Science-based strategies to help you get better at practicing mountain biking skills
Thanks for checking out the MTB Practice Lab. I'm Griff Wigley, creator, host, and coach, and I want to state right up front:
MTB Practice Lab is not your typical how-to-ride mountain biking publication.
It's unique?
Yes. Six reasons:
It's not about mountain bike riding skills and techniques.
It's all about helping you learn how to get better at practicing mountain biking skills.
I provide updates on the latest research from the world of neuroscience on learning how to learn sports-related skills (relevant to mountain biking).
I will tell stories about how I'm trying to apply this knowledge to my practice routine and coaching strategies.
I plan to turn what I’ve learned about how to practice into an online course or a book or maybe both.
How do I know if this is right for me?
Do you have a busy life that doesn't allow much practice time?
Do you sometimes get frustrated trying to improve your skills via how-to videos on YouTube?
Have you attended an MTB skills clinic, camp, or class but found either that 1. you didn't quite learn the skills taught by the time the event ended, or 2. the skills you thought you learned didn't seem to 'stick' as much as you'd hoped in the weeks and months following?
Have you hit a frustrating plateau or even regressed at some of the skills you’re trying to improve?
Does the prospect of learning how to get better at practicing appeal to you?
If you can relate to any of those, stick around.
Testimonials?
“Feedback and advice from a mature, skilled rider giving down-to-earth info rather than a YouTube pro or racer looking for clicks is a nice change.” — AW
“I enjoyed your podcast series a few years ago and was disappointed when that stalled so I'm stoked you've picked this project back up again. I think there is a lot of value in understanding, experimenting with, and collaborating on learning methodologies and hacks.” — MH
“I have already learned some good tips for my practice. I am hoping I will learn a lot more with this Practice Lab. I find it interesting because it’s not a topic that’s mentioned very often. So all the information so far is educational for me.” — MP
“It [post] reinforced techniques I used as a wrestler in my younger days to learn new moves. I realize I do it a lot with mountain bike skill development also, but probably not formally enough.” — JH
“Trying to understand the most efficient and effective way to learn new skills. This post has some excellent tips and resources. Will definitely be trying the 3x10 method.” — RR
“Life is busy, and we don’t always take a step back to see why we things the way we do. This is an important lesson and may help not only our bike progression skills but also other life skills as well.” — GS
No how-to riding skills tips?
Correct.
I. Won't. Be. Teaching. Mountain. Biking. Riding. Skills.
I'll tell you how I'm going about my practicing and what results I'm experiencing along the way, good, bad, or ugly.
But I won't be teaching you those skills. Instead, I'll be teaching and showing you practicing strategies and routines so you can apply them to whatever skills you're currently working on.
(If it's lessons on riding-related techniques you're looking for, you'll need to go elsewhere. My biased recommendation (I’m one of the coaches): RLC MTB Skills Coaching.
What do free subscribers get?
In-depth ongoing insights on how to get better at practicing MTB skills that you can’t get anywhere else
Two-week access to new posts emailed as soon as they’re published
Access to the MTB Sessioning Online Challenge
What do paid subscribers get?
Everything that free subscribers get, plus:
Commenting on posts
Discussion via Notes (a new Substack feature announced on April 11, 2023)
Access to all posts in the archives
Practicing strategy feedback
Do you have ads or sponsors?
MTB Practice Lab is not supported by advertising. So, I need your financial support to continue what I’ve been doing since July 1, 2022. You’ll see options for free, monthly, annual, and patron-level subscriptions by clicking the subscribe button below.
Anything else?
For background on how I got inspired to write this newsletter, see my July 1, 2022, initial post, Introduction to the MTB Practice Lab. And then see my March 15, 2023 update titled My journey of creating the MTB Practice Lab just got clearer.
Thanks much for checking in. I hope you stick around.
Griff Wigley, founder
