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Just got back into riding again after about a 3 month break. I’ve always struggled with having endurance in my legs. I’m 6’3 and about 185lbs, I’m in okay shape, need to work cardio some.
I always find myself sitting down a lot at the end of the day when riding due to my legs just being tired. I’ll land off a jump that normally I can soak up (small over jump) but instead I almost end up sitting down when landing due to my legs giving out. This is typically towards the end of the day after riding for a while.
I’m about to start hitting the gym again this week. I’ve always done 4 sets of barbell squats 115lb x 12 reps. Typically front squats. Then extensions and calf raises. Is there a better leg workout that will benefit me more at the track so I can ride at a faster pace for more than half the day?
I always find myself sitting down a lot at the end of the day when riding due to my legs just being tired. I’ll land off a jump that normally I can soak up (small over jump) but instead I almost end up sitting down when landing due to my legs giving out. This is typically towards the end of the day after riding for a while.
I’m about to start hitting the gym again this week. I’ve always done 4 sets of barbell squats 115lb x 12 reps. Typically front squats. Then extensions and calf raises. Is there a better leg workout that will benefit me more at the track so I can ride at a faster pace for more than half the day?
You could also cycle on a road bike but that’s boring to me. I started mountain biking recently and think it’s a great workout too but probably not as efficient as running or road biking for a focus on leg endurance. Those you can do right out your door but MTB you need to find some local trails.
The Shop
Although now that I am mountain biking almost daily, I am not interested in rowing at all lol!
Cardio - rowing, running, stationary bike, mtb/road bike. Cardio should be minimum 20 minutes a session. Aim for 30+. I like running or rowing for more intense cardio sessions. Any biking for lower Heart rate, longer, low intensity sessions.
Moto wise - do stand up motos. Ride 2 laps standing, then a lap normal, two laps standing etc. until you’re able to remain standing for as long as you’d like.
I‘d say go to the gym, get strong legs and ride your bicycle to get them to last.
Cardio
Pick a leg based cardio of your choice (Cycling, MTB or running) or ideally a mixture of 2 disciplines. Aim for 45-60 min rides and or 15-20 minute runs.
Minimum 75 mins per week. Ideally 2 hrs+.
Strength
Complete a basic military style workout 3 times a week. Start with some dynamic stretches. Cool down with static stretches.
Aim for 15 minute sessions plus warm up / cool down. Total 20-25mins
In that session complete 250-350 reps in sets of 15-20 reps. Do round 1 straight one after the other. 45 second break then round 2. Repeat until you time out.
Leg specific - (1) reverse lunge (better for knees), (2) Jump squat or box jumps.
Overall fitness - (1) Push ups and (2) two handed kettle swings.
Core - (1) Leg raises & (2) sit ups,
also me: Cycle hard(sprints) and follow it with weighted leg training. Squats, deadlifts etc.
Build leg strength, keep a note of the weight you lift, this should be increasing month on my month at least, otherwise you’re not getting stronger and somethings off.
Secondly build an endurance base, get on a bike and do 1hr + sessions at an easy RPE (hr zone 2) ideally working towards 2-3hour sessions or even more if you have the time/want.
In my OPINION doing intense 20-30min cardio sessions 3 times a week is pointless if you don’t have a base level of endurance to go with it.
However I could be completely wrong, this is based of all the research I’ve done to this point in my life, I’m not an expert just self taught and plenty of trial and error.
Oh and try to keep protein consumption at 1.2 - 1.5g per kg of body weight a day. This should enable you to keep as much muscle mass as possible whilst possibly loosing weight (Fat) due to the added cardio (calorie expenditure) depending on the calories youre consuming (this is a whole other conversation but if interested weight manipulation is purely calories in vs calories out)
You don't need to blast out 3 or 4 hour road rides to get stronger legs, although it can help. A favourite of mine is a workout that takes an hour, or less. 10 mins steady pace to warm up, then do 6-9 60 second sprints, out of the saddle at maximal effort. By that final sprint you'll be begging to sit down after 20 secs. This will improve your leg strength and also aerobic capacity in little time at all. Finish up with 10-15 minutes warm-down.
I would supplement cardio with weight training. Off-season I do heavier weights but keep every workout as full-body and not split my exercises into groups. We don't need to be bodybuilders in MX. I do 3 sets of 8-12 reps, each exercise targeting a different muscle group. Usually 7 or 8 exercises total, takes me 50 mins. In season I will still do this workout once a week, then twice a week do circuit training, higher aerobic workout with lighter weights to simulate what we do on an MX bike.
For strengthening legs in the gym you can use dumbbells, barbells or if you don't have access to a gym you can do bodyweight exercises. If you want to workout from home I would suggest grabbing a kettlebell, this does wonders for circuit training. Look into squats (back squat, front squat, overhead), front/rear lunges, leg press, calf raises and hamstring extensions. I really enjoy lifting as heavy as I can during the off-season on the squat rack, which builds super powerful leg muscles and then transitioning to lighter weights/more reps as the season approaches.
In my opinion the best complete workout to benefit MX is rowing. I mainly do the above as mentioned, but I love rowing once or twice a week during the winter too. With rowing though you really need to nail your technique before you start trying hard. It will take a few sessions and it's good practice to film yourself somehow as you can almost guarantee you think you're doing it right but you'll be leaning too far forward at the catch or too far back at the pull. Drive with the legs, extend your body with the hip hinge motion and pull through with the arms - done correctly it's 70% legs, 20% core, 10% arms. Play with the damper on the machine, putting it at 10 like most gym buffs is plain wrong. Use the drag factor setting within the machine's settings and aim for 115-130. 2k rows, 5k, 30mins or even 10k are top notch workouts.
Also, as mentioned above, you need a good diet. Plenty of protein and water!
Pit Row
Personally I do 3 total body workouts a week. Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday. Have been in and out of the gym on and off since my early 20’s. My biggest gains have come in the last 2 months of switching to total body workouts. Changing my eating/drinking habits and intaking 1 gram of protein daily per weight in pounds. Hitting each muscle group 2-3 x’s a week with Cardio or moto on off days.
Thanks again.
Also, not sure why my legs are so weak. I can bench press a decent amount. My back, arms, and shoulders are decently strong. But for some reason my long ass legs have always been really week. I guess because when I first started going to the gym years ago, I neglected them and would skip leg day a lot. Well not any more!
I am 6'3" 170 and try and base my workouts around what I do on the bike. I usually do Goblet squats with a 25 lbs kettlebell. Usually, do sets of 20-24 and do 4-6 sets. Bodyweight lunges going forward and going backward work great as well.
Heavyweight will create power/strength and lower weight and higher reps will create stamina/strength.
Forget about building stamina in legs using strength/weight training, you are activating the wrong muscle fibers even with strength training without weights.
Aerobic endurance too, just to a lesser degree...
It is very difficult it gain both strength/size AND increase aerobic endurance... Aerobic endurance can be built fairly quickly (depending on your baseline couple be on less then 4 weeks), but muscle strength and endurance takes months...
As many have suggested, stick with the big 3 (squat, deadlift, bench), throw in some overhead shoulder presses to complete the workout followed by some cardio. I do strength before cardio as form while lifting is likely to break down (and risk of injury go's up) if you are tired going into your lifting.
Though I am on a different phase with my weight training, I really think the 5x5 model during the race season is one of the better approaches. Higher reps builds endurance but also build size (which size is pretty much unnecessary for racing).
Ultimately you on bike training (dirtbike) should be priority over the weight training, and as others have suggested maybe 2x in the gym per week and riding 3x per week.
Triathlon guys realized the lack of impact from high rep strength training a long time ago. They where in forefront.
Saying it's a waste of time, not even close to being accurate...
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