DON’T CHASE NUMBERS IN THE GYM

Getting stronger is a means and not an end so keep your ego in check

WFAST & FIT

e’ve all done it. You start training and the early gains come fast and easy. You see the weight on the bar increase session to session and before you know it a double bodyweight deadlift becomes the main goal. Now you’re chasing numbers; weight on the bar or reps, when the original reason for going to the gym was to become a better rider, not a powerlifter. And it’s an easy mistake to make. Yes, having a bigger deadlift or squat is a great way to improve overall strength, but chasing numbers leads to too much time under the bar which can have a negative impact on your riding, not least because if you spend more time training, you’ll spend less time on the bike. Here’s what you need to do instead.

HAVEASOLIDPLANAND TRY TO STICK TO IT

Set a goal to achieve training benchmarks you know will help your riding – metrics such as weights on key lifts (squat, deadlift, press, etc); Wattbike FTP or similar; a specific number of pull-ups (or any at all) and mobility benchmarks. Once you achieve those you can move to more specific exercises to help build weak areas you have identified along the way while maintaining your new baseline of fitness. Your riding goals may change during this growth period too and with them your training goals can adapt, which is fine. But remember, increasing your fitness further comes with diminished returns so you must balance the time it takes to improve versus the returns you get from your efforts.

CONTINUE RIDING

You are going to the gym to become a better rider, but avoid the mistake of thinking you’ll achieve that just by spending more time in the gym, especially if it eats into your bike time. Being bike-fit isn’t just about increasing your ‘on-paper fitness’, so reverse engineering yourself with time in the gym may increase your recordable metrics, but it won’t help with some of the other, more specific demands of riding, like the improvements you can make in skills and confidence on the bike.

AVOID BAD ADVICE

Mountain biking is unique in its physical demands, so it can be difficult for coaches outside of the industry to understand how to train well for it. Many trainers will give you advice that matches their own experience – be it bodybuilding, endurance training, Crossfit – but fail to see outside their realm of knowledge, so you could be missing out on aspects of training that would help you improve as a rider. This can be even more problematic when you are taking advice from ‘friends’ whose influence on you is out of all proportion to their experience. Seek experienced trainers/coaches who understand what you need. If they don’t, tell them what your goals are rather than blindly following theirs.