Donna Dall
Core Strength and Cycling –Is it worth it?
When we think of pro cycling the main parts of the body that really stand out are the legs. But if you are serious about cycling its time to drag your self to the gym and start working that core! A common misconception when we are talking about core strength is that we need these…
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Women in Mountain Biking – Training Considerations
Participation of women in sport has increased significantly since the early 1980s. It is generally widely assumed that women and men have equal response to training and their physiological responses don’t differ too much between the genders. Turns out, this is not true. Research in sport is generally based on male studies as women have…
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High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) vs Long Slow Distance (LSD).
Which is better for cycling? High Intensity Interval training (HIIT) has really increased in popularity over the last 5 to 10 years. But is the saying “No gain without pain” really true? What is HIIT? HIIT is defined as performing different cardio workouts as fast and as hard as an athlete can manage. This intensity…
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Work/Recovery Ratio
To optimise your mountain bike training, you need to find the ideal balance between training/work and recovery. While training provides the stimulus, recovery gives us the adaptation and allows our bodies to positively adapt to a higher level of work…also known as supercompensation. Without sufficient recovery the hard training wears us down and with each…
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Stop pedaling….GO FAST!
Matty Dall once said to me “Stop pedalling! You’ll ride much faster!” Can you believe this guy, I thought he had rocks in his head but alas he turned out to be the smartest guy I know. Until I asked him to explain himself I thought about signing him up to the closest mental institution.…
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Is consistency the key to success?
Is CONSISTENCY the key to success? You bet it is! I’ve seen this in my training, my business and I have seen this in my athletes. Athletes can achieve a high level of success simply by being more ambitious, natural talent, or just luckier than those who are not as successful HOWEVER what I have…
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2019 Reflections
As another new year ticks over, now is the perfect time for reflection. It’s great to reflect on how hard we have worked, what we have achieved and what we have learnt. I personally have had a huge growth year on the personal development front which I will expand on soon. It is also a…
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My Loftiest Goal EVER – Can Australia be Number #1 in XCO by 2032 Olympic Games?
Having just returned home from the recent 2019 World Champs in Mont-Sainte-Anne, Canada, I have been inspired by the courage of our Australian athletes and how well they all raced! Now I’m back home in Australia sitting here watching Redbull replays of the Snowshoe World Cup and I got to thinking; Wouldn’t it be awesome…
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Why Exercising and Diet Is a Higher Priority Than My Coaching Career
It’s not money that motivates us coaches. If it was, it would be difficult to justify the sacrifices we make if the only reward was money. Dollars become mere points in some sort of silly bean counting game. What it’s really about (for me anyway) is building great relationships that last the test of time,…
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PCS to take a team of Australian U/23 MTB’ers to USA and Canada
During the recent World Cup in Cairns, I was lucky enough to stay with U/23 athletes Luke Brame, Callum Carson and their families to coach and support them at the race. During some downtime between practice sessions, Luke and I decided to do some long term planning, looking at what the next 3-5 years might…
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