Enduro Mountain Bike Racing & Fitness by Jeff Brines
Photos Courtesy of Patrick Nelson
I’m not a gym guy. Don’t misunderstand, I take my fitness pretty seriously. That said, living in a place like Jackson I’ve always had a hard time trading in sunshine and the visceral experience of being outside for the droll of fluorescent lighting in a mirrored room of the gym. It just didn’t make sense to me…
Now, I’ve raced bikes for a long time. Before you get too impressed (I know, you weren’t going to be), realize I’m talking about pedal bikes. Not badass motorcycles, dirtbikes or something that cool. For over a decade I’ve spent most of my “vacation” days racing two wheeled human propelled contraptions of one kind or another. From road to downhill to (nearly) everything in between, my weekends were usually spent chasing seconds on a race course somewhere in North America.
In racing, you learn to do whatever it takes to gain an edge. Being I was never the most talented kid out there I had to study the course to find the fast lines, prep my bike better than most and, yes, gain an advantage through fitness. What I lacked in talent I’d make up for in hard work.
At one point near the peak of my downhill racing “career” (it’s in quotes because I certainly spent more money than I made), I spent a fair amount of time in the gym. It wasn’t extremely focused and more “general.’ I thought being stronger overall would translate to seconds between the tape.
The problem was , it didn’t help. I became bigger, slower and the time spent in the gym would have been much better spent on the bike. So after a few years and a move to Jackson, I left the gym for the “shoulder season rainy days”. Those crappy weather days where it was too cold to ride and not enough snow to ski. The days where I needed to feel like “I did something” when the outside world was a bit unforgiving but it hardly resembled training and was far from consistent.
Through this “plan” (or lack thereof) I found myself leaner, faster and overall riding well… But I still wasn’t hitting my overall potential and knew I was leaving a lot on the table.
During my hiatus from the gym, the style of training became much more specific. Gone are the days of wandering aimlessly around a gym throwing up free-weights to work on your “show muscles”. Gone are the low tempo machine based workouts. (well, they aren’t gone, but they certainly aren’t the best way to get into functional shape). Instead there are more sports specific, functional training classes out there. The type that Wright Training provides.
The problem with bike riding, specifically enduro DH racing (the type I do), is much like a baseball swing; like racing bikes, there is no substitute for hitting a baseball. You can be the strongest man in the world but if your swing sucks, you suck. On the contrary, the only way you are going to hit a baseball further is through specific training. Put another way, swinging a bat by itself doesn’t make you stronger.
Applying this analogy to bike racing, like hitting a ball, there is no substitute for being on the bike. No amount of gym time is going to make you bash a corner like the pros. Still, if I want to have more pop out of the gate, increase my ability to get up to speed, feel less core fatigue at the bottom of a race course or just plain be more durable in the event of a crash, I need specific training. Put another way, specific gym training, in theory, should translate to seconds, or the lack thereof, on the race course.
So, after a long “break” from the gym, I signed up for Wright Training’s bike fitness series. To be honest, I was intimidated about the whole thing. I’m the first to admit that I’m competitive and knew my absence from the gym meant I’d be weak in a number of areas. I was worried I’d be the laughter of the class. I wasn’t. For those wondering, Crystal and her trainers will push you and so will your new friends, but it’s certainly not a place for the “elite” only. It’s for anyone willing to work hard on improving their sport’s specific fitness.
Here are a couple of interesting points for the on-the-fencers out there
No matter how much you love your sport, its good to mix it up. Wright Training’s classes offer a great way to do this.
No matter how much “training” you had in high school or college, you probably lift weights with improper form. In a way, every class at Wright Training is like a personal training session. (its a steal of a deal in this way) They know their shit and will tell you if you are “doing it wrong”. Don’t take offense. Listen. Crystal is the strongest women in the valley. She didn’t get there throwing her back out and eating retard sandwiches. She’s smart and dedicated to her craft. She is there to make you better.
No one will make fun of you if you can’t throw up a ton of weight. Oh, and if you keep going you will throw up more weight.
There are super strong girls that attend the classes. Your male ego may get crushed.
I have more mirrors in my house.
So, am I faster? Am I riding my bike way better? Honestly, its too early to tell. First race is just around the corner. But I feel stronger. My snap out of corners has never been better and my body for once feels a bit more balanced…
About The Writer
Jeff Brines didn’t go on a real date until he was nearly 20 years old, largely as a result of his borderline unhealthy obsession with bicycles. Although his infatuation with two wheels may have lead to stuttering and sweatiness around the opposite sex, it did provide for an ideal environment to quickly progress through the ranks of both gravity and cross-country racing. These days, Jeff races Enduro at the pro level, rides upward of 150 days a year while logging over 325k of human powered ascending/descending on his bike. Bred as a racer, Jeff is more likely to look for the fastest way through a section as opposed to the most playful. Living in the shadow of the Tetons in Jackson, WY, Jeff works in financial intelligence and spends his winters as head ski gear guru and content manager over at earlyups.com.
