It’s August and we’re about half way through the summer and the race season.
Ben from MTBStrengthFactory thinks there still time to go faster and improve your riding or results.
As we go into August it’s about half way through the summer’s racing and riding season. There’s plenty of enduro races left and at least one downhill still to go.
Now is the perfect time to do a little reflection on your racing or riding so far this year and see how things are going, making tweaks to your riding as necessary.
Racers. Look at your results
If you race, then take a look at your results. Which tracks did you not do well on? What characteristics do those tracks share? How did you feel physically at the races you have done? Did you identify specific weaknesses like a lack of sprint power or severe arm pump? Write down your thoughts and be honest with yourself.
Non-racers. Look at your mates
For the non-racers you can carry out the same exercise, just compare yourself to your riding buddies and think about how you rode at different MTB venues. Where do your mates leave you behind? Where are you quickest? What is limiting you from going faster?
It’s about skills and fitness
It is really important to consider skills as well as fitness when you carry this out. Maybe this summer you have gotten loads better at jumps, but still suck at flat, rooty turns. This sort of self awareness will help you to plan training sessions to enable you to get the most out of your training time. Have a think about your riding and maybe ask your mates what they think too. You may even get a useful answer in between the predictable abuse!
Armed with this information you can adjust or create a plan for the rest of the season. You may also want to re-evaluate your goals as well. Are they realistic and are you on track to hit them? If not, then why?
Make a plan
When planning your training, try and address your weaknesses by adding sessions in that specifically target that ability, whether it is fitness or skills related. You may want to talk to a strength or skills coach and book some sessions. The important thing is to do something positive about your weaknesses and to maintain your current riding strengths.
Remember that the idea of training does not have to mean strictly structured torture sessions. For the average trail rider it may just mean spending times sessioning the awkward, flat turns that you struggle with instead of just focussing on the stuff that you are good at.
If you want some help making a training plan, you can check out this post which breaks it down for you.
By taking these small, simple steps you can go into the second half of summer knowing that you are maximising your time on the bike, meaning more fun, faster riding, and hopefully more podiums!
If you need any help, give me a shout. Stay strong. Ben.
Read more from Ben’s Faster / Stronger series here
Or contact him direct at MTBStrengthFactory
