Flow State: a mental state in which difficult skills feel effortless.
Skills. Confidence. Joy.
In the Flow State, hard things feel easy. Like the bike is riding itself. My goal is to help you experience this through mountain-bike coaching that’s as mental as it is physical. Through deliberate practice and drills, you’ll refine your bike-handling skills in a low-consequence, no-pressure, non-intimidating environment. You’ll receive encouragement and feedback (live and video) to improve your body position, technique, timing, and control. Once you’ve built confidence and “muscle memory,” you’ll apply these new skills on the trail as a safer, better rider.
Deliberate Practice
“Experts are made, not born.”
—Harvard Business Review
In in any skillful endeavor—chess, music, juggling—mastery depends on deliberate practice: intentional, specific, repetitive skill-building efforts. “It involves two types of learning,” HBR reports. “Improving the skills you already have and extending the reach of your skills.” It requires going outside your comfort zone, where feedback and coaching are instrumental. As my son and I discovered on our 30-day wheelie quest, learning is not always linear. It helps to be intentional and have a coach to guide the way.
Mental Skills
All physical skills begin in the brain—with neural pathways established through deliberate practice. Once those pathways make a difficult skill both automatic and effortless, our minds can still get in the way, preventing our bodies from doing what they have learned how to do. That’s where mental strength training comes in. As athletes, we can train our minds as deliberately as we train our bodies. Through positive self talk, visualizations, and other Jedi mind tricks, you can train your brain to get into the Flow State. That’s where performance—and FUN—occurs. If you don’t believe me, watch the 8600FT documentary.
“After one lesson, I was riding with more flow and speed. More importantly, I rekindled the confidence and joy that I thought I’d lost after a crash. My belief in my ability has grown so much that I’ve rekindled goals that previously seemed out of reach. With Kim’s instruction and support, they’re definitely achievable.”
— Mindy S.
