- Hey I'm Dr. Sam,
a physical therapist here with REI Co-op,
and with the help of Anna,
we're gonna run through some exercises with you.
Cross-training for mountain biking
is really important to try and prevent injury
and help you feel good as you go up and down the mountain.
(upbeat music)
With mountain biking, we're gonna focus on
nerve glide, walking lunge with rotation, lateral jump,
burpees, bridge with hamstring curl,
back extension, plank with single arm row,
single leg deadlift.
During this video, we'll do a quick demo
of each exercise and layout a basic training plan for you.
Remember, before you start any exercise
to consult your doctor or physical therapist if needed.
Nerve glide.
With longer rides and all that compression
against your wrists from the handlebars,
these nerve glides are a great way
to keep that nerve nice and healthy.
So here, Anna's just thinking about extending her arm
as her head goes towards her same shoulder.
That way, we're not putting too much pressure on that nerve.
Only go as far as you feel like there's
a comfortable stretch.
Don't overdo it
if you start to feel some tension in your arm.
Anna's only gonna do a few for us,
but try do about 15 to 20 each side.
Walking lunge with rotation.
Let's warm up with a walking lunge
and rotation exercise to really get your body ready
for all the other movements we'll be doing.
Just remember as you're doing the walking lunge
to keep everything in a nice alignment,
from your hip to your toes
and trying to stay nice and tall as you rotate through.
Ideally, you wanna be able to go
about 10 spaces out and 10 spaces back.
One way to modify this if you're short on space
is just like Anna, taking a couple steps at a time
or not going as deep into that lunge.
Lateral ski jump.
Since this is such a dynamic movement
you wanna make sure that when you're landing
it's nice and soft and you're not wobbling there.
That way, we're really working on
that power through our hips and our quads.
Shooting for jumping 15 times to each side.
Going through that once
before you move on to the next exercise.
Ways that you can make this harder
are jumping farther to each side,
or as Anna is gonna show here,
really sinking down into it.
Good.
You can make it easier
by simply stepping to the side
and working on balance that way.
Burpees.
Riding up and down the mountain and hopping rocks
can take a real beating on your body,
so this burpee exercise is great way
to really build up that explosive power
as well as working on some good stability and control.
So Anna here is thinking about as she comes down
landing softly and really getting to that plank position.
It's great to build up that endurance
of those shoulder muscles
as well as that explosive power from those quads.
To make it a little bit easier,
Anna's just gonna walk her feet out
and back and into that squat.
If you're able to, try to do 20 of these.
Bridge with hamstring curl.
As you get into the bridge with this exercise,
you wanna make sure that your back stays nice and straight,
so pulling that belly button to the spine
and really lifting up
into that position through your glutes.
And then as you do the curl,
maintaining that bridge.
Anna's doing a great job here
of really focusing on keeping a nice, straight back.
She's only gonna do a few for us,
but try to get through 20,
and make sure that you're breathing throughout the exercise.
To make it easier, Anna's gonna go ahead
and do some bridges without the hamstring curl.
To make it harder,
she's gonna go into the single leg version.
Back extension.
A great way to work on building that endurance
of those low back muscles is to strengthen them
through this extension exercise.
Anna's gonna make sure she can really
curve with the shape of the ball
and then extend through,
not really hinging or overextending at any portion of it.
Try to see if you can do about 20,
and only go as high up as you feel comfortable.
Plank with single arm row.
When you're getting into the plank position
it's import to remember to keep that core nice and stable,
maybe tuck that belly button to your spine
to really create a flat back here.
As you're lifting that, make sure, as Anna's doing here,
not to let your hips rotate.
That might mean really setting your feet
nice and far apart to feel stable.
You're gonna wanna try to do about 12 to 15 on each side.
To make it easier, you can come down to your knees
and really focus on a clean row here.
Good.
Single leg deadlift with dumbbell.
A great way to work on building
the endurance of your hip and low back,
as well as working on balance and control of your knee,
are the single leg dead lifts.
Anna's really focusing on,
as that dumbbells coming forward,
she's not arching her back or rounding it,
keeping it nice and straight
and not letting those hips wobble side to side.
On her leg that's down she's really focusing
on not having that knee shoot forward
or wobble side to side.
Always keeping control of the dumbbell.
Try to do about 20 on each side if you can.
To make it a little bit easier,
here's Anna in a kickstand position
still trying to focus her effort on that front leg.
Another good way is to lighten the weight,
and if you wanna make it harder,
add a a little extra weight.
Now that you've gone through that once,
take a little break, maybe two minutes,
and see if you can go back through that
two to three more times.
When thinking about your week,
try to do this routine two to three times,
incorporating some days of rest as well as some cardio.
Here's a reminder of the exercise list again
with the number of suggested repetitions.
If you'd like any other information
check out our other videos.
Nice work!
(upbeat music)