If you’re like me, springtime sparks an energized state of frenetic anticipation for the upcoming riding season. I recommend that you put your ATP molecules to good use by heading to a nearby parking lot to practice drills that will allow you to optimize your 2022 soil stoke! No matter how long you’ve been riding, practicing your ready and neutral positions will prepare you to tackle downhills and features with confidence.
Ready Position
Use the mountain bike ready position (sometimes called the "attack" position) when descending technical segments of the trail. Whenever you are going down a hill, you should be up off of your saddle—never sitting. In order to get the most range of motion and lower your center of gravity, keep your pedals level and arms wide, look ahead, and be in a dropped-down ready position.
To drop into the mountain bike ready position, hinge at your ankles, knees, hips, shoulders, and elbows all at once, and move straight down. Instead of thinking about sticking your bum out, focus on keeping a very straight spine with great posture. (This may look like you're sticking your bum out, but that is not the goal.) Be sure your seat is lowered since the lower your center of mass, the more stable you will be.
In the ready position, hold yourself up with your muscles, but don't flex them—you need relaxed muscles in order to absorb bumps and variations along the trail. The ready position is exhausting. To combat muscular fatigue, you can rest in the higher neutral position (see below).
Neutral Position
You can use the neutral position to rest when you’re on smoother, flatter terrain. Being in a neutral position to relax is safer than being seated. This position primarily uses your skeletal structure to hold your body up and is much less fatiguing. The neutral position has a higher stance with your legs and arms more extended than when in the ready position.
Practice!
In an empty parking lot, practice moving between the ready and neutral positions.
Once you are ready to take it to the trail, move between the positions while descending. Conserve energy on easier segments of the trail by using the neutral position. As you approach rocks or turns, hinge down into the ready position to drop your center of mass.
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