How strong are Muni + trials riders?

I think by riding and pushing yourself so far that you ache after every
ride, you will build up the muscles needed fast enough.

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Unicycle riders: Strongest there is

--
tobbogonist

Unicycle: Gives me somewhere to sit when i walk
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Chexjc said:

...i mean he could walk on water couldn't he?
i'm no expert in the field..but i think that'd be harder to do than
unicycle

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It is probably more about power to weight ratio than pure strength.

Also a lot of skills require precision and accuracy more than strength.
Once you start getting into long and high jump or riding up steep
hills I think leg strength starts to play an important part. For other
skills like landing drops, riding skinnys and general manouevering
strength doesn't play a huge role.

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peter.bier

-Peter Bier
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kris did rock climbing before muni (i think) so he was well conditioned
in the muscle groups needed.

--
zfreak220

iridemymuni said:

i think everybody agrees when i say you lucky son of a [censored]

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I dont exersise at all and im still very fit (I think its due to the
fact that I ride 2-3 hours of trials a day). One thing is this: I hop
holding saddle with my right hand. Especialy whentucking SIF, your arm
gets a workout for pulling you uni a million and one times a day. If I
flex my right arm *flexes right arm* my muscles bulge, but if I flex my
left arm *flexes left arm* its a little string bean.

--
maximus unius

Quoted message said:

Originally Posted by *Brian MacKenzie*
Have you tried rubbing your nipples with grease before twisting them so
tightly?

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skilewis74 said:

I was wondering how strong some of the top riders in these areas are. I
know from skiing you can make up for tallent and years of experience
with shear strength to an extent. I thought if I had the strength of
say, Kris Holm, or Ryan Atkins, my unicycling ability would
accelerate.

What exersises do you think are the most important and how strong are
you at them?
eg. Sissor kicks with 10 lb./pair ankle weights, 30 reps, 5 sets.

I don't think most MUni riders are particularly strong. The top ones
are very fit, but I wouldn't describe them as muscular. Kris, for
example, has zero body fat and is lithe and well-toned, but I would be
surprised if he lifts weights; he just doesn't have that much muscle
mass. Ryan Atkins displays more physical strength than Kris in his
riding, but I'd also be surprised if he lifts. The physically
strongest unicyclist I can think of is Scot Cooper, who these days is
more of a distance than MUni rider, and I don't think he's ever done
much in the way of trials.

The best trials guys I ride with regularly are all skinny.

--
tholub
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technique is more important than muscle, but muscle is still important.
just riding you will build up the right muscles to become an effective
rider.

--
torkerdx

their are 2 types of unicyclist. ones who can suck it up and go for
things and ones who can't. guess which ones become good?

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tholub said:

Kris, for example, has zero body fat and is lithe and well-toned, but I
would be surprised if he lifts weights; he just doesn't have that much
muscle mass.
The best trials guys I ride with regularly are all skinny.

Geez, that's true about Kris! When I met him in person I was SHOCKED,
shocked at how thin he was! And I thought I was skinny! But yes, he
probably doesn't do weight training per se, but all that muni-ing is
like being in a gym on a stair-stepper for HOURS on end EVERY DAY! It's
simply one of the best ways to strengthen your "core". IF you eat a
well balanced diet, low in fat, your body will naturally find its own
level of muscle mass that's necessary to get the job done.

--
MuniAddict

"There is an -idea-, of a Patrick Bateman"

"They all float down here"
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Abs and back are the most important muscles from what I can tell. My
uni skill has greatly increased since I started working construction
and carrying 80lb panels around. Especially at muni - those technical
downhills and rocks that normal would toss you off I can just irk past
them and bring my balance back from much higher degrees of falling due
to core/ab/back strength. It's only been 3 months since I started the
job and it's amazing the difference I've noticed.

--
Seager

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Weight training does build muscle but not nessesarily size. The sport I
can most closely think of that requires similarly muscle groups is
mogul skiing. If you look at the top mogul skiers on the world cup,
all of them weight train and very strong legs, core and have
exceptional ballance.

What I'd like to know is how strong are some of the best muni and
trials riders with specific muscle groups/exerseses. I started doing
some pilaties and core exercises I know more, and my uni ability made
an immediate improvement, so I kniow it makes a difference (same thing
happened with skiing).

I just would like a goal to shoot for, but I do know that increased
strength won't make a significant difference with some things, like
riding rails, provided you have the nessesary ballance and skill.

--
skilewis74
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I do squats at football. I weigh 108 pounds and I squat 225 pounds and I
think thats def. contributed to my hops and stuff.

--
foforackard

UNICYCLE FOR CHRIST

Unibiker for life!!!!!🙂

http://www.unicycle.com/
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foforackard said:

I weigh 108 pounds and I squat 225 pounds and I think thats def.
contributed to my hops and stuff.

Stats like that are exacltly what I'm talking about.

What about abs, hip flexors, back, etc.

--
skilewis74
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Seager said:

Abs and back are the most important muscles from what I can tell. My
uni skill has greatly increased since I started working construction
and carrying 80lb panels around. Especially at muni - those technical
downhills and rocks that normal would toss you off I can just irk past
them and bring my balance back from much higher degrees of falling due
to core/ab/back strength. It's only been 3 months since I started the
job and it's amazing the difference I've noticed.

LEg strength is paramount! At least for muni.

--
MuniAddict

"There is an -idea-, of a Patrick Bateman"

"They all float down here"
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MuniAddict said:

LEg strength is paramount! At least for muni.

Well, yea, for humping up hills and stuff, but that goes without
saying. Besides, most people already get strong legs naturally when
riding. The ab/back/core stuff doesn't build as naturally. I'd say
weight training for that would help way more than weight training legs.

--
Seager

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Seager said:

Well, yea, for humping up hills and stuff, but that goes without saying.
Besides, most people already get strong legs naturally when riding.
The ab/back/core stuff doesn't build as naturally. I'd say weight
training for that would help way more than weight training legs.

By weight training I meant off uni exercises.

--
skilewis74
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Cleans are supposed to help with jumping. its a jumping or explosive
lift so it should help

--
torkerdx

their are 2 types of unicyclist. ones who can suck it up and go for
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I don't think I'd gain much by weight training. So much of muni is
technique that by the time I learn good technique, my muscles should be
strong enough. Also, I've found that my core strength has improved on
its own as I've become a more "aggressive" rider.

--
phlegm
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Seager said:

Well, yea, for humping up hills and stuff, but that goes without saying.
Besides, most people already get strong legs naturally when riding.
The ab/back/core stuff doesn't build as naturally. I'd say weight
training for that would help way more than weight training legs.

For abs I do 100 crunches daily, and 25 push-ups. That seems to be
sufficient; the rest I get from riding. And I can definitley attest
that it works for me in a big way! In just 9 months I've gone from
165lbs to 147lbs and from a 34" waist to a 30". I'm more than happy
with the results that came almost exclusively from muni! Rock
on!😄😎🙂🙄

--
MuniAddict

"There is an -idea-, of a Patrick Bateman"

"They all float down here"
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I've been unicycling for a couple of years, and have been weight
training for about 6-7 years. I'm 5'5", weigh 195-205lbs. I have a the
newer model 24" Torker DX and can only hop ~12" on a good day.
I can squat 455lb, clean and jerk 240, bench 260, deadlift 450, run a
4.9 second 40 yard dash, 33in vertical jump.
I'm mostly doing muni, and I'm definately still a novice. I would have
to say that all of my extra bulk makes muni'ing a bit more difficult.
It seems that the better unicyclers have thinner builds. I don't think
the muscle development and strength they've acquired through uni'ing
can be fairly measured with weighted movements because the range of
movements are completely different. Also, unicycling is mostly about
technique and application of technique rather than raw strength. I'm
sure I'm stronger than most of the folks here, but I'm sure that most
of the muni'ing folks here are better than me at muni.
I know that muni'ing has definately hindered my progress in my squat
max (I was doing over 500lbs in high school), but I'm alot more
endurant. I can squat 405 for 10 reps (deep squats! beyond parallel or
bust!).

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iambob
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