One of the most common pieces of advice given to rider’s who want to improve their cornering is to “twist the hips” or “point your belly button where you want to go”. I know this because that is the advice I have been given and, in turn, have given to other riders. And while this [...]

One of the things that I am taking away from my time with Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is the importance of drilling in training and, more importantly, journaling after you drill/ train. Technique is king in BJJ and your strength and cardio can only get you so far. This makes drilling a must if you want [...]

In my recent post on how to Improve Your Riding 100% in 30 Days I touched on the basic principle of focusing your training on improving something specific for a short period of time. This approach becomes even more important as we progress as riders because the amount of effort it takes to move the [...]

On Monday I posted a podcast going over a plan to improve your riding 100% in 30 days and I got a lot of great feedback on it. However, while a lot of riders understood the message they were a bit confused on how to put it all together. I decided to the easiest thing [...]

I’m a huge advocate for standing up more to pedal for two reasons – standing up allows you to apply more power to the pedals and to better flow over the trail and execute your technical skills. In other words, you can ride faster and have more fun when you are standing up to give [...]

Manualing is one of those skills most rider’s think you are either born with or you just can’t do it. We’ve all seen the guy holding a manual forever – making the rest of us feel like chumps – but the truth is that you only need to be able to hold one for a [...]

“Training ride” is a funny term – most riders tend to sell it short and not really appreciate all of the different ways they can use them to improve as riders. The most common use of the term is to describe a ride that focuses on improving a fitness component, with “cardio” or “endurance” being [...]

One of my most popular podcasts interviews 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 [...]

A centered, focused mind allows a man to exceed the sum of his psychological parts. – Katsuki Sekida, Zen Training What is the point of having the best bike and training your butt off so you are in great shape if the most important part of the whole equation is lacking? In other words, until [...]

The “hip hinge” movement pattern is your basic ability to move from your hips and not your lower back. It is a vital movement on your mountain bike because without it you simply can not achieve good, balanced body position. Being able to get your butt back and chest down while maintaining a long spine [...]

One of the biggest obstacles I face when trying to discuss clipless vs. flat pedals with riders is that there are a lot of pseudo-technique that has been developed by the clipless pedal industry and sold to the cycling world. For example, one of the common things I hear as an argument against flats is [...]

So I’m going to piss some people off with this statement but I feel it needs to be said – A bike fit is extremely overrated for mountain biking. I know that they have a place in some cases but for your average trail rider I think that they are close to worthless. First, bike [...]

One of the best parts of my job is when I get contacted by other passionate coaches who want to share their knowledge with me. This is an email I got from just such a coach regarding foot placement on flat pedals and I wanted to share it with everyone… James, There is not really [...]

I recently started working with the new high school mountain biking team that started in the area and during the first practice I asked how many of the kids could perform a track stand. Almost none of them raised their hand, which reminded me that most riders simply overlook this essential skill. I wrote and [...]

One of the most important movement skills for any mountain biker to posses is the basic “hip hinge”. This is your ability to bend at the hips and not at the lower back and it is directly related to your ability to get into good body position on the bike. Without this movement skill you [...]

This article is a guest post from Better Ride Skills camps (www.betterride.net). This one is by Andy Winohradski, Gene Hamilton’s assistant coach. It’s a great way to handle the mental side of an inevitable experience on the trail…crashing! Not all crashes have to happen and the old saying, “if you aren’t bleeding it wasn’t a [...]

Being balanced on your bike comes down to one thing – body position. Without good body position you will struggle to find flow and apply other skills to your bike. However, despite the importance of it few riders really understand what good body position is, why it is so important and how to fix it. [...]

In this video I show the 3 exercise progression I use to build the lateral hip strength and mobility you need for better balance during high speed corners on the trail. This progression is especially helpful if you want to incorporate the Windmill into your mountain bike training program but find it awkward. -James Wilson-

In corresponding with hundreds of riders around the world I’ve noticed that most training plans lack a vital component. While things like cardio and strength training are present, few riders really plan for some dedicated skills training. Learning how to be a technically skilled rider doesn’t just happen on accident and you need a chance [...]