{"id":11912,"date":"2022-05-16T18:14:20","date_gmt":"2022-05-16T16:14:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/mbuk\/?post_type=purple_issue&p=11912"},"modified":"2022-05-16T18:14:20","modified_gmt":"2022-05-16T16:14:20","slug":"how-to-boost-your-trail-power","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/mbuk\/2022\/05\/16\/how-to-boost-your-trail-power\/","title":{"rendered":"How to… Boost your trail power"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
How to…
Boost your trail power<\/span><\/h5>\n\n

Vitus ambassador and strength coach Ben Plenge <\/strong>explains how you can become a more powerful rider<\/p>\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n

Being powerful on <\/strong>the bike isn\u2019t just for racers. Any rider can benefit from having the power to clear a steep climb or obstacle, out-sprint their mates or pump the ground for speed. Power is simply the ability to create force, quickly. By training for more power, you learn to move faster, so you can put more watts through your pedals and greater force into the bike through turns and over features. Any rider can become more powerful with some focused work, on and off the bike.<\/p>\n\n

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TOP TIP<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you want to improve your power through sprint training, always choose a safe place away from traffic and other trail users<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section>\n\n

PRO POINTERS <\/strong>
SPRINT<\/strong> TRAINING<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n

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STEP 1<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

After warming up, sprint for 5-10 seconds<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section>\n\n

<\/div>
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STEP 2<\/strong>

Follow this with 5-10 minutes of rest or easy spinning<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section>\n\n

<\/div>
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STEP 3<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Repeat 4-6 times. With this format, you have enough recovery to make sure every sprint is super-high intensity<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section>\n\n

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PRO-FILE<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

BEN PLENGE<\/p>\n\n\n\n

JOB Vitus Bikes ambassador & The Strength Factory coach<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

CREDENTIALS As a former Army captain who did tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, Bristol-based Ben knows a thing or two about physical and mental strength. Since setting up The Strength Factory in 2014, he\u2019s coached the likes of Joe Smith, Wyn Masters and Vero Sandler.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also tested bikes for MBUK <\/em>and other MTB media, before being snapped up by Vitus.<\/span> Follow him on Instagram at @strengthfactory_coach. <\/span>www.thestrengthfactory.uk<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section>\n\n

ON THE BIKE<\/h4>\n\n

It\u2019s pretty simple really \u2013 if you want to become better and more powerful at sprinting, then you need to practise sprinting! However, when it comes to sprint training, most people get two things wrong \u2013 they don\u2019t give 100 per cent intensity to their sprints and don\u2019t rest for long enough between efforts.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

100 PERCENT EFFORT<\/h4>\n\n

After getting warmed up with some sub-maximal sprints, your main ones need to be 100 per cent effort \u2013 nothing less will do. When you give it everything, you create the maximum amount of force possible, stimulating your body to adapt and become more powerful. You need to be motivated and focused on the task, and finding a bit of aggression can be really helpful, too. When the reps get sluggish, stop. After this point you aren\u2019t getting more powerful, you\u2019re just getting tired.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

LONG REST<\/h4>\n\n

Most riders get confused here and try to do a sprint every minute, or even more often. Sprint training then becomes a conditioning session instead of a power-based one, and, because the recovery is incomplete between sprints, you end up being slow.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

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OFF THE BIKE<\/h4>\n\n

The other place where we can build full-body power is in the gym (or at home, with some basic kit). At first it can seem complex, but if you follow a simple progression, then any injury-free rider should be able to make good progress in 10-12 weeks.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

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1STRENGTH AND <\/strong>MOVEMENT<\/h4>\n\n

This is where you build a foundation of full-body strength and learn to do all the movements correctly and safely. Ideally, your training will include squatting, hinging, pushing and pulling. Make sure to do plenty of single-arm and -leg training, like the squat shown (right, top). This will work the stabilising muscles and also develop your balance. Your focus should be on good bodyweight technique, then adding load or progressing to more difficult exercise variations. The stronger you are, the more potential you have to be powerful.<\/p>\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n

2 <\/strong>MOVING FASTER<\/h4>\n\n

Once you\u2019ve built a good foundation of strength and skill, you can start to move faster.<\/p>\n\n

For example:<\/p>\n\n

\u2022 Instead of squatting the heaviest weight possible, use a lighter weight, but move it more quickly.<\/p>\n\n

\u2022 Don\u2019t just step up onto a box, focus on crushing it and driving up hard on a single leg.<\/p>\n\n

\u2022 For press-ups, focus on pushing the floor away as hard as you can for fewer reps (right), not banging out sets of 20.<\/p>\n\n

\u2022 Finally, add in explosive moves such as box jumps to really get the legs firing!<\/p>\n\n

When we train like this, we\u2019re instructing the body to generate more power. This translates to being more powerful on the bike, when pumping and sprinting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Vitus ambassador and strength coach Ben Plenge explains how you can become a more powerful rider<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":11909,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ub_ctt_via":"","purple_page_number":"102","purple_custom_meta_purple_page_number":"102","purple_seq_number":"1","purple_custom_meta_purple_seq_number":"1","purple_source_article":"article_102-1.xml","purple_custom_meta_purple_source_article":"article_102-1.xml","purple_source_issue":"June-2022","purple_custom_meta_purple_source_issue":"June-2022","purple_external_id":"June-2022-102-1","purple_custom_meta_purple_external_id":"June-2022-102-1","purple_issue_code":"|0000112137||","purple_custom_meta_purple_issue_code":"|0000112137||","purple_android_product":"com.im.mountainbikingukmagazine.408","purple_custom_meta_purple_android_product":"com.im.mountainbikingukmagazine.408","purple_ios_product":"com.im.mountainbikingukmagazine.408","purple_custom_meta_purple_ios_product":"com.im.mountainbikingukmagazine.408","purple_web_product":"","purple_custom_meta_purple_web_product":"","purple_publication_id":"0638d426-1edc-44c5-8614-70723dfc91b6","purple_migrated":"","kt_blocks_editor_width":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"2022-05-16T16:14:27Z","apple_news_article-theme":"","apple_news_api_id":"1bb606db-5948-400d-a83a-89f8a51dd183","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2022-05-16T16:14:27Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAD\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/w==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/AG7YG21lIQA2oOon4pR3Rgw","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":true,"apple_news_is_preview":true,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_article_theme":"","apple_news_sections":"[]"},"categories":[21],"tags":[13],"apple_news_notices":[],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2022\/05\/013b57b9-8b2b-44bd-90e6-66c9296bec26.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/mbuk\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"4","apple_news_title":""},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2022\/05\/013b57b9-8b2b-44bd-90e6-66c9296bec26.jpg",2032,1750,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2022\/05\/013b57b9-8b2b-44bd-90e6-66c9296bec26-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2022\/05\/013b57b9-8b2b-44bd-90e6-66c9296bec26-300x258.jpg",300,258,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2022\/05\/013b57b9-8b2b-44bd-90e6-66c9296bec26-768x661.jpg",768,661,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2022\/05\/013b57b9-8b2b-44bd-90e6-66c9296bec26-1024x882.jpg",800,689,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2022\/05\/013b57b9-8b2b-44bd-90e6-66c9296bec26-1536x1323.jpg",1536,1323,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2022\/05\/013b57b9-8b2b-44bd-90e6-66c9296bec26.jpg",2032,1750,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/mbuk\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Vitus ambassador and strength coach Ben Plenge explains how you can become a more powerful rider","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/mbuk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11912"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/mbuk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/mbuk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/mbuk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/mbuk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11912"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/mbuk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11912\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13191,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/mbuk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11912\/revisions\/13191"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/mbuk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11909"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/mbuk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11912"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/mbuk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11912"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/mbuk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11912"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}