Why chile?….7 photos

By: Pedal Chile

Atacama Desert in northern Chile

Chile is home to one of the most pronounced climate gradients on planet Earth. Chile is a mecca of biodiversity and unsurpassed beauty. Let’s see some photos!

the atacama desert

The driest desert in the world. The water here is measured in mm per decade, not per year. The Atacama Desert even receives less precipitation than the polar deserts. This desert spans 600 miles, making it about 100 miles longer than the entire state of Florida. Fun Fact: The oldest mummy in the world has been found here, predating the Egyptian mummies by thousands of years.

Valley of the Moon in the atacama desert

This area and other parts of the Atacama Desert have soil samples that resemble those taken from Mars. NASA uses this area to test equipment before blasting off to the red planet.

Torres del Paine National Park

Chile’s largest national park and contains the famous Towers of Paine and Grey’s Glacier. This was declared a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 1978.

Volcano Villarrica

Chile has approximately 500 active volcanoes and Volcano Villarrica is the most active of them all. Day hiking or mountain biking this route is truly one epic experience. The trail passes through a temperate rain forest, fresh lava flows, and barren ash fields.

Easter island

In 1995 this tiny island was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site. Chile annexed this 64 square mile island in 1888.

The king penguin in Inútil Bay

In 2011, Chile created Parque Pingüino Rey ( Penguin King Park) in Inútil Bay, to protect the only colony of penguins in all of Latin America. This is also one of the only colonies outside of Antarctica.

THE largest ground telescope in the world

The ALMA (the Spanish word for soul) Telescope is located in the northern Chilean desert and sits at 16,500 feet above sea level. You don’t need to use the 1.3 billion dollar telescope to get out of this world star gazing views though (as you can see from the photo below).

best exercises for mountain biking

adding strength to strength ??

Out-exercising a bad diet and adding strength to an already over-developed muscle were the two biggest obstacles I faced back in my personal training days. Most of what I read preaches about the importance of squats and lunges for mountain bikers and cyclists.

Adding strength to an area of strength is the cornerstone for developing overuse and repetitive injuries. Spending hours in the saddle hunched over, while pedaling can lead to all sorts of muscular imbalances. Addressing these imbalances is significantly more important for your bike performance and health than simply adding in a couple of squats or lung variations.

So how do I correct/reverse hours of sitting in the saddle?

Corrective exercises and cross training are your two best options:

1. Corrective exercises: Movement or exercise designed to fix a dysfunction.

2. Cross training: Athletic training in sports other than the usual sport or activity.

Main imbalances caused from mountain biking

The causes of overuse injuries from mountain biking are similar to those from running, muscle imbalances and inflexibility.

Overactive muscles

• Calves

• Quads

• Hip flexors

• Chest

• Traps

• Neck flexors - from forward lean

Underactive muscles

• Abs

• Butt

• Mid-back

• Rotator cuff muscles

• Neck extension muscles

The days of stretching tight muscles and strengthening weak muscles are over. Overactive/underactive muscles are reflections of muscle imbalances. Overactive muscles are not necessarily strong and tight. Underactive muscles don’t mean weak and lengthened. Just stretching a “tight” muscle for 30 seconds is not a solution.

pain is a signal

I had a four-year period where I averaged over 230 plus miles of riding per week, and the only thing that kept me healthy enough to ride was a daily dose of corrective exercises. The cascade of imbalances that get set into motion from prolonged time in the saddle can be dramatic.

Pain is a signal, and like all signals, the pain is trying to relay a message to you. Often times the location of the pain is not the source of the pain. The human body is one big intertwined network of the fascia.

The exercises for MTBers:

All the exercises below are from Pete Egoscue’s book: “Pain Free ”. Pete Egoscue combines chiropractic, Feldenkrais, physiotherapy, pilates and other techniques into one modality. His book is easy to understand and the simplicity of the exercises are easy to implement and can be done at home while watching TV.

These are the best corrective exercises for mountain bikers. You can YouTube these exercises for a demo. The Internet is already filled with perfectly good videos, so I’m not going to add any more to the World Wide Web.

• Cats and dogs – 10 to start

• Floor twist 1 min each side

• Groin Stretch – 5 min per side

• Static extension – 1 min

• Floor sit – 2 min

• Foam-roll the quads and calves

These exercises should be done daily or at least every other day. This takes under 10 minutes and can be completed during an episode of your favorite show.

Cross training options

Example of cross-training….Volleyball

Ideally, this other sport or activity should be as close to the opposite of riding a bike as possible. Mountain biking doesn’t require legs to be fully extended and doesn’t use any lower-body lateral movement.

Swimming, racquet sports, basketball, volleyball, surfing and hiking are examples of good cross-training activities. Sports that address the areas of under-activation are a fun and practical way to remedy these imbalances, without having to spend much time using corrective exercises.

• Hiking: This green exercise is one of the best choices for mountain bikers in the off-season or for cross-training purposes. Hiking is comparable in total calories and level of energy. The muscle activation pattern diffs, which is exactly what you want to help re-balance and correct any muscle imbalances you created from mountain biking. 

• Racket sports: Like mountain biking, racket sports are high-intensity interval training (HIIT) sessions. A sudden short burst of energy followed by periods of rest. The lateral movements and lunging action of reaching for balls are exactly what you need after a season of linear pedaling.

Climbing hills: exercises for improving anaerobic power

Anaerobic power or maximal power is when you go all out. Road cycling is generally around 98% aerobic. However, depending on the single-track, many MTB trails are steep enough that you’re working above your body’s aerobic capacity on the majority of climbing sections.

Exercises to improve hill climbing:

1. Sport-specific: Hill training on your MTB/road bike

   1. Find a big hill near your house and cycle up

   2. Work your way up to 3 rounds of 2 minutes each (2-3 times per week)

   3. Can also use an indoor bike by increasing the resistance

2. Gym exercise:

   1. Load the leg press with 40% of your one-rep-max and do as many reps as you can in two minutes (work your way up to 3 rounds of 2 minutes each, 2-3 times per week)

   2. Sled pushes (same set and rep scheme as above)

Balance exercises

Mountain biking requires you to constantly change body positions as your riding over rough and varied terrain. Your body positions change while pedaling over obstacles, rock gardens, roots, stumps, and while traversing rocks. 

In order to improve climbing, descending, and cornering you will need to optimize your balance, as your posture is constantly adapting to the diverse terrain. Especially during downhill sections, where strong shocks and rapid changes of direction pushes your balancing skills to their boundaries. 

Power is a function of balance. As we age our strength and endurance are relativity stable for years, but our muscular power (force x velocity of muscular shortening) declines rapidly, starting in our 30s.

Best exercises to improve muscular power & balance

High-velocity resistance training as opposed to traditional strength training is needed to increase your power output and improve your dynamic balance.

Studies show that 12 weeks of explosive heavy resistance training is highly effective to improving power and dynamic balance:

Leg press:

• 3 sets of 8 at 70% of 1RM (one-rep-max)

  • Up-phase as fast as possible

  • Controlled lower (one-second down)

  • Pause for one-sec at the bottom

Push-up:

• 3 sets of 8

  • Up-phase as fast as possible

  • Controlled lower

  • Pause for one-sec at the bottom

You don’t even need a gym membership. Home exercises that emphases explosive power are even better than leg presses done at the gym:

• Weighted-vest stair climbing/running

  • 3 sets of 4 flights of stairs 3 times per week

  • No weighted-vest for first week. Each subsequent week you should add weight to your vest (the principle of progressive overload)

power to weight ratio

Unlike in cycling where aerodynamic (aero) drag is the primary force that works against you, gravity in mountain biking is your greatest challenge. 

So what is the best way to improve your power to weight ratio? Depending on how much you weigh…slimming down could be the main focal point of your training and nutrition regiment. 

In speed camps for athletes, those that have 10% body fat or more, the main training mechanism for speed improvements come from losing body fat…..as this is the best way to improve power to weight ratio…..mountain biking is no different. 

If you incorporate the power and anaerobic training exercises from above, they will improve your muscular power and help with fat reduction. If you are 15+ pounds over-weight, then weight-loss through dietary means should be your number one priority for increasing your power to weight ratio.

Final Thought

We all enjoy riding singletrack and other trails. But nothing derails a ride like being injured. Keeping the body in prime bike condition through corrective exercises/cross-training while preventing overuse or repetitive type injuries is imperative to continued fun.

If you looking to improve your climbing, then you should focus on improving your power to weight ratio and increase your maximum power output.

Jesse is the Director of Pedal Chile and lives in La Patagonia. Jesse has a Master of Science in Health and Human Performance and a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology. Hobbies: Mountain biking, reading, researching, weight-lifting, craft beer and snowboarding.

Additional articles from Jesse at Pedal Chile:

• Muscles used in mountain biking

• Calories burned during mountain biking

• Can I use WD-40 on my chain? ……probably not

Meditation made easy: 7 simple steps

Meditation is becoming more popular and for good reason. However, what exactly is meditation and how to incorporate it into one’s life is a topic of much discussion.  The ancient practice of meditation has been around for thousands of years, yet somehow has become more complicated and mystical.  

How to meditate in 7 simple steps:

 1)   Find a comfortable place free from distractions.

2)   Sit in a comfortable position, which can include sitting in a chair.

3)   Put the cellphone on silent, except for the timer, and set to 10 minutes.

4)   Close your eyes.

5)   Do nothing.

6)   When thoughts pop into your head don’t attach any meaning to those thoughts, just let the thoughts flow by. When another thought pops into your mind let that flow by as well. Before you know it the thoughts will become less frequent and in the meantime you will be present “be here now”(so to speak).

7)   Don’t check your phone or do anything else until the timer goes off.

You will read books or hear about following your breath or repeating a word over and over. These are different mediation techniques, which you may choose to incorporate at some point.  However, if you are not yet in a routine, the simple seven steps is a great place to start.

Give this a try and let me know how it goes! Good luck.  

Why 3.2 beer is almost as strong as Guinness Draught

By: Jesse - M.S. Health and Human Performance

So-called “near-beer” or 3:2 beer has an alcohol content of 3.2 percent by weight or ABW. This ABW measurement is different than the standard alcohol by volume or ABV. A given volume of alcohol weighs less than the same volume of water and has a larger molecule.  Alcohol by weight is 80 percent of alcohol by volume, thus 3.2 beer is 4.0 ABV beer.   A 3.2 beer law came into existence after prohibition, which is why 3:2 beer uses the old ABW measurement, instead of the common ABV.

Guinness Draught has an AVB of 4.2 or 4.3 in Ireland, making it slightly stronger than the so-called 3.2 “near-beer”.  Does this make the famed Guinness Draught of Ireland a “nearer beer”?

Why you get bloated when you drink beer………you’re drinking it wrong !

By Jesse: M.S. – Health and Human Performance

Beer, like other carbonated beverages, releases carbon dioxide into the body. This means that air is being released into the body.  Drinking beer straight out of the bottle/can, or pouring beer incorrectly, are all ways to maximize the potential for bloating, because all the CO2 is going into the body. 

What is the incorrect way to pour a beer? 

Pouring the beer at a 45-degree angle with the primary goal of getting as much liquid in the glass. The result is a beer with minimal “head” in the glass and maximum CO2 in your belly.

What is the proper way to pour beer?

Start with the same 45-degree angle technique, but pour more vigorously. Once the glass is about half-full straighten out the glass, while maintaining the same vigorous flow rate.  This will release the CO2 into the atmosphere, instead of in your stomach.  Also, the “head” or foam will protect the essence of the flavor, and is where you will taste the hops and the malt flavors. 

Cheers!!

Why Water Isn’t hydrating

By: Jesse - M.S. Health and Human Performance

A 2016 study from St. Andrews University in Scotland tested 13 typical beverages to find their impact on hydration over a four-hour period. 

 The results:

1: Skim milk

2: Oral rehydration solution (such as Pedialyte)

3: Full fat milk

4: Orange juice

5: Cola

6: Diet Cola

7:Cold tea

8: Tea

9: Sports drink (Powerade was used in the study)

10: Still water

11: Sparkling water

12: Lager (3.7 ABV)

13: Coffee

So what makes a drink hydrating?  Electrolytes, sugar (but not too much), and some calories.  Just drinking plain water often is devoid of electrolytes: such as sodium, potassium, magnesium, and chloride, which in turn dilutes the sodium-potassium pump. 

Does this mean that orange juice and diet Cola are healthier than plain water? The short answer is no.  However, when looking to maximally hydrate oneself during activity (such as bike riding), there are many better beverages besides plain water, and starting with a quality oral rehydration solution is a good place.