We had a new addition to the MTB Breakfast Club this week and I found myself outlining the programming strategy that I use, so that he has an idea about the context of training blocks, rather than just "so next week, we're just doing the same thing?"
Now is a great time to talk about how you should be adapting your Strength training to complement the chaos that is Summer Mountain Biking in North America.
Strength Training for Mountain Bikers: In-Season vs. Off-Season
We all know that mountain biking is a demanding sport that requires strength, endurance, and technical skills. Therefore when coaches like me are planning for Athletes, we want to produce well-structured strength training programs that are capable of enhancing each of these attributes. We all know our energy and capacity for recovery are not infinite, however. So it makes sense if our approach to strength training varies depending on the changing demands on our energy from other parts of our life (this applies to work, relationships etc as well but that's for another post). Let’s delve into some of the fundamental differences between in-season and off-season strength training and hopefully give you guys some ideas on how you can adapt when your weekly riding volume is near its max through the summer.
Off-Season Strength Training
The off-season is the perfect time to maximize your strength adaptations, which will raise the ceiling for your endurance and skills. Here’s what off-season strength training typically involves:
Higher Volume: More training sessions with more sets per muscle group - we can do this because we have more time and more energy when not riding so much.
Focus on Weaknesses: Take an inventory of your relative strengths and weaknesses at the end of easch season and prioritize the areas taht need the most work. ie. upper body strength for chunky descents.
Compound Movements: Exercises like squats, deadlifts, and bench presses are the gold standard for general athletic strength development.
Progressive Overload: Gradually increasing the weight, reps, or sets over time is how we build meaningful strength increases.
Consistent: The off-season is a time to focus on strength as a priority and therefore we can usually stick to a weekly routine consistently, which allows us to execute a periodized plan without interruption.
In-Season Strength Training
In contrast, in-season strength training is about maintaining the strength built during the off-season and ensuring optimal performance on the trails. Here’s what in-season training usually looks like:
Lower (FLEXIBLE) Volume: To manage fatigue that could hinder performance, in-season training typically involves lower volume (fewer reps and sets). My approach is to use flexible volume loads, take the opportunity to do a little more on days when energy is there.
Sport-Specific Exercises: You'll see an increase in(but not an over-reliance on) exercises that mimic the movements and challenges of mountain biking to improve on-bike performance.
Maintenance (?) Workouts: Yes, we want to avoid back-sliding on our strength progress. But that doesn't mean we can't continue to make forward progress. Dial down your expectations, but still strive for gains.
Recovery: Adequate rest and recovery become even more critical during the in-season to keep performance levels high and prevent injuries.
Reactive:If there's one thing a coach knows, it's that in-season training needs to be programmed dynamically. Fatigue levels vary and injuries happen. A good programming approach is to honor your weekly gym time, while working around fatigue levels with volume & intensity changes and using exercise selection to work around injuries.
The Bottom Line
The biggest failure I see in athletes in season is that their workout frequency drops off a cliff. Make a promise to yourself that you're going to get into the gym 2-3 times per week no matter what. Better yet, commit to the specific exercise you're going to complete. If you're feeling good after a warm-up you might surprise yourself. If not, then maybe your 3 sets out of 4 were enough to prevent a slide this week. If there's an injury, work around it. There should be time for breaks, but not longer than a week. Continue to honour your time in the gym and you'll be amazed how much better you'll feel at the end of the season.
Managing all of the variables of a Training Program can be complex but I'm a big believer in simpler is better. So I hope this helps you to piece together a consistent approach for your Training this season.
If you want tot talk more about how to optimize your Training, you can book a no-strings Strategy Call with me below.
Cheers!
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