Video: Aaron Gwin's Favorite Upper Body Exercises for Mountain Biking

 Waki is that really you? I was fondly reflecting on some of our exchanges just yesterday.

 @BiNARYBiKE: planning a trip to BC, looking for riding buddies. You can perform a Turing test on me.

 @calmWAKI: Welcome back!

 @calmWAKI: identity confirmed. Let’s shred.

 Years ago Gwin said his favorite was the Turkish get up.

 New Year, New WAKI. Welcome back, we've missed you.

 @nickfranko: is calling someone a shower offensive where you’re from? I looked where u live…makes sense i guess. Maybe you can call him a bag next time?

 @fartymarty: the upset of being banned actually split us into two seperate beings.

 @angryWaki: @calmWAKI I therefore need to re-phase my last comment - Welcome back, we've missed the both of you.

 @fartymarty: thank you. My offensive comments will be behind the paywall though

 @fartymarty: what he said ^^

 @calmWAKI: surely only angryWAKI can make offensive comments. calmWAKI must surely be the voice of the rational and reasoned WAKI therefore rendering anything angryWAKI says as null and void.

 @fartymarty: just for the record angryWaki is not me. @angryWaki - what did I say to Farty Marty about his Murmur this Christmas? Did I finally admit it is cool?

 @calmWAKI: angryWAKI would never buy into the Starling Fallacy - therefore would never admit a Murmur is cool. @calmWAKI on the other hand may do as he is rational and reasoned.

 @fartymarty: Just saying angryWaki is someone saying he is original Waki. It isn't. Like if angryWaki talks to DCA. I won't. Ever. angryWaki doesn't even know that I have never been banned.

 Great to have you back Waki.

 @nvranka: you were NOT on pink bike academy I take it?

 @nvranka: you don’t like seeing Danny Hart’s lanky bod?

 @Dnik: i dont know what that is lol

 @Mntneer: ok actually…somehow you managed to call out the singular racer I have a crush on lmfaoooo

 People are probably better off getting into strength and mobility when they’re younger. Being young doesn’t make you inherently athletic

 @Mntneer: Agreed. It’s going to help all along. I wish I had been more disciplined sooner. But young bodies also allow us to get away with some things that we just can’t when we get older.

 @BiNARYBiKE: I was 40 when I started hitting the gym. Never did before, just all the action sports stuff I was doing for fun. So I was in good shape, but gym stuff ended up making a huge difference. Reason I started is I got a Femoral neck compression fracture. Basically broken hip, from trail running, and didn't even know it. Ran Hood To Coast with it, just thought I had a bunch of quad damage. Quads hurt because they were protecting it. Anyway, doc said stop running and go to gym. Now I'm at gym every other day, with riding (indoor or out) on the other days. And f*ck running, that shit just beats your whole body to death, let alone the parkour style trail shit I was into. BUT, mind that back. Majority of us will have back issues second half of life. Those over the head lifts make my lumbar spine cringe. So many other ways, with machines or careful use of free weights, to get the same results without compressing those deteriorating disks and facets. Hey, unrelated question, when on average is it clear enough to hit Ashland in the spring? So when would TimeWarp be snow free? I've always ridden it end of summer, but want to maybe go May or June depending.

 @Chuckolicious: time warp doesn’t clear up until probably late may or early June honestly. But much of the mountain is rideable sooner. I’ve been snowboarding on top and had excellent rides on the bottom of the mountain this week! But if you want to ride most of the hill, I’d wait until mid May at least.

 @BiNARYBiKE: Thanks man! And I was wrong, I was 42 when I turned into a gym rat. Body's in sick shape now, mind...not so much.

 @BiNARYBiKE: I think if more people would start training earlier if they realized that performance training has such a significant impact on the bike, longevity, and resilience to aging. I started with cross country and track in high school and became fanatical about training while in the army. Looking good is an added bonus, but being able to do shit and be strong is well worth the effort and time

 @Chuckolicious: 48, and my recent diagnosis of three herniated disc in my lower back can confirm

 @ATXZJ: Only advise I can offer from my experience is, delay any consideration of surgery for absolutely as long as you can. Each time mine flares up, I get depressed and think it's the end. Then, after a couple weeks of taking it easy (but not lying down), it so far has always gone back to baseline. Motion is lotion totally holds, don't just bing watch on the couch no mater how much it hurts. Ice, heat, OTC NSAIDS. It'll come back. Then, it'll come back in the bad way sometime down the line. The way of things. I also keep a log each time, so I can refer back to it during the next bad session. Keeps my depression and paranoia in check.

When it's flaring, find something that doesn't hurt. Could be the elliptical, could be stationary trainer, there will be something you find that works. That'll keep you sane too. One stint I discovered the Stair Master. Yea, weird. I was hobbled but as soon as I started on the machine, the pain would go away and I could do an Empire State Building climb. Then like 10 minutes afterwards and sitting in the car, I was hobbled again. But it kept my cardio in awesome shape, kept my mind from the super dark place, and the bonus was: super tight butt!

 Wisdom from NYC… strong words @Chuckolicious.

 Totally. All the fun variations on planks, like the Spiderman. And none of it compresses your spine. Here's another one to consider: get two round-ended dumbbells, like 10-15 lb max. Find a platform that's like 18" high. Pushups, using the bells as wobbly hand grabs, as wide a stance as you can do (so way more than shoulder width to start) and feet up on the platform. Now do them in a rotating fashion rather than up and down. 5 one direction, 5 the other, repeat. You get the deep push from the raise of the bells and your feet above your head, you get the wobbly balance bonus. You can do these with hexagonal bells, but they are basically stable so you don't get all the balance muscle firings. Still good though.

 @Chuckolicious: great advice. Thanks. I will give them a go tomorrow morning!

 @Afterschoolsports: 3 days a week I do 100 push-ups and 100 sit-ups usually in 4 sets then do sets of pull-ups and finish it off with 3 sets of planks and what I call Superman’s for as long as I can. Started doing in April as we have a work out area at my place of employment. I’m 46 and my mobility is amazing. I feel like a ninja when I’m on a job site.

 @Rageingdh: awesome work mate! I’m glad to know it’s doing so well for you. I wish more people got into doing them. They’re so fast and have such a massive impact.

Your sets are a lot more than I do, but I ride one and a half laps of my farm every morning. I’ll do my plank work every morning for a few minutes after doing a bit of flexibility stretching. A couple of times a week, or if I don’t have time to go riding, I’ll use weights with plank variations and do 50-70 pushups.

 @Chuckolicious: thanks again. That hit the spot. I’ll add it to my regular plank workouts.

 @Afterschoolsports: Happy to help! Now if it only wasn't -5F and bullet proof ice outside...

 I see what you did there!

 @AB805: These intense workouts will make you so ripped that you will walk around shirtless carrying an M16.

 And the M16 will be intense.

 @BikesNRussets: an M16 in one hand, an Uzzi in the other. That would be Intense!

 @Twenty6ers4life: And an M1 Garand strapped to your chest that would be the most intense!

 @Twenty6ers4life: Sick! You actually ride an uzzi, sadly I can’t make any gun connections to my tracer but I have an intense barrera M9.

 It's the bit that holds the beer and pies after they've been through the mouth.

 Hmm that doesn't even make sense. Guess I have no idea what that bit is for.

 With extra spine compression.

 @Chuckolicious: Absorb with the legs...

 Not judging, but the extension of adolescence has been a continuing thing with our species for a while now. Pros and cons to it. I sometimes consider that a 30 year old in 1948 was a seasoned combat vet of the worst conflagration our species has ever seen, owned a house, had a family, and was well into their 20 year stint at a hard blue collar job. But then their life expectancy wasn't that great.

 @Chuckolicious: Why are we talking about longer lifespan? This is a World Cup downhill racer we are talking about, the life expectancy hasn’t grown with that minority.