In-Season Gains: What to Do When You Hit a Plateau

Alex Ackerley
Jun 28
3 min read

If you nailed your preseason training, you probably feel it—you’re stronger, faster, and more confident on the bike. Your uphill power has improved, your downhill skills are sharper, and you’ve been out putting in the miles, enjoying your progress.

But now… the gains have stalled. Your rides feel harder, your speed flatlines, and the plateau is real.

Sound familiar?

This is one of the most common challenges I see mountain bikers face during the season. So what can you do to keep moving forward without burning out or losing motivation?

Why Plateaus Happen In-Season

Plateaus happen because your body adapts. When you do the same volume and intensity for weeks, the stimulus becomes routine. Plus, riding a lot during the season often means your energy is spread across skills practice, endurance, and recovery—leaving less room for raw fitness improvements.

It’s normal. It’s expected.

But it doesn’t mean progress has to stop.

How to Break Through and Keep Getting Faster

Here are some smart strategies to push past your plateau and keep improving:

1. Add Targeted Strength Maintenance and Power Work

Your preseason likely built a great strength and power base. In-season, your goal shifts to maintaining and refining that strength rather than building it from scratch. Keep up your strength work, but:

Focus on lower volume, higher quality sessions
Include explosive movements like box jumps, kettlebell swings, or short sprints to keep power sharp
Prioritize hip and core stability to support your skills and power transfer on the bike

2. Incorporate Structured Interval Sessions

Instead of just riding lots of easy or moderate-paced miles, include a few key interval workouts per week to challenge your aerobic and anaerobic systems:

Short, punchy efforts (e.g., 30 seconds to 2 minutes) to improve your VO2 max and anaerobic capacity
Longer threshold intervals (e.g., 5–15 minutes at a hard but sustainable effort) to boost endurance
Recovery between intervals is key—quality over quantity

3. Use Skills-Focused Sessions as Active Recovery

Don’t underestimate the power of skill work. Skills drills are not only mentally engaging but also a great way to recover physically while improving bike handling, efficiency, and confidence—key ingredients for speed.

4. Prioritize Recovery and Sleep

As your training load and ride frequency increase, recovery becomes even more important. Use tools like sleep tracking and daily readiness scores (from your wearable) to monitor how well you’re recovering. Don’t be afraid to adjust volume or intensity if your body is telling you it needs a break.

5. Mix Up Your Terrain and Riding Styles

Challenging your body in different ways helps prevent adaptation plateaus:

Ride technical trails to boost neuromuscular coordination
Add longer endurance rides to build aerobic base
Include short, steep climbs or sprints for power

6. Set New Micro-Goals

Sometimes the mental plateau is as tough as the physical one. Set small, achievable goals like improving your cornering, mastering a specific trail section, or increasing your sprint power. These wins build momentum and keep motivation high.