Zen Mountain Biking: Improving Your Riding 100% in 30 Days
With a long, brutal winter facing me I decided to follow through on a lifelong ambition and take up Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. As part of the process I picked up a book called Zen Jiu Jitsu: How to Improve Your Game 100% in 30 Days. While it is a book about how to improve your BJJ game in just 30 days, the principles talked about in it 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 different 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 and rides as something that can create very specific responses in the body and that you focus on a specific area rather than trying to train everything 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 do.
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 the next 30 days. This can be broken up into mobility work, strength work, skills drills and focus rides but every day you train you should have some element of your 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 a 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 frustrates 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.
In my next article I'll post an outline on how to use this concept to Improve Your Body Position 100% in 30 Days...
![The MTB Strength Training Systems Logo]()
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 different 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 and rides as something that can create very specific responses in the body and that you focus on a specific area rather than trying to train everything 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 do.
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 the next 30 days. This can be broken up into mobility work, strength work, skills drills and focus rides but every day you train you should have some element of your 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 a 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 frustrates 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.
In my next article I'll post an outline on how to use this concept to Improve Your Body Position 100% in 30 Days...
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MTB Strength Training Systems is the world leader in integrated performance training programs for the unique demands of mountain biking. As the strength and conditioning coach for World Cup Teams and 3 National Championships, his programs have been proven at the highest levels. James has helped thousands of riders just like you improve their speed, endurance and skills on the trail. Visit www.bikejames.com to sign up for the free Trail Rider Fundamentals Video Mini-Course.
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Looking at my small daughter I can definitely say those guys go a bit too far with "you are born like a blank piece of paper" but they still have a lot of valid points which are very hard to disagree with. Truth seem to lie in between, but it is good to know how the opposite sides of spectrum look like. James is presenting a certain point of view, in a certain (intense and opinionated) way and thank God we have people like him - just as people who believe we are preprogrammed, either by gajillions of years of chemical reactions, or created this way by some god or spiritual entity.
Then we also have people who don't give fafa
Cheers!
www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=zQoM7_CKsZo&NR=1
-The Claw (Seasons)
I can't believe how controversial this article is in the comments! I took up tai chi in September due to a concussion I suffered on August 1st. For months tai chi was one of the only things I could do without getting headaches (yes, even yoga gave me headaches). It's sparked a whole zen journey for me, I'm currently reading Bruce Lee's book "Tao of Jeet Kune Do" and watching a lot of Kung Fu movies. You can apply many different learnings to mountain biking and they will all help -- it's synergy! I've noticed that (probably because I'm a girl) I'm a lot more vocal about what I want to work on and things I'm not good at than my riding buddies are. Either way, as much as I agree that the title is a marketing catch phrase, if nothing else the little "other things" tips at the end are awesome.
He is very "talented" or "wired" to be maladjusted, and I love it
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outliers_
And the title of this article is reminiscent of the book "Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance."
Just a thought.
Besides talent and skill, there is temperament and mindset. Those are similar, but they're not the same. Furthermore, temperament plays a huge factor here. And what about flow states and situational awareness?
How the best guys are processing information when at the limits of themselves and/or their machines is the place to look when separating the good from the great. This applies to all racing, sports, and combat as well.
1. The title of the article is not a marketing message but, I thought, an obvious play on the title of the book I read.
2. I am setting up an article series showing you specific mobility, strength and skills drills you can do to improve specific aspects of your riding. Again, I thought this would be obvious from the last sentence in the article. The article series would not make as much sense without this article setting up the rationale for the approach.
Sorry that I did not make those things more obvious, I hate to see my attempt to help riders improve their mindset towards training get mired down by them. Hope that everyone enjoys the training tips and info I have planned for you in 2013...
BTW, I worked with Gwin for over a year before he rode for Yeti. I helped him go from 3rd at Fontana to 3rd in the world. He has certainly continued to improve since working with Tomac but I can tell you that he exemplifies the principles I talk about in this article and his mindset and focus on how improve are what set him apart from every other "next big thing" I've worked with.
He will never be a pop-authority because he wants you to go through a lot both physicaly and mentaly, before you start deadlifting and bench pressing. That is a right thing to do, yet a very unattractive one.
Even Brian Lopes used to say that he starts season on flats for that reason (and for more fun), Lee McCormack used to be a great flats fan, then he changed back to preachign clipless and lately he is not sure if not to go back to flats again. I love his way on it: flats for fun, clipless for work.
Gwinn isn't by any account more skilled than Gee or Greg, if anything skill wise he's probably a bit below them, yet he's (and this is the reason he's been so dominating) that last bit extra commited to the training that Gee and Greg are trying to find. The same that Brendog, who probably is the most raw skilled rider on the world cup circuit right now, is looking for. By the talent rule, Sam Hill should still be obliterating it's competition, as he's not old at all yet and he was dominating and a force to be reckoned with just 4 or 5 years ago, but he's not. Injuries and lowered focus (which means less training) have gotten the best part of him lately.
Yet indeed just work doesn't cut it, otherwise Dan Atherton would be the unbeatable champion at anything he attempted, and he's not even the best rider in his family. So what I'm saying is that yes, to be top of the world you need the talent part, but without the effort and training you won't get there. And for us mortals, we don't have that elite skillset, so the training will make us much better, and on average, between a random pair of us, the one putting the extra effort will usually come out on top.
up top to that.... Comment high five (oomph/ slap other high nioses)
I do brazilian jiujitsu and in this sport, even if you can beat everyone fairly consistently, there will always be the "anti-you", which is the one guy everyone beats but somehow manages to beat you consistantly for some obscure reason. Nobody likes losing but you will learn a lot more from losing ten times to that guy than if you won a thousand matches without too much trouble.
Doing bjj I noticed that a lot of people are extremely lazy and have big egos. They will find a way to beat you and wont tell you how to improve because if they do and you beat them, it bruises their ego and they will also have to work to think of new ways to come on top. In the mtb world this translates into avoiding that brutal rock garden or that nasty drop because you're not good at those. Or avoiding the flatter trails because you have to pedal and your cardio clearly isnt up to par. That is a surefire way to remain mediocre.
This article isn't a recipe to be an awesome rider, it's an application of a well proven ethos to a different activity.
If you don't like the article take it with a pinch of salt and go about your amazing ways of improving your riding instead of ripping into it. More time riding and less time typing might improve your riding…
How much did this advert cost?
Plz dont let PB go down the toilet this way.
I get emails telling me i can improve my sex life in 30days and lose weight too! They go straight to spam.
Posting *free* information that will help your riding improve?
Visit his website and watch the countless *free* videos on improving technique, fit, skills, etc.
Read the countless *free* advice articles.
This guy just wants to help people improve their riding ability. Sure, he has paid services but I ask, why is that so wrong? Stop vilifying James for doing what he loves to provide for his family. Most of these comments are a joke.
Hoping I don't come off as a James Wilson apologist here; if he were blasting his stuff all over the place, demanding you sign up to receive just one sliver of useful information, then I would be in the same boat with most peeps here. However, being as that is so far from actual reality, I feel it necessary to takes James' side on this one and defend him.
Miyagi: Man who catch fly with chopstick accomplish anything.
Daniel: Ever catch one?
Miyagi: Not yet.
If it wasn't for marketing, there would be no pinkbike for you to comment on... This whole site lives and breathes through the businesses that chose to promote their stuff on it. If they didn't then Pinkbike would not be the fantastic "free" resource that you love.
James produces great content in the hope that it'll attract new clients, new buyers for his stuff, so he can run a business, feed a family, enjoy riding his bike and produce yet more great content. Sometimes you need to hit people over the head with a brick of marketing to break through the noise of all the other marketing messages we see on a daily basis...
I'd say good luck to James for continuing to produce excellent FREE content in the hope of making a few sales, JUST like EVERY other piece of content on this site
To discredit the likes of Gwin by saying he was born talented is an insult to him and all professionals in their field. They all work their asses off and have that special drive we all lack, but could have if we so desired. I have bills to pay and want to buy shit I don't need so I spend most of my time at work instead of training.
Can the Gwinner be 100% better?
In fact telling anyone they CAN improve by 100% is really just telling them they aren't very good at what they do......
Dangerous in any sport...
Wouldn't it be wiser to say something like:
'You can be that last 15% better to make you the complete athlete'
Gwinner has room for improvement. If you watched world cups you could have seen several short interviews with him where he said he wasn't entirely satisfied with his run, that he made mistakes, albeit small ones and that he could improve.
But actually, the word BY makes no difference, though it would be grammatically correct. According to your previous reasoning, improving 100% means improving a bit "maybe just 5%". But the definition of 100% is "the full amount". 100% can not be 5% or any other percentage less than 100. It's just not possible.
I agree with your logic though, it's just that the title "Improving Your Riding 5%" doesn't sound so good...
Now, you guys can whine as much as you want, there are no other so complex MTB specific training programs out there. There is James and lately Lee McCormack has released his "pump up the base". Otherwise you can either take MX or roadie programs and try to make something out of them yourself.
And Im sure you can, you bad ass
Ergo, you're the idiot.
(*That's 2^36, by the way).
What the f*ck happened with the world?
Calicopter - I'm not really sure what the point of your comment is. I think you're saying that the arduous and frankly amazing ability to study maths is somehow making the world worse. Or that training your body is somehow superior to training your brain? Odd.
The funny thing is that I've been following James' programme for a while now too, and it's great. I've noticed real changes and my riding has definitely improved. However, it didn't improve 100% in 30 days.
I still commend the man for offering advice to help us advance in an area that we all love.
"The greats weren't great because at birth they could paint. The greats were great cause they paint a lot" Macklemore
I bought a skeet blanket, then I bought a kneeboard"
Internet marketing is full of this kind of psychological marketing bullshit and it is a shame that pink bike has let this onto the main page.
In future please leave this kind of stuff to the people selling miracle creams and weight loss pills.
Thanks
-The Claw (Seasons)
"i dont want to have to think about anything, AND THEN work super hard on top of that in order to be awesome at mtn biking. how dare you tell me i'm not the best rider out there?"
go ahead and thumbs down me. your actions are only showing that i'm right
My only problem with this article isn't that I disagree with its content or the overall theme; my issue is that it feels like a book report yet is supposed to come from a fitness and bike industry professional.
You're right on though. It's a pretty solid collection of clif notes.
Agree^ he should be writing his own book not reiterating someone else's work.
I'd take everything "he says" with a pinch of salt.
On this article:
The ability to be able to search out the deficiencies in one's own skill-set and then attack those deficiencies with purposeful, targeted training is more important than any innate ability one has when starting. That's what I got out of it, and I agree with it wholeheartedly. It won't matter if you can scrub like a pro if you can't figure out that you are having trouble with steep, technical areas and apply targeted training in order to progress in that weakness; you'll never be as fast as the guy who knows that he has to work on scrubbing and techy areas, applies his training accordingly, and progresses in both areas.
The last 4-5 points on the article are nice... I bet that Gwin has eaten well in to the 10,000 hours a few times over to be the very best in this game rather than the weekend hackers who've become an EXPERT pink bike commenter ;o)
Applying the third one "Study At Another School" in a months times, heading off for a skills course in the Maritime alps... having ridden the same home trail literally 100s of times means I am not moving forward with my MTB skills
Good stuff James, look forward to the next article
- Jits leads to injuries. Which means you cannot ride for a while. Which means you are itching to ride when you finally get better. And when you do...
- MTB leads to injuries. Which means you cannot roll for a while. Which means you are itching to roll when you finally get better. And when you do...
(repeat)
At least this has been my experience. Maybe I am just shit at both.
Also I don't think he is talking about just these sports but cross training in general.
Also where do you train? Compete much?
'Being mindful' is where focus comes from. 'Being mindful' is how an athlete addresses fear, prepares for the worst and then moves forward. 'Being mindful' is how one improves beyond being a mediocre rider and one who is calculated, focused and successful because that rider knows their body and their mind, inside and out.
I found mind gym to be very basic and the other two significantly better.
Also the concept of mind gym and the like isn't to not be mindful all the time but during competition, you need to be mindful during training and its important to assess and address your weakness's and take self assessment, there is a balance of letting go and focus. Its this mindfulness and preparation that allows you to become mindless on race day. When you are fully prepared, when you know your ability you can let go. Also the idea is to control the controllable not don't control anything. In that gate you have no more preparation, no control over the others, just you and the track, you should know your lines.
You can become professional or even a master in much less hours.
Also consider the type of practice 10 000 hours of just riding will do very little compared to 1000 hours of purposeful mindful training.
People have been proffesional at 4000 and 6000 hours. The outliers is not only misunderstood but a outdated concept.
In terms of the "not a talent" I agree but also disagree, we have seen riders notably Justin Leov who stated himself he is not the most flashy rider out there but he make up for it in enthusiasm and his drive. Most people with training and dedication could be wc rider, talent kicks in when you are against people who have also put in the time and training. If we all training like wc riders we would be surprised how far we could get in this sport.
The main message here is practice. Something I need to do more of. 'Practice' doesn't always mean 'makes perfect', but practicing (assuming you're repeating the technique over and over again correctly) will make you better. That's all the author is saying, at least that's what I got out of it.
Learn to do it right, however many times it takes to get to 'right'. Then do it right 10,000 times. Sure, that might be exaggeration, but it's mainly for effect.
It's just about getting and being better at something. Whatever your personal 'better' is. Nothing about necessarily becoming the 'best'.
But I do have to say that some people are definitely more talented at certain things than others. That's a fact. No amount of practice will elevate certain people to superstar. That's reserved for a small percentage.
"Whoa-oa-oa! I feel good, I knew that I would, now
I feel good, I knew that I would, now
So good, so good, I got you"
Always gets me more relaxed and going
If so, count me in!
Now just need someone to come scrub my Chakra
this happened to me with skateboarding.. started it at roughly the age of 13 and then when i was 15-16 we had some new kids joining our "crew" and a few of them just slingshotted themselves like 4 years of practice in 1 summer.
If it is indeed not talent that gave them those skills then it must be trough training .. well i trained a LOT and i had a good 2 years of training behind me when they first jumped on a board. so how is it possible then ? .. talent maybe ?
I personally think it's a great book; I found some of the same principles to be helpful, although I took much of the advice as just that -- advice from a BJJ master who knows tons about mindfulness and the art of work.
I understand the value of brain literature and and I choose to study mental focus on the regular. However, I would REALLY like to read about James' personal knowledge and opinions on riding, body positioning, focus, fitness and troubleshooting, etc without a book report or his parroting whatever book he's read lately. I know this sounds harsh, but he's supposed to be a fitness and MTB professional -- he's supposed to know certain things the we don't. Tell us those things, not your interpretation of what someone else who wrote a book thinks... We can read the book and form our own opinions from there.
Basically, if you want a recommendation of books to read for mental performance, I can give you that, too. 'Mind Gym' by Gary mack will always be my bible for focus and performance.
James... Please give us actual cases and examples and client results of the stuff you're practicing and the why and the how.