I just bought a mountain bike and was wondering what the thoughts are out there on using one in training. Does anyone out there ride one as a part of their regular training during the season?(I know many people ride them in the off-season). Any thoughts on the specific benefits one might gain from MTBiking? I plan on doing a few off-road du’s/tri’s in the early part of the season, but was wondering if it would be beneficial to continue to train maybe once a week on the MTB as I get closer to my major races(1/2 IM, 2 IM’s), or would I see more benefit from spending all my bike time on the tri/road bikes during my key training periods?
BTW, for those who haven’t tried it, It’s a blast. It’s great to get away from the cars, lights, glass, and rednecks in pickups yelling out the window we have to deal with when riding on the road. Just went on my 3rd ride and saw a bobcat, a coyote, wild turkeys, and two deer. Not a bad trade.
dunno on the specifics, jaylew. perhaps mr Non can chime in and say that your capillaries would be better off in his lab, recruiting proper flexion angles of proprioceptive fibers, or something. for myself i find being out on the trails very fun and invigorating. my heart seems to like it, and do my reflexes. there is a series of 12/6/3 hour endurance races here in wi that the family and i are planning on doing some this year as part of IM training. to me 6 hrs on the bike is 6 hrs on the bike. we will do some 6 hr endurance races instead of another road century, or a 3 hr here or there ( they start at the convienient hour of 5 pm!!!) or team up for a longer one and go hard/rest easy for a day. it’s not lab science but it is having fun on a bike and hard, so it can’t be all bad ( at least according to some). anyway - we are going that way for freshness and variety to have a good time and break up some of the monotony of the long IM training road - no word on using the powercranks yet in the events. . . . . . . . .
If a little mountain biking makes you feel good, is a nice change to your normal workout, keeps cycling fresh for you – do it. I avoid doing strictly what I’m told is optimum for training and stick to what motivates me and to what feels good. The key is sustainability. Ease into a workout routine that is not going to burn you out or injure you in the long run. Mix it up with the seasons and keep it fresh. Interject workouts into your normal life: run to the bank, ride to the grocery store. To only concentrate on what’s best for the physical side isn’t going to help your mental game.
mtb is a great way to do interval training… has positive effects on making your stroke more consistant and is a hell of a lotta fun.
I mtb in the winter to take a break from the road and trui bike - and to get in an extra training ride that is pure fun. Here in kansas we like to ride in an inch or so of snow - develops great ballance and bike handling skills.
I recommend it unequivocally, at least during your base and the early part of your build. Also during recovery. It’s a great mental break, it’s doable when the roads are sloppy and it is really helpful for developing force and smoothing out your pedal stroke. Also, by nature the effort tends to be very intervallic with lots of anaerobic (at least where I ride). Plus, you can’t get air on a tri-bike.
Me too. Ned Overend talks a bit about incorporating road and mountain bike training, though he’s doing it from the mountain biking perspective. Like the other posters said, it’s a great mental change of pace. Plus, I think it has the added benefit of being far more dynamic in terms of cadence and resistance as the terrain is changing much more rapidly than on a road bike.
The one thing to beware of though, and Ned mentions this, is that it’s easy to overtrain on a mountain bike since a bumpy ride can really beat you up, especially if you’re on a hardtail.
I’m trying to incorporate one moderately difficult ride per week.
Once a week in the off season (I get too banged up for in season) I do my “weight lifting” by mountain biking on rough terrain, at low RPM, while trying to maintain form. I think it works!
