. Most XC races require a lot of seated pedaling but a lot of time can be made or lost on climbs and descents. Strong seated climbing and more confident descending both require strong and mobile hips. They also produce higher tension levels and so kettlebell swings would be a good tool to add in. - DH racer who wants to finish races stronger. Most DH races require little pedaling and instead require a lot of skill to remain efficient with the execution of technical skills. Executing skills like cornering, jumping and manualing while riding a 40 pound DH bike requires a high tension production ability and most riders would benefit from simply improving that. Improve the ability to create movement and the ability to produce/ withstand force in those movements to improve efficiency before worrying about improving cardio - what are you going to fuel, your complete inability to get into position and be strong from there? Conclusion - We aren't training to improve strength and cardio, we are training to improve our ability to control, produce and fuel tension. Terms like strength training and cardio training are ultimately misleading because they put the focus on a symptom of improved performance, not the cause. - Look at the tension demands of your sport and the specific things you struggle with and you'll have a blueprint for improvement. Training is a mystery, not a problem with a simple equation for an answer. -James Wilson-

Sandbag Training with Ultimate Sandbag creator Josh Henkin

In this episode of the MTB Strength Coach Podcast I interview Josh Henkin, creator of the Ultimate Sandbag and THE expert when it comes to how to improve your strength and fitness using sandbag training. After seeing a demo by Josh I immediately recognized the impact they could have on a mountain biker's training program and so I got some to use in my training facility. I wanted to get Josh on the podcast to tell us more about sandbag training and why it is so important to incorporate into your workouts. In this podcast we cove: - How Josh got into sandbag training. - When he realized that sandbags offered something much more than just another way to do the same old exercises. - Three unique benefits you'll see from sandbag training. - Some tips to someone just starting out with sandbag training. - Why he started making his own brand of sandbags. - Why can't just use another piece of equipment and get the same results. You can find out more about the Ultimate Sandbag and Josh's Dynamic Variable Resistance programs at http://tinyurl.com/mtbsandbags.

Interview with ESD expert Joel Jamison

In this episode of the MTB Strength Coach Podcast I interview Energy Systems Development expert Joel Jamison. Joel is the author of the book Ultimate MMA Conditioning and is at the forefront of a more functional look at "cardio" and "endurance" training. In this interview we cover: - How strength training supports and fits into the ESD concept. For a lot of mountain bikers "cardio" is the main goal and trying to get them to understand how the strength training fits in is a constant struggle in my world. - How specificity of ESD training fits in. Most riders always figure :more is better" and you end up with people who race for 2 hours going out on 4-5 hour "training rides" all the time. How much over distance work is enough? - A bit about the Block Training concept. A lot of riders fall into one of two categories - 1) trying to train everything all the time or 2) training only one quality at a time with no thread of other qualities in their program (hours on the road to build a "base" with no strength or intervals at all). - Why aerobic training is important and how to train it for the specific demands of supporting intermittent bursts of activity instead of just steady state efforts. - Heart Rate Variability technology and how it applies to the mountain bike athlete. We cover a lot of great material, making this a "must hear" interview for the rider who is serious about scientifically and systematically improving their ability to ride faster and longer on the trail. You can learn more about Joel, read his excellent blog posts and find out how to order his book at www.8weeksout.com. Post any comments or questions on my blog at www.bikejames.com. -James Wilson-

Flat pedals make you a better rider - Interview with MTB star Ryan Leech

One of my most popular podcasts over the last few months was with trails rider and over all mountain biking stud Ryan Leech. At the end of our conversation I mentioned something off hand about flat pedals the tragedy of seeing new riders forced into the so quickly and Ryan was in both total agreement as to the need to learn how to ride on flats and surprised to hear that clipless pedals were being pushed so hard onto new riders. Ryan was nice enough to join me for another podcast and in this one we dive into the use of flat pedals and how they enhance your balance, pedal stroke and skills as a rider. More importantly they enhance the FUN factor, which sometimes riders forget about. Ryan also gives us his advice for riders looking to make the switch from clipless to flat pedals and what you need to look for in a pedal and shoe to make it work. All in all, Ryan does a great job of dispelling a lot of myths surrounding clipless pedals and reminds us that if trials riders - the most technically proficient riders in the world - don't need to be attached to the pedals them few of us really do. If you have any questions or comments please visit www.bikejames.com to post them and I'll answer them ASAP. -James Wilson-

Interview with Barefoot Training Expert Andy Clower

In this episode of the MTB Strength Coach Podcast I interview Andy Clower, an athletic trainer and strength coach based out of Berkley CA. Andy is a true expert on the mechanics of the foot and made some interesting points in a recent article he wrote concerning the difference between true barefoot training and minimalist shoe training so I knew I had to get him on the podcast to share his insights into what really happens when you restrict natural foot movement. In this interview we discuss the impact the natural foot movement has on balance, reaction time and the efficiency of muscular contractions in the legs. He also makes a great case for spending some training time off the bike completely barefoot as well as giving us some ideas on how he integrates barefoot training into new clients programs so they don't get hurt by getting into it too fast.