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Balancing strength training with base bike fitness


Hi Lee,
As my deadlift (300lbs 2×5) and squat (260lbs 5×5) loads are going more and more up (at 170lbs btw), it also gets more and more tough getting both done especially with PUTB in mind, too. Are you regularly lifting once a week or more often?
Thanks in advance + all the best,
Sven

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Squats vs. deadlifts


Hi Lee,
how’s your lifting going? Hope all is well?
Whats your opinion about deadlift vs. squats? Are you squatting at all or solely focusing on deadlifts?
Thanks in advance + all the best,
Sven

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Flat pedals, shoes and bike shop?

Hi Lee,

I just read over Pump Up the Base and am fired up to get going. In particular, I had been thinking of giving flat pedals a try for a while, and this is a great excuse to do so. Do you have a type of flat pedal and flat pedal shoes you’d recommend, or are they all pretty similar?

Lastly, is there a local bike shop that you’d recommend for shoes and pedals. I find most shops are real good with bikes and parts, but there’s not a lot of expertise with shoes out there. I’ve got weird feet and need more help than most. Thanks for you your help, and thanks for the REVO referral. I’ll be giving them a call soon.

Best,

Dave Farrell

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PUTB and P2PI intensity and timing?


Lee,

I just bought both your programs, PUTB and PTPI. I’m doing the first week starting this January but with reading the information I’m a little unclear as to what effort I need to do the workout under Super D and Mixmaster. I do not have a power meter so I can not determine what the RPM is. Can you give me a little help in this?

Thanks,
Derrick

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Which type of road bike for MTB training?


Lee,

I’m getting a road bike for my birthday. Any suggestions? I hear I’ll be a stronger mountain biker for doing so.

Vasi

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How do deadlifts apply to MTB?


Over the past few weeks I’ve been posting deadlift photos and videos on social media, and people are asking:

How do deadlifts apply to mountain biking?

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Riding analysis: On Track with Curtis Keene S2E2


Lee,

Have you seen the most recent video in Curtis’ Red Bull enduro series?

Toward the beginning there is a shot of him coming out of a corner and lifting the front as he accelerates out. Braaap!

Is there a functional purpose to this?
Is he just that hard on the pedals?
Is it merely an artifact of pumping the exit of the corner?
….or is it just a “style” thing?

True

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Leaning a bicycle vs. dirt bike vs. street bike


Lee,

Say one question that you gave me the answer to when we were in Moab but I’d like to explore a bit more. We talked about how on a motorbike we tend to hang off in corners which I thought was because the motorbike is heavier than the person so trying to keep the bike more upright centralized the weight over the wheels a bit more. On a mountain bike we do the opposite. You let me know that riding a motorbike with a kind of mountain bike mentality (i.e – pushing the motorbike over and me staying more upright) would be just as workable. So I’m a bit lost on the logic (although I think you’re absolutely right because I’ve been riding my motorbike more like a mountain bike and especially at lower speeds it’s much more manageable) and would appreciate the cliff notes on the why it works. I’m so darn logical that I have to understand before I can get truly comfortable – sorry about that!

Regards.

Phil

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Recovering from hard rides


Lee

The end-of-day recovery from your four day clinic (LLB Moab Camp Oct. 22-25, 2015) is very interesting to me. As I am 54 I find this is becoming extremely important. What can I do to learn about the best recovery for me?

Chris

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Power testing: in two sessions or all at once?


Hi Lee,

First of all, I just wanted to say thanks for the Pump Up the Base programme. It is the first bike related training programme I have done (although i have extensive experience with track and field programmes, predominantly sprinting) and was blown away by the progress I made over the 12 weeks; struggling to manage the 6x3min sets at 250w in the beginning and wondering how i was going to do 10 min let along 15-20 to being able to do the 3x20min reps at a significantly higher power output marginally lower heart rate, but even better is the look on my mates faces as they realise I’ve been waiting at the top of a climb for them for a couple of minutes and that I’m already to continue on down the trail.

Now I am about to start Prepare to Pin It, but I don’t know quite how to approach the testing. The testing in the e-book appears to be broken up over 2 days (sub-max and speed endurance/ max power), however, the blog posts on your own tests appear to have it all on one day (the longer TT also appears be a FTP test rather than the sub-max in the e-book) is this correct and which one would you recommend over the other and why?

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Weight on bars when turning?


Hi Lee!

I’m practicing the LLB Remote Coaching cornering drills before every ride and the lean angles are getting bigger! At least on the paved parking lot…

Question: When leaning the bike, say into a left turn should the left hand put a bit more weight on the front wheel? Or should I try to even it out with the other hand?

I get the feeling on dirt a bit more weight on front wheel = more traction on front wheel –> is a good idea … Or not?

By the way: Love your videos!

Thanks,

Jan

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Cornering: flat feet or outside foot down (again)?


Hey Lee-
Met you at the Georgia high School mountain bike league Summit last summer with Dan Brooks and got some good riding in there. I have a serious question about cornering and the techniques that IMBA is teaching. I find that I do a combination of flat footed for easy turns and outside foot down for aggressive cornering. What is your recommendation after the recent IMBA teaching of “flat-footed” through turns.

Stefanie Gore
North Georgia Mountain Bike Club (founder and junior mtb coach)
Georgia High School Mountain Bike League coach

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