BMX
British freestyle BMX rider Kieran Reilly reveals the hard work and training that goes into perfecting tricks and how he overcomes fear.
Putting the hours in at the skatepark is the key to success for any BMX freestyle rider. It’s where you can push yourself further, try new things and, in a few exceptional cases such as Kieran Reilly, push yourself to achieve world firsts.
One look at Reilly's Instagram account will show you just how hard he works. Pulling off triple whips, 540s and huge amounts of airtime, his tricks will leave you shaking your head in disbelief.
But it’s taken more than 10 years of hard work to get to where he is now. Reilly learned the ropes at a local skatepark in the city of Newcastle, which is near Gateshead, the town he grew up in the northeast of England. Reilly made the move down to the south of England to the town of Corby in 2020, so he could spend more time at the world-renowned Adrenaline Alley indoor skatepark there. Since then, he says his progression has “skyrocketed” as he can devote more time working on his more difficult tricks.
Here, he reveals how he spends his time training at the skatepark and what types of workouts he does off the bike to make him a stronger rider.
How much time do you spend at the skatepark on an average day?
Do you have a list of tricks you’re aiming to work on each day?
I don't necessarily have a list – it’s more according to how I'm feeling or if I have an idea for a trick that I want to go in and get done, in which case I'll push towards that goal. Most of the time it depends who I’m riding with and where the session ends up. So if I end up riding a certain feature with everyone, I'll push myself hard on that feature.
Do you ever ride on your own?
I used to ride a lot on my own in Newcastle, which I didn’t mind so much if I wanted to just go in and get the job done. But having influence and motivation from others is massive – you get ideas from them, and they help you because it's a second set of eyes to see what you’re doing wrong. For me, riding with others is how I learn and improve.
How do you work on new tricks? Do you always plan them out beforehand?
I like to visualise my tricks – I try to picture myself in my head. I've learned many tricks by seeing someone else do it, picturing how I would do it with my riding style and then envisioning me doing the trick over and over in my head before trying it. Hopefully, it then goes how I envision it, but if not, I'll be able to figure out where I went wrong. Having the right facilities is also important. That's another reason I moved down to Corby – to have access to facilities such as the foam pit and resi [a landing that features padding and a plastic surface] at Adrenaline Alley.
How much time do you spend in the gym?
I've got a few bits of gym equipment in my garage – an assault bike, spin bike, weights and kettlebells. I usually use it on days I'm not riding because going to the gym is massive for me in terms of fitness. Gym work is helpful, but riding is the most important thing, so I try not to wreck myself in the gym if I'm riding the next day. When I ride, my muscles can get sore because they're being worked so much, so I'll go to the gym to do interval training to get my heart rate up and work on my cardio, stamina and muscular endurance.
I go to the gym to do interval training to get my heart rate up and work on my cardio, stamina and muscular endurance
Do you do any sort of weight-based exercises?
Mainly core exercises – I'll do circuits with leg raises and sit-ups, that kind of thing. I don't do a massive amount of leg training because your legs take everything while you’re riding. I try to do a few exercises on my ankles to strengthen them to help prevent injury.
Do you have a specific approach to training for competitions?
If I've seen the competition course and have an idea of tricks that I want to do, I’ll try to perfect those tricks by putting them into runs. In competitions you do a one-minute run, so pre-competition, I do more longer runs in the skatepark. This helps me see how I feel 45 seconds in, and then I can figure out what’s possible on that course when I'm that far into the run, based on my stamina and endurance.
How far out from a competition do you start preparing?
I usually start around a fortnight before for competition-specific preparation. I try to stay in the best fitness I can in the run-up. Usually, when I’m riding, I don't do long runs – I go in and do tricks and small runs. But in the run-up to an event, I like to go in and do long runs, just to remind myself how that feels.
I have ways of getting past fear, such as thinking about what’s motivating me to do it, or focusing on how I'm going to do it and trying not to envision the bad things that could happen
Do you have rest days?
Healing and resting are just as important as the riding itself. I usually have two rest days a week – I’ll do three days riding, a day rest, then three days riding. Rest days definitely help me. You could feel alright on the third day of riding, but if you’re ruined the fourth day then by the fifth day it will all hit you at once. Rest is vital – your body needs to heal.
How does sleep help in terms of recovery?
It’s massive for recovery. We ride at 12, so I like to get up around 9:30am to get the maximum amount of sleep to help my body recover.
Do you work on mental sharpness?
We've done a couple of sessions with Rich Hampson, British Cycling's lead sports psychologist, who's been helpful. It helps to break things down, such as how to think about the right things at the right time, and how to look at a trick when you're trying it, to help you process it better.
Is overcoming fear a skill that can be learned?
When you're young, you definitely have less fear. When I was younger, I wouldn't think twice about certain things, and now I have ways of getting past that fear, such as thinking about what’s motivating me to do it or focusing on how I'm going to do it. I try not to envision the bad things that could happen.
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