There are not many people who can say the lowest point of their career was a silver medal at the Olympics. Or make history in their sport by being the youngest ever World Champion. Mountain biking legend, Nino Schurter can lay claim to both.

Constantly striving to be stronger and faster, he drives himself very hard, which is evident if you watch his #huntforglory training videotorials on YouTube, which lift the lid on his gruelling gym workouts, designed to hone the qualities needed for mountain bike racing: power, strength, balance and co-ordination. However, he also has lots of fun doing it, bringing a playful aspect into his workouts.

TRAINING DAYS
Devised by Schurter and his coach, Nicolas Siegenthaler, his programme replicates a mountain bike race scenario. “Races have got shorter and more technical, so you need more power and co-ordination,” he says. “Mountain biking is not just about endurance: you get a steep uphill, followed by a technical descent, which you have to do as smoothly as possible, so you get some recovery.”

An intense 30 minute session with nine exercises - three for the arms, three for the legs and three for the core – the circuit involves exercises like holding a medicine ball between the feet and, with straight legs at 90 degrees, moving them from side to side, or using pulleys to drag himself up a steeply angled bench.

To develop co-ordination, many of the exercises involve doing two different things at once, such as having the arms on a balance board, while the feet are sliding on weights. “You have to keep challenging the body,” says Schurter. “If you start to handle something you have to make it more difficult.”

However, it’s the 20-second mountain bike-style recovery periods between intervals which are most novel: he kneels or stands on a balance ball, holding a weight, or stands on a balance board while juggling or hula hooping. Schurter says this is how it feels to go downhill through a rock garden, or a section of trail with lots of tree roots. “You’re sore, but you still have to be co-ordinative,” he says.

It all looks insanely difficult, but in his second videotorial, released on 21 March, Schurter makes it all more accessible, by breaking down the exercises, giving easier alternatives and explaining the benefits. Using equipment which all facilities have to hand, this is a great circuit for one-on-one, or small group training, especially for those gyms or trainers leaning towards the trend in sports performance training (see issue 116, page 44).

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS
Schurter has even suggested that we should all bring some of these aspects into our everyday lives: sitting on balance balls to work or, better still, standing on a balance board. For someone who has grown up in a very active family and then joined the sports world, he finds the sedentary nature of so many people somewhat baffling. What he stresses is the need for a fun approach: fun is still what drives him.
About 20 per cent of his training is gym-based, with 50 per cent on his mountain bike, 10 per cent on his road bike and the remainder a mix of running, or Nordic skiing in winter. He says he loves being outdoors and this training is a continuation of what he has been enjoying doing his whole life.

“I grew up in a very remote Swiss mountain village - only 50 people lived there – so we spent a lot of time out in nature, skiing, snowboarding and mountain biking,” he says. “My whole family got into mountain biking and we used to go on mountain biking holidays. My brother and 65-year-old dad still compete, although my mum prefers to hike in the mountains now and doesn’t ride so much these days.”

RIO BOUND
Now, with a few months to go until the Rio Olympics, Schurter has his sights set on gold. It was a nail bitingly tight finish at the London Olympics. Schurter had led the majority of the race, but in an epic battle in the closing stages, Jaroslav Kulhavy got past him a few metres before the finishing line to take gold.

“To start with I was really disappointed with silver,” he says. “But after a few days I became really happy: I’d given my best and it is a big achievement.”

Schurter says he tends not to get too nervous before races, because he trains so hard he always feels prepared, but he does admit the Olympics are a bit different to other races when it comes to pressure.

“The chance only comes every four years and you don’t know if it will come again. You can’t control everything, so you need some luck as well,” he says