Better Breathing Blog by PowerLung

Mountain Bikers: Move from Subpar to Superior

Posted by Carolyn Morse

Dec 5, 2013 7:30:00 AM

Mountain_Bikers-_Move_from_Subpar_to_SuperiorAs a mountain biker, you spend hours training and racing at high altitudes and through difficult terrain. Your journey to the top of a peak is physically and mentally demanding, but well worth it once you reach the top. The tremendous energy and endurance level you need to cycle up climbs, attempt blasts, change speeds, and race in the mountains is unparallel to many other sports. Biking through mountain terrain is challenging, and you need to train properly. Training for mountain biking goes beyond aerobic and cardio workouts. Learning how to breath right is the factor that takes you from being subpar to superior as a mountain biker.

Strength Train your Respiratory Muscles

 

Maintaining a “no-quit” endurance is possible if you improve your breath techniques.  The key to attaining endurance fitness is training all 12 sets of your respiratory muscles. This training involves expanding your lung capacity and oxygen intake so that you can take deeper breaths. Often, mountain bikers and performers are trapped in the subpar level because they do not take breath training seriously. Achieve superiority as a mountain biker by strength training your respiratory muscles that drive and support your body during exercises, riding, and racing.

Overcoming Respiratory Muscle Fatigue

Jeff Ender, a cyclist, knows firsthand the feeling of respiratory muscle fatigue:

“Lactate threshold training is inordinately taxing to an individuals’ cardio-respiratory system. This is the point where lactic acid production exceeds elimination and produces intense muscle fatigue concomitant with labored breathing.”

Labored breathing is caused by a lack of oxygen intake. As a mountain biker, you can train your respiratory system to break down glucose and lactic acid faster in order to increase both your oxygen intake and the amount of energy you produce. Just like other muscles in your body, the best way to overcome muscle fatigue is to strength train them. This makes your respiratory muscles more powerful and more efficient. Maximize your mountain biking performance by maximizing your respiratory fitness!

Optimize your Breathing Training

Now you know how important cardio, aerobic, and respiratory training is for mountain bike training, riding, and racing. Breathing training builds strong and powerfully trained respiratory muscles so you can overcome the most challenging fitness conditions. The superior performance of respiratory training devices enable you to take easier and deeper breaths for a consistent race pace.  All 12 sets of muscles in your respiratory system drive your cardio and aerobic system to its ultimate endurance and energy levels during training and racing.  As mountain bikers often say, “bagging a peak” is incredible when you get to the top less breathless and more energetic.  Reaching the peak of a mountain is like reaching the peak of your physical fitness.  Train your respiratory muscles to reach your ultimate potential and move from a subpar to superior mountain biker!

A Simple Training Solution

PowerLung training can be easily implemented into your daily workout routine before you make that next mountain climb.  In order to achieve excellence as a mountain biker, you need to make respiratory fitness a priority.  To train your respiratory muscles with PowerLung, simply:

  • Inhale and exhale through the device (a repetition)
  • Perform these repetitions 9 more times
  • Take a short break
  • Repeat these steps two more times for a total of 30 repetitions

These simple steps only take 10 minutes to complete! Committing to respiratory muscle training twice a day will optimize your endurance, support your breathing, and improve your mountain biking performance!

 

Learn How To Train My Breathing

Topics: Training, Mountain Biking