Many riders came to me in the past questioning me: How to stay motivated to ride BMX?
And because I ride alone most of the time, they wonder how I get stoked to ride BMX all by myself.
My answer is straightforward: Because BMX makes me feel good.
And in life, we all strive to do things that make us feel good.
I never really had much trouble staying motivated – not 20+ years ago when I started riding BMX, not today.
If you love something, it feels natural, and you don’t have to push yourself to do it.
In other words, it comes down to why you do something. If it’s to make you feel good, then you’re on a – well – really good path.
But if you ride for tricks, for sponsors, for likes and for comments, you’ll have many rough moments.
It doesn’t work like that.
Moreover, I think those of us who can easily be alone, all by ourselves, riding or even doing other daily obligations, have a great advantage.
Too many people constantly need company, so I’m sure riding BMX alone for those is challenging.
Still, I’ll do my best to provide more tips on how to get hyped and motivated to ride BMX.
Not Motivated To BMX? My 14 Tips To Get Hyped Again
Before I continue, here’s a tip that I follow all the time:
Don’t do any tricks, just ride and have fun.
Everything else will (naturally) follow.
1. Why?
This takes us back to my “very simple” answer above.
The why question should be the first thing that comes to mind whenever you do something.
But I’m not talking about the why in terms of “I want to get sponsored,” “I want to have a huge Instagram profile,” etc.
It goes deeper.
In life, there’s only feeling good or feeling bad.
You might not think of doing things because it makes you feel good, but your subconscious does.
And if something really makes you feel good, you won’t need many “motivational tips” to keep doing it.
2. Master The Basics
Too many riders want to go straight to learning the advanced tricks.
And some actually learn them, but without mastering the basics, these riders don’t develop any style.
Not just that, these riders always need “that perfect spot” to ride, otherwise, they cannot ride.
But if you master the basics, all you need is a curb or parking lot, and you can have so much fun riding your BMX bike.
Pro tip: Take all the time you need to master the basic BMX tricks before you go to intermediate and advanced ones.
Why?
Not only will you learn them more easily with fewer crashes or injuries, but you’ll also develop more style and flow.
My how-tos:
- How to bunny hop on a BMX bike
- How to manual on a BMX bike
- How to fakie on a BMX
- How to X-up ride on a BMX!
- How to double peg grind on a BMX
- How to feeble grind on a BMX!
- How to 180 on a BMX!
3. Watch BMX Videos
Who doesn’t like to watch BMX videos?
And it’s totally OK if some riders don’t hype you up to go out for a session.
Watch videos that get you stoked so heavily that you just want to go out and ride – even if doing only bunny hops and manuals on flat ground.
4. Set Realistic Goals
This takes us back to the basics.
Start small; you have all the time in the world to ride BMX and progress slowly. (Check my beginner’s guide on how to start BMX.)
No need to rush it.
Get the basic tricks into your subconscious mind so you don’t even need to think when pulling them.
Only then do you start to learn more challenging and advanced tricks and trick combos.
Hey, some riders don’t do many tricks, but they are still professionals.
The good thing about BMX is that you can do your own unique thing that goes completely against the grain of what most do and still achieve great success. (And Erik Elstran is a perfect example of that.)
5. Get Some Rest
If you ride every day, you might consider taking a rest day.
Sure, the more you ride, the faster you’ll progress.
But if your body feels tired, a rest (or even two) day will do you good.
A tired body calls for injuries.
So it’s better to take one or two days off than injure yourself and be off the bike for a week, two weeks, heck, even a month.
Trust me, I’ve been there – and it sucks!
Pro tip: Rest days are perfect to get some stretches in.
6. Follow No One
First, yes, you’ll watch videos of other riders or even watch how riders ride at your local skatepark or street spots.
But.
Don’t copy. Use them as inspiration.
I get it, you might be more of a “copy cat” at the beginning of your BMX journey, and that’s perfectly fine.
We all had to start somewhere.
But with time, you’ll develop your own unique style of riding. At this time, you don’t really have to follow anyone.
Watching videos and using them to hype yourself up to go ride is a totally different thing.
As soon as you start to follow yourself, that’s when you’ll stand out.
7. Accept Failure
This is a big one.
Without failure, there’s no growth.
But when you think of failure as a learning curve, failure doesn’t really exist.
Yes, you might crash and injure yourself, which will keep you off the bike for weeks, sometimes months, but that’s all part of the BMX game.
We’ve all been there.
Nothing wrong with that.
That’s not failure, dude.
And if you cannot pull a certain trick, that’s not a failure either. There are too many other options.
For instance, Augie Simoncini was never able to do tailwhips so he decided to learn a superman – which he can do everywhere.
8. Think About The Good Times
Don’t think about the current situation when you feel down for whatever reason. If you think of how down you feel, how can you expect to feel differently?
You cannot.
Instead, think of the first time you pulled your last biggest trick or filmed an insane clip. Or the good times you have with your riding buddies.
Or even better, think of all the new tricks and sick spots you’ll ride in the future.
Don’t be stuck in the current “down” mood and you’ll quickly get out of it.
It’s all in the head: Either you think about the good or the bad, there’s no in-between.
So, what will you think about?
9. Switch Spots/Skateparks
If I get tired of a spot because I ride it for weeks (that same three stairs), a little refreshment by changing spots or going to a skatepark does me only good.
Sometimes, I might even just cruise around, spot hunting, without doing too much riding.
10. Ride With Friends
Not everyone can ride alone all the time.
Thus, meet up with your friends and throw down a session together.
You can hype each other up, film clips and enjoy a good conversation.
11. Get A New BMX Part
Getting a new BMX part always feels good – unless it’s just a tube.
It all hypes us up whether it’s something small, like new grips or pedals, or something big, like new wheels or cranks.
But if you cannot afford a new part at the moment, pick up a cloth and clean your BMX bike.
A fresh and smoothly rolling bike feels completely different than a dirty one.
12. Take Care Of Your Body
I’ve been doing some sort of activities outside of BMX for nearly all my life.
BMX is hard on our bodies, so if you don’t care about yourself, it’s almost a guarantee that there will be no longevity for you.
Sure, you might cruise around when you’re fifty or sixty, heck, even seventy, but what fun is in that?
Note: You might be interested in reading my article about whether you’re too old for BMX.
I’m talking about still being able to jib, pull 360, barspins, whips, etc.
And if you want to ride at a high level for a long time, you’ll need to change your diet, stretch, and even lift weights.
Otherwise, forget about it. Period.
Example: Do these wrist stretches and mobility exercises for BMX.
13. Film Yourself
What I found a few years back that motivates me to ride BMX is setting up a camera (I only use an iPhone) and filming myself.
This allows me to refine tricks, track my progress and just keep pushing myself.
If you don’t have any riding buddies in your local area, make your camera your riding buddy.
14. Don’t Quit
Like in any other sport, thinking about quitting gets into your head when you feel like you’re not progressing.
Don’t!
That’s for the weak. And you’re not weak.
And this is why the first point is so extremely important: you must ride BMX because it makes you feel good.
So even when you plateau or hurt yourself, you won’t think of quitting.
All you’ll think about is your next rad session.
Conclusion
Riding BMX can be an exhilarating and rewarding experience, but finding motivation can sometimes be challenging.
I shared with you the top tips to keep you hyped about BMX, so you’ll keep shredding and progressing.
Remember, motivation can fluctuate, and it’s okay to have off days.
The key is to keep coming back and finding joy in the ride.
Yup, it’s about the feeling.
