HOW TO RIDE TECHNICAL CLIMBS ON AN E-MTB
E-mountain biking is becoming more and more popular across the mountain biking community, with E-MTBs now part of the race world, travel world, and of course, weekend adventures with your mates. But they do require a slightly different skill set and approach to almost every aspect of mountain biking. In this episode of the #EMTBMinute we look at the technique involved in ascending, teaching you how to ride technical climbs on your e-mountain bike.
7 STEPS FOR RIDING TECHNICAL CLIMBS ON AN E-MOUNTAIN BIKE
Anticipate the climb early, as you make your approach
Select appropriate mode for the climb, switching up to Trail or Boost, if required
Stay seated and pedal at a steady cadence
Change gear as required – remember, choosing the correct gear is just as important in e-mountain biking!
Sit forward in the saddle, bring your elbows in and lower your head slightly
Maintain a steady cadence over obstacles, such a roots or rocks
As you crest the brow of the hill return your body back to normal riding position
TICK, TICK, TICK, TICK…
What can you learn in a minute? Well, quite a lot as it turns out…
From setting up your e-mountain bike to mastering cornering on an E-MTB, in the #EMTBminute we take on some of the most pressing questions around your e-mountain bike life and attempt to show you the key stages in just 60 seconds!
Using decades of collective guiding, riding and mechanical experience we’ve carefully created each minute-long video to give easy-to-follow, practical tips that will instantly demystify skills and techniques. They might still take a lifetime to master but with #EMTBminute at least you’ll be off to a solid start.
GETTING ENOUGH EXERCISE
So, how much exercise should you be doing?
The Australian Physical Activity Guidelines recommend adults engage in a minimum of thirty minutes of physical activity per day, with an accumulation of 150-300 minutes of moderate intensity or 75-150 minutes of vigorous intensity physical activity per week. Examples of moderate intensity physical activity can include brisk walking, golf, dancing, bike riding, recreational swimming, Pilates, yoga or even household chores such as vacuuming, raking and gardening. Examples of vigorous intensity exercise can include heavy weightlifting, running, bike riding at a greater speed, HIIT type workouts and spin classes. They also recommend strengthening exercise twice a week along with aiming to frequently break up sedentary time, limiting it to no more than one hour at a time.
Likewise, older adults (classified as those 65 years and older) are encouraged to accumulate at least 30 minutes of moderate physical activity on most, but preferably all days. This should be a range of activities including aerobic, strength, flexibility and balance.
The recommendations differ slightly for children, who are recommended to complete at least sixty minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity per day. It is also recommended children limit sedentary time to no more than two hours a day and are also encouraged to break up their sedentary time throughout the day. The guidelines also recommend that children between 5-13 years should accumulate 9-11 hours sleep a night while 14-17 year olds should aim for 8-10 hours uninterrupted sleep per night.
BUT HOW MUCH IS TOO MUCH?
Among many in society there is a common misconception that exercise has a negative impact on immune function, leading to one increasing their susceptibility to disease. However, research has shown this is not entirely true.
It’s true that when it comes to exercise and immunity, there appears to be a “sweet spot” when it comes to duration and frequency of exercise dosage. For most of us though, we won’t come close to reaching the threshold for “too much” exercise!
Research has shown the load required to suppress immune function is one only commonly seen in elite athletes during intense training blocks where they are engaging in a high load of vigorous intensity activity for a prolonged period of time, often in conjunction with multiple competitions. However, this is commonly coupled with other stressors which researchers claim could also contribute to this immune suppression including changes in sleep patterns, reduced energy intake along with travel and psychological factors.