"Don't make a fuss. It's all rideable!" Ever heard that before? Or said it? According to mental trainer Petra Müssig, this is the worst way to help anxiety-ridden bikers out of a tricky situation. It doesn't necessarily have to be the woman who refuses to climb a rock step with trembling knees. With comparable skills, training levels and equipment, Müssig also sees the "fear level of women and men as being similar in principle." It is often the previous history that slows you down: a lack of experience and, above all, bad experience lead to fear. A distinction must be made between anxiety and tension. A certain amount of tension in difficult situations promotes concentration and results in a high level of motivation. Anxiety, on the other hand, blocks the mind and body and therefore has a counterproductive effect. The best way to reduce anxiety, says Müssig, is to carefully familiarise yourself with the situation: "Practice, practice, practice, always following the principles of training theory - from easy to difficult, from familiar to unfamiliar, from simple to complex." As you experience success, your anxiety level automatically decreases. And at some point, everything really is rideable.
Is fear when biking a bigger issue for women than for men? Or do only men see it that way?
Women may be a little more cautious or prudent than men, which is probably due to cultural conditioning: Boys are taught from an early age that they have to be strong. Girls are allowed to be cautious, while caution or hesitant behaviour is more likely to be sanctioned in boys. So it's no wonder that adult boys are sometimes more reckless than women. But with comparable ability and training levels (conditionally and technically) and comparable equipment, the fear level should also be roughly the same. Ask the Gravity Girls or Karen Eller, ask me: we are not afraid, we have a healthy respect.
What are the causes of anxiety?
Fear when biking is primarily based on 3 factors: too little experience or a lack of technical and tactical ability; poor experience; fatigue or exhaustion and the resulting deterioration in the execution of the movement. Fear then quickly comes into play to prevent further damage.
How can you reduce anxiety?
Through long-term, careful familiarisation with biking. This means: lots of exercises that improve riding technique and safety. All according to the principles of training theory: from easy to difficult, from familiar to unfamiliar and from simple to complex. It can take many years before someone masters such a complex type of movement as mountain biking in demanding terrain and is able to call it up automatically.
Anxiety also serves as self-protection. Why is this self-protection more pronounced in women than in men?
As mentioned, this is partly due to upbringing and social conditioning. Different expectations are placed on boys, they are associated with different roles. At the latest in middle age, when the bones can no longer withstand quite as much as in young people, or when responsibility for a family begins to play a role, many men also become more careful and cautious.
But there is also a biological difference: on average, men have 15 per cent more strength, so in principle they have physiological protective armour. This kind of armour - especially if you are well trained - makes you more courageous because it actually reduces the risk of injury. During my active time as a professional snowboarder, my trainer made sure that I did strength training in order to be better protected against injuries.
Another factor seems to play a role for some women and needs to be clearly defined: Women who have given birth to children produce a certain hormone that ensures that these women - i.e. mothers - can (but don't necessarily have to) behave more prudently and thoughtfully.
Why should I outsmart self-protection fear at all? Theoretically, am I consciously exposing myself to risk?
The aim is definitely not to outwit or overcome "self-protection fear". It is much more about finding a healthy way of dealing with this self-protection. Fear can massively block the mind and body, so that very dangerous moments can actually occur in situations that are perceived as threatening. This can be explained in simple terms: When the senses (which react before the mind) or the mind (through thoughts and worries) perceive something that is perceived as threatening, the organism reacts. Among other things, it does this by changing its breathing and muscle tension, which in turn blocks the senses and the ability to think.
When someone learns to deal with their anxiety, this means above all that they recognise and take seriously the signs of incipient anxiety early enough to be able to react appropriately. Reacting appropriately means consciously weighing up whether the situation is actually threatening, whether it can be mastered, whether I'd rather dismount with determination or drive with determination. As the level of fear increases, conscious decisions become less and less likely and access to existing skills may be blocked.
How can riding technique trainers or even the partner positively influence such mechanisms?
By creating a positive climate and ensuring a sense of achievement. This allows the body to experience that strength, technique and ability are sufficient to safely master upcoming situations.
Male passengers don't always seem to behave helpfully towards their female partners ...
There are both, but in my experience there are usually more who behave counterproductively.
How can I help? What should I refrain from doing?
The most important thing is to clarify your motivation: does SHE want it or do I want it? And above all: what does she want: bike rides around the lake or to the ice cream parlour or up to the mountain pasture to sunbathe and drink coffee? Or does she really want to let it rip on single trails? Does she want to toil uphill to get fitter? In the first two cases, SHE will react to challenging tours with discouragement. In the latter two cases, she might enjoy it - provided she has the right, technically high-quality bike and enough time to carefully approach the various challenges.
What are you actually afraid of when biking? Fear of failure? Fear of injury? Fear of embarrassment?
The fear of falling and injuring yourself is the most natural fear. All other fears are "homemade", so to speak. In general, all situations that could lead to a fall trigger reflex reactions in the body. Some people react by increasing their willingness to perform - i.e. concentration, focus, mobilisation of strength. For others, situations perceived as threatening lead to restrictions and blockages. This depends, among other things, on negative and positive experiences: If I have already ridden through 100 gravel bends without falling, the 101st no longer scares me either. If I lie down in the dirt on my tenth gravel bend and hurt myself, my body will react with warning signs on the following bends - in the best case with increased alertness, in the worst case with a blockage.
It is said that a certain amount of tension promotes performance because it increases concentration. Where is the boundary between tension and anxiety?
A clear distinction should be made here. The state in which we can optimally access our potential is called the "ideal performance state". This is characterised by a high level of positive energy and is linked to certain states and sensations: desire, willpower, deep and powerful breathing, a focused gaze, high concentration, tense but performance-ready muscles. On the opposite side is inhibiting fear. It is associated with high but negative energy, coupled with negative sensations: unpleasant nervousness, anger, frustration, faltering breathing, tunnel vision, tense muscles, over-concentration. If anxiety is involved and you are not sure that you can really master a situation, then you have to let it go for the time being.
How am I ever supposed to improve?
Quite simply: by looking for similar but less dangerous or challenging situations: fewer steps, lower heels, shorter tours. You have to work up to the challenge until you are ready to jump the big gaps. That's how you become a good wheelchair user in a different way.
Bikers often have more confidence when riding behind. If they have to ride ahead, they refuse to do so in relatively harmless situations. How can this be explained?
Quite simply, the retrieval of technical and tactical skills is controlled in this case by the information coming from the rear wheel of the rider in front, i.e.: doable, not doable, brake here, let go there, this line, that line. If you are not practised in independently absorbing and processing information about the terrain in front of you, the rider in front is a help. However, every biker should of course master and automatise these skills themselves. In other words, the senses and brain must learn over time to independently calculate the technical skills for the terrain ahead and then react as necessary to maintain the flow of the ride. This skill is called tactics.
After a fall, self-confidence is often at rock bottom. How do you get it back?
Important: if the fall was violent, then - contrary to popular belief - the rider should not immediately get back on the bike and ride the same spot again. A fall causes stress in the body, the physiological effects can cause blockages and make further attempts at riding dangerous. So after a serious fall: get off your bike and take a break. The next ten to 15 minutes will show whether injuries have come to light that the victim didn't even realise because of the shock.
Once you have fully recovered from a harmless crash, a similar situation will probably cause a little more tension the next few times, but will not necessarily lead to a blockage.
PETRAS TIPS
How to overcome fear:
1.) Assess the situation: Do I want to do this? Can I do it? Do I have all the prerequisites (technique, tactics, equipment, fitness)?
2.) When anxiety occurs: breathe, breathe, breathe. When anxiety occurs, the breathing rhythm changes, the body comes under additional stress due to the resulting oxygen debt and the anxiety symptoms intensify.
3.) Posture and muscle tension: When you're scared, your body tenses up, your position (centre of gravity) on the bike changes, which alters the bike's handling and further increases your anxiety. When things get critical, play the "cowboy": Chest and elbows out, determined facial expression, legs slightly apart and Yippiew Hey, obstacle, here I come!
4.) Look ahead: Always let your gaze run slightly ahead. This gives your brain time to prepare the necessary movement sequences. If you look too close in front of you or your gaze gets stuck on an obstacle, your head cannot prepare the subsequent movements. Remember: "Where I look, there it goes."
5.) Remember: "Drive through with determination. Or dismount with determination".
Partner therapy: How do I help my partner to get better?
Do's:
1.) Play: So drive over a spot several times to get used to it
2.) Take your time. Don't rush, don't push
3.) Be an understandable role model. It's no use him showing her what a great pike he is because he goes down 7 flights of stairs and she doesn't even go down one flight
4.) Clear and joint agreements regarding: tour, duration, level of difficulty, pace, meeting points, breaks
5.) Encourage: Talk about what went well. Not the rest, she knows that herself.
6.) Moderate motivation: Demonstrate confidence, but don't tempt to recklessness.
Dont's:
1.) Overstrain: Too fast, too far, too high, too steep for what it can do. Excessive physical demands are the best guarantee for fear.
2.) Leave the discarded bike to her: It's usually far too big, too old and too heavy.
3.) Embarrass: Scolding, criticising, teasing, showing off in front of others.
4.) The killer phrase: "Don't be such a pain, it's all rideable".
Further information: www.petramuessig.de
Josh Welz
Editor-in-Chief
