Many active women have strong thigh and buttock muscles that assist them immensely in mountain biking. However, it is the rare woman who has strong arm, shoulder, and abdomen muscles. As a result, women sometimes have difficulty with important aspects of mountain biking, like effectively controlling the bike's front end. Climbing hills that are steep, long, or contain obstacles keeps the upper- and mid-body muscles active; if the muscles are not up to the challenge, they tire quickly. Descending long or rocky hills, maneuvering through rough terrain, and carrying the bike also puts hand, arm, and shoulder muscles to the test. Advanced skills like log crossing, bunny hopping, and wheelies are virtually impossible without a strong upper body.
Some of this is physiological. On average, women have approximately 56 percent of the upper body strength of men, according to Christine Wells, author of Women, Sport, and Performance: A Physiological Perspective. Women generally have fewer and smaller muscle fibers and a higher percentage of body fat than men. Where men can muscle through a tough section of trail, women may falter.
Strength training is the obvious solution, but some women are still reluctant to do resistance exercises for fear of developing big muscles. They needn't worry. Women have the ability to make large gains in strength without building bulky muscles as men do. According to Wells, the inability of women to gain significant muscle mass, even while they make substantial strength improvements, is due to their relatively low level of testosterone. Even a woman who lifts the heaviest weights is not likely to bulk up her physique unless she is taking anabolic steroids.
So why not make the most of what nature gave you? A little strength training makes a big difference in your performance on the trail. After I started doing just 40 pushups every other day, I found I was able to bunny hop and work my way up rooty, rocky hillsides much more easily. In her book Training for Cycling, Olympic cycling champ Connie Carpenter recommends a three-times-a-week weight-training routine and active, upper-body sports like cross-country skiing, swimming, and rock climbing to improve overall strength.
Pro mountain-bike racer Michele Kearl, a certified personal trainer, strengthens her arms, wrists, shoulders, and back muscles by doing pullups, wrist curls, and bicep curls. A seated rowing machine helps further strengthen her shoulder muscles. Eco-challenge veteran Adrienne Murphy says the good old-fashioned, full-extension pullup is one of the best ways for a woman to build strong arms and shoulders.
"I hate that 'girl pushup' crap," Murphy says."If a woman has sufficient abdominal strength to keep her back flat, rather than swayed, she should be doing a full pushup, not those wimpy things that start at the knees."
Another strength exercise helpful for women mountain bikers is the abdominal crunch, or sit-up. Crunches help banish the lower back pain that women frequently suffer (and that can be aggravated by biking) by strengthening the abdominal muscles that mountain biking tends to neglect. Done regularly, they also develop the flat stomach that many women admire.
To do crunches, lie on the floor and bend both legs until your feet are flat on the floor. Put your hands behind your head and lift your head, neck, and shoulders off the floor. Don't forget to breathe; exhale up, inhale down. Try to complete 100 to 150 crunches in a session, three times a week.
A little activity to warm your muscles is smart prior to strength training, mountain biking, or any other strenuous exercise. Run in place for a few minutes, or do 50 jumping jacks to warm up. Don't do strength exercises every day. Your muscles need time to rest and rebuild after a training session. Strength training three times a week should be plenty to build the strength you need to become a stronger mountain biker.
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