MTB Strength Coach Podcast

As a coach I the first thing I tell new clients is that I need to work on getting things squared away from the neck up before I can worry about the rest of the body. Over the years I have observed that the few riders who display certain traits when it comes to training tend to do much better than everyone else, however those traits are not genetic and can be learned. Once I show someone how to focus properly and unleash the power of their minds their training really takes off. This means...

In this episode of the MTB Strength Coach Podcast I share the lessons I took from the book Zen Jiu Jitsu: The 30 day program to improve your game by 1000%. You can find the notes from this podcast posted below. Zen Jiu Jitsu is a book about how to improve your Jiu Jitsu game in just 30 days. The principles talked about apply nicely to mountain biking as well. At the heart of the program is the ability to identify an area of weakness and then design a plan to address it. This ...

In this podcast I explain how to maximize your off season training plans. You can download the MP3 file by clicking on the link below. You can find the notes from this podcast posted below. Please post any questions in the comments section on my blog at www.bikejames.com I will get to them ASAP. What is the importance of off season training? Without a plan to maintiain or improve fitness and skill levels over the off season riders end up having to ride themselves into sh...

In this edition of the MTB Strength Coach Podcast I cover my new cardio training concept and how to use it to instantly gain a blueprint for improving any area of mountain biking. You can download/ listen to the podcast by clicking on the link below. You can also read my notes from this podcast [...]

In this episode of the MTB Strength Coach Podcast I interview Josh Henkin, creator of the Ultimate Sandbag and THE expert when it comes to how to improve your strength and fitness using sandbag training. After seeing a demo by Josh I immediately recognized the impact they could have on a mountain biker’s training program and so I got some to use in my training facility. I wanted to get Josh on the podcast to tell us more about sand...

In this episode of the MTB Strength Coach Podcast I interview Energy Systems Development expert Joel Jamison. Joel is the author of the book Ultimate MMA Conditioning and is at the forefront of a more functional look at “cardio” and “endurance” training. In this interview we cover: - How strength training supports and fits into the ESD concept. For a lot of mountain bikers “cardio” is the main goal and trying to get them to understand how the strength trainin...

One of my most popular podcasts over the last few months was with trails rider and over all mountain biking stud Ryan Leech. At the end of our conversation I mentioned something off hand about flat pedals the tragedy of seeing new riders forced into the so quickly and Ryan was in both total agreement as to the need to learn how to ride on flats and surprised to hear that clipless pedals were being pushed so hard onto new riders. Ryan was nice enough to join me for another podcast and in this on...

In this episode of the MTB Strength Coach Podcast I interview Andy Clower, an athletic trainer and strength coach based out of Berkley CA. Andy is a true expert on the mechanics of the foot and made some interesting points in a recent article he wrote concerning the difference between true barefoot training and minimalist shoe training so I knew I had to get him on the podcast to share his insights into what really happens when you restrict natural foot movement. In this interview we discuss th...

In this episode of the MTB Strength Coach Podcast I talk to Greg Choat who is one of the top bike fit professionals in the world - yes, I said a bike fit guy! I ran into Greg at a Functional Movement Screen Lv. 2 seminar a few weeks after running my blog post on the real value of bike fits (LINK TO BIKE FIT POST) and found out that he actually shares my feelings on the subj...

In this podcast I had the chance to talk with Ryan Leech, who helped define a generation of mountain bike riding with his mind blowing trials skills in countless movies and demos. Ryan shares a very similar philosophy about the role of training for improving as a mountain biker but have different backgrounds and methods and I was stoked to get the chance to talk more about his views in this podcast.