I was working out with my daughter this morning and we were talking about how I was her age when I started to get serious about strength training. I told her that while I had “worked out” for a few years before turning 16 and getting my license, it mainly consisted of periodically sneaking into the local rec center with some friends and hitting the weight room 5 times in one day. I didn’t have a way to be more consistent but that changed when I got my license.

After that I got a membership to a small gym about 10 minutes from my house and started to go almost every day. Like everyone else back in the early 90’s I was following a bodybuilding routine, which had me training different body parts on different days and sometimes hitting the gym twice a day. I was reading Flex and Muscle & Fitness and following the advice from their pages and I put on some muscle and saw some changes in my body that made me more confident.

For a while if you had asked me why I worked out I would have told you that I was a bodybuilder. I worked out to get bigger and change how I looked. And part of the reason was that I didn’t know that there was another choice.

But then I started to come across magazines like Muscle Media 2000, which exposed the open secret that all the top bodybuilders were on steroids and that you couldn’t train like them unless you were too. I changed my approach to fewer days with more intensity - the ultimate example being the months I spent doing the Mike Mentzer One Set To Failure Program - but I still saw myself as a bodybuilder. 

But then I started to see articles about this thing called “functional fitness”. People started to point out that a lot of the puffed up bodybuilders you saw in the pages of magazines weren’t very strong or athletic (except for Ronnie Coleman, who was every bit as strong as he looked). The term “looks like Tarzan, plays like Jane” started to get thrown around as a way to describe how a lot of people who followed bodybuilder programs came up short in the performance category.

It turned out that training to perform well and training to have big muscles were not the same thing. Athletes trained much differently and those training methods started to become more popular. Bodybuilding started to take on a negative meaning and everyone stopped doing curls and started doing Olympic Lifting.

And I jumped into this new fad with both feet. To be honest, I was a little disillusioned with bodybuilding. I’m not a naturally big guy and I realized that I was never going to be a mass monster. So training to improve my performance gave me another reason to hit the gym.

This was also around the time that I started mountain biking and seeing how Functional Fitness helped my riding inspired me to start MTB Strength Training Systems. I’ve been a huge advocate for functional fitness and have seen it help a lot of people…but I’m starting to realize that I may have gone too far.

Bodybuilding has a valuable role in your strength training toolbox, especially as you get older. The truth is that losing muscle mass is a big part of age-related declines in performance, which means that the more you have and the harder you work to keep it, the longer it takes for that decline to start and it is more of a gradual decline rather than a sharp drop off.

Muscle can also serve as natural “armor” for when you hit the ground and act as the catalyst for more strength gains. Considering everything that adding some muscle can do for us it makes sense to spend some time doing it.

And who knows more than anyone on the planet about building muscle? That’s right, Bodybuilder. So if you want to build and maintain muscle then they have some things to teach us.

If you want to learn more about the lessons we can take from Bodybuilders check out the video I shot last week. I’ve got the show notes below and a link to the live stream replay and the audio file from it as well. You‌ ‌can‌ also ‌find‌ ‌it‌ ‌on‌ ‌‌Itunes‌,‌‌ ‌Podbean‌,‌‌ ‌‌Spo

One of the hardest parts of learning to ride a mountain bike is how to make good decisions on the trail in the heat of the moment. A lot of wrecks are caused by bad decisions about speed and line choice and bad decisions can also lead to you working harder than needed

So how do you acquire the skill of good decision making on the trail?

The best place to start is with the decision making process and the best model for this that I have found is the OODA Loop. OODA Loop was developed by Lt. Colonel John Boyd to explain where good ideas came from, particularly in the heat of the moment.

It consists of 4 parts, with each part flowing into the next while also informing the previous stages as well. 

Observe: You observe what is going on through your own observations and other information coming from outside sources. Example: You see what is coming up on the trail/ You have someone tell you about what is coming up.

Orient: You orient yourself to the situation based on the information you have at hand, your past experience and even your genetics.

Decide: Based on your Orientation to the situation you make a decision about the best course of action.

Act: You take action based on your Decision. 

The Orientation process is the generally most important part of The Loop. The more you are able to bring to the Orientation process the better Decisions and Actions you can take.

To improve your Orientation process you can gain more experience through more riding, training camps/ clinics, reading books, watching videos and thinking about the problems you are facing.

This is one of the reasons that new riders struggle with their Decisions on the trail - they simply don’t have the resources for their Orientation process. New riders need to be able to ride, make mistakes and learn from those mistakes.Instead, well meaning riders tend to over-coach and over-recommend technology to make up for what is simply a lack of experience. 

Another thing to take from this is that the faster you can go through the Loop the faster you can act. Being able to make decisions faster can make up for a lack of speed and power.

Visualization can also help with the Action part of the Loop. Once you have Decided on an action, you can see yourself doing that action successfully.  This will help you be able to Act faster through familiarity of the action through visualization.

You also can’t get through the OODA Loop if you are stuck in the Fear Loop. You have to deal with your fear and make a decision to act before you can start to move through the OODA Loop.

Controlling your breathing is one of the best ways to help you move through the Fear Loop and into the OODA Loop.

Knowing where you get stuck can help you identify what you need to work on to improve your decision making on the trail.

Fear Loop: Change your relationship with fear to move out of it and into the OODA Loop.

Observe: Learn to pay better attention and to use your peripheral vision.

Orient: Get the experience you need to improve the information you have to draw on.

Decide: Visualization to try out different ideas.

Act: Visualization to see yourself performing the idea you decided to act on.

Your best asset on the trail is your brain and its ability to run through the OODA Loop faster and more effectively. Hopefully this information can help you ride with more confidence and flow.

Until next time…

Ride Strong,

James Wilson

MTB Strength Training Systems

Everyone wants to improve their cardio and a lot of riders invest time and money following programs to help them do that. While things like intervals and steady state cardio are well known things that can help improve your cardio, there are other things that can help that most riders don’t know about.

Over the last few years I've been diving into the science behind some other training methods that have been shown to improve your cardio and endurance on the trail. These things don’t get the press that other methods do right now but as more evidence to their benefit comes out you can be sure you’ll be hearing about them more. 

But you don’t have to wait, you be ahead of the curve and get an advantage on your riding buddies/ competition that don’t use these methods yet. If you want to maximize the results of your cardio training program you should consider including these things as well.

I shot a Live Stream going into this subject in depth and this podcast is the audio replay from it. You can find the show notes below:

IsometricsGreat way to learn how to apply proper breathing to different levels of tension in important positions.

Increases the enzymes responsible for aerobic metabolism.

The highest level of High Tension Cardio you can achieve.

Breathwork/ Breathing DrillsOne study found that you could double your results from a cardio training program simply by adding in some breathing drills. 

Breath Hold CardioDoing breath hold cardio can improve CO2 tolerance, EPO -> Red Blood Cells -> Hematocrit Levels, the strength of the respiratory muscles, and the buffering of lactic acid.

Bonus - Strength Training if you aren’t doing itWhen done right, strength training should be making you a more efficient mover, which means you will burn less energy for the same amount of effort.

If you want an easy way to start applying these things to your training program be sure to check out the Atomic Strength Isometrics Program and the Better Breathing For MTB Program. Both can give you the tools you need to take your cardio and performance to a level you can’t get to without them.

Let me know if you have any questions or comments about this post and I hope that it gave you some new things to think about as you get ready for the off season.

Until next time…

Ride Strong,

James Wilson

MTB Strength Training Systems

I’m doing something a bit different with this podcast. I’ve decided to start shooting a YouTube Livestream video 3 days a week to get more information out there faster and this is the replay of the first episode.

In this one I answer a rider’s question about how to gain more confidence on the trail. I’ve got the show notes below and you can listen to the podcast with the audio file from it as well. 

Right now I plan on doing the livestream on Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 9:45 a.m. I’ll get the schedule more official in the next few weeks but if you can tune in for one I’d love to see you there.

Q: How do I gain more confidence on the trail? I’m a newer rider and pretty fit but I struggle to wrap my mind around some of the obstacles I come across on my rides.

A: This is a common question for new riders. I have a couple of things I suggest because not all of it is "mental", as in all in your head. Some of it is gaining confidence through success and setting yourself up for that success.

First, make sure you are riding flat pedals. I highly recommend the Catalyst Pedals that I invented because it gives you the most stable platform for your feet. But any good flat pedal will be better than clipless pedals. There is a learning curve with flat pedals but once you get past it you'll be much more confident.

Second, spend time drilling things like front wheel lifts, rear wheel lifts and trackstands (practice with both left and right foot forward). These are the basic skills that make up most of what you do through technical sections on the trail and if you have dialed in then you will be much more confident using them on the trail.

Third, there are a lot of great books on the subject of sports psychology - one of my favorites is Psych by Jud Biasiotto - but in my experience you have to gain confidence through success more than anything else. Hopefully this helps, let me know if you have any other questions.

Last, make sure that you are controlling your breathing and know how to use visualization on the trail. Making sure you don’t fall into “stress breathing” and seeing yourself ride through something in your head will go a long way towards helping you do it in real life. 

You can check out the new Better Breathing Program to help with this if you need help with using your breathing more effectively on the trail. .

Until next time…

Ride Strong,

James Wilson

MTB Strength Training Systems

10 years ago I decided to become a literal white belt at something new - Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. I had been riding bikes for 12 years at that point and had achieved a reasonable level of skill and fitness. But my progress at that point was only in small increments, which is typical when you reach a certain level of proficiency with anything, and I wanted to feel that thrill again that came with being new at something.

You know what I mean - that feeling that you're progressing in big jumps and that you're able to do something new on a regular basis. I remembered what that was like when I first started riding and wanted to start Jiu Jitsu as a way to inject it into my life again.

So I found a Jiu Jitsu school near me and started on what has turned out to be a profound chapter in my life. Jiu Jitsu has taught me a lot about myself and helped me to be a better person and coach, both of which have helped the mountain biking side of my life.

A few weeks ago I was honored to receive my black belt in BJJ, which is something that only happened because of the help of some great people along the way. The journey has had its ups and downs but in the end it’s been a journey that has changed me in a lot of ways.

When I look back on my journey I see that there are lessons that I took from it that have a lot of carryover for mountain biking as well. Musashi told us that in order to understand your chosen art better you must study other arts since they hold lessons that can help us on our chosen path. For me, BJJ has been a way to deepen my understanding of mountain biking and what it takes to be a “black belt” at it as well.

You‌ ‌can‌ ‌stream‌ ‌or‌ ‌download‌ this episode ‌from‌ ‌the‌ ‌link‌ ‌below‌ ‌or‌ ‌you‌ ‌can‌ ‌find‌ ‌it‌ ‌on‌ ‌‌Itunes‌,‌‌ ‌Podbean‌,‌‌ ‌‌Spotify‌‌ ‌‌and‌ ‌all‌ ‌other‌ ‌major‌ ‌podcasting‌ ‌platforms.‌ ‌

USE‌ ‌IN‌ ‌BLOGPOST:‌ ‌

Click‌ ‌Here‌ ‌to‌ ‌Download‌ ‌the‌ ‌MP3‌ ‌File‌ ‌

USE‌ ‌IN‌ ‌NEWSLETTER:‌ ‌

Click‌ ‌Here‌ ‌to‌ ‌Stream‌ ‌or‌ ‌Download‌ ‌This‌ ‌Podcast‌ ‌Episode‌ ‌

You can also check out the notes below in case you don’t have time to listen to the podcast.

Lessons Learned From Earning My BJJ Blackbelt for MTB

Prepare people for the journey and take the pressure off of fast progression for beginners.

A black belt is just a white belt who didn’t give up.

You have to take care of your body if you want to get a black belt - 10 years is a long time getting your ass kicked.

Black belts think about less than the beginner, they just know exactly what the most important thing to focus on is.

You can’t go hard all of the time.

Focused drilling is the key to progress BUT don’t drill for muscle memory, drill to understand the principles behind the technique.

Technique is the window into the principles that make up the sport.

Identify a problem -> Research an answer -> Drill the technique -> Apply the technique

You learn on easy opponents and pressure test stuff against hard opponents.

Nothing can replace time on the mats.

How to compete and why it is important.

Focus on the journey.

You can’t get better by yourself.

Until next time…

Ride Strong,

James Wilson

MTB Strength Training Systems

In this episode of the BikeJames Podcast I share some advice about how to train with your teenager. These are lessons I've learned from working out with my own daughter over the last year or so and can apply to working with your kid or even kids in general, like if you work with a NICA team.

You‌ ‌can‌ ‌stream‌ ‌or‌ ‌download‌ this episode ‌from‌ ‌the‌ ‌link‌ ‌below‌ ‌or‌ ‌you‌ ‌can‌ ‌find‌ ‌it‌ ‌on‌ ‌‌Itunes‌,‌‌ ‌Podbean‌,‌‌ ‌‌Spotify‌‌ ‌‌and‌ ‌all‌ ‌other‌ ‌major‌ ‌podcasting‌ ‌platforms.‌ ‌

Below you'll find the notes from this episode:

- The sooner they can get exposed to the basic movements and lifts the better.

- Don’t push them to be as serious as you are.

- Alternating Periodization:

Bodybuilding (3 X 10) - Builds skill and muscle/ armor

Strength (5-3-2) - The foundation for performance

Hybrid (5 X 5) - Lots of reps with moderate weight for both muscle and strength

Strength Endurance (Rep Ladders) - Because we’re strength-endurance athletes

- Focus on the basic movements and lifts:

Push (Vertical and Horizontal)

Pull (Vertical and Horizontal)

Squat

Hinge

Lunge

Carry

Windmill

Arms (Bis/ Tris and Shoulders)

- Train the arms, they make for great active isometrics and everyone likes to see their arms get more muscular.

- In the workouts have a Focus Circuit (2-3 exercises following the main set and rep scheme) and a Secondary Circuit (3-5 exercises following a different set and rep scheme appropriate to the exercise).

- 2 days movement based training, 1-2 days of isometrics.

- If you train kids - like a NICA team - and don’t have access to weights then isometrics are a great place to start. Have them do a push up hold, a lunge hold and a single leg RDL hold if nothing else.

- Use a basic warm up that takes less than 5 minutes.

- 3 Reasons Training With Your Kids Is Good For You

It forces you to get a routine and stick with it.

It gives you a training partner who sees what you do both in and out of the gym.

It lets you pass on what you know, which helps you learn it better and helps the next generation of strength trainers.

I’ve got a new podcast for you today covering some important topics to help improve your training and riding. In it I’ll be sharing my thoughts on dumbbells for MTB specific training, the findings of a study that looked at breathing patterns and functional movement, plus I’ll answer a rider’s question about how narrow is too narrow when it comes to handlebars.

You‌ ‌can‌ ‌stream‌ ‌or‌ ‌download‌ this episode ‌from‌ ‌the‌ ‌link‌ ‌below‌ ‌or‌ ‌you‌ ‌can‌ ‌find‌ ‌it‌ ‌on‌ ‌‌Itunes‌,‌‌ ‌Podbean‌,‌‌ ‌‌Spotify‌‌ ‌‌and‌ ‌all‌ ‌other‌ ‌major‌ ‌podcasting‌ ‌platforms.‌ ‌

You can also check out the notes below in case you don’t have time to listen to the podcast.

Training - In Defense of Dumbbells

I’ve used both tools extensively over my training career and while kettlebells are a great tool, there are some things that I think the dumbbell does better. Here are 3 things I think dumbbells are still a valuable tool for the mountain biker to use.

The DB Cheat Curl is a better power movement than KB Swings

By using a narrow stance, the DB Cheat Curl is more specific to the explosive hip hinge we use on the bike. Plus, you can do Stagger Stance and Pedal Stance to make it even more specific, which you can’t do with a KB Swing.

The 5 pound weight jumps are much more manageable, especially at the lower weights

KB’s use 4 - 8 kg jumps, which is 8.8 - 17.6 pounds. This is a large jump, especially when you are looking at it from a % of the previous weight. Going from 16 kg (35.2 lbs) to 20 kg (44 lbs) represents a 26% increase in weight, while going from 35 lbs to 40 lbs represents a 14% increase. 

DB’s don’t smash into your wrists and forearms and are more comfortable to train with

I know this is a personal preference but after taking some time off from heavy KB lifting and trying to get back into it I realized WTF am I doing? I can get the same results with DB’s without the forearm grinding nonsense. 

I know that some people will say “What about the offset weight of the kettlebell? Doesn’t that make it more functional?” To which I say, it isn’t offset that much and so no.

If you really want to work with an offset load then get a Steel Mace or Heavy Indian Club. These are tools created to train that specific strength quality, which I think is very important.

However, the KB isn’t really offset that much, especially when compared to these other tools. If you want to train that quality, use a purpose built tool that does it much better.

I’m not saying to go smelt your KB’s, I’m just trying to defend the DB as a needed training tool. You’re not at a disadvantage because you only have DB’s and the DB Cheat Curl may be worth making sure that they are a part of your training program.

Bro Science - Breathing Pattern Disorders And Functional Movement

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3924606/

Study looked to find a relationship between Breathing Pattern Disorders and Functional Movement. They found a strong correlation between BPDs and low scores and failures on the FMS.

Of those that scored 14 or more on the FMS, 66% of them were diaphragmatic breathers. 18 people scored 14 or greater, so that means that all but 6 were diaphragmatic breathers.

However, to pass you have to have a score of 14 or more and you can’t have any asymmetries. This brought the number of people down from 18 to 8. Out of them, all but 1 were diaphragmatic breathers (87.5%). 

Two takeaways here. First, out of all the tests they used, the simple Hi-Low Test worked the best. It had the strongest correlation and so you don’t need anything fancy to test your breathing. This is why the Hi-Low Test is part of the breathing assessment in the 40+ MTB Rider Training Program.

Second, if you value functional movement and how it can help you on and off the bike then you need to give breathing the attention it deserves. While you can do it - one person did in the study - the odds are greatly stacked against you. Better breathing also leads to improvements in other areas a

While most riders understand the need for better technical skills to ride with more confidence and improve their safety on the trail, few understand the need for basic medical skills to improve these things as well. There are a lot of reasons for this lack of understanding, including lack of coverage in the mountain biking media and misunderstandings about what you need to learn and carry. But the end result is that, as a group, we are woefully unprepared to handle a traumatic injury situation.

I know because up until  a year or so ago I was one of those riders. Ignorant about how easy it was to learn what I needed to know and how inexpensive it was to have a few tools to help, I went on countless rides where if something had gone wrong it could have been a disaster.

Luckily I came upon some great resources to help me improve my medical preparedness, including the company Mountain Man Medical (https://www.mountainmanmedical.com/). Their mission is to help prepare as many people as possible to be able to provide help in the case of a traumatic injury situation and they proved to be one of the best resources I could find.

I reached out to their director Brian McLaughlin to see if he would come on the BikeJames Podcast and he agreed to come on and share some potentially life saving information with my audience. In this podcast he shares…

The MARCH algorithm and how it can help you know how to help someone in a traumatic injury situation. 

The truth about tourniquets and how long they can be on before someone might lose the limb it is on.

The top pieces of gear you should consider carrying on the trail.

Brian’s secret to be successful in a traumatic injury situation.

We also talk about the free video training series they offer on the MARCH algorithm, which I can’t recommend strongly enough. Yes, it is completely free with no strings attached and you can find it here -  https://www.mountainmanmedical.com/product/emergency-trauma-response-training-course/

The SWAT-T Tourniquet that Brian recommends you consider carrying on the trail you can find here - https://www.mountainmanmedical.com/product/swat-t-tourniquet/ 

The Tracker Trauma Kit we talked about can be found here - https://www.mountainmanmedical.com/product/tracker-trauma-kit/ 

You can also save 15% off your purchase with the coupon code BIKEJAMES, just enter it at checkout to save some money on equipment that could save a life.

I hope you get some valuable information from this podcast that you never need but, if you do, can save you or someone else. And please share this podcast with your fellow riders, the more of us that are on the trail prepared to help in a traumatic injury situation the safer we’ll all be. 

Until next time…

Ride Strong,

James Wilson

MTB Strength Training Systems

p.s. I shared what I carry on the trail to help in an emergency situation in the Advanced MTB Loadout video. Check it out to get some ideas on what you can carry to be better prepared to help yourself or someone else on the trail. And remember to get your gear at www.mountainmanmedical.com and use the coupon code BIKEJAMES to get 15% off your gear.

Last week I gave a talk about better breathing at my friend’s chiropractic office. He runs a comprehensive wellness center along with his chiropractic practice and had asked me to share some of the things I had been telling him about how breathing can impact your health, performance and mindset.

 

And while I was excited to do it I was also a bit nervous because it had been a couple of months since I had stood in front of a bunch of people and talked about the impact of better breathing. I knew the material but I had to check my notes bunch and I didn’t feel like the material flowed.

 

So I decided to practice my presentation on FaceBook Live from the MTB Strength Training Systems page. I’ve always enjoyed the chance to share stuff with people who may tune in live and so it seemed like a good way to practice my presentation while also sharing some great info with my fellow riders.

 

In this webinar I explained how your breathing can impact you both positively and negatively. I also shared some ways you can assess your own breathing and things you can do on a daily basis to help improve it. At the end of it I wanted people to understand common breathing dysfunctions, why they are bad for you and how you can fix them if you have them.

 

I know that most of you didn’t catch the FaceBook Live event and so I’ve put the replay a podcast.

 

I hope you get something from the video or podcast replay that you can use in your own training, riding and life. If you have any questions about something I share let me know, I’m always happy to help.

 

Until next time…

 

Ride Strong,

 

James Wilson

 

p.s. I strongly believe that your breathing should be the foundation of everything you do to help you improve your riding. Better breathing will help you move better, use less energy and be less prone to triggering the dreaded “I can’t catch my breath” feeling.

 

This is especially true if you are in the 40+ crowd. As we get older the advantages of youth start to wear off and so you have to take advantage of things that will help you sustain your performance. Better breathing is one of this things.

 

This is why I included a Breathing section in the new 40+ MTB Rider Training Program. It combines several unique training methods along with breathwork into a training program that isn’t like anything you’ll find anywhere else. If you’re looking for something different - something made for 40+ year riders by a 40+ year old rider - then click the link below to learn more and get your copy.

 

Click Here To Learn More And Get Your Copy Of The 40+ MTB Rider Training Program

Well, another year is just about in the books. I think that most of us have had another interesting year with the on again/ off again pandemic and all of the changes it has brought to our lives. However, as much as some things change, others stay the same and I kept bringing you posts and info you couldn’t find anywhere else to help you improve on and off the bike.

 

In this last post of the year I wanted to finish with a podcast recapping the best lessons I learned over the last year. Taking some time to reflect on these things is a great way to get ready for the new year and I wanted to share my reflections with you.

 

You‌ ‌can‌ ‌stream‌ ‌or‌ ‌download‌ this episode ‌from‌ ‌the‌ ‌link‌ ‌below‌ ‌or‌ ‌you‌ ‌can‌ ‌find‌ ‌it‌ ‌on‌ ‌‌Itunes‌,‌‌ ‌Podbean‌,‌‌ ‌‌Spotify‌‌ ‌‌and‌ ‌all‌ ‌other‌ ‌major‌ ‌podcasting‌ ‌platforms.‌ ‌

 

If I’ve been able to help you in any way this year it has been my honor. Coaching is my calling and the riders who let me into their lives in some small way to help them on their journey are doing more for me than I could ever do for them. I’m excited by the new direction I have planned for MTB Strength Training Systems and I hope that it will provide you with even better results.

 

Until 2022…

 

Ride Strong,

 

James Wilson

 

p.s. On Monday I will be releasing my updated 40+ MTB Rider Training Program, which is going to kick off some big plans I have for the coming year. This will be the only program of its kind, combining my unique perspective as a 40+ year old rider with over two decades of experience working with riders at all levels. 

 

It will also be the first program to combine the new elements of Isometric Training and CO2 Tolerance Training into an MTB specific workout, which you won’t find anywhere else. Once again I’m ahead of the curve and I’m bringing my fellow riders along for the ride. Keep an eye out on Monday for the email announcing the program’s release, you won’t want to miss the special deal I’ll be having when I do.