Got a week in Whistler coming up so was wondering if there are any simple exercises to help build up stamina for the extended runs?
I think my leg strength is OK so looking to improve upper body/arm strength to enable me to put up with the long descents..

Are there any simple exercises I can do?

practise bragging?

that’s all I’ve got, sorry.

bleed your brakes with your pads spaced correctly, wind the levers in a bit too, the less stretched your hands are the less arm pump you get.

Otherwise plenty of squatjogs bro.

coming up? how long have you got.

HIIT or tabata would be my goto quick fix

Deadlift. End of

Deadlift. End of

This

You know that muscle that stops you shitting yourself

Deadlifts, squats and shoulder presses for strength.

Farmer’s walk and deadhangs for arm pump.

If you don’t have access to a gym some people find those gyro balls good for building up resistance to arm pump which would be my biggest concern at this stage!

As a Whistler regular (10th year in a row this year) the best advice I can give for surviving the long descents is make sure your brakes and suspension are working well. This will save you all sorts of aches and pains.

Set your brakes up so the levers are as close to the bars as possible, without touching when pulled hard, and moved in-board so you can use one-finger braking.

In terms of exercises: I actually found running to be a great help, especially given that you will rarely be seated when on the bike.

Edit re: deadlifts: If you don’t lift weights regularly, don’t start now unless you have professional guidance as you could do yourself an injury.

Similarly with running: Don’t do too much too soon, if not used to it.

How much time do you have?

Stamina – obviously thats reps over a time similar to the length of the runs you want to do. 3 to 5 mins of fairly intense effort then ?

Squats (without weights) helped me get better at maintaining the stood-up position required for DH-heavy bike hols.

Biggest challenge on recent trip was blistered hands. Maybe have another bike holiday a week or two before the Whistler trip to get those hands ready-calloused.

😉

I’ve got 6 weeks… 🙂

Oh, and don’t grip too hard: Your fingers should be able to move on the bars. Staying relaxed will do more to prolong your days then any exercise IMO.

Edit: You must just be going as I come back.

Slooooow pressups, it’s the thing you can do without kit that’s most like the pressure on your arms IMO.

How’s your grip?

Most importantly, for conditioning: Lots of sets/reps of variations on pull-ups, press-ups, bodyweight, squats and running.

Plus: Farmer’s walk, zercher carries, bearhug carries, Deadlifts, weighted squats, presses.

Stretching/yoga.

Squats, bench press, shoulder press, bent over barbell rows, deadlifts, farmers walks.

I’ve only had arm pump since I stopped lifting. I’m going to start lifting again!

Thanks for all the tips guys, I’ll need to google some of those terms 😕

I’ve found my old mans old chest expander (the one with the springs in) so going to start using that to build up arm/shoulder/chest strength and try to do some light jogging (years of goalkeeping has ruined my knees a bit though).

Can’t comment on the fittnes side, but braking is the most fatiging thing for me, practice looking far ahead and not drag-braking.

TBH when it comes to the bike park, the ‘flow’ trails at least are pretty easy on the body (everythign is relative) as they’re very wide, very smooth and very open (as in you can see a long way) – they’re also not as steep as like-for-like graded trails in the Alps. So it’s easy to cruise between corners, not getting battered by rough surfaces and bloody braking bumps.

When I saw people crash is was because they were tired out.

I’ll just leave this here for inspiration –
http://www.pinkbike.com/news/henry-kerr-dominates-whistler-bike-mountain-bike-park.html

Do a few weeks of intensive cardio, arm pump isn’t a strength thing so much as it’s your muscles cutting off your blood supply and restricting the amount of O2 getting to your cells. On the day – do 15 minutes of cardio before you hit your first downhill and drink plenty of water.

lol, blue trails smooth? They were the worst when I was there. Had every bugger skidding down them.
Double blacks are the least holed out for sure.

I did **** all prep for my summer in Whistler on an old bullit with ancient boxxers and I was ok apart from a bit of arm pump, but my cardio was already ok before I went. On a modern bike set up well I don’t think you’ll run into many issues. I did have to start taking advil toward the end of the season though, seemed to help my knuckles haha.

Have fun, it’s the best place in the world. I’d say the most important prep you can do is getting ready for serious bike blues when you get home. It’s a bit crap over here in comparison!

Deadlift and those rope things that are attached to the ceiling and you do the t , y , w thing . Braking bumps are what screws you up so avoid those blue trails and get your brakes set up so the lever is as close to the bars as possible . Have fun!