I recently passed Level 1 and in the process earned quite a few bruises. After a day of rest I tried to practice mounting, but couldn’t because I was too sore.
What do you all do when you can’t ride? Are there exercises and other things you do to build up strength and balance on your off-days?
The more you ride the more you legs will get used to it, when I first started riding to work it took me ages, because id walk most of the way as my legs/arse would be too sore, now I can get there and back with no problem. Spend more time in the saddle, and it will hurt less
If you can’t ride because your body is sore, let it rest. Letting your body rest is part of the training, a very important part.
If you can’t ride because of the weather, etc, then find an indoor gym or other indoor location. If you can’t, then you should have thought about that before you chose unicycling 
. Stuff like idling can be practiced in a smaller area which also helps your balance, but watch out for objects around you and prepare yourself in case you fall. You can do it, but the question is if you should which is up to you.
In terms of exercise, I would think anything that would help the areas that get sore, mainly your knees and legs. Exercise bike comes to mind with good resist, squats, running in place.
There’s nothing to do but keep on riding ASAP. You’ll get going again, this is a standard part of your unicycling development.
But if you passed Level 1, doesn’t that mean you’re already freemounting at least one attempt out of three?
Unicycling is a very specific activity, as discussed recently here. While there might be some other activities that will slightly improve your skills, nothing compares to getting back in the saddle.
Actually, for me, the most helpful activity to improve at unicycling, other than unicycling itself, has been reading and sometimes posting on these forums. That’s how I learned to ride up steep hills, extend the life of my learner uni, get better at freemounting, go off curbs more smoothly and too many other things to name, some of which I’m probably not even consciously aware of. Unicycles are full of mystery. Riding one requires more discussion than you might think, and from the average person on the street, the most you will get is a few bars of
Come to think of it, the title of this piece is also something I learned on these forums, although I don’t know if that makes me a better unicyclist!
Thank you!
Great advice, all! I’ve been listening to my body and giving it time to recover. This forum and YT videos are certainly a help until I can get back in the saddle. Thank you, I really appreciate your input!
I guess it depends on how sore your are, and what is sore. Something like a “pedalo” might be an option. It’s kind of like an ultimate wheel… with training wheels.
That thing is awesome…
