upper body workout?

[badfishgood]

do you think any of the mtn biking we do conditions/works-out our upper body? i.e. arms, chest, back, shoulders?

[TheFarLeft]

Mtb for sure strenghthens your abs, but I don't think it really affects your chest. I say this because my upper abs stick out farther than my chest

I think it strengthens triceps a bit, and maybe even biceps. But to look like Arnold Swarzennagger you gotta head out to the weightroom. (I hate weightrooms, but head out there every other day during vacation just to keep myself tuned a bit)

No back either... it's important to work out your back if you mtb to balance your core instead of just having superdeveloped abs and no back muscles.

[moochy]

I think it depends on how you ride, but:

I've noticed that my back and shoulder muscles get a really good workout after climbing. I think this is due to me pulling up on the handlebars a lot. I've also noticed that using the rowing machine at the gym helps my bike (for the same reason i'm guessing). I dont think there are any movements that strengthen you biceps or pecs, at least not as much as your back.

[dstepper]

Ride a single speed for a while and you won't need to ask that question.

That is why we run wide bars 28 inches and more, to get that upper body leverage!

[TheFarLeft]

Originally Posted by moochy

I think it depends on how you ride, but:

I've noticed that my back and shoulder muscles get a really good workout after climbing. *I think this is due to me pulling up on the handlebars a lot. *I've also noticed that using the rowing machine at the gym helps my bike (for the same reason i'm guessing). *I dont think there are any movements that strengthen you biceps or pecs, at least not as much as your back.

yeah moochy is right on this one.

Pulling up on the bars while standing excercises the upper body, and climbing while sitting, at least for me, works out my arms and shoulders.

Don't know about the chest though

SSing just increases the amount of time you need to spend out of the saddle, so whatever muscles you use in that position I guess are worked on even more.

[pshloss]

Here is a link I found that has a variety of basic articles on training.

http://www.acsm.org/health%2Bfitness...SPSpring04.pdf

Page 9 is an article on Ab training that I like. Especially the isometric exercises. I definitely recommend ab training for increased endurance- rides/climbs over 2 hours. I agree with the others on the chest muscles- need to lift weights for that.

This is a really comprehensive site- very technical, but complete. Check out the recipes for homemade snacks/drinks as well as the training info.

http://www.cptips.com/toc.htm#trntips

[Epic_Mtn_Biker]

weight lifting is necessary to build yourself up on top. this will help you out a lot. last thing you need is strong legs and a weak upper body.