So you think MTBers are well tuned athletes? Check out the Dutch BMX squad!!
- Thread starter ZoRo
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Yeah the guys are looking top form. Jumping squats are pretty nasty too. And what about that sideways gym ball bouncing on the van trick!
Crazy how BMX has evolved into a performance oriented sport with all sorts of training techniques. And also how the top BMX guys are really top performance athletes. I mean, if you look at gold medalist Strombergs, they don't call him the machine for nothing! Geez the guy looks like Terminator in the gate.
Crazy how BMX has evolved into a performance oriented sport with all sorts of training techniques. And also how the top BMX guys are really top performance athletes. I mean, if you look at gold medalist Strombergs, they don't call him the machine for nothing! Geez the guy looks like Terminator in the gate.
Those jumping squats bring back some bad memories from college. We used do those in nasty intervals after practice. Although my 38" vert was because of them.
Not sure why they are doing bench press though, pretty useless for most athletic pursuits except MMA fighting.
Not sure why they are doing bench press though, pretty useless for most athletic pursuits except MMA fighting.
Yeah was wondering the same thing too. Upper body general strength can't be bad for manuals and gates.
I felt like riding my bike at the track pretty often would at least take care of some strenght matters, but after seeing these guys, gym sessions seem to be essential for successful gated racing (although the whole point is having fun, which I have a very hard time having @ the gym...).
What? Bench helps in alot of other sports..football for example...disengaging blockers.
There (the weights) are 25's 50+45=95
Chances are they just are doing light weight with lots of reps.
hmmm....
some of the exercises remind me of crossfit exercises. i fail at training, am never able to obey a schedule. stuff seems to work though, at least for one of my buddies.
some of the exercises remind me of crossfit exercises. i fail at training, am never able to obey a schedule. stuff seems to work though, at least for one of my buddies.
kinda reminds me of the Russian scene in Rocky w/ Dolph
fast explosiveness is good! like playing hockey game.
you dont need to have big muscles, just train muscles for speed, just like that bmx race.
for France Tour, it is different thing
I'd love to be the spotter of the squat chick...
The problem with bench press is your pushing away from you body with your spine fully supported by a completely stable flat surface. At no point during a football would you do a movement like this or any form of cycling. In MMA fighting there are situations you push someone off of you while lying on a flat stable surface. In other sports not so much.
It more nit picking on my part than anything. Either way those guys are strong.
Bench press (obviously) develops pectoralis and anterior deltoid strength. These two muscles work together to stabilize (mostly isometrically) the body during rough sections on a DH track and work concentrically during absorption of impacts during landings.
It is important to work out the chest and not just one muscle group to mantain muscle balance and avoid injuries. Chest and anterior deltoid work as synergists in many other movements.
you're not very smart are you
So yeah, I see how bench pressing could be a good thing for mtb and, of course, bmx. Now, if it wasn't so boring to do it!
BMX seems really big in Europe right now (or maybe it always was, don't really know how the scene has evolved). I wonder how much the O-games boosted the popularity of the sport and the training regiments linked to BMX??
BMX seems really big in Europe right now (or maybe it always was, don't really know how the scene has evolved). I wonder how much the O-games boosted the popularity of the sport and the training regiments linked to BMX??
Zoro... Get to the gym. Get to the gym with a friend. Put some music in and have a spotter. Rep out sets of 8-10 and make sure your friend is there to help on the last 2 (push yourself that hard). If you do this, and feel how sore you will be the next day, it can't be that boring.
I mean maybe I am just saying this because I got sucked into the gym, but I don't see how that could be boring, pushing your body to its physical limits and seeing results.
I mean maybe I am just saying this because I got sucked into the gym, but I don't see how that could be boring, pushing your body to its physical limits and seeing results.
or absorptions of hitting trees. i have hit some hard enough where people have just turned around because they thought i died. Thank you 42" chest! platty 2008 GES finals. booooosh!
Yup, injury prevention is very high on my list of reasons why to weightlift.
WORD. Gonna start doing it very soon. And it's cheaper than trying to put some XC parts on my 4x parts to make it lighter in order to compensate the fact that my upper body strength is weak!
Or maybe you're so dumb you can't understand my arguement.
The guy who trained me was responsible for the strength and conditioning of about 10 NCAA championship teams including 3 Heisman Trophy winners and 10 Olympic Gold Medalists. I think I was taught pretty well.
In place of bench I would have them doing pistons or ring push ups. Both require your core to work while using the muscles required to push away from the body.Bench press is super tough on your shoulders.
When riding a bike at no time is your posterior chain supported by a flat stable surface. Unless you've fallen and trying to push the bike off of you.
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Nagaredama... Ok. I know you know more than me probably, but what you just said doesn't make sense to me for a few reasons.
Ok, bench press can help a lot I think. Although a big, strong chest isn't really required for riding I don't think, it can help.
Like when you approach a rock garden and start to get packed up on the bars if you go into a little unprepared.
Also, even though this is a secondary effect, benching helps strengthen triceps which are super important.
A stronger chest can help one pump a little harder I think, and squash your bike down over jumps (referred to as speed jumping in bmx).
A stronger chest in general usually (not always, but usually) means bigger which offers more protection.
Another point I think is worth considering. It is important to have equal strength in muscles and size. If one has a huge back and small chest, it probably won't help posture and could cause injury elsewhere.
Another point. Sprinting. Your chest muscles help you make a platform for your bike via handlebars when it is being viscously moved about like a ragdoll. Whether benching helps this more than flys I don't know.
Chest also helps one move their arms across their body which in turn can give more control. Again flys or benching, I', not sure. Chest is important dude, just look at someone sprinting next time you are on the lift. While it may not be as vital as other groups, it certainly plays a roll.
Oh and benching is hard on shoulders. Just work up to a higher weight slowly because tendons adapt etc... and stabilizers are required.
Just as a comment...flat bench press and flys both work the pectoralis major (sternal) and almost the same synergists (flys work the biceps while bench press the triceps). So I don't think there is much of a difference performance-wise.
I agree a strong chest is important to riding.
My point was bench press isn't the most effective way to achieve that goal.
Well, it's good to know that the guy who trained you has good credentials, and although I would love to get into a credentials pissing match with you I will decline, and just leave you with this, between myself and my girlfriend we have more strenght and conditioning, personal training, and physical therapy credentials than I suspect you have.
while to some extent I see your point, functional chest excersizes are not the only way to get a strong upper body, just as one should not use machines for everything, one should also supplement functional excersizes, like perhaps your suggestion of ring push ups, an explosive bench press will mimic the way your hands are both on the same handle bar and are beneficial.
Not a regular flat bench press anyway,
Decline bench presses or wide grip dips activate more of the chest and are usually less harsh on the shoulders.
Flat benching is a pretty unnatural movement, and pretty much useless outside of powerlifting competitions in my opinion.
Minnarr is a fricking scarecrow and owns pro DH. Bench press don't mean a thing in DH. Pro DH top 10 are a bunch of bird chested pinners. 
Your theories suck.
A high school prospect who's a top 10 offensive guard in the country can't bench 225 but is coming to UNC on a full scholarship. He can't be moved they say. You should tell him to quit.
http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/07/18/586215/condition-doesnt-keep-james-from.html
Your theories suck. A high school prospect who's a top 10 offensive guard in the country can't bench 225 but is coming to UNC on a full scholarship. He can't be moved they say. You should tell him to quit.
http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/07/18/586215/condition-doesnt-keep-james-from.html
i think it is funny that someone is questioning the training of an Olympic BMX team because they happen to know a guy that things differently for a college football team.... and as far as comparing credentials, or friends credentials, I am pretty sure the Olympic Team's coaches and staff know a bit more than you are giving credit.
pretty funny how you guys have everything about their training program figured out, including it's flaws just by watching a short video of a clinic they held for local's and new/young riders.... did it ever occur that they were just going over the basics to get these kids started in the right direction, and with equipment that was easy to transport and set up outside for an afternoon?
and Butch..... Minnaar is no scarecrow these days. He is one of the bigger dudes out there.
pretty funny how you guys have everything about their training program figured out, including it's flaws just by watching a short video of a clinic they held for local's and new/young riders.... did it ever occur that they were just going over the basics to get these kids started in the right direction, and with equipment that was easy to transport and set up outside for an afternoon?
and Butch..... Minnaar is no scarecrow these days. He is one of the bigger dudes out there.
hey, dont believe when you do make a benchpress, you automatically get big big muscles like my mom believed.Minnarr is a fricking scarecrow and owns pro DH. Bench press don't mean a thing in DH. Pro DH top 10 are a bunch of bird chested pinners.
A high school prospect who's a top 10 offensive guard in the country can't bench 225 but is coming to UNC on a full scholarship. He can't be moved they say. You should tell him to quit.
http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/07/18/586215/condition-doesnt-keep-james-from.html
you can still look same if you do make 100 repetitions with smaller sizes
They were clearly warming up, probably for a gates/skills session, apart form maybe the girl on the squat rack mid video.pretty funny how you guys have everything about their training program figured out, including it's flaws just by watching a short video of a clinic they held for local's and new/young riders.... did it ever occur that they were just going over the basics to get these kids started in the right direction, and with equipment that was easy to transport and set up outside for an afternoon?
and Butch..... Minnaar is no scarecrow these days. He is one of the bigger dudes out there.
And yes, i was wondering where that Minnaar comment came from too, he may look stretched out due to his height but he is certainly not skinny.
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I imagine that if it wasn't for your ultra sweet trainer from Globo you wouldn't have even been able to come up with that.You guys train at Globo Gym?
Anyway carry on, I assume we'll all be hearing of you soon because your trainer is going to make you the next downhill mountain biking champ with out benchpressing a thing.
Think he kills it in the bench press though? Think he's sliding the plates on a thinking "If I can bust through this 275lb plateau, I'm gonna win Worlds"??
I have no doubt GM is stout. Wearing Sessler's dress in DirtMag, he looks quite the athlete. I was being dramatic, exaggerated and silly about bench presses for DH success.
For example, Gee is the poster boy for DH flex right now, but he still ain't beating your local 10th grade linebacker at the 225lb max rep test.
No, i dont. if you read my original post i was actually stating bench press (at least the way its demonstrated in the video) is probably less than ideal for DH. It doesnt really matter if Greg benches 500lbs or 10lbs, He along with the other top 10 riders clearly have some sort of upper body strength program on the go, tailored to their needs.
Think he kills it in the bench press though? Think he's sliding the plates on a thinking "If I can bust through this 275lb plateau, I'm gonna win Worlds"??
I have no doubt GM is stout. Wearing Sessler's dress in DirtMag, he looks quite the athlete. I was being dramatic, exaggerated and silly about bench presses for DH success.
For example, Gee is the poster boy for DH flex right now, but he still ain't beating your local 10th grade linebacker at the 225lb max rep test.
I agree with you. What are "pistons" though?
Pistons, guns, bazookas, all the same sh*t !
Would be interesting to have Graves (I think he posts here from time to time) comment on the BMX training issue, bench press, etc.. since he must train a lot and was also part of an Olympic BMX program.
More BMX training by the Dutch(s) in the mid section of this vid
Would be interesting to have Graves (I think he posts here from time to time) comment on the BMX training issue, bench press, etc.. since he must train a lot and was also part of an Olympic BMX program.
More BMX training by the Dutch(s) in the mid section of this vid
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