James Wilson's Workout of the Month - November
A lot of people wonder where I get the motivation to workout. Usually they are looking for something to make them want to workout because, let’s face it, working out isn’t always fun and easy. To help offset this most of us look for some sort of motivation to drive us. Kind of like Rocky waking up every morning to face Apollo Creed, this kind of motivation burns like a fire inside someone, driving them forward at all costs.
So people are usually pretty surprised when I tell them that I’m not motivated to workout anymore. While I’ve tasted and used motivation to help drive my training, I’ve also found that it is unsustainable over the long run.
What I rely on instead is discipline, not motivation.
To explain the difference, let me ask you a question…
Are you motivated to brush your teeth every morning? I mean, is there a fire inside you that drives you to the sink twice a day, 365 days a year, every day of your life? For the vast majority of people reading this, the answer is “no”. But they do it anyway because it is just what they do as part of their routine.
In other words, they are disciplined about it, building and maintaining a habit.
Which is exactly how I look at working out. Just like I don’t want to suffer from bad breath and rotting teeth from not being disciplined about taking care of them, I don’t want to suffer from a loss of performance and increased risk of injury from not taking care of my body.
Being disciplined and building a habit is your goal, not “finding your motivation”. Which means that there no secret other than putting in the work and being consistent.
And the perfect time to start is now with this month’s Group Coaching Workout.
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The goal of this month’s workout is to continue with the transition between the end of the riding season and the Off Season. To accomplish this we’re continuing with the Bodyweight Training theme in this month’s workout. You’ll see that the movements have progressed, the goal of which is to put your body at a mechanical disadvantage to force it to improve its core strength and ability to act as a unit.
And the best part is that you aren’t loading your joints with weight, which can add a bunch of wear and tear on top of grind they already go through riding your bike. Plus you can do it at home, making it convenient to fit into your schedule. Below you'll find the first workout in the program. You can download the entire workout, complete with video demos of the warm-up, workout and decompression flow, by clicking the link below:
Workout A
Crawling & Ground Skills Circuit
A1 - Marching Bear Crawls (2 X 5-10 reps each side)
A2 - Sit Out (2 X 5-10 reps each side)
Support & Hinging Circuit
B1 - Pike Rocks (2 X 3-10 reps)
B2 - Marching Glute Bridge (2 X 5-20 reps each side)
Pull & Squat Circuit
C1 - Scap Pull Ups (2 X 3-10 reps with 3 second hold at each position)
C2 - Lateral Lunge (2 X 5-15 reps each side)
Bodyweight Cardio Circuit #3
10 Forward Bear Crawls + 10 Seal Jacks + 10 Backward Bear Crawls + 10 Marches X 5-10 rounds
You can also sign up to get these workouts emails directly to you plus more training tips and other stuff to help your riding by clicking the link below:
If you find some of the exercises in this month’s workout to be a little tough then you can start with last month’s workout.
Balancing the time and energy demands of riding your bike with doing some strength and mobility training isn’t easy but it will pay off later. Let me know if you have any questions or suggestions for the monthly workouts.
Until next time…
Ride Strong,
James Wilson
MTB Strength Training Systems
You can find out more at www.bikejames.com where you can also sign up for the free 30 Day MTB Skills and Fitness Program to get started on the way to riding with more power, endurance and confidence today.
So people are usually pretty surprised when I tell them that I’m not motivated to workout anymore. While I’ve tasted and used motivation to help drive my training, I’ve also found that it is unsustainable over the long run.
What I rely on instead is discipline, not motivation.
To explain the difference, let me ask you a question…
Are you motivated to brush your teeth every morning? I mean, is there a fire inside you that drives you to the sink twice a day, 365 days a year, every day of your life? For the vast majority of people reading this, the answer is “no”. But they do it anyway because it is just what they do as part of their routine.
In other words, they are disciplined about it, building and maintaining a habit.
Which is exactly how I look at working out. Just like I don’t want to suffer from bad breath and rotting teeth from not being disciplined about taking care of them, I don’t want to suffer from a loss of performance and increased risk of injury from not taking care of my body.
Being disciplined and building a habit is your goal, not “finding your motivation”. Which means that there no secret other than putting in the work and being consistent.
And the perfect time to start is now with this month’s Group Coaching Workout.
The goal of this month’s workout is to continue with the transition between the end of the riding season and the Off Season. To accomplish this we’re continuing with the Bodyweight Training theme in this month’s workout. You’ll see that the movements have progressed, the goal of which is to put your body at a mechanical disadvantage to force it to improve its core strength and ability to act as a unit.
And the best part is that you aren’t loading your joints with weight, which can add a bunch of wear and tear on top of grind they already go through riding your bike. Plus you can do it at home, making it convenient to fit into your schedule. Below you'll find the first workout in the program. You can download the entire workout, complete with video demos of the warm-up, workout and decompression flow, by clicking the link below:
Workout A
Crawling & Ground Skills Circuit
A1 - Marching Bear Crawls (2 X 5-10 reps each side)
A2 - Sit Out (2 X 5-10 reps each side)
Support & Hinging Circuit
B1 - Pike Rocks (2 X 3-10 reps)
B2 - Marching Glute Bridge (2 X 5-20 reps each side)
Pull & Squat Circuit
C1 - Scap Pull Ups (2 X 3-10 reps with 3 second hold at each position)
C2 - Lateral Lunge (2 X 5-15 reps each side)
Bodyweight Cardio Circuit #3
10 Forward Bear Crawls + 10 Seal Jacks + 10 Backward Bear Crawls + 10 Marches X 5-10 rounds
You can also sign up to get these workouts emails directly to you plus more training tips and other stuff to help your riding by clicking the link below:
If you find some of the exercises in this month’s workout to be a little tough then you can start with last month’s workout.
Balancing the time and energy demands of riding your bike with doing some strength and mobility training isn’t easy but it will pay off later. Let me know if you have any questions or suggestions for the monthly workouts.
Until next time…
Ride Strong,
James Wilson
MTB Strength Training Systems
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James Wilson is the owner of MTB Strength Training Systems and has been helping riders improve their fitness and skills since 2005. As the strength and conditioning coach for World Cup Teams and 4 National Championships his unique approach has been proven at the highest levels. He has also helped thousands of riders around the world through his blog, podcast and online training programs. You can find out more at www.bikejames.com where you can also sign up for the free 30 Day MTB Skills and Fitness Program to get started on the way to riding with more power, endurance and confidence today.
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But putting your body in awkward positions like it happens on the bike, getting in touch with all the muscle groups without much added weight that will transform the way you move on and off the bike. Brace the right muscles, test exercises slowly, then explosively, with and without added weight, that’s what forges an athletic body. It takes time, insight and patience and that’s much harder to do than just adding weight to the bar or increasing reps.
Being serious - I am looking forward to trying those scap pullups and always appreciate your helpful content!
I usually prefer a full 45 - 60 minute workout. I've always heard from those I respected that of you can't get it done in that amount of time you're not doing it right.
I'm a big fan of interval training too.
Lots of recent studies saying short intense burts for 20-30 min can be as effective or even better than a 60 min workout.