Mountain Biking

The beauty of biking is that you can pick your own level, much like skiing. Start with flat land. Begin on even trails. Like every sport, your enjoyment is going to increase with your mastery of it, so do what the smart folks do and build mastery wisely.

Begin with an experience that's easy and enjoyable. Once you get more comfortable, you can always up the intensity just by changing the terrain. As master trainer Terry Kerrigan says, "Mountain biking becomes intense anyway because of the terrain. The road can control the amount of intensity." So start with easy roads and build up from there.

Kerrigan suggest you begin training by staying at a fixed gear and riding 30-60 minutes. Even 30 minutes three days a week is fine. Terry calls this the "adaptation" phase of training. You should spend at least three weeks in this phase. You want to get used to your knees pushing in that range of motion. If you have access to a gym, a stationary cycling machine is a perfectly acceptable substitute for a training session on the road.

Pick a gear at which you can "spin" comfortably. Look at the odometer: You'll probably find it will read about 90rpms (revolutions per minute). Another way to calculate the target intensity is by heart rate. You should be training at about 60 to 70 percent of your maximum heart rate, less if you're not in shape.

Moving on to the kind of training that will help you get in condition for more serious biking, let's look first at the kinds of skills you need for the sport. High on the list -- as with many athletic activities -- is flexibility and strength (no surprises here!). In particular, you need shoulder and neck flexibility, and strength in the lower back. You also need good postural alignment as well as tricep, forearm and hand strength.

In biking you'll be holding a fixed position for a long time, and the best way to develop that kind of strength is by doing what is known as isometric strength exercises. Here's a good example: Clasp your hands together and press them against each other as hard as you can. Nothing will move, but you'll be exerting maximum force. You're building strength in a fixed position (without movement) by pressing against an immovable force (your other hand). Another example is pushing with all your might against a wall.

A good example of an isometric exercise useful for biking is a wall squat (holding a squat position against a wall for as long as you can). Another is getting in position to do a floor push-up, but holding the start position (before you descend) for as long as you can. Or descending halfway and then holding that position for as long as you can. If you're still with me, try this one: Get in the position a swimmer would take as he was poised to dive (bent at the waist, butt out, knees bent); now hold that position. Make sure you get down low. (Hint: for all of the above, start with a count of 10; if you can work up to 60 to 90 seconds, you're in amazing shape!)

Don't neglect basic core exercises that will strengthen the abs (crunches and the like) and lower back. To strengthen the much-needed hip flexors, Terry Kerrigan likes this one: Jump up and touch your knees. Repeat for 10 reps. If you've got access to a gym with the old Cybex hip-flexor machine, use it. Or attach a cable to one foot, face away from the cable, bring your knee up (pulling the cable with you) and then extend the leg backwards. Do ten reps on each leg and then switch

Let me end as I have so many times in the past with a word about water. Water is to sports and fitness what location is to real estate: hydration, hydration, hydration. How much water you need depends partly on the heat -- in 89 to 90 degree heat with a humidity of 70 or more, you easily need 16 ounces of fluid every 20 minutes or so. Otherwise, 8 ounces every half hour should do it. If you're out of shape, remember that you lose a lot of heat and your core temperature can go through the roof if you're not hydrating properly. Because you may lose valuable electrolytes during an extended bike trip, electrolyte replacement drinks can come in handy. The best electrolyte replacement drink on the market, according to Terry Kerrigan, is Cytomax. And it tastes good too.