How Myelin, Sleep, and Spaced Repetition Fuel Mountain Bike Progression

Today, we’re going to go through the science of how our brain actually learns, and why the way you practice matters far more than simply showing up to a one-off lesson. This isn’t just abstract theory - it’s the foundation of our Full Circle Coaching Program, and why riders who go through it consistently see breakthroughs that last.

Video for those who prefer watching over reading.

Why Lasting Progress Takes More Than One Session

On paper, a quick skills clinic seems great: you get a group of riders, a coach, and a short block of teaching for a low investment. But here’s the problem:

• In groups, coaching is built around averages - which means the instruction isn’t tailored to your challenges, your pace, or your learning style.

• A one-off session leaves you stuck in the conscious competence stage at best - you might be able to do the skill in the moment, but only when thinking hard and under controlled conditions. Ie, a skills park or easy section of trail where everything is spaced out.

• Without structured follow-up, the new skill fades well before it becomes unconscious competence - that effortless, automatic state where you can repeat it in any terrain, at speed, without overthinking. And all while feeling confident about it.

Now, this isn’t just my opinion - it’s neuroscience.

How the Brain Builds Skill

Your brain and nervous system are made up of nearly 100 billion neurons, each capable of forming up to 10,000 connections. Every new experience - from your first corner on loamy hero dirt to your first gap jump - strengthens or weakens these neural pathways.

The magic is in a substance called myelin. Myelin is like insulation on electrical wiring. The more you practice a skill, the more myelin wraps around those neural circuits, making the signal stronger, faster, and more reliable.

As Daniel Coyle explains in The Talent Code, the way you practice, not just the hours, determines how much myelin you build. Coyle highlights three key ingredients:

• Deep Practice - training at the edge of your ability, making errors and correcting them. This fires the right circuits repeatedly and builds stronger myelin.

• Ignition - a spark of motivation that keeps you putting in the reps, even when it’s tough.

• Master Coaching - someone skilled enough to break skills into chunks, give precise feedback, and keep you in that “sweet spot” where learning happens fastest.

What the Science Says You Actually Need

Here’s how modern neuroscience maps directly onto mountain biking progression:

• Spaced Repetition: Myelin growth isn’t instant. It needs repeated firing of the right circuits over time. That’s why cramming skills into a one-off clinic doesn’t last. You need multiple exposures, spaced out, to lock them in.

• Sleep Between Sessions: Sleep isn’t just rest. It’s when your brain consolidates new connections. During deep sleep, your brain literally replays the day’s neural firing patterns and strengthens them. If you skip sleep or don’t space your practice, you skip the consolidation.

• Controlled Failure: Struggling at the edge of your ability. Missing a corner exit, stalling on a steep rock roll, casing a jump… is not wasted effort. When corrected quickly, with good feedback, those mistakes fire the exact circuits that need strengthening.

• Resilience: The danger is frustration. Quit too soon, or keep repeating mistakes without correction, and you wire in the wrong patterns. Resilience, the ability to work through failure and stay in the game, is what allows myelin to build properly.

• Expert Guidance: Anders Ericsson’s famous “10,000-hour rule” showed that mastering a skillset takes years of deliberate practice. But Sports psychs like Dr. Craig Manning point out that modelling masters can cut down those timelines dramatically. Through observational learning and mirror neuron activation, you can accelerate skill acquisition far beyond what you’d do alone.

From Frustration to a 'balanced' Full Circle Skillset

The Full Circle Coaching Program is built on these principles. Instead of a one-off load of information, you get:

• Spaced mileage and repeated exposure to new skills.

• Sleep cycles and recovery between sessions, so your brain can consolidate information and insulate neural pathways with Mylen.

• Real-time coaching to guide you through controlled failure.

• Community and accountability to build resilience.

• Expert feedback that accelerates the entire process.

This is what takes you through all four stages of learning - from unconscious incompetence to unconscious competence - where the skill feels automatic and 'easy.'

That’s why riders leave Full Circle not just with a new move in their pocket, but with a transformed approach to learning.

Learn more here.