An Off-Season Mountain Biker’s Guide To Staying In Shape (BIPOC Edition)
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Staying in shape during the off-season can be challenging for many mountain bikers. When I first jumped into the sport, my months off the saddle consisted of very little exercise and no sense of direction on how to stay in shape. At the end of every winter, I felt physically and mentally out of shape. Consequently, I would end up using the first quarter of the new season to get back to the standard of riding that challenged me and allowed me to get the most out of mountain biking. It was exhausting and the cycle tended to repeat itself.
After talking to other BIPOC mountain cyclists, I found that I was not alone. Whether they ride for leisure, for sport, or competitively, we all share the struggle of staying physically and mentally conditioned during the off season. As the snow begins to fall and our mountain bikes go into storage, or on the rack for the winter, I thought it would be a good idea to share a helpful and empowering guide to help you stay ready for the spring mountain biking season. So here’s a collection of workouts, practices, and experiences that I gathered from BIPOC mountain cyclists all around the country.
5 Physical Workouts You Can Do:
Contributor: Kevin Nguyen
Safety first! Before you engage in any sort of exercise, make sure that it is safe to do so. As with any physical activity, there is always risk of injury so ensure that you do everything with safety in mind. Pain is not weakness leaving the body, pain is your body’s way of telling you to tone it down or stop. Discomfort is okay, pain is not.
Each exercise can be modified according to your ability. If a workout is too difficult, find a modification and work on progressing when and where you can. If it is too easy, add additional sets, weight (proper form FIRST), or find a harder modification.
Workout 1
Warm-Up
5-10 minutes cardio machine of choice
Then 3 rounds of:
20 bodyweight squats
15 glute bridges
10 lunges (each leg)
5 world’s greatest stretch (each side)
WOD
3 sets: 8-12 reps of barbell back squat
3 sets:
12 dumbbell lunges
10 box jumps
30 second side plank (each side)
10 goblet squats
3 sets:
12 cable rotations (each side)
10 hanging knee/leg raises
30 second front plank
10 SLOW medball/plate twists (each side)
Cool-Down
5-10 minute stretch
Workout 2
Warm-Up
2 sets of:
250 meter row, 15 squats, 10 push ups, 5 inchworms
WOD
3 sets: 8-12 reps bench press
AMRAP (As Many Rounds As Possible) in 12 minutes of:
10 kettlebell / dumbbell swings
10 medicine ball slams
10 jumping squats
5 burpees
Rest 2 minutes
AMRAP in 8 minutes of:
10 calorie row
10 calorie assault bike
5 burpees
Cool-Down
30 seconds to 1 minute stretch of:
Hamstring, hip-flexor, glute, quadriceps, calfs, pecs, lats
Workout 3
Sustained Cardio
60 - 90 minute on the bike. Using the rate of perceived exertion scale (RPE), stay at 4-6.
Every 10 minutes, take it up to 7-9 for 2 minutes.
Cool-Down
5 minute walk on treadmill + 5 minute stretching sequence of choice
Workout 4
Warm-Up
10 minutes on the bike
Then 2 rounds of:
30 second front plank (on hands)
10 body weight lunges (each side)
10 body weight squats
10 light dumbbell overhead press
WOD
3 sets: 8-12 barbell deadlift
3 sets:
12 barbell rows
10 dumbbell reverse flies
12 oblique side raises (each side)
3 sets: 12 pull ups + 12 wall slides
10 single arm dumbbell rows
Cool-Down
5 minutes on cardio machine of choice, then stretch.
Workout 5
Warm-Up
0.25 mile run
Then 3 sets of:
10 squat jumps
5 world's greatest stretch (each side)
30 second jumping jacks
10 supermans
WOD
3 sets: 8-12 reps of dumbbell front squat with push press (thruster)
2-4 Circuits (20-30 seconds per station), 2 minute rest in between each circuit
Push ups
Dumbbell reverse lunge
Bicycle crunches
Assault bike
Box jumps
Dumbbell curl to overhead press
Cool-Down
20 minute on the bike, 4-6 on the RPE, then stretch
Three Wellness Based Practices You Can Also Do:
Contributor: Kevin Nguyen
Yoga: Excellent way to work on balance, stretching, and strengthening. This site provides free yoga videos for all different levels and types.
Guided Meditation: Mindfulness based meditation isn’t about “ooohmmm” or sitting still. Mindfulness is the basic human ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what we’re doing, and not overly reactive or overwhelmed by what’s going on around us. It has been shown to elicit a wide variety of benefits, from improving mental health to helping with feelings of pain, it only takes 5-10 minutes each day. This site below provides guided audio to help take you through the experience and helpful information if you want to know more.
Mindful Eating and Peace With Food: Our relationship with food can often be filled with guilt, strict choices, and controlled by external sources. Food is just food. We are taught ridiculous strategies to fend off hunger, on how to eat, what to eat, and when we should eat. It is time to make peace with it all. Give yourself full permission to eat the foods you enjoy, don’t put food on a pedestal. If mindful and intuitive eating are things that you have heard of but never tried, use the resources below to help you get started. It will change the way you look at food and eating.
What Other MTBers Do:
Portrait of Rachel Olzer
Name: Rachel Olzer
Instagram: @rachel.olzer
Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota
Bike: MTB: Specialized Epic HT Pro 29er/Gravel: Specialized Diverge Expert X1
Years MTBing: 5 years riding; 3 years racing
What do you do to stay in shape during the off-season:
Typically, by December, I am tired! Before I dive into a winter training plan, I always take at least a few weeks off. It’s easy as a bike racer, especially in Minnesota, to ride, race, and train all year long. However, I am the type to get burned out when I am hyper-focused on a goal for too long.
During my time off the bike, I like to rock climb—indoors mainly, although I do like to travel to warmer places and climb outside at least a few times during the off-season. I also like to catch-up with friends whom I’ve neglected during the racing season. After a few weeks off, I like to get back on the bike trainer to do some slow and steady riding. I’ll usually spend a few weeks building up to being on the trainer for 1-2 hours at a time. The mental stamina required to be on the trainer for 1+ hours is no small feat! Once I feel good being on the trainer for extended periods, I will start a structured training plan where I’m usually getting on the trainer 3-5 times a week. Most of the training plans I use rely on a metric of power output called, functional threshold power (FTP). The goal of structured training is to raise your FTP.
I also like to supplement my bike training with weightlifting. There’s still a lot of debate about whether weightlifting is beneficial to cycling. I like to lift weights because I think it really helps with injury prevention-- especially preventing bone fractures when you crash. I also like weightlifting for overall health. Plus, I love being strong and having muscles—especially as a woman!
Because winter lasts so long in Minnesota, I also like to plan a few trips to warmer places to ride bikes. Being on a trainer can be mentally taxing and I think managing burn-out is one of the most important things for a bike racer to be able to do. Going somewhere to ride, especially if it’s with friends, can help remind you of the simple joys of riding a bike!
Portrait of Ikhide Ikhigbonoaremen
Name: Ikhide Ikhigbonoaremen
Instagram: @mans_not_hot____
Location: Front Range, Colorado
Bike: Custom Evil Calling
Years MTBing: 16 Years so far
What do you do to stay in shape during the off-season:
Over the winter months, biking around Colorado takes a brief hiatus, although, depending on the year, we can get out a little during the winter. The snow melts quickly. Some of the activities that help me stay in physical shape during the winter include digging, kettlebell flows, calisthenics and walking the pup.
Trail maintenance requires a lot of digging—which can be challenging during the winter months as the ground hardens, but, can also bear prime conditions with the added moisture of snowfall. Also, trail work is mentally therapeutic, something about being a little more in tune with nature the peace and solitude really helps me center myself. When complete, you can reap the benefits of your labor and put smiles on people's faces.
I like doing kettlebell supersets because they are easy to do at home. No gym required. Just enough space to swing them about without breaking anything. I have two 15kg bells (35 pounds each) With them I do goblet squats, front squats, snatch and clean, overhead shoulder press, pushups all inflow supersets. It's fun to mix it up and see how long you can go in a set.
Photo Credit: Kevin Nguyen, IG: @khang.ster
Name: Eric Arce
Instagram: @pedalhomie
Location: Salt Lake City, UT
Bike: Santa Cruz Hightower
Years MTBing: 10 years
What do you do to stay in shape during the off-season:
I just moved from Los Angeles where I was able to mountain bike all year round, to Salt Lake City where I currently live. It’s been a dramatic shift for me and, while I’ve lived in harsh winters before, I’ve really had to adjust my routine this year. One, because I had my thyroid removed after I discovered I had thyroid cancer, resulting in a very uneven metabolism. The other, because I’ve had to find alternative methods to workout besides hiking and biking since the trails are covered in snow. I primarily exercise for my mental health, to offset depression. So being outside is almost a necessity. I’ve really started to hit the gym to build a routine, even though it’s not my favorite place to work out. I started skiing again to give me something to do and I’ve really enjoyed it. But I’m going to start heading down south to ride in Virgin or Moab, Utah. I think these mini trips will help me have something to look forward to, so that I can stay on my bike throughout the winter.
Portrait of Tracy Brown
Name: Tracy Brown
Instagram: @_tronlives_
Location: Austin, TX
Bike: Specialized Stumpjumper
Years MTBing: 3
What do you do to stay in shape during the off-season:
Mountain Biking is my absolute favorite thing to do and fortunately, I live in Austin, TX where I can hit the trails year-round. In addition to riding, I also hit the gym to stay in shape and these are a few of the workouts I like to do:
Rowing machine: I like to row 2500m in less than nine minutes, rest two minutes then repeat.
Peloton bike: I do about 45mins-1hr on the stationary using the intervals, hill climb, and cross country workouts.
Assault bike: I’ll go hard for 30sec then a slow pace for 10sec until I can’t anymore.
Photo Credit: Eric Arce, IG: @pedalhomie
Name: Kevin Khang Nguyen
Instagram: @khang.ster
Location: Salt Lake City, Utah
Bike: Santa Cruz Bronson
Years MTBing: 4
What do you do to stay in shape during the off-season:
During the winter months in Salt Lake City, there have been a couple of times where trails have cleared up enough to go ride, but unfortunately this isn’t looking like this is the case this year.
Along with the riding, if things clear up or if I head south where it’s warmer to ride, I spend time in the gym practicing what I preach and I play in the mountains when I can.
Backcountry skiing has been my current go to method of conditioning this year and has been a great way of working out my lungs and legs.
Photo Credit: Eric Arce, IG: @pedalhomie
Name: Huong Tran
Instagram: @cest_pareil_
Location: Salt Lake City, UT
Mountain Bike: Scott D Contessa Genius a.k.a. “Calypso”
Years MTBing: 1 year
What do you do to stay in shape during the off-season:
I regularly go to the gym, but during the off season I like to attend indoor cycling classes at least once a week. At the gym, I usually run a couple of miles for warm-up and then I’ll do some full-body workouts and or olympic lifts. The cycling classes consist of hill climbs, resistance training, and speed training. The combination of these two help me maintain my endurance so that when I hop back onto my bike in the Spring, I’m not dying as much.
Photo Credit: Bryan Rowe
Name: Gloria Liu
Instagram: @thats_my_line
Location: Boulder, Colorado
Bike: Pivot Switchblade and Yeti SB130 LR (just got it! Haven't had my new bike day yet...)
Years MTBing: 8
What do you do to stay in shape during the off-season:
Living on the East Coast, I would just ride all winter long. I actually love winter dawn patrols: it's almost never cold in the woods once you get pedaling, the ground is fast and frozen, and the cold air MAKES YOU FEEL SO ALIVE. But I moved back to Colorado a little over a year ago, and for winter 2020 I'm leaning into variety: I'll still ride trails when they're dry, but when they're not, I'm going to be doing a lot of skiing (including some ski touring), gym time, and—surprise!—even trail running. Like many cyclists, I hated running for a long time, but I live across the street from some of the best running trails in Boulder, and you can't beat the efficiency of a run. Plus: I'd rather run outside, watching the sun glow through the trees and turn the sky pink, than ride the trainer indoors—science says exercising in nature has therapeutic benefits beyond the simple physical benefits of working out indoors. Finally, running rocky trails downhill is actually really fun. Not as fun as riding rocky trails downhill, but it still puts a smile on my face and gets me into a flow. I'm a strong believer that we should have seasons in life—on and off times, when we focus on different things. And doing different things in the winter just makes you appreciate the days you do get to ride even more.
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