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Warming up for a DH Race.

kickstand

Turbo Monkey
Sep 18, 2009
3,441
392
Fenton, MI
No it's not. Add 250% to -35% and you get 215% bike as the leading factor in whether the average RM rider sucks.

Have you ever actually been on ridemonkey?


That math is fcking flawless.
No, it's borked, you just can NOT have more than 100%, it's unpossible.

My bike is totally the reason I can't win any races, it's not all progressive but it's actually linear, I mean, ****, if I could even feel the difference between that and a few clicks of compression or rebound or whatever the blue knob does and what my air pressure in my tires is....aww ****, who am I trying to kid. I need to order a new bike yesterday
 

Metal Dude

Turbo Monkey
Apr 7, 2006
1,139
0
Smackdonough, GA
Not surprised at the responses here! Most of the Pro races that I have done, I am one of the only people to do a warm up routine, while everyone else sits around thinking I look dumb. I am old so I have to warm up but, it is very smart practice. Spinning on a trainer isn't that great a warm up either, although better than nothing.
Stretching isn't an effective warm up either, you want to do active mobility warmup.
I warm up head to toe. Starting with the neck and shoulders doing shoulder rolls, neck turns, windmills etc.
Then do a couple pushups, then warm up the hips, legs, wrist, ankles etc. once I get warmed up with these I will do some jumping jacks, run in place knee raises and more windmills etc. then get off to the side a little on the bike and do a few starts for say 10 yards in an easy gear so you don't overdo it.
Get a couple drinks of water, take some controlled deep breaths and get on the line. You should be just warm enough to start to sweat, then you are ready to do work!
 

DirtMcGirk

<b>WAY</b> Dumber than N8 (to the power of ten alm
Feb 21, 2008
6,379
1
Oz
I go jerk it in the woods, staring at the small woodland creatures. That warms me up and sharpens my vision.
 

nowlan

Monkey
Jul 30, 2008
496
2
Not surprised at the responses here! Most of the Pro races that I have done, I am one of the only people to do a warm up routine, while everyone else sits around thinking I look dumb. I am old so I have to warm up but, it is very smart practice. Spinning on a trainer isn't that great a warm up either, although better than nothing.
Stretching isn't an effective warm up either, you want to do active mobility warmup.
I warm up head to toe. Starting with the neck and shoulders doing shoulder rolls, neck turns, windmills etc.
Then do a couple pushups, then warm up the hips, legs, wrist, ankles etc. once I get warmed up with these I will do some jumping jacks, run in place knee raises and more windmills etc. then get off to the side a little on the bike and do a few starts for say 10 yards in an easy gear so you don't overdo it.
Get a couple drinks of water, take some controlled deep breaths and get on the line. You should be just warm enough to start to sweat, then you are ready to do work!
Sounds about right. I guess alot of it has to do with Timing of getting to the top and before your run as well . Cheers.
 

bizutch

Delicate CUSTOM flower
Dec 11, 2001
15,928
24
Over your shoulder whispering
Not surprised at the responses here! Most of the Pro races that I have done, I am one of the only people to do a warm up routine, while everyone else sits around thinking I look dumb. I am old so I have to warm up but, it is very smart practice. Spinning on a trainer isn't that great a warm up either, although better than nothing.
Stretching isn't an effective warm up either, you want to do active mobility warmup.
I warm up head to toe. Starting with the neck and shoulders doing shoulder rolls, neck turns, windmills etc.
Then do a couple pushups, then warm up the hips, legs, wrist, ankles etc. once I get warmed up with these I will do some jumping jacks, run in place knee raises and more windmills etc. then get off to the side a little on the bike and do a few starts for say 10 yards in an easy gear so you don't overdo it.
Get a couple drinks of water, take some controlled deep breaths and get on the line. You should be just warm enough to start to sweat, then you are ready to do work!
Shenanigans!!! :rofl:
Since when? Me and you go pedal around on the bridge at Beech like drunken sailors jacking our jawas and pee-ing in the corner. Then we all run around pinching our sphincter muscles as hard as possible b/c there is no crapper at the start.

Unless you call all those hand motions we use to describe runs from the glory days as "shoulder rolls"??? ;)
jk

Anyway, I'm old like Chuck (Metal Dude) <-----He's in the OLN Nationals vids. :rockout: But not quite as fast as him. We've learned over the years that pedaling around up top and getting your body loose and blood flowing for 10 minutes before your run helps heaps.

And it's no set routine. I do this semi donkey kicks and squats at the bike, shake my arms repeatedly and do some half hearted boxing punches, etc to keep the blood flowing while in line. I can't stand going to the line calm and heart rate down.

I like to feel my pulse and get more intense to stay focused and lots of motion, no matter how goofy you feel, is always a good thing.

Just like Chuck said, NEVER do static stretches at the start. Research shows it actually reduces your explosiveness. Active stretching through movement is key.
 

Metal Dude

Turbo Monkey
Apr 7, 2006
1,139
0
Smackdonough, GA
Sounds about right. I guess alot of it has to do with Timing of getting to the top and before your run as well . Cheers.
Yes, getting up the hill with time to spare but, not too much is also important. You should of course hydrate the entire week before the race and very well during practice and before the race. Also timing a small meal in an hour and a half before is good. You can get super particular on all these things but, in general you just want be prepared on all fronts.
 

nowlan

Monkey
Jul 30, 2008
496
2
A few years back I started doing James Wilsons program, it was great but Ive moved onto some more complex training througout the years but still utilize alot of the exercises in his program. Anyway at the time he was training Gwin as well and posted about a book called "Mind Gym". Id reccommend to any athlete to read it. It is all about the mental state you need to be in to be successful in a sport and how to get there over time. It has nothing to do with MTB though, mostly golf and football and olympic style stuff. Its a great read.
 

Jim Mac

MAKE ENDURO GREAT AGAIN
May 21, 2004
6,352
282
the middle east of NY
A few years back I started doing James Wilsons program, it was great but Ive moved onto some more complex training througout the years but still utilize alot of the exercises in his program. Anyway at the time he was training Gwin as well and posted about a book called "Mind Gym". Id reccommend to any athlete to read it. It is all about the mental state you need to be in to be successful in a sport and how to get there over time. It has nothing to do with MTB though, mostly golf and football and olympic style stuff. Its a great read.
This is about the same thing, but actually even goes into DH:
http://www.amazon.com/Sport-Psychology-Cyclists-Saul-Miller/dp/1884737684/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1339078453&sr=1-2
 

PatBranch

Turbo Monkey
Sep 24, 2004
10,451
9
wine country
Cutties.

They always helped me get loose and comfortable with the bike since the last practice run was usually hours before my race run. One time before a Snowshoe race I jack-knifed and flipped over the bars right in front of everyone. Good times.
Definitely! One time at Fontana... I was trying to ride a stupid double rollin rock above the start and went over the bars, down the whole thing. Great way to warm up!

I race cat 1 and my other secrets include Sailor Jerry, Chinese food, electro, metal, parking lot trickery and street tires.





 
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