A robust and balanced body prevents injury on your enduro rides. Diverse cardiovascular workouts enhance your stamina on long, tough climbs and technical descents.

Winning an enduro race takes the skill and bravery of downhill racing, the power of top cross-country racers, and endurance matching that of a roadie. Follow this training plan to boost your riding and prepare to win!

Endurance

An enduro fitness training improves the body’s ability to endure lengthy physical activity. This exercise usually involves high-intensity workouts that raise the heart rate and breathe heavier. This exercise can include anything from long rides to indoor trainer sessions.

This training increases cardiovascular endurance, improving stamina during long climbs and technical descents. A strong base of aerobic fitness also helps prevent injuries so you can ride longer and faster.

The best way to build endurance is by riding often and at a consistent pace. Several shorter rides throughout the week are more beneficial than one long ride a few times a month. It’s important to incorporate interval training, as well. These sessions can help you replicate the intensity of enduro racing by doing short bursts of intense effort followed by recovery periods. This type of training builds your VO2 max, the maximum amount of oxygen your body can take in and process to fuel your muscles.

Strength

The top athletes in enduro racing demonstrate incredible skills and technique, powerful sprinting normally seen in the velodrome, and amazing endurance matching that of the best cross-country racers. This combination is only possible because they have trained for it, focusing on the types of workouts that develop these specific fitness attributes.

While some cyclists may be hesitant about hitting the weight room, there is no doubt that strength training can have huge benefits for riders of all levels. These include improved power output, better performance, injury prevention, increased bone density and overall health.

The following exercise is an example of a strength training workout for an enduro racer that can be done at home with a few basic pieces of equipment. Perform the workout as a superset by completing all reps of one exercise before moving on to the next with minimal rest in between. For example, start with lunges to the left, then move on to presses overhead.

Flexibility

With the enduro race season starting soon, it’s time to start working out and getting strong. This is the key to having an injury-free season, improving your riding, and enjoying every minute of singletrack.

Enduro racing has emerged as mountain biking’s newest and most exciting discipline, offering a fusion of the technical skill (and bravery) of downhill racing with the endurance of cross-country and cyclocross racing. But what is it, and how can you prepare for it?

The answer lies in endurance, strength, and flexibility training. To develop these abilities, you need to be able to perform high-intensity interval sessions that mimic the effort of racing down a stage. These can be combined into your weekly workouts and performed on a road bike or an MTB with a low incline. These workouts also help improve your ability to recover from hard efforts during a race, as they train your body to use fat stores for energy.

Mobility

A well-rounded strength and conditioning routine includes mobility work. This helps keep your body moving as efficiently as possible and reduces injury risk. Incorporating mobility MTB training is easy. It requires no special equipment but rather simple exercises that can be done in the comfort of your home with items like bands with handles or old inner tubes, a kettlebell, a weighted Home Depot bucket, or even your body weight!

The 10-week plan aims to improve your muscular endurance and cycling cadence by boosting your resistance to fatigue. It also builds your aerobic capacity by including low-intensity sessions and high-intensity efforts that boost your VO2 max power and anaerobic threshold.