- In this video I'm gonna talk you through
some of the really common training mistakes.
Some of these I made as a pro mountain bike racer.
Hopefully you can avoid them and make your riding better.
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A classic training mistake
is just to work in your strengths.
So for example, you might be really good
at endurance-focused skills like spinning for hours on end.
But it's no good just to focus on your strengths,
you'll never get to grips with the other techniques.
For example, cross-country race tracks now are so technical,
that even if you're super-fit
you still need the skills to be able to ride those sections
and not use too much energy whilst you're doing it.
Same goes for technical climbs.
Your slow speed skill is gonna come into play far more here.
You also need some upper body strength
to muscle the bike around.
Even with those technical sections,
you need the skills like bunny hops, manuals,
and that does take up quite a lot of energy.
Try and highlight your weaknesses
and slowly try and eat away at them,
setting challenges to improve those skills
to become a more rounded rider.
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Try and add some variety to your riding.
I made the mistake when I was a young racer
of actually just working on my skills
and riding my bike a lot,
and not actually doing any proper focused training.
The best way I found to try and do that as a professional
was to try and keep it interesting
and sustain my motivation for the long run,
and that was all about having a good amount of variety
in the type of training and riding I did.
It's a really good idea
to try and mix up the different types of training.
So, some short, sharp,
really intense training sessions or rides.
Some longer, low-intensity rides.
It's definitely a mistake I made when I was racing Enduro.
I was quite good at motivating myself
to do the turbo training sessions, doing intervals,
so I got really good power-to-weight ratio,
but my endurance wasn't very good.
So I changed it up,
started adding some more really long, really mellow rides
on a cross-country bike, on a road bike,
and it really did build
my overall strength and fitness really well.
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It's really helpful to keep track of your training
so you know where your base is before you start,
but also where you wanna get to.
SO you can find loads of information online about training,
maybe you've used the personal trainer,
or even used a device to do some tests
to work out your base fitness.
Now it's a good thing to work out
your resting and max heart rates,
and therefore your training zones,
or even these devices will give you a good idea
of where your VO2 max is.
Now it's definitely not gonna be as accurate
as doing a proper test with a trainer and all the equipment,
but it's still gonna give you a good idea.
You can try and keep a diary, either physical or online.
I like to keep track of my exercise
using mainly my Garmin fenix watch.
So I wear this all the time,
so it'll even take into account
a particularly strenuous commute
or an indoor rowing session.
And I use a device on my bike
to track my road rides and my mountain bike rides.
Just keep an eye of what I'm doing
and therefore how my fitness is improving.
You can expand this to making proper training plans
on software like TrainingPeaks online.
Download that to your device and literally set that
and follow exactly what it's telling you to do.
And it's nice to look back in a week or a month's time
and see what you've done, to see actually,
you've put a decent amount of time into your training.
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Try and listen to your body.
Your head might be saying yes, but your body's saying no.
Might have super-sore legs.
Sometimes it does work to push through and crack on,
but other times it's gonna make you a lot worse
and get you into a hole with fatigue.
So it's all about listening to your body.
Things like, knowing when to eat,
when you can you push through,
but also when you need recovery.
It's really important to getting fitter.
Also some advice I've had about training when you're ill,
so if you're got a bit of a cold,
if it's on your head, it's generally okay,
but if it's on your chest, now is time to have a rest.
Don't train 'cause you could make things a lot worse.
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One of the best things about that initial rush of motivation
is that you feel like doing it all immediately.
But if you go from riding 25 kilometers a week
to suddenly riding 200k a week,
you're gonna be in for a bad time.
Take your time to build your fitness.
Start by setting yourself some goals,
perhaps a climb that's been the bane of every ride.
Aim to complete it without stopping
and then look to time yourself.
But it's all about the balance.
You don't wanna push yourself unnecessarily
and get injured or lose that motivation.
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A common misconception is that
just because you're exercising regularly
then you can eat whatever you want and whatever quantities.
As much as we'd like this to be true, this is not the case.
When it comes to being really fit,
a really good diet is also gonna be really crucial.
Try eating starchy whole-grain carbohydrates,
because the greater fiber content
helps control blood sugar levels
and helps you feel more full for longer.
This is really gonna help
for longer rides with bigger stretches between meals.
Also don't forget the proteins and fats.
We're focusing on unsaturated fats
from foods like nuts and avocados.
Always try to reach your five a day
and vary the colors in each meal you eat.
The more color, the wider array of vitamins and minerals
you'll be consuming.
This also transfers to fuel on the bike.
Chocolates and sweets will only go so far,
giving you a quick burst of energy,
but a solid snack with the right nutritional impact
will give you much more sustainable
and long-lasting energy on the trails.
Packing the right snacks
with a good balance of carbs, fats, and sugars
will ensure you have the right fuel to last until home time.
Blake's Bakes is a good place to start,
but you should also find what works best for you.
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Another common training mistake
is not drinking enough fluids, and we don't just mean water,
especially when it's hot.
When you're low on water and sodium,
you'll start to feel the effects of dehydration
like a dry mouth, headaches, and muscle cramps.
So, obviously when it's super hot
you've really got to take care with this
and add some electrolytes to your water.
Be sure to drink both water and electrolyte-based fluids
to help you replenish the minerals and salts
lost through exercise.
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Remember, you're trying to train your body and not your ego,
so it's all about trying to learn your body
and when you need to say stop.
Sometimes you will be able to push through,
but sometimes it's gonna make you really, really tired.
So, a bit of rest could help,
and that is where you're gonna get fitter as well.
Well there's only so much physical stress
you can put your body under
before you start getting burnt out
and actually not making any gains.
So make sure you plan in a bit of recovery.
You could even catch up on a bit of GMBN,
or a bit of tech with Doddy.
Look at that.
So there's just a few of the mistakes
that I've made whilst training
to ride a mountian bike just that bit faster.
Also some that I've picked up from trainers over the years.
Well, I'm gonna sit here, recover,
and watch a video about how to train for Enduro
and one about the longest night ride.
So, I suggest you do the same thing
by clicking on the bottom, hit that sub button,
give us a thumbs-up if you like training.