Words: Ben Plenge @The Strength Factory
Photos: Jamie Edwards @Openwide Agency
Plenty of people sign up for gym memberships, but few stay the course, get into a proper exercise routine and make serious progress. If you want to get into shape to be the best rider possible, then you’ll need to hit the gym in a more planned way.
1 Make a plan
Whether you buy a training programme (you can find mine here) or do some research and build your own, heading to the gym with a plan will massively boost your chances of success.
Wandering in with little idea of what you’re going to do usually leads to indecision and a lack of meaningful training getting done. Even if you don’t 100 per cent stick to the plan, it’s still best to have a basic framework of what you want to achieve each time you go.
2 Keep it convenient
I get asked all the time what sort of gym to join, or what kit they need to have for mountain bikers, in order for us to be able to train effectively. My answer is always the same: “Join the gym that’s most convenient for you.”
Even if it doesn’t have all the fancy gear, one that’s 10 minutes from your home or office will usually be a better option than the ‘perfect’ gym that’s half an hour away. You’re more likely to go to the local gym after a long day at work, less likely to miss sessions and, in the long run, that consistency will lead to better results.
3 Train the whole body
Most riders will be best off doing full-body workouts, rather than splitting the week into leg day, arm day, chest, etc. This way you can limit soreness and still make great progress.
During the session, try to tick off all the main elements, doing some form of squat, hinge (eg. deadlift), push (eg. press-up), pull (eg. dumbbell/ bodyweight row, pull-up) and core (eg. side plank) exercise.
4 Mix up the planes of motion
Make sure to train in a variety of directions, or planes, too. In simple terms, that means doing push and pull exercises in front of your body as well as in an overhead position.
For example, pair a press-up with a bodyweight or dumbbell row. The press-up will develop your chest and triceps, while the row will focus on your back and biceps, and both will develop different aspects of your shoulder strength.
These are both ‘out front’ exercises, so in a single training session, you could pair a leg exercise, such as a squat, with the press-up and row from above. You could then hit a lunge with chin-up and shoulder press (pull and push overhead). This simple format hits all the areas you need.
5 Work limbs singly as well as together
Within these broad categories (squat, hinge, push, pull, core), you should also do single-sided work, such as lunges, single-leg Romanian deadlifts (RDLs) or single-arm rows.
This will help develop stability in your joints, potentially making you more robust in the event of a crash. Single-arm training also really challenges your core muscles to stabilise your body position, which relates well to riding technical terrain on a mountain bike.
Single-arm rows using a suspension trainer, band or weight are a useful exercise and will also expose differences in strength between your dominant and non-dominant arm.
6 Ask for help
There are no silly questions, so if you’re not sure how to do something, ask. A trainer or member of staff at the gym can show you how to use the equipment or how to squat properly. Learning correctly at the start will mean you can train correctly and safely for years to come.
Also, don’t be afraid to reach out online to a strength coach, like me. Find one whose message resonates with you and drop them a line.
7 Find a buddy
Just like riding, training can be more fun if you do it with a friend. A gym buddy will help to keep you honest and consistent, and when one of you is lacking motivation, the other can pull you both along.
Even if you’re at different levels, or your mate isn’t a mountain biker, it doesn’t matter. Just make sure you don’t spend the whole hour chatting about wheel size and head angles when you should be working hard!
8 Don’t push too hard, too fast
As with all training, it’s important to build up gradually. For example, if you can’t do chin-ups, start by doing some hangs on the bar to develop grip and shoulder strength. Then progress to using a resistance band to do assisted reps, and so on.
For press-ups, start with normal reps before progressing to more advanced versions, such as windmill press-ups or press-ups with alternate feet elevated.
9 Think about mobility as well as strength
If you spend all day at a desk or behind a steering wheel, then your posture may be limiting your riding, in which case it’s worth spending some time on basic mobility for the shoulders and upper back (thoracic spine). This will aid your training and also help you to get into, and maintain, a good riding position on your bike.
These exercises (yoga moves such as cat/cow are good) can be slotted in between the main exercises in your training session, in the evenings when you’re relaxing at home, or even as part of pre-ride warm-ups.
10 Accept that you’ll be sore
When you first start training, you’ll ache afterwards – sometimes for days. But it’ll pass, and you’ll adapt and grow stronger. This is just part of the process. Embrace and accept it.
If the soreness spoils one or two rides in the short term, don’t be put off – keep working and focus on the longterm goal of becoming a stronger, fitter human and rider.
11 Look after yourself
There’s no point training hard in the gym if you aren’t eating or sleeping well. Aim for seven-to-eight hours of good quality sleep per night. Stay hydrated and try to eat a natural and varied high-protein diet – a good guideline is 1.5g to 2g of protein per 1kg of bodyweight per day.
Don't forget to get out on your bike!
Gym sessions are great for building whole-body strength, but aerobic fitness is the foundation of your riding, especially your endurance, and the best way to improve this is with low-intensity sessions on the bike. Also think about aerobic capacity – your top-end fitness, where you’re working close to your maximum heart rate. Interval training will increase this, whether done on your normal rides, on a turbo trainer or even in the gym, on a rowing machine or ski-erg.
Ben Plenge
A former captain in the British Army, who did tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, Ben knows a thing or two about physical and mental strength. Since setting up The Strength Factory in 2014, he’s coached the likes of Wyn Masters and Vero Sandler, as well as providing advice to hundreds of everyday riders. He’s also tested bikes for MBUK and other MTB media.
