Freeride MTB Athlete Developing Strength to Mitigate Injury Risk

Jordan Raymond1 November 2026

How Alfie Built a Crash-Proof Strength Base for Slope-style and Big Air with Velocity-Based Training

Athlete: Alfie, 31, slope-style and big air mountain bike rider

Key results

Duration: 6 months
Squat jump: 32 to 41cm
Back squat 1RM: 70kg to 110kg
Trap-bar deadlift 1RM: 110kg to 150kg

The Athlete

Alfie has spent most of his life competing on bikes which involved a lot of big crashes over the years. Those crashes left him with years of on-and-off neck problems. He had minimal gym experience, and strength work made him nervous: he didn’t trust his technique and didn’t know how hard to push.

The Problem

Slopestyle and big air ask a lot of the body. Riders have to absorb heavy landings, hold position through compressions and stay robust enough to walk away from crashes. Alfie had the skill but not the physical base to support it. He was inexperienced in the gym meaning his neck and upper back weren’t resilient, and he had no reliable way to train on his own without either holding back or overdoing it.

Testing with PeakLines

Vertical jump battery

Squat jump (SJ): 32cm. Low for an elite action-sports athlete, showing limited maximal force production.
Countermovement jump (CMJ): 38cm. The 6cm gap from his SJ showed reasonable use of elastic energy, but on a low base.

Velocity-based training (VBT) assessment

Back squat: estimated 1RM 70kg.
Trap-bar deadlift: estimated 1RM 110kg.
Technique: velocity varied a lot from rep to rep at moderate loads, which showed inconsistent movement patterns typical of a novice lifter.

Diagnosis

Strengths: high skill, coordination and natural athleticism from years of riding.
Limitations: low maximal strength, poor landing tolerance, and a vulnerable neck and upper back.

For a slope-style rider, this is a risk profile as much as a performance one. More strength and better force absorption means more control on the bike and more protection when things go wrong.

The Training Plan

Goal: build a strength base safely, improve landing resilience and strengthen the neck and upper back, with Alfie training mostly on his own.

Phase 1: Foundations (months 1–2)

Back squat and trap-bar deadlift at 0.8–1.0 m/s (mean velocity) to nail technique at manageable loads.
PeakLines technique feedback on every rep, so Alfie could check his form without a coach in the room.
Neck and upper-back work: isometric neck holds, rows and shrugs, progressed gradually.

Phase 2: Strength (months 2–4)

Back squat at 0.5–0.75 m/s using progressively heavier loads to build maximal force.
Trap-bar deadlift at 0.6–0.85 m/s for whole-body strength and posterior-chain robustness.
Velocity-loss cut-offs of 20% to stop sets before fatigue degraded technique, preventing overdoing it.

Phase 3: Power and landing (months 4–6)

Jump squats and trap-bar jumps at 1.0–1.3 m/s (peak velocity) to turn strength into power.
Drop jumps and landing drills to build reactive strength for heavy landings.
Continued neck and upper-back maintenance.

Jump monitoring

SJ height: the main indicator of improved force production.
Drop jump RSI: to track landing tolerance and reactive strength.
Readiness checks: daily CMJ to adjust load on days when Alfie was beaten up from riding or crashes.

Results

After 6 months:

Squat jump: 32cm to 40cm
CMJ: 38cm to 45cm
Back squat 1RM: 70kg to 110kg
Trap-bar deadlift 1RM: 110kg to 150kg
Neck symptoms: fewer flare-ups and no training days lost in the last few months

Alfie went from a nervous gym novice to a confident, independent lifter. He’s stronger through landings, more resilient in crashes and has kept his neck problems under control, all while training mostly on his own.

Alfie’s testimonial

“Spending most my life on the bike has meant plenty of big crashes, and for me that’s meant years of on-and-off neck problems. Strength work always made me nervous. I knew I needed it to stay competitive, but I couldn’t afford to have a coach with me for every session.

My coach set me up on PeakLines so I could track my own progress. The real-time feedback is an easy way to check my technique is still on, and the load management stops me getting carried away and rinsing myself. It’s given me the confidence to push hard even when I’m on my own.

In the past year I’ve gained noticeable strength and resilience to injury. I still check in with Coach when I need to, but day to day PeakLines makes my gym sessions without him way more productive, and I don’t second-guess myself.”

Jordan Raymond