Stability and 3D Training will Improve Your Riding

Check out these four exercises to help increase your Stability, 3D integration, Movement and function.

Following up on last month's Pinkbike article on (building muscle), now that we’re into March, it’s a perfect time to introduce more balance, coordination, and movement pattern integration into your training program, and I've got four great exercises to show you that will help.

We all know that being able to control your bike during the un-controllable is all what mountain biking is about. Having natural skills to be a world class mountain biker is something you are typically born with, which leaves the rest of us to have to work hard to maximize our athleticism, skills and mtb prowess. One of the best ways to do this is to choose exercises in the gym to help teach the body how to move better on your bike.

Like I've talked about before, you must build the best athletic platform you can in order to create the mountain biker you desire to become. A few variables needed to accomplish this are:

▪ Joint Mobility
▪ Muscle Flexibility
▪ Posture
▪ Breathing Mechanics
▪ Muscle strength
▪ Strong nervous system
▪ And a desire to improve

Now, let's address the next chapter in preparing yourself for this riding/racing season, and it includes two important training protocols what I call “systemic stability,” and “3D integration.”

First- up. Systemic stability.
My definition of systemic stability is, "movements that challenge the entire body to move synergistically so some parts can create a stable base while others can create movement relying on that stable base. "

When riding, think of being in a strong downhilling position with a good hip hinge, feet staggered, head neutral, all while the arms are moving in an oval pattern of “row/anti-row,” like my colleague Lee McCormack mentions in his coaching. Yes the hips are moving and responding, but they are also acting as a “power-hinge stability and strength system.” This system helps your upper body manage the row/anti-row move of the handlebars that's directly responding to the terrain at hand. In order for the system to work correctly, you need good mobility in the hip and shoulder joints and stability in the shoulder girdle, core and glutes. If you lack any mobility or stability in these areas, the upper and lower body may have difficulty "bringing it all together" to make for the most efficient, aggressive and DH'ing position.

Two exercises (included in the video below) you can do to help with this are: 1) The single leg squat and 2) Bosu pushup with sliders.



The second aspect of training you should consider in your mountain bike training is “3D integration.”

This is when the body is challenged in different planes of movement while maintaining the ability to perform a movement. In other words, outside forces cannot alter movement.

Think of 3D movie glasses. They consist of two separate lens colors which when combined create the 3D effect coming off the screen. Obviously there is a red and a blue lens and if you look through each color you either see all red or all blue, but when you combine those colors along with the filming technique, it forms quite a spectacular effect. 3D integration training is similar in that we can force the nervous system to adapt to many different stress scenarios and outside forces so the result is smooth movement patterns that take place naturally without you having to “try” to make things happen.

The Lunge with knee drive and chop is a great exercise to help with 3D integration and is also in the video below.


When you combine the two ideas, systemic stability and 3D integration, you challenge the body in a way that closely mimics downhilling and all that is required to be fast, efficient and smooth like the top riders we all try to mimic.

AND…

Remember, the goal is to further strengthen the body to handle consistent external stress coming from the terrain and bike alike. When you train the body in the gym to become efficient at handling these stressors, it will adapt in such a way that you'll be able to ride longer with more stamina, recover quicker, prevent OTB incidents (and other fatigue related crashes), and prevent overuse injuries.

Watch the four exercise video to get all the details. Do all four moves in a "superset" format where you do the required reps for one exercise, then go right to the next and do the required reps for that exercise, and so on so you get all four done back to back, then rest 90 seconds.



*** If you had difficulty executing any of these exercises it could show up as an upright riding style that we see on many mountain bikers when downhilling. In my experience, it’s this upright position that leads to common accidents that cause many of the injuries suffered by riders and racers. As you become more familiar at this group of four exercises, be aware of how they begin to improve your downhilling position, coordination and skill.

Here are the variables I mentioned in the video for this superset of exercises:
- Do 2-4 sets of 6-12 reps depending on your ability to maintain perfect form.
- Rest 90 second between supersets
- Breathe in through the belly and gently hold your breath on the "negative" and exhale slowly through pursed lips on the "positive."
- Perform three to four times a week.
- Don't forget to warm up well before any workout or riding session!

Coach Dee is the owner of www.enduromtbtraining.com and the trainer for the Yeti/Fox Factory Race Team. He is also a 48 year old enduro racer who's been top three overall finisher in the last three years of the Big Mountain Enduro series.

To take your season to the next level, you can download the entire Ultimate Enduro/MTB Training Program here.

See past article and videos:
Build Base for Next Season
Check Out This Training Deal
Asses your Season, Rest and Cross Train
End of Season Shoulder and Thorax Fix
Low Back pain and Hip Care
Use This Warm Up To Help You Ride Best
Rebuild and Restore the Shoulders
Rebuild and Restore the Lower Body
Transform Your Riding With These Four Exercises

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