STAY STRONG OVER SUMMER

3 sure- ire ways to keep on top of your training with minimal gym time

Bright evenings, after-work rides and long weekends mean one thing – summer’s here! The reason we train is so we can ride faster and safer at this time of year, which means more time spent outdoors and less in the gym. That can be counterproductive, as any strength gains made will dip, even if you ride plenty, and performance and fun on-trail may suffer. Avoid that by following these tips...

1 Body weight +

Mastering your own body weight is an often overlooked but effective way to train. Short, frequent sessions of key movements are a brilliant way to get enough stimulus to keep strong, without spending too long in the gym. Stick to the fundamentals – lunges, squats, planks, push-ups, pull-ups, jumps and bounds. Mix loading between 2 5 sets of 5 25 reps, change your speed of movement, add pauses and own each move with intent to create challenging sessions that allow for progression.

2 High-force pedalling

When faced with a steep incline, instead of searching out the ‘dinner plate’ sprocket, do the opposite and click down a few gears. Get out of the seat and stand strong, pushing a hard gear at a slow cadence. This is as speci ic as strength training gets, increasing leg, torso and grip strength. Start with one-minute reps, working up to four to ive minutes at a time. Three to four total reps in a ride is usually plenty!

3 Fun-damentals

Practising some core riding skills can be a stunningly effective way to keep strong. On one hand, the better you are at riding, the less effort, strength and energy you’ll use to bunnyhop, corner and shred. But if you reduce the in luence of gravity and velocity, and practise bunnyhops, manuals, wheelies and 180 endos on a lat surface, you can get a concentrated, speci ic strength session in, improve your ability to apply techniques on-trail and keep a big smile on your face while doing so. Playtime isn’t just for kids!