Whether you’re pedaling up a long climb or flowing downhill, power and stability is driven at the hips. The hip joint and the muscles that control it act as a powerhouse that distributes energy to the pedals and also act as a shock absorber to take on the bumps, jumps, and corners. If this process isn’t happening efficiently areas less-optimized to handle heavy loads will take a beating-- not a recipe for success over a long mountain bike season. In short, the hips have to be strong AND mobile to keep you on the trail stronger, for longer. These mountain bike fitness and recovery guides will have your hips strong and ready to ride all season long.  
 

 
  The forward riding position on a mountain bike requires large ranges of motion at the hip joint to transfer force efficiently to the pedals. If this hip ROM isn’t present it’ll force compensation through the surrounding musculature will result in wasted energy, or worse, overuse injury that slows you down.

In order to efficiently transfer power from the hip to pedal, the glutes, hamstrings, and quads need to work in perfect harmony. Unfortunately, many mountain bikers tend to be “quad dominant” meaning the quadriceps and hip flexors are overworking and the posterior chain (think glutes and hamstrings) are being vastly under-utilized. This is a big reason why riders sometimes have discomfort and soreness at the knee and/or tight hip flexors. If we can improve the balance of strength by getting a bit of help from the powerful muscles on the back-side of our legs, then performance will surely be enhanced and possible discomfort can be mitigated.

The strategy is simple: Improve hip functionality by improving movement via proper hinge patterns and self-mobilization techniques. Moreover, we need to increase hip stability by strengthening the glutes and hamstrings. Use these recovery videos to keep you mobile after rides and on active rest days. Incorporate these exercises for mountain biking into your training-days and/or utilize them as your pre-trail warm-up. With the right approach, you’ll be prepare for fun season full of thrills and void of unnecessary overuse mountain biking injuries.