Unlike other branches of cycling Mountain biking is always supposed to be fun however for those of you that want to get faster or compete at a higher level the following are a few simple tips to improving your cycling.

The various disciplines of cycling will all require some mix of the following strength, stamina, power and skills (or should that be skillz!). All training has to be specific so don't treat this as a hard and fast set of rules.

Strength is probably the easiest to improve on. Unlike road or track cycling where for the most part you will be very static on the bike in mountain biking you will be constantly moving around, shifting your weight and forcing the bike into the desired lines to get that extra speed. The best place to improve your strength is in the gym, focus on your upper body especially your shoulders, biceps, triceps and pecs. Dont go mad on leg weights as this will increase best from bike work, the best thing for your legs in the gym is ski training exercises, try and hold yourself in the sitting position for a couple of minutes and also squat jumps, this will improve your sprinting out of the saddle where you have to keep your legs bent slightly while sprinting to absorb the bumps. Your college gym or iffly sports centre will have a list of all the best exercises, do three 1 hour sessions a week and you should begin to notice a big difference within a month.

Stamina is probably the most boring, the best way is simply to get the miles in. Find a long route of maybe 30-50miles off road which you know well and go for it. I hate to say it but this is where riding on the road helps. A lot of people swear by road riding as a part of mountain bike training... I prefer to swear at it! Road riding allows a prolonged high level of activity unlike the very start stop nature of mountain biking, routes are easy to plan and you wont come back plastered in mud so is useful during the winter months in oxford. Any mtbrs who start shaving their legs will be lynched!

Power is required more in 4X and DH disciplines, but don't forget that a fast powerful start will benefit all riders. Power is often been described as a state of mind and being focused on an all out explosion of energy is certainly half the battle. Sprint training combined with gym work will help with the other half. 3 sets of 3 short sprints of about 30seconds each with a good break between each will stress your CP (creatine phosphate) system, which is your initial anaerobic energy source. Increasing the length of the sprints to a minute and/or doing them up hill will stress your lactic system which is your prime anaerobic energy system being derived from glycogen stores in your muscle, and takes over after about 30seconds when your CP stores are exhausted. Lactic training is hard work and don't even think about doing it after eating! All sprint training should be performed on the bike you are likely to race on, theres no point in training on a feather light road bike before lugging a 40lb downhill bike off the start line.

I could write pages on the various skills required in mountain biking. I wont instead the best way to improve is just to get out and ride, if theres a section you cant clean then ride it over and over again changing the gear and body position etc until you can. Also go riding with more experienced riders, following their lines and watching how they ride sections is good way to learn, they may also be able to point out what you are doing wrong. A good general aid to improving your handling with a view to becoming faster is to use a single speed, a tad perverted maybe but you'll find yourself breaking less and carrying more speed through sections.

Don't forget to vary your training, if it starts to become a chore you won't enjoy it which is why most people start riding in the first place.

John Binham