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Best cross-training for enduro racing

7K views 25 replies 14 participants last post by  hitechredneck 
#1 ·
Hi riders, question: for enduro training I read that pros do a lot of plyometrics at the gym (jumping exercises focused on power and strength) instead of light weight high repetitions exercises. I try to use running (once or twice a week) as cross training. But wondering if I should do relaxed long distance or sprints? What would further support enduro training (tech downhills, and dirt road uphills of 40k). Also if you combine both plyometrics and running with 5 MTB rides a week, what would be ur suggestion in terms of how often to run/train at the gym.

Cheers
 
#2 ·
The thing you have to understand about pro racers doing plyo's is that they've built up to the ability to do them. In other words, and it's a saying I use with my clients, "you have to earn your way to doing a particular exercise."
They typically don't just start doing plyo's. This time of year, riders will start putting in base miles. My clients will also spend a lot of time in the gym doing training for posture, flexibility, stability, mobility and base line muscle hypertrophy training.
From now until June, we will constantly evaluate and change the program to become more demanding, working the athlete toward ploy training sometime in May, depending on the athletes goal.
So I recommend thinking about it that way!
 
#3 ·
check out enduromtbtraining.com. The program is great and its pretty cheap considering all you get. I went into it with a high level of fitness and experience and have struggled for years to try and put something like that together. Bike-specific exercises you never have thought of. Dee's no joke either, he won his class in the big mountain enduro series last year.
 
#4 ·
lighweight and hi rep is completely useless no matter what your training for. any form of cardio is always good training, and i suggest looking into a progrom like starting strength. weight training is always good to supplement bike riding
 
#5 ·
lighweight and hi rep is completely useless no matter what your training for.
I disagree. high reps can be extremely beneficial. they allow the trainee to build the mind/muscle connection, get a very good feel for the exercise and the target muscles in action. studies have shown that time under tension can be as much a factor in muscle strength as the amount of weight lifted. I don't want to drone on about it but show me a guy who can do 4 sets of 30 pushups and 4 sets of 12 pullups, 4 sets of 30 bodyweight squats and I'll show you a very impressive individual.
 
#8 ·
I'd have to think HIIT workouts, with high intensity aerobic exercises (like full body suicide burpees... pushup at the bottom, jumping into a pullup at the top) would help you build that reserve capacity needed to 'push' through hard moments... where you have to dig deep and power up a quick, punch climb, to keep momentum.
 
#12 ·
I also suggest you ride a lot of shuttle or lift assisted DH. High speed descents are taxing and hit different muscles than you'll train doing XC. . It will also help with the mental aspect. .I see a lot of guys losing a lot of time out of fear. Many of the top guys in Enduro have a DH background. Fitness is crucial but you also have to be fearless and comfortable going very very fast in order to win.
 
#16 ·
I'm trying to balance things out this year to "train" for Enduro races. Two days a week I'm strength training for about an hour with lots of core work and basic strength movements(deadlifts, pull ups, single leg squats, bench press, etc..). The strength training is really important for me as I'm over 40. I also race XC in the sport class and getting ready for that takes care of all my on the bike fitness needs for Enduro. In addition, I'm spending at least one day a week in the mountains either doing a long ride with a bunch of made up "enduro dh stages", or going to a lift assisted bike park to ride. I feel like the fitness and strength side is more important for me considering my age and that I used to race DH and Moto. Remember that everyone is different though, so what works for one person may not be as beneficial to someone else.
 
#17 ·
I was just wondering more or less the same thing today,... if going faster is a question of skills or fitness...there's a downhill segment in my area which I can't lower my personal record, that is going faster..., I know I can go faster but if I do, I know the bike would be uncontrolled and I could crash...so how can I go faster? improving my skills or getting stronger so I can control the bike better?
 
#18 ·
It's both. As a coach who works with both pro DH and enduro athletes as well as clients who are skills coaches, you must have the athletic capability to go fast. If your body isn't stable enough then you will have less balance and coordination. If it's not flexible/mobile enough, then you won't have the ability to get into proper DH position and stay there for the length of a run, and definitely not over multiple stages and days. If you're not strong enough to handle the rigors of a DH run repetitively, then fatigue will quickly set in and you won't be able to tap into "the zone" where performance takes place.
Think about it, if you don't have these things intact, then how can you learn more skills, let alone execute them w/o as much athletic potential at your finger tips as possible? Look, I'm 47 with a family and biz and I still win races, and in fact, think my DH skills are better now than they were when I was racing DH in my late 20's and early 30's! Why? B/c my body is "wise" and I train it for maximum athletic potential that I can "bring to my bike" so I can do what I want, when I want with my bike!
You dig?
 
#20 ·
thank you for your answer, so If I don't understand wrong, (sorry my English is not my native tongue), I do need to have an optimal fitness level to then improve my skills? is that correct?so being fitter will make me progress in the skills field...
 
#19 ·
Some good posts here, my take on it is this:

Break Enduro racing down into its component parts, long transition stage involving mostly climbing, followed by an all out sprint down 4-15mins of technical track, then repeat 5 or 6 more times.

I start by making sure my base cardio level is higher than needed for the cruise up the transition stage with my mates by hammering out training climbs twice a week at a pace beyond what I will need on race day. This makes sure that the transitions don't take too much out of my energy reserves which leaves me fresh at the start of the special stages.

I strength train 3 times a week with high weight/low rep range in the deadlift, back squat, bench press, standing overhead press and weighted pullup. Strength is needed for bike manipulation, absorbing terrain and hammering out the sprints on the special stages. A good engine(cardiovascular system) is useless without the machinery(skeletal muscular system) it drives to get the job done.

At the end of each of these strength sessions I add assistance work with dumbells in the low weight/high rep range for hypertrophy to build muscle mass which is essential for protection and preventing serious injury in a crash and fall situation.(Which happens more often than I'd like :))

I also get in a game or two of squash every week which I find is a fantastic builder of agility and fast reflexes.

As said by enduromtbtrainer, shuttle DH runs are great for shedding fear and honing technical skills while saving energy for where its needed in these training sessions.

I top it all off by rerunning last years Enduro stages once or twice a month, as the best way to practice winning a multi stage race is, well, to practice winning a multi stage race. ;-)
 
#21 ·
You got it!
And Ironbar81 said it well. What he describes is how we train our riders, with more specificity and a little different.
But we create our programs to make your body strong and resilient to deal with the DH portions, not for XC racing as the demands are greater in Enduro. Yes, it's good to have a cardio base, but my assumption is that most mtb'ers have enough base to get around the mountain in the transition stages just fine, but it's the repetitive DH race sections that crush the typical rider.
Remember, fatigue is a form killer and form allow for optimal skill expression, so training to prevent fatigue is crucial for an enduro and gravity athlete.
 
#22 ·
Fatigue for sure is the number one enemy.

At the final round of the Irish Gravity Enduro series last year, which had the longest transition and special stages of the series, I had never ridden the venue before so I did the full course of 5 transition stages and 5 special stages on the practice day before the race, then did it all again for the race the following morning.
Needless to say by the time I got to the top of stage 5 I was completely wrecked! I was running on empty and was in full "passenger mode" on the way down what was the longest and most demanding stage of the course by far. I held on for dear life, slowed my pace well below where it should have been and still managed to crash three times. I lost a lot of unnecessary time all because I ran out of energy before the race was over. I hope not to repeat that mistake this year :)
 
#24 ·
Check out MTB Strength training systems by James. I'm working with his Ultimate program that has workout plans specifically for enduro. After just a few weeks I can feel a difference on the bike. One thing that has helped me is to start climbing as much as possible in the standing position. I have a good core base for seated climbing but the long standing DH sections are very taxing. I am a rider that feels my riding skills and function have just about peaked for the risk level I am willing to take. Now I need to add strength into the equation to keep that good form in all the timed stages. Last year I lost races not because I'm a slow rider, but because I couldn't stay on form with explosive power for the duration of each stage.
 
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