Exercises to improve mountain biking skills

Host: Hey, good morning, my friends. We are here with Jamie Atlas of Jamie Atlas Personal Training and Rehabilitation. He's going to put me through several different exercises. He's tried explaining it to me; it didn't work very well. Jamie, I'm just going to have you walk me through it in real time. What are we doing this morning?

Jamie: Mountain biking. It's a great exercise and a great sport that's really growing in popularity in Colorado. And there are exercises we can do in the gym to make sure we spend more time on the bike and not off the bike.

Host: I like it.

Jamie: So, first up. When we think about mountain biking, a lot of people think about leg strength. But if we have great arm control, then we can really make sure we're in control of the bike, and of where we go. So what we're going to do is take these bad boys out for me. We've got a resistance band here, which you can have at home, and all I'm going to do is pull straight down. This is a great exercise for the back of the shoulders and also your lats, right here. These guys will help control your position on the bike. That's number one.

Host: Okay, perfect. That was easy.

Jamie: So good. Second is going to be a push-up. We're going to do a push-up with straight elbows.

Host: This one's interesting.

Jamie: Right? So you have the scapula, or shoulder blade, at the back here. When it's got good control, it's going to help you prevent wrist injuries, which are a big problem in mountain biking. So I'm going to keep these arms straight. Imagine dropping the chest down and then pushing it back up, and keep those elbows locked. Look at that, mate. You're a natural.

Host: I can really feel your shoulder blades squeeze together, right?

Jamie: Those muscles help control your position. And of course we do need legs. But I'm going to do squats in a slightly different way, with the band wrapped around my waist, so it has a nice pulling effect. We're using a mountain of a man for this. So all you have to do is keep the tension there, and we're going to go squats. Drop down nice and deep. Boom.

Host: I have to warn you, my pants are really tight right now. I'm really scared on camera.

Jamie: I really hope they break. It'll make great TV. Okay, quick: we just squatted. Now pulse at the bottom. So, double pulse. Because when you're mountain biking, we want to make sure we're deep and low in the saddle.

Host: This is perfect. You know, Cory's the mountain biker of us all. She should have been the one.

Jamie: Her new husband as well. These guys are great. So there you have three great exercises. Do those in the gym to make sure you have a great time on the mountain.

Host: Perfect, I love it. Once again, our friend Jamie Atlas of Jamie Atlas Personal Training and Rehabilitation, walking us through simple steps to get us into better mountain biking form. Cory, I took one for the team. This one was for you. We'll be right back.