Style is everything: Style is one of the most important characteristics that defines you as a rider.
You might actually get to be known by it. It’s that important! There are many styles to choose from and it’s entirely up to you to choose the one that inspires you the most.
Not only you can choose, let’s say, between being a racing biker, vert rider or freestyler, but you can have a mixture of several styles and be an all-around type of biker. But, we do recommend that you focus on the one you truly feel passionate about. That way, you can put all your efforts and energy into defining and polishing it to perfection.
Be comfortable on your bike: Very simple and self-explanatory fact. You should be riding a bike that has all the appropriate conditions and proportions for your personal characteristics. It’s wise to try several different types of bikes in order to get to know which one fits most perfectly.
What most bikers should do about this, is to simply head to a store and grab a bunch of bikes and try them one by one. Take them for a ride and see if you feel comfortable and confident enough to go to the park and start stomping new bmx tricks. There might be someone to help you and guide you through the choosing process, but the truth is, ultimately only you will know for certain.
Don’t be careless: You can successfully be able to reduce significantly the risk of getting injured by following some tips. First one is, to make sure to properly warm up before riding. As well as stretching after finishing your day. This will prevent cramping and overworking your muscles, which is very essential to have them in optimal condition.
Another great way to prevent being careless, is in fact the most obvious one. Just wear your protective gear! Why not use the things that are actually designed to prevent getting hurt? We strongly recommend to pack (But not limited to) your set of helmet, knee pads, elbow pads and gloves.
If you do get mildly or really hurt (and, chances are that at some point you might) then, the smarter thing you can do for your own good is, to let every injury heal with plenty of time. Give it enough rest to fully recover. A lot of people get impatient and ride again, never recovering one hundred percent.
Athletics (Lose those extra pounds): Simply put, if you’re big you will most likely feel the floor harder when you fall. BMX is a sport that demands a lot of physical activity, and on top of that, is one that involves extreme stunts. One of the most important things you might want to try in order to optimize your riding skills, and let’s be honest, have it easier, is just to be in proper shape.
Yes, we know you might’ve seen those guys that are super big ripping on their bikes and are able to ride better than anyone. But just think about what they could do if they were in optimal condition.
If that’s your case, just eat properly, avoiding so much junk food and try to get more aware about what you consume. You’ll see that in no time you will be shredding naturally, with less effort and with more of an athletic shape.
Want to be the best? Join the best: Start joining those riders that you can learn from. They can help you overcome some struggles you might be having when practicing some tricks. You can get insights and step by step guidance about what you’re doing wrong or how you can approach certain obstacles. Socializing and starting to ride with BMX riders that are way better than you will help you progress more than you might think. You may take some time to adjust at the level required to ride with more experienced people, but eventually it’s basically guaranteed you’ll see progression hit your way.
Push yourself harder than yesterday: Here’s an interesting fact. You will never run out of tricks to learn in BMX, because it offers infinite combinations of tricks and possibilities. This means that there’s no excuse for lacking progression. Set your mind that every day you must be better than the previous one.
Try not to limit yourself and never stay lingering on the same tricks you did every day for the past few weeks. Explore varieties of things that can enhance your skills more than ever before. By doing that, you can certainly learn that this is the best indicator of progress.
Another advice is to just go out and experience a wide range of places to ride. The worst thing you can do is stay at your local park and ride the same rails and ramps over and over for years to come. Exploring new places, ramps, rails and even vert ramps can be very beneficial to improve your skills.
Get recognition: The most popular way to get recognition is to simply ride on a lot of contests. It doesn’t matter that much if you take first place or not. A lot of the best riders aren’t even that good competing, as there are many factors that can screw up your performance, for example, shaky legs due to nerves. Do not get frustrated if you don’t win every contest, the goal is to get out there and let other people see you engaging activities that will get you noticed. You can even learn how to embrace nerves and up your skills by doing so. Do it enough and you will get the hang of it.
Try to get everyone’s attention, but be careful not with negative stuff. Don’t get recognize for being “that douche”, but instead, let people know you for your great qualities as a rider. Clean style, good tricks and proper landings. As well as for the quality of your videos.
We’re not talking about sponsorship. Because it’s very likely that by following these advices it might arrive by itself. We are rather talking about the general view. Just get out there and film clips, post them on social media and your skills will speak for you.
Eventually, when you have several clips that you feel confident and proud enough, you can edit a gnarly video part, show it to all of your friends and post it on the internet. The good thing about showing your videos first to your friends is, that they might give you constructive criticism, tough love and be honest enough to tell you if your videos suck or is actually great.
An awesome and effective way to get enough recognition is to differentiate from others. Have unique tricks that nobody has ever done in key places. Those bangers might turn you quite popular.
Embrace these qualities: In order to become one of the best, you should consider riding with clear short-term and long-term goals, confidence, patience and persistence.
It’s important to have clear goals! Immediate or “short-term” ones are those that we need to achieve as fast as possible. One way to always remember your short-term goals is by simply writing them down. They can be as simple as landing new tricks or making a hundred repetitions of any trick in, let’s say, 5 hours. The possibilities are endless. However, the long-term goals are those that we want to reach by setting our minds, efforts and discipline to eventually in the future do (or get) things that are at the current time practically impossible for you.
Another quality is confidence, which is, knowing that you can conquer what you set your mind into. When you’re trying a new trick or ability, do it believing that you’ll roll away victorious. This is helpful in levels that most riders can’t even begin to realize.
That being said, this doesn’t mean you’re going to try crazy things that are in fact way out of your skills. After all, you should know your boundaries. But it’s indeed recommended that you engage a positive set of mind and try new tricks or goals. You’ll eventually get them.
Riders must learn how to be patient. Certainly all the great ones had to embrace patience in order to reach their levels. You have to begin with smaller steps and work your way up. Getting hard tricks require prior skills that you don’t get with a magic pill. However, you can land any difficult trick by setting a proper base of tricks or “basics”.
Last but not least, all BMX riders must be persistent. This is a very simple-to-understand tip. It means you should repeat over and over what you’re trying out, until you accomplish it. It can be a personal goal or a trick. If it’s a new trick, then is great to know that our minds and body movements will act like a sponge, absorbing the experience obtained from every failed iteration, eventually getting “on-lock” what you’ve been practicing.
