Nino, The Hunt for Glory: Hittin' the Gym with the Champ - Video

Feb 18, 2016 at 6:24
by SCOTT Sports  
N1NO - The Hunt for Glory - Chapter 9 "Hitting the Gym with Nino Schurter"

by SCOTT-Sports
Views: 29,039    Faves: 216    Comments: 0


The reasons behind Nino Schurter being one of the most iconic mountain bikers of all date is ever growing. One thing that sets him apart from the rest is the atypical way he trains and prepares for the season. Nino decided to reject traditional training methods and to re-think mountain bike training from the ground up. What does a mountain bike racer actually need? What do Cross-Country races require from a rider?

N1NO The Hunt for Glory

The first part of “Hitting the Gym with Nino Schurter” dives into Nino’s coordination and balance workout, which Nino and his coach have built specifically for the needs of mountain bike racers. It combines power, coordination and regeneration exercises, replicating a race environment. Get a look at some never before seen cycling workouts that could very well change the way you ride a bike.

N1NO The Hunt for Glory

N1NO The Hunt for Glory

N1NO The Hunt for Glory

Quote of the day here at SCOTT, "There is a reason that Nino is a World Champion and that I'm sitting at a desk."

N1NO The Hunt for Glory

N1NO The Hunt for Glory

N1NO The Hunt for Glory

N1NO The Hunt for Glory

#HUNTFORGLORY
#NOSHORTCUTS
For more episodes, click HERE.

MENTIONS: @SCOTT-Sports


Author Info:
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Member since May 29, 2013
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116 Comments
  • 140 0
 Respect. A true hard working champ.
  • 26 2
 The photos don't do the workout justice, watch the video...
  • 40 1
 Holy Hell. I'm tired just watching this. Back to my donut...
  • 28 0
 I love the bike board thing. Could be some nice synergy with Pinkbike commenters. You could complain about new standards and pretend to bike at the same time, without ever leaving the house.
  • 4 35
flag Earthmotherfu (Feb 18, 2016 at 16:02) (Below Threshold)
 I can guarantee this fella will not be able to get out of bed in 15yrs.
  • 16 0
 I appreciate what is clearly your expert medical diagnoses. I'm sure Nino will rethink his approach.
  • 6 14
flag Earthmotherfu (Feb 18, 2016 at 16:53) (Below Threshold)
 Good lad.
  • 11 0
 That's jedi training, not for mountainbiking!! Big Grin
  • 2 1
 What bottom bracket does that bike board run.
  • 61 1
 Maybe I'm a an bit of a weirdo, but I'd love to have that type of personalized training and workouts
  • 3 15
flag JoseBravo (Feb 18, 2016 at 8:08) (Below Threshold)
 looks like I'm a girl cause I just wanna have fun. This guy must train like this 4 times a week or so?
  • 16 0
 I mean, he's a champ.. but it also must be pretty sweet to be able to focus on your body... working out, eating extremely well, massages etc... whenever I start a circuit traning program I just get super tight and spend all my time trying to stretch back out etc..
  • 5 15
flag myanh (Feb 18, 2016 at 13:53) (Below Threshold)
 A bit overkill for some exercises
  • 41 1
 Should get Fairclough doing this and he might win something #freeracer
  • 9 0
 right, the both ride for scott. I see an opportunity for some cross training.
  • 28 0
 so good to see XC related stuff here. Thank you.
  • 7 0
 @cfern I thought I'd reply so you don't feel so lonely.
  • 3 0
 Thank you, I do appreciate your courtesy Good Sir. lol
  • 27 0
 makes my 1hr long gyms sessions look like a warm up. geez
  • 34 12
 I love going to the gym and seeing all of the jacked guys lifting big weight and staring in the mirror. Let's see how strong you are when you have to balance on a ball with one leg and your eyes close holding out a 5 pound plate.
  • 169 2
 You love going to the gym and seeing all the jacked guys???
  • 50 3
 Haha fair burn!
  • 26 3
 Couldn't resist
  • 13 3
 Thanks for making my day, kubaner Wink
  • 22 4
 I'll even rep you for that one
  • 6 5
 ROTFL
  • 5 16
flag skelldify (Feb 19, 2016 at 8:32) (Below Threshold)
 You're comparing strength vs skill, two different things. Coming from a "jacked" guy, we could care less about your silly tricks, we just want to be strong.
  • 6 0
 what about grammar tricks ?
  • 5 0
 how many "jacked" guys do you see winning any bike races? Not too many.
  • 5 1
 @skelldify Well done, you can pick up a heavy lump. How useful....
  • 4 13
flag skelldify (Feb 19, 2016 at 19:32) (Below Threshold)
 Lol, It's more useful than "balancing on a ball on one leg with my eyes closed holding a 5 pound weight."
  • 4 4
 I'm on @skelldify's side on this one. Being "jacked" is extremely useful in more or less every part of life, notably on a DH bike.
  • 18 1
 The last picture had me really confused. He's got 3 plates on each side, but in the reflection there are only 2. I had to look really hard to notice that they aren't trying to make him look stronger than he is, rather there is a joint between the mirrors that happen to perfectly take out one plate on that side.
  • 5 2
 It's because it's right on the seam of two mirrors and one of them is distorted. Look further down below his weights right next to the two dudes' heads... part of the weight is missing.
  • 3 0
 They're 20kg plates on a 20kg bar too. 140kg is about 310lbs...
  • 6 1
 Fail on me for not fully reading your post!
  • 3 13
flag cassard (Feb 18, 2016 at 14:26) (Below Threshold)
 315lbs total, doing 1/4 of a squat lol, useless
  • 9 2
 @cassard Useless if you're doing bodybuilding or powerlifting. For Nino, these workouts are extremely tailored and each exercise has the purpose to transfer onto the bike.

Different goals, different exercises pal
  • 3 5
 Yay I can squat more than nino!
  • 7 0
 That kind of exercises looks like when we whore 10 to 16 old when we do all that stuff but outdoors climbing trees ,playing soccer,basketball,voleiball,skate, bmx,and all the others sports ,that motions really makes you more agile ,quick,responsive,etc.
  • 8 0
 Does this guy not sweat? That buttcheek exercise is no joke (balancing on a roller while sitting on a plank).
  • 5 0
 Not a single drop of sweat...I don't understand it either! Wink
  • 5 1
 Fantastic video! So... all that roadie talking about focusing on volume training for XC actually is a bullcrap. I will never forget those lame Polish Swedish and German MTB magazines prescribing training programs involving... riding a road bike... a lot. What is funny though is that a pro roadie I know does not touch any heavier weight. His heaviest kettlebell is 7kg! Affraid of gaining too heavy muscles.
  • 2 0
 Except he's on his bike every day, too. And on his road bike...a lot.
  • 4 1
 And he married a pregnant dolphin - all we know for sure is that his name is Stig. I haven'st said he is not on his road bike at all, I said stupid quasi-roadie magazines write mostly about volume training which is misleading to say the least. Even my pro roadie family member is not riding every day. No rest my brother - no gain, it's easier than you may think to overtrain. OUVATRAIN yeap yeap oh ooooh oooooh
  • 4 0
 Also its worth noting-- XC racing has changed a lot in the last few years. Its wayyy more technical now (to be more spectator friendly) so the just ride plans that worked 5 or 10 years ago don't necessarily give you the strength needed today.
  • 10 5
 May just be me, but after seeing all the other innovative exercises, I love seeing the last pic going old school, about to squat 3x his bodyweight. Throw some iron, Nino!
  • 10 0
 To anybody who just looked at the pictures, this video is much more in depth than the pictures!!
  • 3 0
 this! (even though it might be "only" 2x his weight: 6x20kg+20kg bar = 140kg)
  • 18 5
 Also X times your body weight doesn't matter for shit if you're not going below parallel. Hate to be that guy, but that's not a real squat, and the metrics of strength vs bodyweight go out the window when not performing a full movement. I think that's why so many MTB coaches preach the Deadlift, no way to cheat pulling something off the ground
  • 12 3
 5:26... Champs dont half rep, sort it out Nino.
  • 4 0
 If you watch carefully, he is doing Bulgarian split squats in the video so the depth in the shot at 5:26 is not the issue it may appear,
  • 8 4
 Yeah, but he's only lifting a plate for the split squat, not three. That's 135 pounds for us stateside. In a high bar/low bar squat, if you you don't do a full rep, you're relying very heavily on your quads but not your glutes or hamstrings. In my mind, that defeats the comprehensive purpose of the squat. Split squats are great for hams and glutes so why not shoot for full depth in your conventional squats and work on all three?
  • 6 2
 Whatever he's doing, he must be doing for specific reasons that we may not know...he is after all not just the champ, but multi champ.
  • 2 1
 I'm not so sure about that. At the end of the day strength training isn't going to be as important to him as most athletes. And there's a lot of misinformation in the cycling work regarding strength training. Plus half squats are god awful on your knees.
  • 1 1
 A2G people. Ass2grass (well maybe not all the way is needed but definitely below parallel.
  • 3 1
 Props @hgrant! You know what you're talking about; which is something you just don't see on the internet these days lol.
  • 4 3
 I agree with Briceps. Firstly, you should still hit 90˚ with a 1 legged squat (which he is not doing, because I'm sure he doesn't full squat 600 pounds.) So that rules out to Bulgarian Split Squat theory.

Second, he is a distance athlete. To put it in perspective, sprinters run 10s to 50s races. Any sprinter who is legit can squat at least 350 pounds in that sport (I say this as a D1 track and field athlete). For a middle distance racer who goes for 100s to 240s, there is an incredible dropdown in explosive strength. That would be on par with a downhill racer in terms of race time. Not many of them are hitting more than 300 pounds in a squat. Once you go down to 1-3 HOUR races, explosive strength is just not as important. I think what we are seeing here with Nino is a distance guy who is remarkably strong for his sport, but can't get the form right because its not something that is truly important for him.
  • 10 1
 Form has nothing to do with strength (or explosiveness). You can do a proper squat with 5lbs or 500lbs...your choice. Its still doesnt change the optimal movement of the exercise which is full range of motion. Personally I have more respect for a 2 plate full squat than a 3 plate 1/4 squat.

People hate on quarter squaters because a) its not optimal and b) people get a sense that its done for optics. (hey look I've got 3 plates on the bar Im a bad ass, yet only go down 1/4 way)

Much respect for most of the functional training he was doing. Some looked very effective, a few questionable ones to me but he's the champ and the workout is no joke.
  • 4 1
 VTwintips, A lot of the strength and conditioning research has been showing a need for strength even for distance athletes. The big difference they're focusing on now is how to train for the strength. For example, Body builders and Power lifters both train for large strength gains, but Body builders want to gain more muscle and overall size whereas Power lifters do NOT because there are weight classes in their competitions. Distance athletes also DON'T want size increases because it's then more work to move your, now heavier, body.

Strength, without additional size, will cause every effort your muscles make, to move your body (and bike in this case), to be lighter; therefore allowing you to exert more power and go farther per each stride/pedal revolution. Think of it like being able to do the same climb at the same effort (say maximum) with a higher gear ratio because your muscles are now stronger.
  • 3 3
 @shaun-ridefast-michael agree. cardio vascular aside someone with a higher 1 rep max will out perform someone with a lower 1 rep max at any weight and rep range.
  • 2 2
 Complete nonsense. hands down the dumbest thing ive ever read on pinkbike.
  • 7 1
 Y'all know he has a trainer right there guiding him through these exercises, right? A guy who works with him regularly... I lot of stuff written here is good solid stuff, but just the same, I think I'll leave the coaching to his trainer.
  • 12 0
 Short squats have their place, one thing people dont usually understand is you also need to build power in the range were you need it. My guess is Nino uses the 1/4 squat to build power for sprinting, a pedal stroke is quite a short range of motion in the leading leg. Plus its a great way to get used to heavier weight on your shoulders and force you to build more tension in your whole body to stabilise everything

For a normal gymrat, yeah the shor squat is quite useless.
  • 1 0
 @johan90. I buy it, 1/4 squat is not useless.

@bluumax is that comment for me? What I said is true. Given 2 people of equal weight, one with max lift of 200 and the other with a max lift of 150. Now do you think the weaker person could ever lift 50lbs for more reps than the stronger person. Just no.

Higher 1 rep max also increases the amount of reps with lighter weight. Ie. Your stronger.
  • 1 0
 if you think heavy weight and distance to go together maybe you should tell that to this olympic cyclist who has legs the size of my waist. 220kg FULL squats for 12 reps.....sure lol. Power and strength plus endurance work will make you an animal.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUE0rqRqZmM
  • 20 1
 I'm sure Nino and his coach appreciate all of the helpful advice and constructive criticism found above. They probably haven't put as much thought into it and are just winging it.
  • 2 0
 @naibda Track cycling is more or less like sprinting.

Also, that's *maybe* double bodyweight to a high box. But to all the people arguing about whether it's good or not, who knows if that's anywhere close to a pr for him...it's a photoshoot and video of some of his training, not him showing off or in a meet or something.
  • 1 0
 @inverted180 How can you say that form and strength are not related and then say you respect a good form low weight squat over a bad form high weight squat? If two guys squat the same weight but one does it well and explosively and the other does it with shitty form and slowly, the first guy is clearly stronger.

@shaun-ridefast-michael I agree and I'm confused as to what point you were trying to make.
  • 3 0
 As @johan90 pointed out, both full squats (ROM/flexibility, glute/ham focus) and half squats (heavier weight/more load, quad focus) have their place and function. I would assume Nino's trainer actually incorporates both into the program, periodized at different times throughout the year.

Balance training however has been proven time and time again over the last two decades by different national teams and sports to be an ineffective use of training time. Unless you're training for Cirque du Soleil or need to be entertained, more show than substance.
  • 1 0
 @inverted180, I overreacted a tad, my comment was more aimed at the cardiovascular aside part. Cv is never aside, you can't lift without a strong Cv system, so I thought it was a little ignorant to just say highest 1rm wins 100% of the time.
  • 5 1
 @briceps there is truly no reason for any cyclist to do a squat that's range of motion goes below parallel. Show me in the pedal stroke where the angle of your knee matches that of a squat going below parallel. The workout should match the body movement/position during exercise in order to build an effective workout.
  • 8 1
 As he isn't performing the correct technique maybe it's an opportunity for some of the guys on here to have an advantage over him when the World Cup kicks off?

Good luck guys.
  • 1 0
 You should be able to go somewhat lower what is necessary so that you are not straining for flexibility when the deep stuff comes on the trail. You need usable strength, not just strength. I do agree think before you can go deep at a new weight, you have to be able to do the 1/4 squat, or if you are working for explosiveness, which seems be to what Nico was doing considering the way he exploded out of each rep.

Here are some practical, and impractical examples on the trail that I pulled from old pods:

www.pinkbike.com/photo/12144415
www.pinkbike.com/photo/12723665
www.pinkbike.com/photo/12542367
www.pinkbike.com/photo/12632303
And less frequently:
www.pinkbike.com/photo/12576741
  • 1 2
 @mtnbiker95 that's like comparing apples to oranges. You don't see a lot of athletes ever going to an A2G squat in their sports yet they still do them. That sort of training mantra about only matching what you're doing in the sport displays a pretty huge lack of knowledge about the way our bodies work.
  • 10 2
 Nino's training is all focused on the specific needs of a top-level XC guy. It's bizzarre, but seems to be working well for him. Being primarily a DH guy I got into the gym three years ago to undo the damage of being a fat f*ck for ten years and in time, started getting more and more serious about lifting and nutrition. After a winter spent in the gym, I got back on the bike and was shocked at how much better of a rider I had become.

Now, I lift 5 days a week for aesthetics, strength, and overall health. I do nothing bike-specific in the gym... focusing on A2G squats, bench, deads, standing presses, sort of a hybrid of powerlifting and bodybuilding. The performance gains on the bike are undeniable. Anyone who's serious about mountain biking (no matter what discipline) would be much better off spending some time at the squat rack instead of sitting around guzzling microbrews (yeah... bring on the neg props).
  • 3 0
 Also, half repping (or quarter repping) in public may land you on one of these: www.youtube.com/watch?v=8uu5SauAFcE
  • 2 0
 @martis there's room for squats and microbrews....
  • 3 1
 People are criticising a world champions squat form? Really? I bet he's done more squats than any person on here!
Broscience at it's best.
  • 4 0
 @Dobbs59 either playa-hate or leave..... this is pinkbike. Smile
  • 6 0
 And this is why I'm not pro/champion, Nino's work ethic is incredible, something to aspire to.
  • 5 0
 Wow, a mind number about of information in there. Truly impressive, nothing but utter respect for Nino
  • 6 0
 by the way: His coach is the father of Emilie Sigenthaler.
  • 2 0
 Damn, that puts most of us to shame. But hey you don't get a statue in your honour by being lazy. I wonder how many times a week he's in the gym and how long he spends in the saddle.
  • 4 0
 This was an absolutely fascinating video. Some of the things he was doing was nothing short of incredible.
  • 3 0
 Thanks for this educational (as for my opinion) video! Very interesting exercises and very useful. I think that we need to see more of these videos.
  • 2 0
 Props Nino. Champions are made during preparation for competition. Be hungry to be better than you were yesterday. I try to pass this message on to all of the players I have coached over the years.
  • 5 0
 Definition of hardcore..
  • 5 0
 That's pretty hardcore
  • 4 1
 Some of the most creative and applicable core training I've seen..Awesome!!!
  • 3 1
 Nino's buddy owns a gym. Nino says that working out at such a gym makes him a champion. Nino really eats Doritos all day and chills. #goodgenetics #sarcasm
  • 5 0
 what a beast
  • 3 0
 Um... so that's what it takes to be that fast? No wonder I'm not. So badass!
  • 2 0
 Such a good video to watch! No bull**** of 'looking good'. It's all about the training.
  • 3 0
 What a machine , sounds like a great coach too
  • 3 0
 He didnt have a bit of sweat at the end of his workout, BEAST!
  • 2 0
 That's commitment. Thanks for sharing this. Some good rehabilitative exercises in here for us broken people.
  • 2 0
 Seriously impressive, remarkable specificity in there, absolutely no filler at all.
  • 3 0
 Just not sure why theres a pad on that squat bar... C'mon Nino.
  • 1 0
 respect, for sure. really creative. i will add some o the simpler ones to my own little routine. this stuff just gets smarter to do.
  • 3 0
 this is crazy
  • 2 0
 I'm knackered just watching that!
  • 1 0
 And I am inspired to be as healthy and as strong as he is!
  • 1 0
 Great story, cheers to the commitment.
On a side note....Is that the camera angle or the largest balance ball ever made?
  • 3 1
 Who needs a nap after watching that? This guy.
  • 3 0
 BRUTAL!!
  • 2 1
 Do anyone have a breakdown of his training routine, something that an average Joe could try to follow?
  • 1 1
 MTB Strength Training do a 90 day programme for Enduro that follows a similar work style, all based on strengthening whilst promoting instability. So, single leg work, core stuff etc. Its really good and easy to follow, would definitely recommend it.

its not expensive either... enduromtbtraining.com/90-day-mtb-enduro-training
  • 2 0
 Awesome video. Where do you get that workout equipment?
  • 3 0
 That looked brutal.
  • 2 0
 This is nuts!
  • 1 0
 If the bar ain't bendin' you're just pretendin'!
  • 2 0
 I want that gym!!!!
  • 1 0
 Uh, that's what you use skateboards for!
  • 1 0
 Beast I'd love to see how he'd fair doing enduro
  • 3 2
 Champ? Where's Gwin?







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