6 Tips For All Day MTB Endurance

[@thestrengthfactory.]

Do you have an all day riding epic planned? Let me know below and make sure you hit Like and Subscribe! Thanks. Ben

[@bikeswithb8829]

Transferring from powerlifting, I can't stress enough how important the mental aspect the nasal breathing imparts. Clear mind = safe ride

[@thestrengthfactory.]

Absolutely mate. Have you also been using smelling salts before riding? I am curious, but too scared. haha

[@juliegreengrass4814]

matches are a great analogy, that's so true, damp matches made me chuckle - we all know that feeling! I love that point in your training when there's that regular climb that's always a killer but one day you reach a turning point and you get up it using only one very dry match, rather than 3 damp ones. Great tips thanks Ben!

[@thestrengthfactory.]

No worries - glad you liked it. Keep those matches dry!

[@wheresmychicken5515]

i have been really lazy recently but this video has inspired me to get back on the saddle properly . I can fully admit i am a massive mouth breather !!!! i had no idea it was that bad tho, this is the main thing im working on at the moment so thanks for that .

[@thestrengthfactory.]

That's awesome to hear mate. I hope you persevere with the nasal breathing - it's worth it.

[@wheresmychicken5515]

@@thestrengthfactory. yeah making a conscious effort to focus on my breathing on climbs is helping, I'm going slower and keeping my breaths consistent and not getting to that gasping for air stage. I'm getting to the top slower but I dont have to stop at the top to recover .

[@thestrengthfactory.]

@@wheresmychicken5515 and if you stick with it, your speed will increase with breathing in control. Win-Win

[@harimathur2191]

😮 physiologically speaking, the muscles' ability to function despite presence of lactate. So the higher the lactate 'tolerance' the better the endurance... that's a no brainer. Ride long rides (road or MTB) but at aerobic zone HR zone 2. Or Perceived exertion 4.

[@rogerdavis3454]

I tried your nasal breathing tip yesterday and found it helpful. But it took a lot of concentration and willpower not to open my mouth when the going got tough. I'll keep trying, though.

[@thestrengthfactory.]

Excellent. Nice one mate. You might be interested in my Over 40s MTB Programme too (although I don't know how old you are!) as breathing is one of the areas we work on....... thestrengthfactory.uk/over-40s-programme/

[@sungo.]

Nice video, pretty helpful!

[@thestrengthfactory.]

Cheers dude

[@darrinkulyk9560]

Excellent Video thanks .I Ride 100km week 20km of Climbing min. I Ride my CF Warden Daily 😎 After 8 months Nutrition is Most Important . I Ride Vancouver.

[@thestrengthfactory.]

Nice one, cheers mate.

[@rogergrant455]

Great video, guy! My tip is to train hard and sleep hard!!!! Near the end of a training ride say the last 5 miles, I think it best to push yourself to the max in the hardest gear possible if you are on flat road or just simply push yourself if you are on undulating terrain. You can always sleep HARD after!!! 😅😅😎

[@thestrengthfactory.]

Sleep Hard!!! 🤘🏼🤘🏼🤘🏼 Love it.

[@jarvedkhan95]

Thanks for the advice mate. Your advice on the damp matchstick is epic. I have one dry matchstick and 3 damp and them I’m stuck in the dark about 500 meters from where I first burnt out my dry matchstick 😆hahaha

[@thestrengthfactory.]

Savage mate! haha

[@61651092]

Great advice. There is one thing though where I don't agree. If you want to be able to endure long hours on the bike then you need to up your fatmax like Van Aert did when he had to change from a cycle cross rider to a grand tour rider. If you only rely on carbs you're gonna burn your glykogen reserves too fast and have nothing left when it matters. Therefore you have to train your body's ability to also use energy from fat even at heart rates where your body would normally just rely on the sugar system. You can find videos where Van Aert tells about some of the training he did to up his fatmax.

[@thestrengthfactory.]

Hey Thomas, I do agree that for the best endurance performance some sort of fat adaptation is very useful. This could be fasted rides or reduced carbs on longer rides. I would consider this to be a bit more of an advanced approach, so decided to leave it out here. Thanks mate. Ben

[@Omenxiiii]

Today was my 3rd day mtb. My friends cruise up the hill and don’t even look winded. I had to take 3 breaks and almost passed out.

[@thestrengthfactory.]

Nice work dude. We all start somewhere!

[@paulbugden7708]

Great stuff 👊

[@JuanSilva-fl6dx]

Awsome! Simple! Advice! Great stuff! Thank you very much!

[@thestrengthfactory.]

No worries, Juan!

[@Team81MTB]

I always use breathe rite strips to help me breathe through my nose better. I can always tell when I didn't use one. Also I seem to have better lap times when I eat a Clif bar or two before I race. Their not too heavy on my stomach and not much aftertaste. Lots of carbs in there also. I just wish that they had more protein packed in there. Your thoughts sir? Btw, great video. 👍

[@thestrengthfactory.]

Hey Geoff, I also like a nasal strip and always use them for hard training and racing. I do like a Clif bar as they feel more like real food than a sports nutrition product. Not too sweet and fill you up nicely. For really high intensity training or XC racing, they are a bit high in fat, but for trail and enduro they are bang on. As for the protein, I am not overly worried about consuming lots whilst actually riding, as long as my total daily protein intake is adequate - about 2g of protein per kg of bodyweight.

[@lindsaymcpherson4744]

Yep, then your mates turn up with Ebikes Great tips but I'll apply some of this ,see how we go

[@thestrengthfactory.]

Excellent. Let me know how it goes.

[@peterhaworth6859]

Great advice Ben 👌

[@thestrengthfactory.]

Thanks mate

[@OSUHARDING1ATECHNICEXPERIENCE]

I was in the military and during our morning workouts they would always emphasize keeping our mouths shut as much as possible to nasal breath

[@thestrengthfactory.]

No way! Where are you from? When I was in the Army they probably would have shouted at me for nasal breathing as it would look like I wasn't trying hard enough! haha

[@billfleming8344]

Great tips. Cheers

[@thestrengthfactory.]

No worries, Bill.

[@Peppapiglove_]

Nice video!

[@thestrengthfactory.]

Thanks Jordan

[@dkw4par]

Great video and tips. I used to be a Roadie and starting to get into XC MtB 3+ yrs now. It seems like I’m not able to transfer my FTP on the trails compare to riding on the road. For example, I have no problem keeping up with the group on the road, but fall short on trails. Is it more of a mental issue or physical one and how should I train for better XC mtb beside more trail rides. Thanks a bunch ;)

[@thestrengthfactory.]

FTP is obviously important for MTB, but on the trails you don't usually do such long efforts. I would focus more on 30 second to 3 minute efforts in your training to drive up your power over shorter timescales. Good luck!

[@unknownKnownunknowns]

Subbed. Thanks for the advice. curious about HR Zones. When cycling, I max around 162 bpm. When running, I max at 180. (Is this unusual?) On which HR should I base my riding zones? I presume the 162 bpm max?

[@thestrengthfactory.]

Thanks Steven. People quite often have different mx HR for different activities, although that is quite a big difference. Use the data and HR for the sport you are doing, so you will have different zones for each in this case. Thanks. Ben

[@ertman]

What do you define "zone 2" as? The definition of this seems to be all over the place online - anywhere from 50% to 80% of max HR! (Not to mention the number of HR zones seems to vary from 4 to 8...)

[@thestrengthfactory.]

I know how you feel - it is a minefield out there with so many approaches and definitions. The key is to choose one approach and then stick to it. This will keep your training consistent over time. I usually base training zones off of "Functional Threshold Heart Rate" instead of Maximum HR. Based on that, Zone 2 is about 70-85% of FTHR. Use the British Cycling zone calculator: www.britishcycling.org.uk/membership/article/20120925-Power-Calculator-0 Thanks. Ben

[@330_Crew]

Nasal breathing is huge. Breathing through your nose the heart rate can be controlled so much better.

[@thestrengthfactory.]

You know it!

[@mrsmith5102]

My average speed for road riding is 13km/h and mtb race 8.8km/h how can i improve it? And how bad is it 😂

[@thestrengthfactory.]

It's not god or bad mate. No way of knowing. too many variables. I would start by watching this and focusing on aerobic training: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bJfIaKWkablrd6ssi=PBHo8ulckmD9oV1N Then add in some strength work as well. Cheers Ben

[@thestrengthfactory.]

Hey guys, I just wanted to let you all know that I just launched a new online programme that some of you will be into. It is called The Over 40's MTB Programme and is 20 weeks of effective and achievable training that is kind to your body. You can check it out at the link below, or hit reply to ask a question. Thanks. Ben thestrengthfactory.uk/programmes/the-over-40s-mtb-programme/