Getting Started with Structured Training: A Guide for Gravity Riders

If you're reading this, you're likely about to embark on a structured training programme with me, or you're at least considering it. Before we dive in together, I want to take a moment to explain how structured training works alongside your regular riding, and more importantly, how to get the most out of both without one compromising the other.

Understanding the Programme Structure

My training programmes are built around four sessions per week. These are your structured training days—carefully planned workouts designed to develop specific physiological adaptations that will make you a faster, fitter, and more resilient rider. The fourth session is optional, and here's something crucial: it should never take priority over a mountain bike ride. If you've got the opportunity to get out on your bike, take it. That's what we're training for, after all.

These four structured sessions exist separately from your regular riding. Some of you will only manage one ride per week due to work, family, or other commitments, whilst others might ride three or more times. Both scenarios are absolutely fine, but what matters is understanding how your riding influences your training, and vice versa.

You'll be working with either heart rate or power metrics during your structured sessions, depending on what you've chosen and what equipment you have available. Both are excellent tools for ensuring you're training at the right intensity. However, I'd strongly encourage you to monitor your mountain bike rides as well—whether that's with a heart rate monitor, a watch, or power metres. Why? Because understanding how hard you're actually working when you ride is one of the most valuable pieces of information you can have.

The Aerobic System: Your Engine for Everything

One of the biggest misconceptions in gravity sports is that because downhill and enduro racing involve short, intense efforts, you don't need a strong aerobic base. The reality couldn't be further from the truth.

Your aerobic system is the foundation upon which all other fitness qualities are built. It's responsible for recovery between efforts, clearing lactate during and after hard bursts, and providing the capacity to train consistently without burning out. Research has consistently shown that a well-developed aerobic base improves an athlete's ability to repeat high-intensity efforts—something absolutely critical when you're doing multiple runs in a day or racing stages back-to-back (Buchheit & Laursen, 2013).

Think of your aerobic system as the size of your engine. A bigger engine doesn't just help you go longer; it helps you recover faster, tolerate more training volume, and ultimately perform better when it matters. Many training providers in the gravity world focus heavily on strength and conditioning, and whilst strength work has its place, neglecting aerobic development is like building a race car with a lawnmower engine. You might look the part, but you won't perform when it counts.

The Hidden Problem: Riding Too Hard, Too Often

Here's where things get interesting, and it's something I see time and time again with new athletes. Most riders are completely unaware of how hard they're actually working when they go out for a "casual" ride. You might think you're just cruising the trails with mates, but in reality, you're spending significant time in an anaerobic state—heart rate spiking, breathing hard, accumulating fatigue that interferes with your structured training.

This isn't about taking the fun out of riding. It's about awareness. When you're following a structured programme, every session has a purpose. If you're meant to be doing a steady aerobic ride on Tuesday and then you go out and absolutely thrash yourself on the trails Saturday and Sunday, you're not recovering properly, and you're not adapting to the training stimulus we've carefully planned.

The solution isn't to stop riding—it's to ride smarter. Here are some practical strategies:

Monitor Your Rides: Wear your heart rate monitor or use your power metre when you're out on the trails. Glance at it occasionally. If you're consistently pushing into Zone 4 or 5 on what's supposed to be a fun ride, you're likely overdoing it.

Embrace the Easy Ride: Not every ride needs to be a sufferfest. Learn to enjoy rolling along at a conversational pace, working on skills, chatting with mates, and just being on your bike. These rides still contribute to your fitness without digging a hole you'll need to recover from.

Communicate: If you've had a particularly hard weekend of riding, let me know. We can adjust your training week accordingly. Structured training should work with your life, not against it.

Understand Fatigue: If you're feeling tired going into a structured session, that's feedback. It might mean your riding has been too intense, or you're not recovering adequately. This is valuable information that helps us make better decisions together.

Plan Your Riding Around Key Sessions: If you know you've got an important interval session on Wednesday, perhaps keep your Tuesday ride mellow. If Saturday is a big training day, maybe Sunday's ride is more about skills and flow than smashing Strava segments.

Finding the Balance

The beautiful thing about structured training is that it gives you a framework, but it's not rigid. Life happens. Amazing riding days happen. The weather finally clears up after a week of rain, and you'd be mad not to go out. I get it—I'm a rider too.

The key is being mindful. Track your rides, pay attention to how you're feeling, and be honest about your exertion levels. Over time, you'll develop a better sense of when you're pushing too hard and when you've got the capacity to absorb more work.

Remember, the structured sessions are there to make you better at the thing you love—riding your bike. They're not a replacement for riding; they're a supplement to it. When done properly, you'll find yourself stronger on the climbs, more composed on technical descents, and able to back up run after run without falling apart.

Let's work together to find that balance, build your engine, and ultimately make you the best rider you can be.

References: Buchheit, M., & Laursen, P. B. (2013). High-intensity interval training, solutions to the programming puzzle: Part I: cardiopulmonary emphasis. Sports Medicine, 43(5), 313-338.