With winter rolling in, we know folks in snowier regions will be hanging up their bikes for the season (unless you’re the type that likes to indulge in snow biking). So whether or not you’re a summer biker or maybe your mountain bike plans get canceled due to illness or work travel, here are four things you can do off the bike to still improve your mountain biking.

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1. Improve Your Leg Strength

Overhead squat

One of the benefits of the overhead squat is that it helps you identify your weaknesses. As you develop strength and mobility for the exercise, you have the opportunity to perform it correctly. With the overhead squat, you can strengthen all the major muscle groups in your lower body. The overhead squat emphasizes keeping your torso upright more than the air or back squat. Quadriceps are recruited more during this squat version than in other versions. The core and upper body must also be significantly engaged to stabilize the barbell overhead.

Deadlift

Deadlifts and their variants will also be helpful for cyclists. Exercises requiring explosive leg strength benefit greatly from activating the hamstrings, glutes, and quadriceps. These muscles are also crucial in endurance sports such as swimming and running. In addition to keeping them strong and in tip-top condition, deadlifts also significantly increase strength while preventing injury.

Jumping lunges

This exercise will target the glutes, quadriceps, hamstrings, hip flexors, and calves and enhance lower body strength and power when properly executed. You will target your glutes, quadriceps, hamstrings, hip flexors, and calves when performed correctly. This will also engage the muscles that stabilize your core and hips, rotate your body, and even stabilize your ankle.

Also, make sure to take your flexibility seriously. Check out this post if you need some quick and easy stretches that focus on problem areas for mountain bikers.

2. Keep your bike well-tuned

We all hear a squeak or grinding on the trail from our bikes. When we finish the ride, have a beer with our friends, get home, and hang the bike in the garage, we must remember to take the bike to the shop. We’ll hear it all over again on the next ride! So it’s time to give your bike some love: clean it, change the cables and housing, lube that chain, or support your local bike shop with a tune-up package! You’ll be glad you did!

3. Focus on Nutrition

We know exactly what goes into our bellies when we cook it ourselves, so it’s much easier to eat healthily. Find a recipe for your favorite restaurant dish online that you can make at home. There’s nothing better than making your favorite Indian, Chinese, or Italian dish from scratch! Check out this post if you need more guidance on good mountain biking nutrition!

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4. Set goals for the next biking season

There are many reasons why we all need a clear goal. The bedrock of mental strength is a goal. When the road tilts up, it urges you forward. Your determination to climb that last hill motivates you and gets you out of bed each morning. When you accomplish it, you feel fulfilled and proud. To set some goals, follow these four steps:

• Decide where you want to start. For example, how fit are you, how technical are you, and how much time do you have to dedicate to your goals
• Decide what your biggest goal is. Then, when you reach your final destination, what will you feel like a huge accomplishment?
• Set monthly targets. To reach that goal, what must you accomplish each month?
• Establish weekly challenges and rewards. Consider what rewards you can offer yourself when you complete the tasks necessary to achieve the monthly targets.

Hanging up your bike for the season can feel like you’re saying goodbye to a good friend for half a year, but with these off-season exercises and goals, you’ll find yourself back in action and better than ever when you’re ready to hit the trails again!

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