20/12/2025
I get it.
I REALLY do.
I'm a mountain biker - I ride every week, 2-3 times a week.
Ask me to choose between ripping down the trails with mates or heading to the gym on my bill tod and I will ALWAYS choose the ride.
The thing is - this is such a cut and dry view that simply isn't how most mountain bikers live life.
It's not one or the other.
Here's 5 reasons I believe every mountain biker should train in the gym, or at home doing bodyweight workouts, as well as riding...
1. The time commitments are vastly different.
A gym workout, or a bodyweight workout at home, can be done in 40 minutes. No getting the bike ready first. No clean up. No driving to the trails. No cleaning the bike after. No putting the bike away. No maintenance. In. Out. Done. It slots into your life.
2. If you only ride, you'll plateau
You've probably seen this yourself. Do you PR on every ride? Are you faster down every descent? Do you knock seconds off every climb compared to last week? Probably not - your body needs a new, challenging stimulus to improve, which training provides.
3. Mountain biking is terrible for our posture
Look - mtb is AMAZING for our physical and mental health. Don't get this crossed. But, most people spend too much time hunched over in day-day life...then they go out riding and stay hunched over. We need to open our bodies up - mountain biking does the opposite.
4. MTB does work every muscle in the body...but not evenly
You work your legs more than your upper body. Your quads and glutes more than hamstrings. Your chest and shoulders a lot more than your upper back. Your triceps more than your biceps. Not only does this hold back your performance - it promotes muscle imbalances.
5. Your core won't get stronger
Get back pain on the bike? Find it hard to stay strong and fully in control on descents? Find you can't standing pedal for very long? A stronger core will really help with this - but it's near impossible to build while riding. Training your core off the bike REALLY helps.
Look - I could go on and on and on. It's my full time job to help riders like you train off the bike. The reason my business works? Because my workouts do. They give you real results you can see on the bike.
Try them out on a free trial here :
https://mtb.fitness/products/mtb-fit-the-app