15 Ways to Build Endurance for Mountain Biking

Endurance on a mountain bike comes from a few habits done consistently: one long steady ride a week, one interval or hill session, a couple of strength days, and real rest. Add distance slowly, about 10% a week, so your body adapts.

The tips below cover that plus the fuel, hydration and mental side, so you can keep climbing when your legs start to burn.

 

15 Tips on How to Build Endurance for Mountain Biking

Ok, so here are 15 tips that help me level up my endurance and stamina. It will also help you build your endurance and stamina.

 

1. Start Slow and Build Up Gradually

Many mountain bike riders make a common mistake: They try to ride a bike too hard or too fast, which makes them feel tired too quickly or make them breathe too fast.

And it’s reasonable; imagine if you run 100 meters like a sprinter, and another guy does jogging for 100 meters; who will get more tired? Of course, the sprinter, right?.

These same fundamentals apply in mountain biking, too, so don’t try to ride a bike too fast or too hard; go slow, enjoy the ride, and see the beautiful scenery.

So the number one tip is, don’t ride your bike too fast. Instead, go slowly and start covering small distances, and gradually increase distances by 10-15% over time, such as every week.

For example, if you ride 5 miles this Sunday, ride about 5.5 miles next Sunday and 6 miles the Sunday after.

It is just an example of how you have to increase your distance. In your case, it can be 3 miles, 6 miles, or 10 miles, depending on your time and dedication.

Also read: 4 Week training program for mtb riders to build stamina & skills

 

2. Mix in Interval Training

Once you develop some endurance and get comfortable with basic speed, then move to the next level and start doing Interval training.

First, you have to find a short hill and then try to push yourself hard to reach the top. And then come back down and take some rest.

After recovering, repeat this again. A simple starting workout is 4 repeats of 2 minutes hard with an easy spin back down in between, once a week, after a 10 minute warm up (see our warm-up exercises). It’s similar to what we do in the gym.

Do as much as possible. The more you do, the more benefits you will get. But always give your body some time to recover.

This Interval training will help you in multiple ways. First, it will improve your bike climbing skills. Second, it will increase your endurance. And third, it will improve your recovery time.

Also read: Important mtb skills for beginners and Intermediate riders

 

3. Incorporate Long, Steady Rides

Interval training is good, but don’t stop doing long-distance rides. Consider interval training, just an exercise that you’ll do to increase endurance.

Besides this, you can go on a long ride at least once or twice a week at moderate speed, as you will not pedal as hard as you would while climbing but also not too slow, as it’s part of training.

This mountain biking exercise will not only build your endurance but also develop your mental toughness.

There are many trails in the USA, so you can choose one with moderate terrain and try to ride for at least one hour without a break.

This simple approach will build a strong aerobic base, which is really important for longer rides.

Train for the length of what you want to ride. If your goal is a three hour ride or a long race, build your long ride up toward that time instead of only doing short hard sessions. On days you cannot get to a trail, a road bike or an indoor trainer builds the same aerobic fitness, but keep riding your mountain bike on trails too, because skill and fitness both decide how far you can go.

 

4. Optimize Your Cadence

Pedaling with the wrong techniques will also consume a lot of energy and make you tired too quickly. So, don’t smash too hard.

Follow the right techniques to keep the same momentum going: You should keep the cadence rate around 70-90 RPMs. When you stick to a higher cadence at lower gear, you can cover longer rides.

 

5. Strength Train Off the Bike

Besides spending time on the bike, you should also focus on exercises to build stamina and endurance faster.

To build your leg strength, you can do some common exercises like squats, lunges, and deadlifts to improve your power on climbs.

Besides this, core exercises are important, too. You can do planks and Russian twists to get better control of technical sections.

If you go to the gym, then you can have two strength sessions a week, and that is enough for most riders.

Related: Strength training exercises for Mountain biking (every biker “MUST” do)

 

6. Prioritize Recovery Days

Many beginners make these mistakes when they want to improve stamina and endurance.

They do equal or progressive exercise every day while thinking it will help them to build endurance. Well, this is a wrong idea.

If you do that, too, then you will start feeling sore and tired, and you will probably get injured.

You have to take at least 1 or 2 rest days to make sure your body recovers properly. Those days, you could also do simple stretching or foam rolling.

Also read: Basic Etiquettes for mountain bikers you need to know

 

7. Stay Hydrated

If you don’t want to feel completely drained, keep yourself hydrated. Whenever you are going on trails, especially if it is a longer one, then keep a water bottle with you.

Dehydration will consume your energy fast. But it also depends on weather conditions.

During summer, I keep taking a small sip for 15-20 minutes to keep myself hydrated. So, depending on the weather conditions, you should also keep taking small sips.

If you keep yourself hydrated, you can cover long distances without even feeling completely wiped.

Also read: Things you a mountain biker shouldn’t forget when leaving home

 

8. Fuel Up Properly

Just like hydration, fueling your stomach is also important. Before leaving your home, make sure to eat something at least 1 or 2 hours before. On rides longer than about 90 minutes, many riders aim for roughly 30 to 60 grams of carbs per hour, which is about one banana plus a small energy bar.

Besides this, when you are covering long distances or you are going on a big trail like in California, make sure you carry some bananas, peanut butter, or a small energy bar, which you can take during the bike riding.

You can even take a sandwich if you plan to ride for the whole day or maybe 5 to 6 hours. It totally depends on you. In simple words, you shouldn’t just keep your stomach empty and not too full.

Most of the time, I eat at home, but if I have to carry something with me, I would carry peanut butter with bread or banana because I think they are a better option.

 

9. Practice Mental Toughness

Besides building your physical strength for mountain biking, you should also focus on building mental strength.

To build mental strength, you can do simple training. Suppose you want to ride 12 miles in total. Break it into chunks and only think about the next one, such as the next climb or the next trail junction.

Take a short break after each chunk, for example after 4 miles, after 8 miles and then at the finish.

That way the ride feels like three short rides instead of one long one.

Once that feels easy, add an extra mile or two at the end to build more mental and physical strength.

Also read: Core strength training for mtb riders 

 

10. Find a Riding Buddy or Group

If you ride alone, then try to find a riding buddy. It might change too many things. For example, they will push you and motivate you. Plus, you will have a lot more fun, so you will not feel tired quickly.

Besides this, when you join a group, they will keep you accountable.

Plus, they will expose you to new trails and riding styles, which will help you improve your skills and will improve your overall experience.

Check: How to find mountain bike trails near you

 

11. Use a Heart Rate Monitor

Some people think heart rate monitors are for ultra-serious mountain bike riders.

Well, it is true they use heart rate monitors, but it is also good for you, even when you are just a normal biker.

When you keep tracking your heart rate, it helps you see how hard you are actually working.

For endurance rides, you can try to stay in the aerobic zone, around 60 to 70% of max heart rate. For a 35 year old rider, a rough max of 185 puts that zone at about 111 to 130 beats per minute. Formulas like 220 minus your age are only estimates, so treat the numbers as a starting point.

When your heart rate is higher, that means you will burn out too quickly; if it’s slow, you’ll cover more distance. Here are some important gears mountain bikers need.

 

12. Incorporate Hill Repeats

Uphill riding is energy-consuming, and most people don’t enjoy it, including myself.

However, it’s one of the best exercises for building stamina for mountain biking.

You have to find an uphill or a flyover where you have to climb a little bit. Then, Go up and come down, and keep repeating this process.

This is a very simple workout that will help you build leg strength and endurance. You can repeat this 5 to 6 times.

 

13. Embrace the Pain

Exercise is very important to build endurance, but it is also important to develop the ability to bear pain.

Many times, you will fall down, especially when you try to become a pro rider; you will get injured, feel tired, have muscle soreness, etc., and you have to bear it.

However, bearing pain doesn’t mean you ignore real pain, like sharp or sudden pain. I’m just talking about the muscle burn. Not bleeding or anything else.

 

14. Track Your Progress

You should keep tracking your progress to stay motivated.

For example, you can note down your ride distance, average speed, etc., so that you know at how much speed you should ride the bike or how much you ride a bike today so that on the next day, you can ride further.

Just like the gym, you have to make progress in mountain biking. You can use apps like Strava.

This app will help you track your progress and give you extra push. And it will also help you keep going on tough days.

 

15. Stay Consistent and Be Patient

No matter what field you want to improve yourself in, consistency is always the key. When building stamina or endurance for Mountain biking, many times, you’ll feel as if you’re not improving yourself.

But, still, you have to keep pushing yourself every day without neglecting rest days.

If you go with this mentality, trust me, after a few months, you will see real progress. If you want a plan to follow, our 12-week MTB training program lays out the progression. That’s why I suggested you note down the progress earlier.

So that after one month, when you will compare your 1st day’s distance, speed, etc, with your 30th day’s speed and distance, plus energy, then you will see the real difference.

 

Conclusion

You will not build endurance overnight, so keep your rides and exercises regular and give it a month or two before you expect big changes. For more on building stamina, see our cycling endurance tips.