How Important Is Mental Toughness in Cycling and 5 Ways to Improve Your Mental Toughness

[@htonmusic]

i lost about 15-20kg thru cycling after i got cheated on. i just remember 12 hours in the saddle is not as painful as 12 months in a fake relationship.

[@siypic]

Very true...

[@billincolumbia]

Sorry to hear it. Glad you chose a healthy outlet instead of something like drugs.

[@htonmusic]

@AG Coarseman I got myself a full carbon Merida with the 105 to celebrate getting to my goal weight. She's not a blingy girl but she's great bang for buck

[@htonmusic]

@@billincolumbia thanks! After it happened I vowed that I was gonna make it the best thing that ever happened to me.

[@billincolumbia]

@@htonmusic That is an excellent vow.

[@Ady_Sr]

best cycling channel you can watch for free.

[@dariomrkonjic6812]

Dylan you better get real famous on youtube. These vids are so much better than any other cycling performance related stuff on here.

[@oscarg8094]

Honestly, it's great for much more - I'm using the videos for my running, the quality of his content and the focus on the science is amazing!

[@velo1337]

i learned from an interview with emma cobourn that she always tells herself when it really starts to hurt "thats what i am good at".... that helped me a ton

[@SamMartinPeakPerformance]

Self talk is v key for all top performers 👍

[@adamsellick8116]

Ive got a ftp test later I need this video 😂

[@RossTheNinja]

Ramp test soon, so ditto

[@averageroadie6487]

I can confirm the "chunking" method works for me. When I'm doing long climbs I don't think about getting to the top. I focus on completing 20 pedal strokes. I count them 1-20, then start over and count again. It certainly doesn't make me faster, but it does make me hate it a lot less.

[@ucanskixc568]

"When it rains I train". As a laborer I was sent home when the weather was bad. So I trained in the most miserable conditions. The more miserable the better for racing as a lot of athletes wuss out!! Never ever quit a race unless it is for medical reasons, within reason. Quiting a race will haunt you for at least 45 years as I am finding out. I quit 3 races and they still bug me!! None of the races I quit were in cycling, but in swimming and Nordic skiing. I always said to a fellow competitor, in my mind, "suck air and suffer" and we will see who gets to the finish line first. If you are really going for it you will die a thousand times. It depends how much you really want it!!

[@careymahoney1605]

I always use the motto " fitness has to be earned ...it is never free"

[@Dennis4523]

“If you’re comfy during your rides, you’re not going to get very far” So backwards hat Dylan was right! TO THE KOM SEGMENTS!!!

[@tgoods5049]

Backwards Hat Dylan's pain tolerance during bicep curls is stuff of legend.

[@XX-is7ps]

I think the problem is finding tricks that help you get into that realm of suffering and it’s probably different for everyone. For me it’s literally just having pressure of expectations from others (or even just visibility holding me to account). What I mean is for instance I might be able to complete a fast race or group ride on a given day no matter how exhausted because once I’ve started I can’t let myself fail, where I could easily bail out of an (easier) Z2 ride on my own so the Z2 ride feels harder than the threshold effort.

[@Piklzzz]

when you're riding with a tail wind doing crazy watts and going around 55km/h = no pain VS when you're fighting a head wind doing same watts and going like 25km/h = the most painfull expirience

[@chrisw5275]

This is so true…I’d love to know why

[@hartwood9078]

I’m not a racer, but wanted to let you know, on my local MTB trail yesterday I set 11PR’s, and on my gravel ride today I averaged over 1 MPH faster. Just by telling myself to be tougher and work harder. Your video made an impression on me. Thank you!

[@rascal1234]

Great advice. Self-delusion and distraction from pain are my forte.

[@maranatha3333]

I like to listen to fast tempo music when I hit the hills; the beat helps me with my tempo, and the music distracts me from the pain. I’ve transitioned to AfterShokz Aeropex Bone Induction Headphones so that I won’t get a ticket or block out important ambient sounds.

[@LarsRR]

I think mental toughness is one of the biggest gains you can make in endurance sports. Especially for timetrialing or long climbs, it is very difficult to „bite through“, even when you know you can do it (from past experiences). The best methods for me to get tougher (more tolerant to longer lasting discomfort) was putting myself through longer periods of agony during training. My „favorites“ are definitely 1. sweetspot Block (6/8/10x of 3 minutes at 95% FTP, 1 Minute at 120% FTP, 1 Minute at 80%). The first part builds discomfort, the second pushes you over the edge and the third Reliefs some of it, although you are still pedaling harder than you would like to. 2. long threshold intervals at 95 to 105% of FTP. Something like: 20‘@100%, 10‘ rest, 20min@100% of FTP. 3. Incomplete recovery intervals (3‘ @95% of 3min Max, 1 min off) repeat 3 times. 15 min off, repeat first block. All of these have a good effect on general fitness, but have also helped me a lot to just push through when the body says „f‘ you“.

[@andymiller3889]

I have found that having a heart rate monitor is extremely helpful in telling me whether I am genuinely fatigued or mentally weak. If my HR is 177+, then I know I'm close to the limit. If it's in the 150's, then I tell myself to buck-up and get after it. I pretty much never look at HR unless my head is telling me that it hurts too much.

[@marcdaniels9079]

Great video. Woke up on the eve of my first ever 100 miles last weekend with a very sore knee and decided if it was already sore then I had nothing to lose by going for it the following day. So got up early, took 2 paracetamol and just cracked on and rode 106 miles and 2700 m of climbing the next day. Not fast but never entered my mind that I wouldn’t do it. Mission accomplished. Knee has been getting better every day since.

[@benjapolcycling]

Glad it go to a better direction for you. For injury the correct mindset is concentrate on fastest recovery possible (rest+therapy+strength). In my case I keep pushing and have chronic knee injury since. Does not worth it and I still regret it until now.

[@matt.eggleton]

Excellent vid, as always! Sharing. I find a key factor in increasing mental toughness and pain tolerance is simply by becoming more familiar with them. As I tell folks, "We need to become comfortable with being uncomfortable." I find that incrementally increasing SweetSpot and StateState intervals (and chunking them as you described) helps a lot. As for chunking in endurance MTB events, "I just need to get to the next aid station." The friendly faces there always motivate me to keep going.

[@JesseDishner]

Yes, embrace the suck.

[@elmerrichardson6413]

You are spot on here, Matt. I live in a hilly area in SoCal. So I have learned to defeat the hills. I know they are unavoidable so, I have rides that are just hills period. When I'm on a climb now, I tell myself to "bring the pain, lets go up this beast". I have over 80,000 ft of elevation this year so far. I have mentally conquered climbing.

[@matt.eggleton]

@@elmerrichardson6413 Congrats and Ride Hard!

[@mrsmartypants_1]

The greatest competitors/winners have always been the mentally toughest. Take any sport. Tennis (Federer, McEnroe/Borg). Alpine skiing (Hirsher, Stenmark, Maier, Klammer, Vonn, Shiffrin). Swimming (Phelps, Spitz). Biking (Armstrong, Minnaar, Atherton, Hill). Football (Rice, Montana, Brady, Favre). Xxx.... Granted Phelps was also born with the greatest physical body to match his sport in the history of the world... But the others weren’t. Fine physical specimens all? Yes. The finest? Nope. But the most tenacious minds hands down. Including Armstrong. Ha ha.

[@jaydesimone4297]

As someone who doesn't ride competitively (except against myself), this is a particular challenge. During a hard training session, especially on the trainer where I'm already home, it's easy to give up when things get hard. Out on the road I find it easier to suffer through because the shame of calling for a ride is substantially greater than whatever I'm feeling.

[@caveman123ization]

Yup. This is why I choose to ride outside in bad conditions over riding indoors.

[@Nicoya]

Pain is temporary, glory is forever. - Some guy building a marble machine

[@tylerperez1418]

why do I have the feeling that you could be an undercover Martin?

[@bicyclexx7]

Pain a figment of imagination

[@nickw6175]

wait until you hit 60, the pain tend to hang around a bit more !

[@evanmacdougall9715]

Not cycling, but related. My sister was a top H.S. cross country runner in HS and college. She has always said that while she was never the fastest runner, she felt what helped make her competitive was her ability to endure more pain than other runners.

[@eterlizzi]

Love the 15 mile charity ride bhd! 😂

[@MarioXcore1]

dam bro flexing w. that ENVE stem chimney

[@cyclingnerddelux698]

In all seriousness, after having watched your endurance race videos. When you talk about mental toughness, I am all ears.

[@GnarlyBearMTB]

Great video. People love to rip on “science based” riders because many don’t push themselves. This vid is a reminder to everyone, myself included, that you have to push yourself to get faster. You can’t just blindly train zone 2 and half ass intervals.

[@KenChiwo]

It's simply down to how much you're willing to sacrifice to get what you want. The best in class sacrifice and put down more work than the rest.

[@brianmessemer2973]

I just love that clip of you slamming the Coke at the aid station. You've used it before and it's a gem 💎. That should be in your intro montage 👍

[@lebowskii98_9]

Very timely as I'm doing a vEveresting tomorrow! 👍

[@lebowskii98_9]

@Top Trending It was tough! I went a little too hard in the first 3-4 ascents of Alpe Du Zwift and really paid for it heavily later on. Laps 6 & 7 were a slog. I completed it though, and raised a few hundred pounds for charity in the process. When it was over I vowed never to do one again! 😁

[@mathewrose2951]

Hard group rides can be had on Zwift with big events. I did that with one of the new routes where I rode above my FTP for thirty minutes until the front group dropped me; with a thousand people in the event, I was able to back it off and finish the race with the second group in a time that was two minutes faster than what I could have done just by riding alone at threshold

[@antoniomura1458]

In my opinion, suffering comes from how much you push beyond your habits. Eventually it is possible to get used to higher physical intensities for the same level of suffering. Suffering I don't think is completely easy to model, since you could argue that suffering in the wrong way actually decreases your ability to push your body how you otherwise could. If one is not focused or relaxed enough, the suffering will increase for no reason, and that's not necessarily good. My mantra is:"push body, relax mind". I don't think maximising suffering will necessarily provide results, but consistently suffering enough certainly helps.

[@10ktube]

I've looked back at my racing life, and realized there's a point in your life where you decide if you want to get faster/stronger/whatever, because you want to be successful. You get a small taste, and you make the call if you want to go after it harder and harder. That single decision is where this becomes doable in terms of pain management. You're in pain, but you realize it's your own fault, and the cost of the pain is worth it for that success you are after. I'm also convinced endurance athletes as a whole are either running away from, or towards, something. A lot of us, me included, are broken somewhere mentally. It's an outlet, it's a controllable pain that you're self-inflicting, it's better than externally sourced pain. I hate the dentist. But I'll do a 40/20 workout at 420w for 40 minutes and be ready to pass out at the end. And just because someone is faster than you, doesn't mean THEY are fast. That has helped me a ton. Got beat by some local "stud" in a race? Doesn't mean he or she is fast, they are just faster than you, that day, and you work towards them. Small goals, stay with them for a lap of the cross race, maybe 2, hug their wheel in a corner, etc. Training at a level that makes the race efforts feel soft is key, you need to get used to pain, same as getting used to heat, or cold, or whatever it is. Training is clutch. Great video, as always. BHD totally has a 7w/kg power to weight ratio.

[@ucanskixc568]

Your pain, I just call hurt.

[@Kiplargely1]

Spot on!👍

[@G11Marksman]

My favorite is Jens Voigt - "Shut up legs, do what I tell you." I say that to myself a lot, especially while climbing.

[@marcelnali]

Great video! Seems like there's lots left to explore. Maybe do some interviews?

[@scuti7073]

1) focus on your end goal. Repeat your objective. 2) Group rides will push you beyond your limit. 3) Chunk the effort to more manageable segments 4) Relish the pain. The more pain you feel, the faster you get.

[@johnlapada5378]

Last month my tire popped and had 25km of climb left, it was very painful but my motivation to go home was greater.

[@rasmuswi]

Gunde Svan, four times Olympic gold medalist and Swedens best cross country skier during the 80s, is remembered almost as much for a race that went badly than for his many wins. Early in a 50 km world cup race, he fell and broke his arm. His idol, Sixten Jernberg (also a 4x gold medalist) had never quit a 50 km race, so he dropped on of his ski poles, used his race number sign to support the broken arm, and completed the race, finishing in place 59 of 60. His coaches, team mates and support crew all tried to convince him to quit, one of the team mates ohysically tried to stop him, but he wouldn't listen. Oh, and imagine being that guy who actually lost to a one armed guy...

[@poochie8208]

Great video. After hour 5 rolls in I'm a big fan of telling myself that I'll quit at the next km, then just repeat until you finish. It's amazing how easy you can fool yourself into riding another 4 hours.

[@nickw6175]

Thanks another sensible video, I am a 60 yr old from the Uk still race cycle and track and a few mountain bike races in normal times my mental goal is a finish in the top third of the field nowadays amazing how you can still bust a gut to try and meet even modest aims

[@lytleric]

This is gold. GOLD! I have been an endurance racer for years, and agree with everything said here 100%. Some of these techniques I never realized I was actually doing until you said them.

[@joangregg4378]

Great points made. I have to learn how to embrace pain and not anticipate it. Oh well just expect it. Cycling is so hard but I love it. Must remember that.

[@harrylook7810]

good advice for life in general

[@dklindsey1952]

I like the fact that you go through a lot of science studies and read the pertinent information to us. It really is not that painful. Keep up the good work.

[@travistweedle9674]

Mental toughness can come from experience. Navy SEAL training is a great example, They go through Hell week and it is some of the most mentally and physically demanding experiences one can go through. But completing that experience gives you the ability to know you can do it again. Don't be afraid to push yourself out side of your comfort zone. The next time you need it, you will know what it feels like and know you can do it.

[@maranatha3333]

“Chunking” sounds like what happens when you push yourself a little too hard (think tossing your cookies).

[@yumyumhungry]

Can't wait for backwards hat Dylan's tips on mental toughness.

[@soarstar]

Moving forward, I shall no longer be characterized as obscenely competitive. I am simply socially facilitated. Thank you, fellow social facilitators.

[@lukecage3940]

I found this video at the right time going into off season training. Last year I just couldn’t get my mind together to make it through any of my intervals. I’m already dreading that it might happen again. Thanks for providing these tips. I hope they can help

[@trbeyond]

It’s so much about perspective. Tuesday I did 125 miles and during the second half, I thought to myself that I “just have 50 miles to go”. Today I had a 40 mile ride and it seemed like it’d never end.

[@robbchastain3036]

I like your vids, Dylan, and I recall pretty much always putting my imagination to work in both training and racing. I imagined myself standing on the gas like a race car driver and even when I failed miserably, I just figured I'd do better next time. And it was all a lot of fun until I crashed hard in a crit in '84 and realized, hmm, I was a soldier stationed at the Pentagon and I really couldn't afford to mess up my body in bike accidents. And with that, i respectfully stepped away from formal competition, yet, ironically, I'd be a professional of sorts two years later, riding about 12 hours a day as a bike messenger in DC--an hour to work from Alexandria near the Birchmere, making deliveries from just before nine until well past five, and then another hour back to my apartment. And although it was only a three-month job as I pursued another position, mental toughness and imagination served as a great motivation for those 60-hour weeks of wheeling, which were actually quite adventurous and it wasn't lost on me that I was experiencing a bit of what it was like for a pro to ride and ride and race and race, no matter what. And there were times, like once at four in the afternoon en route from Georgetown to Capitol Hill on M Street in late August, when, wow, I was completely spent and glanced off the side of a delivery truck at speed.

[@fenderperry]

Mental toughness is very important.

[@snap_Fizz]

great video, im not a cyclists but i find this very helpful for the craft im pursuing. especially #4

[@AyahuascaSage]

Super useful video, dude. I've found myself already using some of these strategies like breaking up hard intervals into more manageable chunks. E.g. if I'm doing 10 minute intervals at FTP, I'll do like 2 minutes focusing on being aero for races, then 2 minutes on the hoods, go back to aero, then maybe go out of the saddle for a minute, back to drops etc. It's easier to tell yourself you've got this when it's 2 minutes to go instead of 8, lol.

[@wrenpyle7098]

as someone who has been doing ultramarathons and other ultra distance events on bikes and skis for 3 years, i really think the key to being good at events that are 10+ hours is big volume often. the best athletes ive ever competed with get out and frequently train massive hours during normal training cycles to normalize ultra distances. just like a normal cyclist would probably find 50km to be fairly short and not a big deal, ive seen friends get to the point where 8 hours (moving time) is a pretty casual workout.

[@paulpoletes6341]

Sometimes the thought of quitting is the only thing that keeps me going, as in "I'll go that mailbox and turn around," or "just get to the next mile marker and you can quit." At each "quitting point" I find a new one and keep going.

[@TheNightwalker247]

Thank you Dylan your videos really help with motivating me to do better each day. Not just helpful advice for cyclists. Already shared quite a few videos of yours with non cycling athlet friends of mine and they really liked them.

[@billincolumbia]

Excellent as always, Dylan. It's great that you are able to find actual studies and science, rather than just your own opinion and experience.

[@MarcoAngeliniFit]

Love this video... I always like your video but this one get on the top 3! Thank you so much!!!

[@Biking360]

These are some of the best cycling videos on the net. Well done lad. JP.

[@SamMartinPeakPerformance]

Chunking is so key - your mind is just going to talk yourself out of it otherwise

[@kilianbader9786]

Really good adivise! Especially the no quitting attutude. I always did that even before you told me but it makes so much sense!

[@somewhatfrog]

another great video Dylan. The volume levels are a bit on a low side compared to any high quality channel with 1mil+ subs, you can use those as a base line to determine how loud is loud, Marques Browniee is a good example. Cheers mate, hope that will help a bit with a channel growth, you do a great job!

[@paulhirst1182]

Always useful !

[@stolirosa]

This is so helpful, Goal setting and chunks are two I use…now I have more to help me in this Colorado Mountain climbs!! Thanks for your awesome informative, yet hilarious videos!

[@charlescarbone1683]

Honestly an exceptional video on cycling and life.

[@SteveHofsaess]

My secret for going fast and hard is simple. I pitcure my exgirlfriend chasing me on her bike and I want nothing to do with her.

[@RossTheNinja]

That's funny, I do that too. I don't know why your ex follows both of us, though

[@S.Frankl]

I held on hard, kept the goal in mind, and managed to pull back from the DNF...made it to 13:14 and across the line! ;) Kidding aside, great video. I saved it for later reminders.

[@emersonrezende]

This video nailed it. I find the psychological aspect of training very important. My best rides, races are the ones I have been mentally strong. Keep your "mind" on the road.

[@proku.]

Hello Dylan, can't wait to watch a video about your recommended core strengthening workout. 😌😌

[@gabeszilagyi254]

Great Video!So true!

[@skisunfb]

Outstanding... and really fun to watch! Thank you!

[@BlackWaterCyclist]

Great video Dylan. I definitely use the chunking strategy. I have heard many pro MTBs say that they will do mini races in their minds where they race to the next tree up the trail. Awesome info here.

[@aleksanderpusz892]

My kid loves to draft not only to save energy but also because she wants opponent to feel her breath on the back. This increases her morale.

[@larryduncan3461]

Thanks for the video. Answered all of my questions.

[@mi-xc]

Spot on with this video, I use these techniques all the time.

[@SamMartinPeakPerformance]

Which do you find most useful?

[@mi-xc]

@@SamMartinPeakPerformance: In this video, Goal Setting, Chunking and Embracing the pain.

[@SamMartinPeakPerformance]

@@mi-xc yeah i agree for sure with chunking 👌

[@UltimateTuner10]

Dylan can you do a video on shaving? This comes up all the time ! Thanks for making awesome content

[@bunkerman99]

45 years ago I was on a Fast Division 1 College Swim Team. One element of Pain not touched on...All my teammates, me included, we broke through pain and embraced pain bc we were not going to let each other down. Yeah it hurts but letting guys down who were like brothers to you? Nah. Failure happens but trying real hard is expected.

[@mikedarco6358]

One of your best videos. 👍

[@chadpendy7346]

Thank you Dylan! These are all great strategies and I plan to utilize each in my upcoming race. Thanks again!

[@AI-xi4jk]

Love your channel! Great mix of science and humour.

[@dpw420]

I watch all your vids, but I like this one the best, great topic

[@jetBlue_83]

Loved this video as it’s something I’ve been working on in addition to training My question, what’s the difference between pain and discomfort?

[@JesseDishner]

Discomfort I would say is from time in the saddle, toes starting to hurt, maybe a neck twinge or rain or saddle sore. Pain is when you're pushing yourself and your body wants to stop because it hurts. You're body doesn't want to close that gap down, it (your body, legs, lungs) is fighting against you and you have to will yourself to keep doing what you know needs to be done instead of listening to the pain. That's my take, I haven't watched the whole video yet.

[@ucanskixc568]

Pain is when you are doing irreparable damage to the body. Otherwise it is just hurt.!!

[@ChaitanyaKishoreSunkara]

Always needed this video. All of them are really helpful. Thanks for sharing the knowledge, Dylan :)

[@aleksangelov1273]

Thank you very much for every single video which one you make, everything what you are saying in your videos is so helpful and really good explain but at the same time easy to understand. From my experience when i ride with someone i ride way better, my heart rate goes 5 - 10 beats less than normal my watts goes straight up in the air and to be clear i can be near 100% dead but just don't care about the pain.

[@XEinstein]

My issue with my endurance events is that I can endure the fatigue in my body and the pain in my muscles. It's the chafing in my butt from the saddle that eventually kills me. That and blisters from the long treks/runs I find hard to manage

[@VincentJGoh]

Chunking is how I finish CX races. I tell myself I'm allowed to quit if I just finish one more lap. I almost always manage to finish races that way.

[@JesseDishner]

I tell myself I can rest up on the way down the other side of this climb...

[@kalebwhittingstall441]

Favorite training channel

[@Ultegra10SPD]

Definitely something I need to work on. I’ve had a lot of my mind. I’ve been off the bike since February. It’s been a very up and down last three years, more down with few highlights. I got to get my head right because these days I feel as bad as I did when I quit my everest 1/4 of the way (was a team event as well) in because my power meter quit. I was convinced I couldn’t do it without. My biggest mistake ever in cycling. I need help. -U10

[@palicar]

I used to feel like that. I thought nobody was going to help so I helped myself. Just the physical act of smiling forces the happy juice to flow in your brain. IOW HTFU

[@moabadventurecondo9579]

I load the race route and display the distance to destination feature on my head unit. When things start getting difficult I use the remaining mileage to start saying I can make it x number of miles and just keep chipping away at it. I might also divide the distance into fractions.

[@richardwolf6269]

As I get older (68) I find I enjoy cycling more because I no longer need to keep up with the Jones’s! My goal nowadays is to keep my breathing and heart rate under control.

[@dumspirosperofilms2273]

great video again!

[@1carusjohn32]

Mentally targets are both good and bad. I realised that my performance tapers into a target. Say set a goal in a season for 210 ftp.... I would make it but that was it. This year sticking to 4 week periodisation blocks, adding fixed watts each block with no end goal set, just where it will take me. Sure, micro targets within each block and mental strength required to hit them, but the method of the process simply smashed what I thought I was possible of. But you do have to learn to endure on those intervals for sure.

[@Thracium]

Thank you! Good Luck!

[@tacostwowheels4934]

Cool video! Keep up the good work

[@palicar]

I get cramps in the upper calf sometimes. I tell myself it's physical whimpering and I imagine a gruff, iron-fisted voice belittling the whimper. The cramps fade after a while.

[@tccycling]

Love this video. Thank you!

[@timoringlein]

once again: excellent !!!

[@geoffreyanderson4719]

Off-topic question for DJ: Some XC races I've been in were not refereed or administrated by UCI and USA Cycling. But they did use verbage and borrow the racer category classifications system in these races. Do these races require athletes to agree to any rulebooks at all? What creative new ways of racing have you seen athletes successfully use in these races that might not actually bind the racers to any rules? Like, did you yourself ever notice if you have raced in a non-UCI race? Did you try any hockey-style body-checking at the finishing straight to improve a finishing result? Why not, if there are no rules against it?

[@thebutcher7000]

Love this

[@jasongalletti7823]

“If you ain’t first, you’re last!” - Ricky Bobby - Backwards Hat Dylan

[@LaMartiLoca]

I just buy My first power meter (stages), i'm realy happy and i want to tell anyone. My wife only ask me how much it cost? So she dosent count. :D