Mountain biking and cycling in general revolve around technology, parts, and accessories. Through this magpie-like attraction to bling, it’s incredibly easy to spend an awful lot of money on upgrades in the pursuit of improving your ride... but what if I were to tell you that the best and most cost-effective upgrade was the rider?

• Bare bar riding: Ditch the devices and start riding free
• MTB trail etiquette - can winter riding damage trails?
• Trail mountain biking - everything you need to know

Strength training will make you feel stronger for longer

Cycling and mountain biking especially require a monumental amount of strength. Accomplished riders are incredibly dynamic on their bikes, and they’re moving around constantly, whether that’s when climbing or descending. And while just getting out and riding your bike will bring improvements to strength, which will naturally boost stamina and fatigue-resistance, taking some time out of your week to train specific muscle groups will fast-track any kind of gain. That’s regardless of whether you’re riding a regular mountain bike, a gravel bike, or even an e-mountain bike.

2025 yt industries decoy 29 sn riding pan.jpg, by Liam Mercer

"Strength is the foundation upon which everything else is built. Your posture and body position over rough terrain are maintained with strength. Your ability to put force through the pedals comes from your strength. Your ability to ride all day, pain-free, will also improve if you are stronger." - Ben Plenge, The Strength Factory

Strength training takes many, many forms, from lifting weights and following training plans from folk such as Strength Factory or Fit4Racing through to a bi-weekly indoor cycling stint. Body weight exercises such as push-ups and burpees will also reward with increased on-bike strength and greater fatigue resistance. Add some strength training into your week and you’ll find yourself blasting up the hills in a way which you never thought was possible, and descending with more speed, more composure, and without your upper body exploding on the way down. 

Ben says, "Training off the bike does not have to mean long, brutal sessions in the gym - save that for the pros! Instead, riders new to training can make a tonne of progress with just a couple of 30-45 minute bodyweight training sessions per week. The key is to be consistent and to train with proper form."

Mountain biking is a lot more about just pedalling, so while getting out on some long, pedal-intensive rides will add much-needed stamina, lifting weights or body weight training can target upper body muscle groups that you wouldn’t otherwise hit. Doing so will support those explosive efforts at the start of a trail and help build the strength needed to ride down a hill while absorbing all of the trail features.

Nutrition is hugely important to longevity

We mountain bikers are awful at fuelling properly. Chugging a coffee and engulfing whatever it is for breakfast will only go so far. A quick cake stop at the local cafe will help, but for the best performance gain, it’s important to fuel or eat consistently throughout the ride. 

It makes a huge difference, too. Taking in a decent level of carbohydrates, sugar, and even caffeine can add hours to your ride before reaching the dreaded bonk, where you’ve depleted your energy stores, and begin to feel super heavy. Proper nutrition and fuelling throughout the ride is exactly the same as pumping petrol into your car. A bowl of porridge will only last so long, so the more you top it up, the fresher you’ll feel throughout your ride and the longer you’ll be able to ride for.

2022 Nutrition-11.jpg, by Suvi loponen

Eat all of the time. If you wait until you’re hungry, it’s already too late, as you’ll continue to use energy until whatever you’ve just eaten due to hunger kicks in. Keep that energy level consistent by eating at regular intervals, and you’ll be riding for a lot longer than you’d have thought possible.

Ben also comments on nutrition - "Fuel your riding and training properly if you want to recover faster, make more progress, and enjoy your riding more. Under-fuelling your rides will leave you tired, making silly mistakes (possibly leading to a crash) and in the most severe cases, can lead to 'bonking' where you completely deplete your energy stores."

There is a level of experimentation in fuelling, too. Of course, you don’t want to eat too much, otherwise you’ll be sick once you summit a climb. Little and often is key here, but also experiment with what you’re consuming. Not every gel will play ball with everyone’s stomach, and not every type of chew, flapjack, or fruit will work for you.

Coaching will boost your skills and your confidence

Everyone has that one feature they're dying to hit, but don't quite have the confidence to conquer it. Everyone also has a collection of weak points and habits, and there's one way to iron out those foibles and boost your confidence enough to tackle that jump (for example) safely and with the correct technique while enhancing your skill, and unlocking a better time out on the bike — coaching.

2025 yt industries decoy 29 sn riding 2.jpg, by Liam Mercer

A few hours one-to-one with a coach, or as part of a group session, is a sure-fire way of bolstering your skills and boosting your confidence when out on your regular ride. Coaches are often highly skilled riders themselves who have developed a knack for spotting small errors and habits in anyone's riding, and having someone to point out your own riding foibles to you comes with a serious benefit.

Once those niggles are recognised, a coach will then guide you in fixing those mistakes and leave you with the knowledge of how to ride properly. With that, you can hit your own trails and practice slowly to build that confidence and correct technique. 

Although not as effective as purpose-built coaching sessions, you can coach yourself with the help of a mate. Have them take pictures or a video of what you’re riding and compare your body position and how you’re manipulating the bike with someone who is better than you. Work to spot any differences, and try to mirror what that better rider may be doing. 

One-to-one coaching sessions can cost around £150 for a few hours, and even less if you sign up as part of a group. While that’s more than a new tyre, you’ll see a much greater benefit to your confidence, speed, and flow once you’re done.

Remember to rest, recover, and reflect

None of this advice will improve your riding overnight, and when improving yourself, mentally or physically, it’s very easy to overdo it. It’s all a learning experience, and when training strength, allowing a day to recover is just as important as the training itself. 

If you’ve been giving the turbo trainer a hammering and are feeling super sore the day after, train another area of your body, or relax altogether, and you’ll come back fresher and stronger for your next session. Spend some time analyzing what went well and what didn’t, in order for you to find out what needs training next time.

Putting pressure on yourself to get fitter and better on the bike is a recipe for disaster and could lead to you falling out with bikes altogether. Rest, recover, reflect, and come back stronger.

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