For many mountain bikers, training is a bit of a mystery. And a lot of us have the same kinds of questions for training.

What weaknesses should I be addressing in my fitness training? How should a typical week look? How many weeks in a row should I do this? When should I rest? Should I be training different for Enduro than for XC?

This plan is one 12-week block that addresses all of these questions, no matter what level you are at. These are the same kinds of workouts that I use with professional and beginner athletes.

The main goal of this 12-week base plan is to make your engine more efficient and prepare you for more intense and regular MTB riding and racing. With this 12-week base foundation of fitness, you can hit the ground running for regular rides and races.

First, you will test your fitness. The plan then goes on through 3 full weeks of training and finish the fourth week with a structured recovery week and a post-training fitness test. This process repeats every 4 weeks, while gradually increasing in intensity and volume.

These workouts will not crush you or break you every session; the plan is designed so that you can train consistently and regularly, without getting overly tired or burnt out. Consistency is paramount for a strong season!

This particular plan is optimized for training with heart rate. You can also use your power meter. Each and every ride can be done on the indoor trainer if the weather or timing force you indoors. Since the intensity for each ride is specified you can recreate each ride inside. If you have a smart trainer, check out the same plan with downloadable files to link directly to your smart trainer for following the workout indoors or on Zwift.

This plan also allows for FUN MOUNTAIN BIKE RIDES -- because training should be fun!

The workouts are well-suited for both XC and Enduro racers.

Ideally you would start this plan 5-6 months before your biggest goal race, though if your aerobic fitness is your limiter, you can start this at any time.