Programming for Gravity MTB + Life

Training Q&A [Moderated]
1

BBM,

First time post, but long time reader. I appreciate all of the free and great content that you all provide!

I ride mountain bikes with a large focus on the gravity (think downhill) and trick side of the sport. I’m looking for critiques of my upcoming programming. The majority of the off bike training is quite general, as I believe most (not all) off bike training should be building the human/athlete. This would be several weeks into the program, after the on ramp, where things will remain mostly constant week to week. It follows somewhat of a high/low model. There are quite a few exercises spread across the week as there are certain athletic and weight training boxes that I am looking to check. However, I have toyed with the idea of stretching some of this out over a 14 day microcycle. I’ll add that I am a fan of a more frequent, lower volume per session, type of set up in most cases.

Monday, AM gym:
Sprint. x40 yards @10rpe. 3 sets.
Bounds for height. x6 @10rpe. 3 sets.
Seated box jump for distance. x1 @10rpe. 6 sets.
High bar squat. x4-6 @4rir. 2 sets.
Nordic leg curl. x8-15 @2rir. 2 sets.
Modified dragonfly. x8-15 @2rir. 2 sets.

PM bike (dirt jumper):
Ill spare the details but this is a higher stress, ~ 2 hour ride session.

Tuesday, AM gym:
4 way bear crawl. x10 yards each direction. 4 sets.
Push up jumps. x3 @10rpe. 3 sets.
Barbell seated overhead press. x4-6 @4rir. 3 sets.
Pull up. x4-6 @4rir. 3 sets.
Dumbbell standing curl. x8-15 @2rir. 4 sets.

PM bike (full suspension):
Lower stress, skill oriented session. ~60-75 minutes + 30 minutes easy pedal

Wednesday, AM gym:
2 cone, shuffle, sprint, sprint drill (c.o.d.). x10 yards between cones @10rpe. 2 sets.
Bounds for distance. x6 @10rpe. 3 sets.
Still leg deadlift. x4-6 @4rir. 2 sets.
Nordic leg extension. x8-15 @2rir. 2 sets.
Hanging leg raise. x8-15 @2rir. 2 sets.

PM bike (dirt jumper)
Higher stress ride. ~ 2 hours.

Thursday, AM gym:
4 way monkey bars. x4 each way with no drops NTE 8rpe. 4 sets.
Bear to crab rolls. x10. 4 sets, alternating directions.

TRX pull jumps. x3 @10rpe. 3 sets.
Bench press. x4-6 @4rir. 3 sets.
Dumbbell standing side raise. x8-15 @2rir. 4 sets.

PM bike (full suspension)
Lower stress, skill oriented session. ~60-75 minutes + 30 minutes easy pedal.

Friday, AM gym:
Hill sprint. x15 yards @10rpe. 3 sets.
Seated hurdle jump. x1 @10rpe. 6 sets.
Side to side bounds for distance. x6 @10rpe. 3 sets.
Dumbbell walking lunge. x4-6, each leg @4rir. 2 sets.
Jefferson curl. x4-6 @4rir. 2 sets.
Dip belt on box calf raise. x8-15 @2rir. 2 sets.

PM bike (full suspension)
Higher stress ride. ~2-3 hours. This ride would include some climbing as have to pedal uphill to ride the downhill.

Saturday, AM gym:
Ring monkey bars. x6. 4 sets.

Slam ball shot throw. x2, alternating arms @10rpe. 4 sets.
Crab walk. x10 yards each direction. 4 sets.
Weighted inverted row. x4-6 @4rir. 3 sets.
Cable straight arm pushdown. x8-15 @2rir. 4 sets.

PM bike (dirt jumper or full suspension)
Higher stress ride. ~1 hour if on dirt jumper. ~6 hours if on full suspension as would be at a lift assist downhill park.

Sunday, OFF

This would be more an, “in season” approach while riding is priority. During off season the format would stay the same, the off bike volume would increase with additional hypertrophy oriented exercises, and the on bike volume and some intensity would decrease.

I’ve run something similar to this in the past so I do feel I’m mostly adapted and can handle the level of work that is here.

Looking forward to the feeback!

-Tyler

2

Hey Tyler,

This is more of a consultation thing than something I can weigh-in on the forum. I will say that the training looks fine, though it’s not how I would program (and that’s fine). Lots of extra stuff I wouldn’t spend time training during in season, e.g. direct arm work. Rep ranges I wouldn’t use, e.g. 4-6 for walking lunges and Nordics for 8-15 (no one is doing this many Nordics and actually doing them correctly), and more. I do not think the plyo stuff is particularly helpful and I would like to see some cross training for conditioning. Having trained a number of athletes in this sport and similar, I don’t think 5x/wk on the bike is best for performance, though it depends what you’re trying to get out of your riding as well.

-Jordan

3

Understood. The one thing that I do have a question about is the plyometrics. Do you think they’re not particularly useful in my situation or is this your view on them for most people as a whole? I’m curious about this as I’ve been back and forth with my thoughts on them as well.

4

I think plyometrics can be useful for people involved in some sports, especially return to play scenarios, and improving high velocity strength to some degree. I favor plyos less in untrained individuals, sports without a large sprinting or jumping component, and in those with limited training time.

I’d favor something like the 3-day general s/c II template in this situation.

5

I appreciate the response, Jordan!

6

Fellow mountain biker weighing in with my experience. I mountain biked when I was a kid and then got into powerlifting in my 20s, and then eventually got back into mountain biking and competitive racing.

I honestly don’t think strength training is a significant factor in mtb performance beyond a basic benchmark, even for downhill riding/racing. My experience was that anything more than a 200 lb 1rm for bench; 300 for squat; and 350 for deadlift was more than sufficient for the sport. Once I could bench 200 lb, I could take any size hit without crumpling and did not experience any forearm pump.

At those strength numbers I was wayyyy stronger than anyone else who I ride with (including some local pros), and could complete any plyometrics workout with them using more weight and reps, yet they were still lapping me. Even Richie Rude, the monster of the sport, deadlifts like 400lb, nothing crazy.

When I increased my bike riding volume to 15-20 hours/week and got my FTP past 275 and VO2 past 60, I found all of a sudden I was a way faster rider even on short downhill tracks and my racing dramatically improved. Focused skills work similarly has insane returns on my riding ability.

While I still lift, it’s for fun and not because I think it’ll aid my performance on the bike. I think a lot of mountain bikers overestimate the contribution of strength to our sport. Anything that lasts more than 2 minutes is overwhelmingly an aerobic sport and despite the gnarly nature of gravity riding/racing, FTP and VO2 max are still king. I really think a lot of the “strength” workouts that mountain bikers do are just fluff that takes away from time you could be spending improving cardiovascular performance. They also add unnecessary fatigue.

Just my POV from my experience with both training strictly for getting stronger and then for performance on the bike.