Why Bikers Should Train Off the Bike

Words by Miranda Lyle

 

A What, Why, and How Guide for Tuning Your Body in Bike Season

And a special invite to experience how it all works together. 

 

Hi, friends!  I’m Miranda - 20-year strength and performance coach, 15-year mountain biker, pasta enthusiast and SHREDLY ambassador. For more about me, all things biking, strength training, exercise demos and cute pitbull spam, give me a follow, @playstrongfitness - I promise, it’s a joyful place in my corner of the internet. 🙂

 

I’m here to share a bit of my world with you and invite you to something special SHREDLY and I have planned in March. Settle in for 5-7 minutes because I’d love to share a long winded answer to a question I get asked all the time. 

 

 If you’ve ever said, “The bike is my workout,” you’re not wrong and it is absolutely true. 

 

Riding is cardiovascular. It builds endurance in the heart and lungs, challenges mental grit and for most of us, it’s therapy, community, the dirt church and joy wrapped into one dusty, good time with your best friends - who doesn’t love a good uni-brow on a Saturday?!  But y’all, here’s the honest truth:

 

The bike is incredible conditioning, it just isn’t complete preparation for the whole body.  In fact, your body needs regular tune ups and maintenance work MORE than your bike does. And if you plan to ride for years (not just this season), training off the bike becomes less about “doing more” and more about protecting what you love. It will be what keeps you riding well into your later years and enjoying the trails for as long as we can.  Let’s break it down the way we would in a skills clinic: What. Why. How.

 

TLDR : With support from the gals at SHREDLY, I’m hosting a free challenge week called, Gear Up, March 16-20 and you’re invited to the party! I am going to be coaching bite sized pieces the “What, Why and How” behind using strength and recovery training as a tool for your bike season.  Everyone who registers is getting a little something from me and SHREDLY and, we have four big prizes (trust me, they’re worth it) we’re giving away during the week itself. 

 

REGISTER FOR GEAR UP HERE!

What Does “Training Off the Bike” Actually Mean?

Biking is a full body sport that demands strength, power, athleticism, endurance and real recovery.  Not to mention this happens all while on a machine that bombs downhill and high speeds while dodging people, trees, animals and ever changing terrain conditions. Training off the bike doesn’t mean sacrificing trail days. It doesn’t mean chasing PRs, lifting heavy for ego, or being so sore you can’t pedal.  It simply means adding intentional strength, stability, and mobility work that supports how you ride and your performance on trail.  

That includes:

• Building hip and glute strength for climbing power and knee support

• Strengthening your posterior chain (entire backside) for descending control

• Improving shoulder and upper back stability for long rides and handlebar control 

• Reinforcing single-leg balance and control while bridging strength gaps 

• Maintaining mobility and soft tissue work so your body doesn’t get stiff mid-season

• Improving how your joints handle forces with every drop / turn / jump 

• Developing power and explosiveness for jumps and technical climbs
  
  

Think of it this way:

 

If skills clinics teach you how to move the bike, off-bike training helps your body move with it. Something I like to remind my riders of is if you’re unable to properly hinge on one leg off the bike, how da heck are we supposed to do it while going mach 40 down the side of a mountain side?  That’s precisely where the training side of things makes a massive difference. 

Why Isn’t Riding Enough?

This is where most riders push back and look at me sideways when I tell them not to ditch the gym with bike season.  “I ride most days a week. My bike is my workout and thats enough.”

 

Riding builds endurance, bike skill & repetition and it's a non-negotiable in the season,  but it’s mostly forward motion, mostly seated, mostly repetitive and can break the body / joints down over time.  Remember, you maintenance your bike several times in season right…

 

Over time, that repetition can create:

• Tight and angry hips 

• Overworked quads and the tendons above & below the knee

• Tired glutes

• Shoulder fatigue and poor stability 

• Low back stiffness

• Mid-season plateaus – this almost always happens in July.
  
  

And for women 30+, there’s another layer.

 

We naturally begin to lose muscle mass and overall power unless we actively train to maintain it.  This decrease is between 3-8% per decade and speeds up as we continue to age. YIKES!!  Strength training becomes less about aesthetics and more about joint support, bone density, muscle mass and long-term resilience. Not to mention, we want our passions and hobbies to feel good, not like they’re beating us up more. 

 

Without strength work, I see many riders experience the same pattern:

 

Early season: excited and strong feeling awesome
Mid-season: sore, stiff, managing little aches and pains, burnout - most injury happens here.
Late season: fading, compensating, or cutting rides short

 

And, it’s not because you aren’t fit or a bad biker, it’s because your body needs more than cyclical repetition, it needs reinforcement. Strength training doesn’t replace riding.

It protects and supports it for the long haul -  it's literally your body’s suit of armor and the best defense we have against injury breakdown.  How dope is it that we are able to build that?!  So cool.  

How Do You Add It Without Burning Out?

This is the most important part. If adding strength feels overwhelming, it won’t stick. If your workouts leave you too tired to pedal, they’re not matching your season properly. If you’re constantly exhausted from it all, you’re probably not recovering well enough. The goal isn’t to double your training load, it’s to support your riding in a smart, sustainable way that uses strategy as another tool in your kit.  Let me explain…

 

1. Keep It Simple -  Two to three short sessions per week is enough for most riders You don’t need complicated programming. Focus on foundation:

• Strength 

• Power

• Athletic Development

• Recovery
  
  

Simple. Effective. Efficient. My signature SEE method to training. 

 

2. Train for Support, Not Exhaustion - If your off-bike workout leaves you too sore to ride, it’s too much.

Strength training for riders should:

 

• Improve performance in sport

• Support recovery

• Reduce aches and minor pains

• Not compete with your trail days
  
  

3. Stay Consistent Year-Round - Instead of short bursts of “getting serious,” aim for steady support through:

• Pre-season general sport preparation

• In-season ride it out maintenance

• Late-season extended durability
  
  

Your body thrives on consistency, not extremes.

 

4. Think Long Game - You don’t train only to crush next weekend's ride.

You train so you can:

• Not turn down group rides from being tired

• Feel stable and able on descents – even the scary ones

• Feel more confident in your trail skills and maneuvers 

• Ride without constant hip or knee chatter

• Still love this sport 10, 20, 30 years from now
  
  

Longevity is built quietly.

The Bigger Picture

Most of us ride because it fills our joy cup. It’s our happy place and where we feel most alive.  But the truth is the stronger your body is off the bike, the more freedom you have on it. Off Trail training isn’t about turning you into an athlete chasing podiums - though I do have a program for that -  it’s about helping you:

 

Ride as much as you dang well please.
Feel good doing it.
Recover well enough to do it again next ride.

 

And that’s a HUGE win.

 

Want Support Putting This Into Practice?

This is exactly why I created Off Trail - a strength and conditioning program designed specifically for mountain bikers who want their bodies to keep up with their riding. I noticed a gap in the biking world and what was offered to help us recreational riders stay fresh and well tuned.  There were plenty of skills clinics, bike maintenance workshops, yoga classes, and training programs -most of which were built for high-level pro riders and racers. So, I combined my love of riding with my background and expertise in strength and performance coaching, rehabilitative exercise, and years in the professional fitness industry to create what felt missing.

 

Off Trail supports riders through pre-season prep, in-season maintenance and durability, and off-season building so you don’t enter spring underprepared, hit that mid-season wall and wear down and can build yourself up over non-riding months.  I designed it specifically to meet the demands of biking for real riders like us! For those who partake in euros, the fun races, love long cross country,  the weekend warriors, the community lovers, the women who ride because it’s their fun escape but don’t want to feel wrecked doing it.  There is an option for everyone to best suit their riding needs and goals. 

 

If you’re wanting to check out the full run down on Off Trail,  you can learn every detail and snag some resources on my website. 

Gear Up Challenge (March 16-20)

To make this even more accessible SHREDLY and I are teaming up for a week-long Bike Fit & Fun Challenge happening March 16-20. This week is all about learning tips and tricks on how the right kind of training is a huge dial mover on your bike with that SHREDLY magic sprinkled on top!  I’m serving up bite sized portions of the exact strategy and exercises I use in my coaching programs so you can apply them to your season. Along with SHREDLY, I’m also a firm believer in cultivating community through biking to bring like minded people together for a bigger cause.  Women coming together who have the same goals is a power that cannot - and should not - be tamed so let’s celebrate that! 

 

What’s Included In Gear Up:

• The Big 5 : hips & knees, trunk & shoulder stability, muscular endurance, sport dynamics and recovery & mobility.  Each day we will focus on one aspect of bike training with a coaching video and downloadable 15 minute workout.
  
  

• Two live workshops with me, your coach.  We are taking a deeper dive into how to plan your rides and workouts strategically and doing a full recovery class!  Links to these will be provided via email.  REGISTER HERE!
  
  

• Minimal equipment needed: mini resistance bands, foam roller & a set of weights
  
  

• SHREDLY swag and prize giveaways. Participate in one of the two live workshops to be entered for the bigger prizes - two $100 SHREDLY gift cards, a 1 hour fitness assessment with me, and a free season pass to my Group Ride program and yes, everyone who shows up gets a little something from us both :)
  
  

• Posts and story engagement on socials because bikes make IG a better place.
  
  

This week is designed to meet you where you’re at, be supportive, and a fun way to bring us together in a space we all love whether you’re brand new to strength training and biking, just need a reset or looking to step up your game this season - I have something to fit everyone! 

 

If you’ve been curious about training off the bike but weren’t sure where to start, this is a low barrier / low commitment great place to kick it off. 

 

Use this link to join in on the fun. We’d love to have you and show you how adventuring in style can be taken to a whole new level!