How Blaine crushed his first Merritt Crown 60k
Blaine started mountain biking around 5 years ago. Similar to so many of our clients, he’s a hardworking father of 3, approaching 40 years old. With such a busy lifestyle, it makes sense that just a year ago when Blaine competed in his first - a 30k Mountain bike race, it was extremely challenging just to finish. But, also like many of us, Blaine is stoked on Biking so what did he do? He signs up for 60k the following year… what a legend!
To prepare for this years race, Blaine started his base miles in the fall using Zwift at home. But something was missing. He suspected that he had underactive glutes and he knew he wasn't as strong or flexible as he had been in the past. He supected that addressing these issues could be the missing piece of the puzzle. So he decided it was time to enlist the help of a strength coach to make sure this year went better than last year. With a quick google search, he found NXFT.
After a video call, Blaine decided he was going to try the Performance Membership. We got rolling straight away with our video assessment and it turned out his gut feeling was right, underactive Glutes, tight Thoracic spine and limited shoulder mobility. Blaine could expect to get more comfortable and balanced on the bike with improved mobility, as well as more powerful on the pedals once his Glutes were firing.
We got to work, progressing through the 4 stages of the Performance Program.
Movement quality > Work Capacity > Strength/Power > Power/Speed > Race prep
Blaine was a dream to work with, knocking off the workouts and giving me great feedback as we went. We were able to really dial in his programming so there was no wasted effort.
In just three sessions per week we were able to improve Blaines mobility to get more comfortable and balanced on the bike. Increase his conditioning and work capacity, make him significantly stronger, increasing his Watts AND we were able to identify and clean up postural issues that may have caused him pain or injury down the road - no more sore back!
When race day finally came, Blaines confidence was sky high. He knew he’d put in the work necessary to complete his 60km Merritt Crown, so he was able to go out and enjoy the day riding with friends....and waiting for them at the top of the climbs :)
Blaine’s testimonial is proof that our strategized programming is a great balance between quick progression and a sustainable lifestyle:
“Not only was it a breeze completing the full 60km course, but I wasn’t even sore after the ride. I was amazed!”
“The Performance Program perfectly identified what I needed to achieve success. And it implemented those tasks seamlessly, without taking over my life”
Congratulations to you, Blaine! We can’t wait to see what you accomplish next.