#43: Coaching Elite Mountain Bike & Rugby Athletes with Alex Ackerley

In this episode of the podcast, we welcome Alex Ackerley, an accomplished strength and conditioning coach based in Squamish, BC, Canada. Alex shares his journey from high-performance rugby to coaching elite mountain athletes, including World-Cup level mountain bikers, Tour Divide gravel riders, and ultra-marathon runners. With 15 years of experience in the Vancouver fitness industry, Alex offers deep insights into training, programming, and the unique demands of mountain sports.

Topics Covered:

• Rugby Background & Athletic Foundations: Alex’s experience playing high-level rugby and how it shaped his approach to strength and conditioning.
• Training Mountain Bikers: Insights into the unique physical demands of downhill, enduro, and cross-country mountain biking.
• Strength Programming: Alex’s go-to lifts for building power and resilience, including front squats, deadlifts, and power cleans.
• Metabolic Conditioning: How Alex designs high-intensity circuits to build capacity for 3–5 minute downhill efforts.
• Upper Body Training & Injury Prevention: The importance of upper body strength for downhill riders and strategies for building grip strength.
• Plyometric Progressions: Building impact resilience through progressive plyometric training.
• Screening and Assessments: Alex’s approach to movement screening and individualized programming.
• Off-Season Training: The role of hypertrophy blocks and aerobic conditioning during the off-season.
• Training Philosophy: Balancing strength and endurance while maintaining athlete engagement.
• Lessons Learned: Alex shares personal and professional lessons from his experience training athletes and competing himself.

Lightning Round Questions:

• Best Total Body Lift? Landmine Clean and Press (one-handed)
• Best Lower Body Press? Front Squat
• Best Lower Body Pull? Deadlift
• Best Upper Body Press? Incline Dumbbell Bench Press
• Best Upper Body Pull? Pronated Pull-Up (strict)
• Favorite Grip Training? Carries and Hanging
• Most Overrated Exercise? Box Jump
• Most Underrated Exercise? Bench Press
• Overrated Equipment? Kettlebells

Check out Alex's Gym: nxft.ca
Alex's Instagram: @coachackerley

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