This Is The Best Ever DH Training Specific Workout

PB Forum :: Fitness, Training and Health
This Is The Best Ever DH Training Specific Workout
  • Previous Page
Author Message
flag
Posted: Dec 1, 2009 at 23:03 Quote
an article i found:

"the best ever mtb dh training specific workout"

if you're like me, its the off-season, its dark out and you cant get a ride in after work to keep your skills sharp and stay in shape. I've started looking for ways to get a mtb specific training scedule in, but all my searching online got me nowhere, so i made up my own program.

Its a fact that dh'ing is a short bust of power start to finish, 5 minutes max, equal parts cardio, power, and skills. of course theres nothing i can do to help your skills, but ive got the power and cardio down to one sweet, simple short workout. Heres how it goes:

grab 2 dumbbells, and load them up with about your bike's weight in plates. so for me, ive got 2 20 pound dumbbells.

warmup: holding the dumbbells waist height or so, jump as high and fast as you can 15 times.

your feet should not be on the floor for more than a half second between jumps. no breaks, no rest. just 15 fast, explosive jumps. dont let your heels touch the ground. (you dont ride with your heels on the pedals, do you?) and dont jerk the weights around wildly.

stretch out a little bit, calves, hamstrings, and thighs, and take a decent break, like 2 or 3 minutes.

the workout: jump as high and fast as you can for 30 seconds, 30 second break, and repeat till you hit 4 or 5 minutes. (how long does it take you to get down your Dh track?) during the break, dont sit, fall over, drop the weights.you may want to, but in real life you dont get coast with your but on the seat doing nothing between pedalling. just stand and breath.

cooldown: walk around a bit, stretch, drink some water.

take a nice 10 minute breather while you "walk back to th top of the hill to do another run". then when you feel ready, do another 5 minute cycle. and repeat till you think you're done working out. (how many runs do you do on race day?)

eat some chicken, and do it all again in a few days.


bonus mumbo-jumob. this workout is the best way i have found to simulate a DH race run in my living room without a bike and breaking all my furniture. it works your legs immensly, and also your back, core, shoulders, arms and grip strength. Basically every musule group used in biking, is used in this workout. it is focused on explosive strength, with cardio being a second. All through this, ive tried to base everything off of real life as much as possible. i never do squats on my bike, that motion just dosent happen, so it is not included here. I also dont spin for an hour, because my run is 5 minutes long. and i also never do pushups on my bike, so i made no effort to include any chest into this at all. However, you can modify this anyway you want to make it suit you and your goals better; this is what i like. With that said, i have put a touch of thought into this, and i think its pretty good the way it is.I chose 30 seconds jump, 30 seconds rest based on that in dh'ing, you never pedal for anything even close to a minute, but you are using your legs all the time to jump, pump, and flow down the trail. also it makes keeping track of time on my (and your) clock easy, which was really the more important factor. Also i chose Xseconds instead of Xjumps because as i get into the workout, my jumps get smaller, shorter, and 30 or 20 or whatever jumps becomes a pretty pathetic show of humping the dumbbells around for 5 seconds. So to keep my effort level increasing (just like how you're always breathing heavier at the end of your run) i used seconds. Also it helps to jump facing a mirror, so you can see how high you are jumping and try to stay consistant.

Note: this is my workout, do not attemp this at home, see a doctor before you start a workout program. I actually found this a super intense workout, its seriously probably not for everybody as i've laid it out.

I'll glady take any critism of the workout (not my spelling haha) if you think its missing something or theres a better way.

happy trails.
********
flag Hummeroid
Posted: Dec 1, 2009 at 23:06 Quote
Sounds interesting, I just cant see it helping much with a few muscle groups that are extensors in your arms/back, but its not like this is the ONLY working out youd do if you were serious...
flag
Posted: Dec 1, 2009 at 23:09 Quote
Hummeroid wrote:
Sounds interesting, I just cant see it helping much with a few muscle groups that are extensors in your arms/back, but its not like this is the ONLY working out youd do if you were serious...

extensors?
and yeah, not the only workout. i tried this, it was really tough, but its not exactly complete. no chest, abs, and i try to get all that into my workout too.
flag Hummeroid
Posted: Dec 1, 2009 at 23:14 Quote
extensors are muscles that make things extend. You have flexors and extensors. Bicep is a flexor, tri is an extensor for example.


But yeah, you get my drift. This is a dece simulation of dh riding, but i guess they do say is BASICALLY all the muscles used in biking. Good find.
flag
Posted: Dec 1, 2009 at 23:16 Quote
ah, of course. i should have put 1 + 1 together there.
flag mtbstrengthcoach
Posted: Dec 20, 2009 at 12:32 Quote
Just to inject some sports science into this discussion, the workout you posted lacks in some pretty significant areas. First, there is no way to progressively overload the workout. Your body gets used to the same movements with the same weights and will stop adapting over time.

Second, one workout is not a "program". A program is where you analyze where your current weaknesses are and have a series of workouts that will progressively get you from where you are to where you want to be. Each workout should build on the previous workout and set you up for the next one. It is like building a house - you need to know what kind of house you want to build, get a plan and then start building in a systematic manner. You don't want to be working on the roof before you have built the foundation.

Lastly, it does nothing to develop strength or mobility, which are vital for DH riding. For example, having mobile hips will allow you to get into a better attack position and let you corner better.

This looks like something that someone who knows very little about the sport sciences cooked up. I can absolutely guarantee you that a workout like that has not helped anyone achieve any level of success in DH racing. It may make some sense on the surface but once you dig down a bit you see that it really offers very little in the way of making a DH racer faster.
flag Nshore3
Posted: Feb 1, 2010 at 11:41 Quote
for your own good, ignore this workout plan, it will not benefit you guys at all. And if you choose to do a workout jumping around, do a plyometric jump squat, not jumping up and down with weights. Take care of your knees guys.
flag travis180
Posted: Feb 1, 2010 at 12:13 Quote
i agree with doing things in short sharp race time intervals,( you wouldnt catch a sprint swimmer doing length after length of endurance work), but for a good athletic strong body all muscle groups have to be worked. i'd start with all the compound movements,multi joint exercises eg; bench press, clean and press, deadlifts etc for light weights and number of reps per 'race run' time.
Find a good weight to lift for you, count the reps and try to up the amount each workout. For extra intensity try superset a couple exercises into one timed set being as you will never use just one muscle at a time when riding,eg; try push-ups/chin-ups as many as you can do of one type then when you are spent move straight onto the next one til you cant physically do anymore then swap back to the first exercise so on and so on until your 5 mins is up.
Finally warm down with light pedalling on a stationary bike mixed in with 3 20 secs sprints, then STRETCH, i cant stress that enough
flag jettamike
Posted: Feb 3, 2010 at 18:02 Quote
get your self a weighted vest and do some bounding, that'll kick your ass.
flag meganplease
Posted: Mar 28, 2010 at 17:44 Quote
might i add, in any work out you're not supposed to go fast - if your body isn't already COMPLETELY adjusted to the strain, that's the best way to wreck them
you'll be tearing things all over the place, plus it's dangerous. what happens if you drop a weight on your toe.
flag em-j
Posted: Mar 28, 2010 at 18:00 Quote
For a minute there, when i was considering whether or not to click on this thread, i had this visual image of DH dedicated Tai Bo. Now that would be interesting... lol

EDIT: In retrospect, i decided to add something potentially usefull, just to see what it feels like.... I've found BMX racing, without the actual racing bit, to be really helpful, especially for cardio.
flag ninjaty
Posted: Apr 6, 2010 at 15:19 Quote
Say goodbye to your knees. This exercise may match your energy output but is not helping your body maintain strength. Plust it is way too isolated.
flag antoniob
Posted: Apr 7, 2010 at 0:51 Quote
Hey, im kinda new here, didn't realize id find a thread on fitness, however, (not to toot my own horn) but as a sports specific trainer/kines Msc/pysio i have to say ive seen a lot of guys with injuries from biking (road or dh) to theyre knees. Not from bails, but from riding in such a strict position. Dont forget to train your knees in all movements (lateral/medial) your knee ligaments,tendons and joints will thank you later in life!
flag dirt-digger
Posted: Apr 7, 2010 at 1:20 Quote
ninjaty wrote:
Say goodbye to your knees. This exercise may match your energy output but is not helping your body maintain strength. Plust it is way too isolated.
Goodbye knees
flag dunhill
Posted: Apr 11, 2010 at 3:48 Quote
The best way to get faster is to get stronger. So you want to do a full body power based routine in the gym like WS4SB3. Google it and it'll come up. For stamina two twenty minute Hiit sessions a week (either on your bike, running, or in a pool) will do you fine. The key is to push yourself.
  • Previous Page

 


Copyright © 2000 - 2024. Pinkbike.com. All rights reserved.
dv65 0.013063
Mobile Version of Website