As promised on Moving the Needle Podcast, here is some guidance to help you understand where your fitness/strength levels are currently, how to implement training for mountain biking and also some added extras. This Strength and Conditioning Guide for MTB Riders is here to help, I hope you like it.

Included below are a selection of “tests” for strength and conditioning you can complete without equipment and also some for those who can access a gym.

You’ll notice you’re on the Fit4Racing website, and although we have paid programs here, my goal with the following information is to enable you to train more effectively for free. If you feel you are ready to follow a full program, before or after reading/completing the training here, give it a try with the following code: needle50 for 50% off your first month.

Before we start, consider yourself as an “athlete” from here on in. I hear you, you might feel like that’s a far stretch but the principals of increasing performance are applicable to all levels of fitness and riding. To learn more on these principals scroll to the bottom of the page.

Now let’s get into it….

The basics – Strength

Strength alone is not the golden ticket to better riding, but if you have a deficit of strength it can hold you back. Strength also forms the foundation of good movement, enabling you to complete conditioning work more effectively and in turn increase fitness and muscular endurance that does directly cross over to riding.

Improving strength can also improve your mobility and general athleticism but consider it as a base, unless you find you are particularly lacking in this area. If so, you can add more strength work to your training to being you up to speed.

Following are a few strength “tests” you can do at home, and down the page further in the gym. These are by no means the only tests, they are examples and a starting point. If you choose to sign up for a full program you’ll access a comprehensive testing list which in turn determines elements of your full program.

Before you start, I suggest a reasonably “good” warm-up that includes mobility to open the areas you will be testing. Once you’re ready to start the movement, perform a small number first to see how you feel, and if you are testing loaded movement, increase the weight incrementally to prepare yourself for the heavier loads.

Bodyweight strength tests for MTB Riders.

Pistol squats*:

*Single legged squats to a seated position.

Goal – max reps each side under control

What to do:

• Set up a bench or chair at a height to allow your knee and hip to be at 90 degrees.
• From a standing position, on one leg, lower yourself to touch the seat, then extend to standing, with a straight leg.
• Pace your movement however you feel is best for the maximum number of reps without rushing, as a gauge try to count 1-2 seconds down, 1 second up with no pause at the top or bottom.
• Try not to sit fully, only touch the seat as a reference of consistent depth.
• Try to keep your other leg off the ground the whole time.
• Count the number of reps each side and this is your “score”.

If you struggle to perform more than 10 each side, you can perform the same movement but with both legs – “air-squat”. Once you reach a good number you can test pistols again.

Why pistols? Single leg movements are a great reflection of side-to-side differences but also a good way to test strength/muscular endurance when loading isn’t possible.

Push-ups*:

*or press-ups:

Goal – max reps under control

What to do:

• Establish a strong position with your toes on the floor and hands below your shoulders.
• Maintain a natural curve in your bank and engage your core to stabilise, no raised hips or saggy tummy!
• Lower yourself so your chest touches the ground and extend back up fully.
• Pace the movement slower than maximum speed, under control. This is a better reflection of your strength than “max reps”

If you can’t preform more than 5 full push-ups, you can either start with your keen on the ground or elevate your hands to a chair/bench to reduce the load. Either way, maintain full range with chest to ground and lock out at the top.

Why push-ups? MTB is very demanding on your upper body, push-ups are a good reflection of your applied strength to control your bike and body, particularly when things get spicy! Push-ups can also help you pedalling sprints by adding force to the handlebars.

Side planks:

Goal – max time each side maintaining a good static position.

What to do:

• the goal is to have the outside of one foot on the floor with the other staked on top, making a straight line trough your legs, torso and neck wile balancing on one elbow.
• Try to face your chest and hips forwards and maintain a neutral spine.
• Your time is over when your position changes, not when you collapse!

If you can’t perform a side plank for more than 15 seconds, elevate you supporting elbow to reduce the load.

Why side planks? Your obliques (muscles around the side of your trunk) are key to maintaining body position, rotating and also resting rotation… which helps across the board with riding downhill and also looking your upper and lower body on while pedalling. Stabilisation is key and side planks help measure your ability.

Loaded Strength Tests for MTB Riders:

I get it, not everyone wants to lift weights, or has access to them. But from a performance perspective, loading is a far more effective way to increase your strength (and other areas) in less time than without. But, only complete these tests if you feel confident and safe in the movements. Unfortunately this article isn’t big enough to fully coach you through the movements and movement variations available for your ability, but the full programs do… or failing that, you can check out our Youtube videos for some of the key principals to keep you safe and effective.

Before you start, it is essential you warm up well before any maximum strength testing. Again, we are unable to give you a full warm-up here but they are included in the full programs. For now, make sure you complete some mobility work (not static stretching) and please start light and work your way up intelligently. For those who are still unsure, I’d recommend performing the tests without pushing to your limit for at least one session, more if you need it, to familiarise yourself and prepare yourself before going all-out.

In addition to the above, please seek in-person coaching from a reputable coach if you have any doubt and unsure you have a spotter or appropriate safety precautions in place.

For the avoidance of doubt, I do not recommend you test without being confident and well prepared.

If you still have concerns, but you are committed to progressing with weighted movements, our Members Only page on the website has guided progressions and tons of information to help. As this is part of the value we provide paying subscribers to our program, we are limited on what we can provide here, but please consider taking a look at the paid programs. 

“High Bar” Back Squat:

Goal – 3 reps at maximum weight (and/or 20 rep max)*

*3 pep max if confident, to determine your raw strength and power.

*20 rep max if you are learning but serves as a good reflection of your muscular endurance.

note: this is a technical maximum, not an all-out maximum. Meaning, if your position changes, especially in your lower back, at any point during the movement to be able to complete a rep, your maximum load has been achieved.

What to do:

• Use a rack to support a barbell just under shoulder height
• Step under and place the barbell high on your traps (muscles between shoulders and neck)
• Walk out with the barbell under control
• With your feet shoulder width and slightly turned out, stable core and chest high, prepare to descend
• As you lower yourself, draw your knees out in the direction of your toes and push your knees forwards to squat “between your hips” minimising any forward/downwards inclination of your torso
• Continue to lower yourself to your maximum depth while maintaining a neutral spine. Depth should be to the limit of your own mobility and not to “reach full depth”
• No pause at the bottom, extend to standing
• Pace should be controlled with no bounce, you can drive at speed on the way back up to push past the sticking point.

Why high bar back squat? The high bar is a more quad dominant movement and reflects your hip function better than a low bar. We use this to test your strength and power in a controlled and effective way. being quad dominant, this type of back squat reflects your ability to push hard and in turn a reflection of your pedal power/ability.

Deadlift:

Goal – 3 reps at maximum weight (and/or 20 rep max)*

*3 pep max if confident, to determine your raw strength and power.

*20 rep max if you are learning but serves as a good reflection of your muscular endurance.

Note: this is a technical maximum, not an all-out maximum. Meaning, if your position changes, especially in your lower back, at any point during the movement to be able to complete a rep, your maximum load has been achieved.

What to do:

• With a loaded barbell on the floor, place your feet hip width apart under the barbell with your toes beyond the line of the barbell, feet facing forwards.
• Hinge at your hips with slightly bent knees wile maintaining a neutral spine, then ned your knees to get deeper if you can’t reach the bar.
• If at this point you can’t reach the bar without flexion of your spine, stop and raise the bar by putting it on plates or from a rack.
• Grip the bar with an overhand grip, symmetrically about shoulder width apart.
• Engage your core before lifting the bar with a slight pull agains the bar
• Lift the bar by bracing your core and extending to a fully standing position avoiding over extending at the top.
• Lower the bar under control back to the floor
• Start your next rep with your hands still on the bar but by engaging as above every time

Why the deadlift? The deadlift, performed this way, is a great reflection of your strength and power in the hinge position which is paramount for riding. It also serves as a test of your ability to link your upper and lower body through your core, most times the deadlift is failed because of this and may indicate a need to focus on core.

Barbell Overhead Press:

Goal – 3 reps at maximum weight (and/or 20 rep max)*

*3 pep max if confident, to determine your raw strength and power.

*20 rep max if you are learning but serves as a good reflection of your muscular endurance.

note: this is a technical maximum, not an all-out maximum. Meaning, if your position changes, especially in your lower back, at any point during the movement to be able to complete a rep, your maximum load has been achieved.

What to do:

• With a barbell racked just under your shoulders, place your hand on the bar to support the load
• Un-rack the barbell and step backwards for space, keeping your core engaged and spine neutral.
• With your elbows directly under the bar and having no contact on your shoulders, press the barbell vertically over heat to lock out.
• If you can’t reach a vertical position, press sightly forwards to avoid any change in you spinal position.
• Bring the bar back under control.

Why the overhead press? Pressing in this way, not bench press, reflects a more athletic ability than raw strength. Pressing is crucial for bike control and often in a vertical manner than a parallel press such as a bench press or press-up.

Conditioning tests/examples:

If you were listening to the Moving the Needle Podcast, you’ll know my opinion on conditioning over VO2 max and strength training independently.

Conditioning is the bringing-together of your athleticism in an applied and controlled way. We use it not only to train but to test riders because it better reflects their physical ability for riding than any other process.

This does not mean there aren’t benefits in testing outside conditioning, but any weak areas you have will soon be exposed in these tests.

Conditioning tests are not always the best way to train, the diversity and specificity of each and every conditioning piece in our full programs are there for your progression, expertly put together to progress quickly, safely and effectively.

Bodyweight conditioning tests/examples

Death by burpees

Goal – Perform the number of reps required in any given minute for as long as possible.

What to do:

“death by” is a term used for a specific workout type. The structure of the workout is:

With a timer, you perform 1 movement in the first minute, rest until the start of the next minute. Then at the turn of the next minute, perform 2 movements, rest, then 3 on minute 3 and so on. Your test/workout is finished when you can’t preform the given number of reps within the minute window. 

For example, you may reach minute 12, you are required to complete 2 burpees in 60 seconds but you only get 11. Your score would therefore be 11 minutes + 11 reps.

Burpee technique:

• From standing, lower yourself to the ground until your chest and thighs are touching, you can do this dynamically or by stepping in and out
• Return to standing either dynamically or stepping
• Perform a small jump and touch your hands behind your head with fully extended chest and legs. No forwards lean, EXTEND!
• Repeat.

Why burpees like this? Burpees are not only great at training/measuring the press and hinge movement but for the purposes of conditioning, the full body movement and dynamic nature reflects downhill riding very well. Being able to perform well/high numbers over the time frame sets you up well for the full body demands of downhill trails.

Points to consider:

• Pacing is difficult because the longer you take to perform the movements the less time you have to rest.
• Maintaining a high pace while under fatigue is a mind game, just get back down!
• Burpee suck!!! I know, but the effectiveness of them can’t be denied. Using them to test and train is very effective.
• Your ability to perform in the later minutes may highlight capacity or muscular endurance deficits.

The Burner:

Goal – Get through as quickly as possible, record your time

What to do:

Amateur level:

8 rounds of:

3 push-ups (on knees if you can’t perform full push-ups)

6 mountain climbers

10 alternate lunges

Intermediate level:

10 rounds of:

5 push-ups

10 mountain climbers

16 alternate lunges

Pro level:

12 rounds:

6 archer push-ups

10 mountain climbers

16 jumping alternate lunges

Techniques:

Push-ups – as standard, or on knees to scale

mountain climbers – holding the pushup position, dynamically bring one knee to touch your elbow then the other, each side is one rep

Lunges – forward step until your back knee touches the ground, return and alternate. Each side is one rep.

Jumping alternate lunges – as above but middle position is in the air and straight up.

Notes on the workout:

• Start at the lower level if you are unsure how you respond to high volume, high intensity workouts. You can always come back and try again in a couple of days.
• Pace yourself, workouts with multiple rounds catch up with you, the goal is fastest time total, not fastest first 3 rounds then hang on
• If you really struggle after you’ve started, reduce the number of reps or rounds as needed. The goal is to complete the full number of rounds but if this is too much for you, scale down.
• There may be one of the movements you struggle most with, and one you don’t, this may reflect a deficit area to work on.

Explosion!

As many rounds as possible in 4 minutes (AMRAP 4)…. rest 3 minutes then repeat.

Goal – complete as many reps as possible in a 4 minute window. Rest. Repeat.

8 skater hops over 1m (or less if you can’t jump that far)

4 push-up sprawls

Techniques:

Skater hops – stand at 90 degrees to the direction you will jump, take your right leg behind your left and drive your left leg to jump to the left. Land on your right leg and repeat. Each side is one rep

Push-up sprawls – with your feet in the middle of your 1m area, place your hands on the left side outside the 1m area. Perform 1 push-up then walk your hands across the 1m area keeping your feet in the middle, repeat on the other side. Each push-up is 1 rep.

Notes on the workout:

• This workout catches up with you quickly, pace but rest as little as possible.
• Reduce the reps of push-ups if you need to, or perform them on your knees.
• Try to achieve a similar number of reps in your second interval, if you are less than 75% of your first interval this may indicate a deficit in recovery and/or muscular endurance.

Gym base conditioning/tests for MTB Riders

EMOM 7 Thrusters:

Goal – maximum weight for the duration of the 7 minutes.

What to do:

With a barbell, perform 7 thrusters every minute on the minute for 7 minutes.

Technique:

A thruster is a front squat with an over head press at the top of the squat. It requires good flexibility but there are options below if you struggle with the technique.

Notes on the workout:

• If you struggle with the placement of a barbell on the wrists, use dumbbells.
• Only go as deep on the squat as your mobility allows.
• Set the load “light” because fatigue accumulates and in your final sets you may struggle if you start too heavy. You can always try again another day if you feel you went too light first time
• Thrusters are a good reflection of control, power and capacity, don’t think of this as a strength workout, this is conditioning.
• Try not to put the weights down, hit 7 reps every time if you can, otherwise your rest time is reduced and you may not make the full 7 minutes.

Row + Push:

Goal – make it through at a consistent pace and achievable load,

What to do:

Set a timer, row 500m then press immediately after, rest the remaining time in the 4 minute window repeat.

if you can’t access a rowing machine, use any other cardio equipment for a 2 minute interval.

Beginner:

Every 4 minutes for 6 rounds:

Row 500m

20 push-ups (scale if needed)

Intermediate:

Every 4 minutes for 8 rounds:

Row 500m

20 bench press (0.3-0.5 bodyweight)

Pro:

Every 4 minutes for 10 rounds:

500m row (1:40-1:45 pace)

20 bench press (0.5- 0.6 bodyweight)

Notes on this workout:

• Rowing is amazing for MTB, the hinge and pull cross over to riding extremely well.
• Pressing balances the pull, making a more complete workout 
• Pace yourself!
• There are only suggested times on the Pro level as this is known as the upper level, the others, pace as you feel necessary
• This workout can be used as a progression, by reducing your row time, adding load to the press or reducing your rest time. Over a number of weeks this progression can yield amazing results. The full description and program is on the members only page if you become a paying subscriber to any of our programs. 

Ladder:

Goal – get as far up the ladder as possible in a specified time.

What to do:

Perform 1 deadlift, then one over bar burpee. Next, 2 deadlifts, 2 over bar burpees… adding 1 rep of each until you are out of time.

Variations on load and time are subjective. My recommendation is to start “light” and go for 3 minutes.

If you are confident and well trained the maximum load would be 50% of your 3 rep max and max time 5 minutes.

Notes on this workout:

• The deadlift under fatigue can be difficult to perform, there are pros and cons to this but ultimately, you have to stay safe by maintaining good form.
• Burpee over bar should be a double footed jump if possible
• This combination is a very good test of strength and dynamic ability under fatigue, which transitions to the bike very well.

Principals of Strength and Conditioning for MTB Riders

Now you’ve seen the training, here are some principals I hope shed some light on training for mountain biking:

Principal 1: Focus On Your Weak Links.

You are only as good as your weakest link. Skill, fitness, strength, conditioning. If you have one or more deficit areas, addressing and improving these are the low hanging fruit to better riding.

Principal 2: Skill is Fundamental.

Skill is the are most can, and should, focus on improving. Therefore, dedicate purposeful practice time on your rides. Being fit and strong only goes so far if you’re not practicing your sport.

Principal 3: Conditioning is Gold.

If there is one area that brings up your physicality more than any, it is conditioning. Fit4Racing pioneered a style of conditioning for mountain bikers based on decades of coaching multiple high performing athletes in various sports, as well as thousands of general population people. Implementing this type of training has helped win world cups and enabled weekend warriors to thrive on and off the bike.

Principal 4: Consistency Beats Intensity.

I’m bored by this statement, it has been over quoted and under valued. I’m almost reluctant to even suggest it for fear of you thinking I’m as hollow as many other fitness douche bags out there who regurgitate the same mantras they’ve heard elsewhere. In short, train twice a week, ride for skill as much as you can, look after yourself daily. 

Principal 5: Overtraining is Misunderstood.

I’ve very rarely seen true overtraining. And when it has happened it was easily and quickly resolved. Most people/athletes have fear that limits their commitment and use overtraining as an excuse to do less. Almost every time it is not physical but a state of mental fatigue they feel. Yes, the more you do, the more tired you get. But frame your training as “productive overreaching”, meaning you HAVE to be reaching a little further continually to make progress. If you are like me and obsess over training, you’ll know when you’ve done too much and need to reign it back in. Be intelligent, like our program structure, and as a rule, every 4th week reduce the volume of your training and allow recovery.

Key considerations no-one tells you:

• Your strength takes up to 2 weeks to start to decline between training sessions
• Training hypertrophy more than 2 times a week only results in small additional improvements
• “Fitness” (or VO2 max increase) can be more effective with conditioning vs pedalling
• Pedalling in its self is “conditioning”, meaning the more you do the easier it becomes as your body adapts. This doesn’t mean you are fitter, you are just more used to it. Improving your base strength first, then adding more peddling results in a higher ceiling.
• Periodisation is great for Tour de France – having a single performance factor however, MTB is diverse and thus a general physical preparedness approach (with subtle shifts in focus areas) is much more effective.
• Pro rides only train in the gym 2-3 times a week, sometimes more if they have a deficit. They are not gods, you can be as fit and strong as a pro, it is entirely attainable for you.

Final Words

I hope this article helps you understand where you are physically… and mentally. Please use this as a free starting point and if nothing else, I hope you find a way forwards that helps you ride more confidently, longer and have more fun.

If this has inspired you to take the next step, please sign up to a full program and experience the value of structured, effective training for mountain biking. The code “needle50” is now live for 50% off your first month so you can at least try it and understand why so many pros and amateurs are performing at their best. Click here for MTB programs

If you do become a Fit4Racing member, you can access way more than I can provide in a single article. Our new members only page has tons of info on how to plan your week around bike time, on-bike training programs, recovery, nutrition, race day tips, insights from the pros and much, much more. Hopefully I’ll see you there. 

And finally, I am a coach at heart and love to help people, so if you have any questions pleas reach out via email on jonny@fit4racing.com and I’ll try and get to you as soon as possible. If there is a delay and you feel your question is important feel free to give me nudge ; )