To be a good overall mountain biker you have to be strong with both seated and standing pedaling efforts. However, each type of pedaling requires a different posture and pedaling technique. In fact, if you try to apply the wrong type of posture and technique to your efforts you’ll struggle to have the most powerful pedal stroke possible.

More specifically, most riders that I talk with say that their weakest area is standing pedaling – they can not stand up and hammer for very long before they have to sit down. The main reason for this is that the way they hold themselves and power the pedal stroke when standing is robbing them of power and making it harder to stay in position. By improving your posture you can instantly add power and be able to stand up and pedal longer. This is extremely important if you race DH of 4X since you spend your whole race standing up.

In this video I go over the 3 fundamental differences between seated and standing pedaling and how you can use this knowledge to get yourself into a better position to create a powerful, efficient pedal stroke. I also touch on how this knowledge can help you shape your training program to more effectively address your weak link. Apply these tips next time you are out on the bike and see how much of a difference improving your posture on the bike can make.