Well hello all,
Welcome to the EPIC DH Training Blog. As we are without doubt the best DH club in the country we thought we would put together a club training plan / regime to help get us all fighting fit for the race season. Whether you are one of the seasoned racers or someone who likes riding but gives the races a miss, this will help you get the most out of your riding and turn you into a savage downhiller.
First off, this is a Club Training Blog, we know all our members very well so we know what they need to develop them as riders. If you are not a member of EPIC DH then this is not for you.
As with any type of training you need to divide you preparation up into phases and the type of work you do at differing times varies quite considerably. The first is the base preparation phase (pre-Christmas, perhaps even some of January). We will put up info on subsequent phases in due course.
There are lots of differing theories out there about what forms of training make the best downhill racer. Luckily everyone agrees on the basic preparation work that you should be doing this time of year. The three key elements you need to work on this time of year are fairly obvious:
1- You need to develop a good level of base fitness. You don’t need to be a genius to figure out that you have to be fit, but there are differing types of fitness. By race season you want to be able to go flat out for three to five minutes run after run. To be able to do the type of training that will allow you to do that though, you have to have built up a strong base. It’s called anaerobic fitness, and as luck would have it riding a bike is a great was of building it up. Without getting too technical into the different levels of fitness, it’s sufficient to say that at this time of year you should be putting in time pedalling a bike at a steady pace. No bating around or racing people up hills (that comes later). For what we are at an hour and a half to two hours at a steady pace two or three times a week is ideal.
2- You need to be strong / powerful. Again it sounds obvious, but DH bikes are heavy yokes and we have to be able to throw them around a track. There is quite a bit of debate as to what the best form of training to get physically stronger and what the best way to do it for DH. Most will agree that some form of specific strength training is a good idea, leading on to specific power training nearer the racing season. None of us are personal trainers so we can’t tell you what exactly is best suited for you, but we can point you in the general direction.
3- You need to practice being deadly on your bike. Nearer race season there will be plenty of opportunity to hit race tracks and try and get up to competition pace. This time of year is about working on the basics and practicing any elements that you know you could be better at. For most of us that’s getting out on as many differing types of trails that we can, in all sorts of weather, riding with people that will push us, and having the craic of course. We will be doing some DH sessions, but most of our riding pre-Christmas will be on small bikes, on trails that most DHers have never ridden.
As a club we can organise spins and activities to add some structure to your on-the-bike training (1 & 3 above). If you choose to do some strength training, well you will have to that on your own, but we can point you in the right direction in terms of what to do / what not to do.
To begin with we will start off with two regular sessions a week – Tuesday evenings and Sunday mornings. We may extend this to a third in due course. It will be mostly on small bikes but we will throw in some DH sessions as well. Here are some things you have to know about these types of sessions:
- Firstly we will be working on a four week cycle, that is over a period of four weeks spins will get steadily harder. Then the cycle will start again, with an easier pace, picking up as they go. This helps you get fitter, but also gives people coming into the groups a chance to come in at the easy end of the cycle. (The first cycle starts now, 1st November).
- For sessions on small bikes you have to be on a bike you can pedal. And you have to be able to keep up. The pace is not that hard, but it is important for all the other peoples training that the pace stays constant. If you are not sure about your fitness just ask. If there is demand we might run some development sessions to get people up to fitness. Let us know.
- You have to be self-sufficient. Proper clothing and equipment and all that. We will put up more details soon on how to be safe and self-sufficient for spins.
- If you are under 18 you need to contact us before turning up. We just need to make sure we know you will be ok for the spin we are running and clear it with parents etc. We will put more info up on this shortly.
- You will have to have to be a member of EPIC (either EPIC MTB or EPIC DH), or a member of a club that we have invited on the session. Regardless of who you are you will have to have a Cycling Ireland Licence. (We will put up some info soon on what to do if you are just new on the scene and don’t know the craic with licences and stuff).
- When you are on a spin you have to do what you are told. The main thing is keeping the pace that the spin leaders are setting and not bating off. Racing up hills now will just muck up the structure of the sessions and mean that fitness peaks at the wrong time of year. We want to be savage for race season, there are no prizes for being fit for Christmas and burnt out by Easter.
- When you are riding this at this time of year, try to focus on spinning your legs more so than pushing a hard gear. It’s more important now to get used to spinning gears. Most DHers ted to push too big a gear too slowly; this is the time of year to get used to spinning your gears properly.
In regards to strength training (section 2 above), we won’t be organising any club sessions. If you want to do some work in this area there are some basic things to be aware of and some very good websites with useful information and programmes. Some of the key points are:
- If you have never done any form of weight training or strength training before, then you should start of by joining a proper gym and learn the basics in a safe environment with a fitness professional who can help you with what you are trying to do.
- Be very careful, you can wreck yourself good and proper by not doing this stuff properly. It can be very beneficial if done well, but can wreck your season if you pick up silly injuries from not doing stuff properly.
- Training only works if you allow yourself to recover properly before training again. So if you are doing some extra strength work on top of your on-the-bike training make sure you structure it so you give yourself the chance to recover from the various sessions you are doing.
- There are some areas that are well known to be important for DH, they are core, stability and basic strength training. Here are some good links:
As we go along we will be putting up some more info on what we have mentioned above plus on other important considerations. Things like diet, getting your head in the right place, race prep, all sorts of useful stuff, so keep tuned.
We will be putting details up shortly for the various sessions, we will also be sending out texts with details before spins. If you aren’t already getting texts then let us know, it’s probably just that we don’t have a number for you. If you have any questions or would like to contribute yourself, then just let us know.
EPIC DH
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