The off-season is where the work happens. The in-season is where it all comes together. But making the transition between the two? Thatās where a lot of riders get tripped up. Youāve put in months of strength training, mobility work, and structured intervalsānow itās time to get back to full-on riding without losing your progress or burning out too soon. If youāve ever felt sluggish when you first get back on the trails or found yourself overtraining as the season progresses, youāre not...
3 months agoĀ ā¢Ā 1 min read
Zone 2 training has amazing benefits to the health and performance of mountain bikers. Zone 2 training refers to training you do below your aerobic threshold where your body i primarily using oxygen to break down fat as an energy source. It is often referred to as long steady slow training at a pace you can maintain all day long. The benefits include building more mitochondria (the powerhouse organelle) in your muscle cells, increased time and speed at lower intensity, delays the usage of...
5 months agoĀ ā¢Ā 1 min read
Happy New Year Reader! Hope you have had an amazing holiday season and are excited about whats to come in 2025. Personally and professionally, I have some big things planned which I will be working on through the winter which I plan to release closer to spring. What do you hope to accomplish in 2025? New year's is always a time of reflection and planning and often goal setting. I want to help you achieve your goals and dreams. One piece of advice I always give is to look deeper than just the...
6 months agoĀ ā¢Ā 1 min read
About a week ago the online magazine NSMB posted about a recent study on spinal cord injuries in mountain biking. To say the least, the article created some controversy in the comments. Some, attacking the motives of the researchers calling the study a piece of sensationalist fear mongering. Others, taking a more calculated approach trying to pull some useful information from the study and discussing how it could be applied to our beloved sport. With my background as an Athletic Therapist,...
6 months agoĀ ā¢Ā 1 min read
Reader, With the start of November coming up later this week, it's time to transition into off-season mode. I know we're still clinging to the last days of fall and you should still be able to get a few more rides in when the weather allows. The great thing about how I build transition phase programs is that it is not so intense and high volume that you can't add fun rides in when your schedule and the weather allow. Last here in Alberta we had a couple of bonus weeks of fall in November! š¤...
8 months agoĀ ā¢Ā 1 min read
The MTB season is not quite done with all time fall time just around the corner. It's a great time to reflect on the 2024 season. I ask all of the athletes I work with to answer a few questions to reflect on the last season and prepare for the next. What successes did you have? What challenges/failures did you face? How did you approach them? Were you able to overcome them? Looking towards 2025, what do you want to achieve? Next, we discuss next steps and create a plan to start moving forward...
9 months agoĀ ā¢Ā 1 min read
The popularity of strength training has increased as a cross training method for mountain bikers in recent years. There are numerous benefits ranging from increased performance to improved health allowing you to ride more and ride longer than before. A stronger, more powerful body allows you to ride faster for a longer distance. Reduced risk of injury from crashes and chronic injury from repetitive stress. Reducing or even reversing the loss of bone density and muscle mass from aging and the...
9 months agoĀ ā¢Ā 1 min read
Over the past few years I have helped multiple mountain bikers in the clinic rehab a wrist injury. One key component of the return to trail phase is using an appropriate wrist brace to protect the wrist from vibrations and impacts as it takes time for a wrist to become desensitized after injury. If you were to walk into a pharmacy and buy something off the shelf you're likely to be disappointed in the amount of support and mobility these basic braces give when you try to ride with them. To...
10 months agoĀ ā¢Ā 1 min read
Hey Crew, There is so much going on in the Alpine MTB Training community right now I'm struggling to sort it all out in my own head. This past weekend was epic is many ways. š„ at the Golden Rush 12 hour š„ Alberta Cup XCO Top 10 in U21 at the Canadian Enduro League Western Cup. Dual discipline weekends with one athlete racing XCM and Gravel on back to back days, another racing BMX then XCO. To unfortunate lows of serious injury when a win looked to be in the cards. Please all send healing...
12 months agoĀ ā¢Ā 1 min read