I got into riding at an early age. I was about eleven years old and a local neighborhood kid started to show me how to do wheelies and jump curbs on my bike, which wasn’t even a BMX bike! But, I was hooked. I saved my money, soon after got a proper bike, and never looked back. My love of BMX started very early and remains to this day.
In these videos, I took pro rider Tom Dillon through a few drills that I knew would help address some issues he was having. BMX is brutal on the body, and these guys are very seldom paying attention to rehab or supplemental exercises to insulate the process.
Many BMX riders and action sports athletes overlook/ignore the need for the type of simple maintenance we ran Tom through in the first video, but it isn’t just them that can benefit; anyone can adopt this self-maintenance approach to movement and mobility. Many people in all walks use similar exercises to help improve whatever their chosen activity, and attempt to remain injury free.
In the second video, I jumped into the shoulders and forearms; constant tension, lots of impact, and so much strength required – that means greater risk of injury, and also greater need for off-the-bike attention.
And finally, in the third video, we look at some simple pre-riding movements geared to warm up the most vulnerable parts and patterns. BMX is like gymnastics plus jarring concrete impacts. It’s often overlooked how truly athletic an activity it is, which is a mistake. Take these movement and mobility ideas, start thinking of yourself as an athlete, and do some work!
