…so I could open up in a new spot! It is hard to believe but it has been 3 years since I moved to Grand Junction and opened up my own training facility. So, my wife and I looked around and found us an even better spot to work out of.
As much as I loved our old place it always felt a bit cramped. It was in a strip mall and was a long, narrow room with no windows except for the glass door and two window at the front. Whenever we got 4 or more people going in there it could get a bit congested. We also had low ceilings which made it tough to do ball tosses and set up a climbing rope.
So, a few months back we looked around and found our new space. We still had a few months left on our current lease so we couldn’t make an offer yet. But when it was still available a few weeks back we jumped on it.
We had the inside demoed, the walls painted and reserved a U-Haul truck in less than 2 weeks. Last weekend I spent a lot of time moving rubber mats, weights and kettle bells. I’m beat!
However, the end product is awesome. I am super excited to work out of this new location and the possibilities it offers. There is an outside fenced off area we haven’t even touched yet. I want to get some rusty barbells and a torn up bench and throw them back there and call it “The Yard”. Kiele doesn’t like that idea…yet.
Here are some pics of the move and video of the end product in action Monday night… Read more…
Posted by | in Random Vids, Pics & Stories | 8 Comments
I am just about to move from phase 1 to phase 2 in the UMWP. When I move from the last week of phase 1 to the first week of phase 2 I am unsure of how much I should be dropping my weight load down to. For example in phase 1 for the straight leg dead lift the load progression I used was 80, 90, 100, 110 through the 4 weeks. So for the first week of phase 2 what load would you recommend I start at?
Also I have noticed that when some of the people in the gym are lifting heavy loads they work their way up to the highest load in their workout. So for the first set of reps they will lift half the load, 2nd set maybe ¾ and then for the last set do the full load. Is this to prevent injury? What is your take on this?
Thanks,
Paul
Posted by | in Mountain Bike Strength Training, Rider Q & A | No Comments
I mentioned in my last newsletter how I finally got a chance to get the tires of my new Yeti ASR-7 dirty. We got the call from our sources over in Moab saying that things had thawed out enough to open up a few trails, including Amasa Back. Amasa Back is one of my favorite trails in Moab and is a very challenging trail full of rocky obstacles.
I even hit the step up jump on the way up – after two months of no riding and being on a new bike I thought I’d probably skip it. However, one of the guys I was riding with decided to step it up and hit it so I went for it too. Here are some pics and a video I took of the trip.
Gassing up for the drive.
Here is a video demo I just shot on how to do a single arm DB snatch. This is a great exercise that lets us get some of the power developing benefits of Olympic style lifts without having to spend a lot of time on the technical aspects of the traditional snatch and clean.
Power development is crucial for mountain bikers. This exercise will help you pedal harder and bunny hop higher on the trail.
-James Wilson-
Posted by | in Exercise Demos and Routines, Mountain Bike Strength Training | 4 CommentsI got an e-mail from a blog reader recently about his experience with a bike fit. I want to say up front that this guy has a really good perspective on the whole thing and that our exchange was very beneficial. However, he did bring up some good points about a bike fit that I had not really thought about before.
He basically pointed out how, during the process of the bike fit, he was told that his knees caved in with each pedal stroke and his pelvis was rotated forward. Through the use of arch supports, shims and some other adjustments this problem was “fixed” and his legs now move much more efficiently, which resulted in more power and comfort while riding (I also need to point out that this was mostly on his road bike).
This got me thinking about how the problems were not really “fixed” and how a bike fit may actually be masking your real problems and setting you up for more pain down the road. Here is my take on bike fittings…
Posted by | in Mountain Bike Cardio Training | 8 CommentsCheck out my new article on arm pump over at VitalMTB.com. Arm pump on the trail a subject I have gotten a lot of questions on lately and I got a chance to get Aaron Gwin to demo the exercises on the video. He even gave some input on what he thinks it takes to get rid of arm pump on your mountain bike.
You can read the full article and check out the video by clicking on this link.
-James Wilson-
Posted by | in Exercise Demos and Routines, Mountain Bike Strength Training | 4 Comments
