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Riding this weekend, I spend as much time as I could standing, but couldn't get a good feel for it.

My buddies were telling me to shift my hips forward to straighten my back, but that felt loose and like I was falling forward and I was too far up the tank to get a grip with my knees.

If I leaned over more, it felt better and I could still keep some weight of my hands but my lower back was getting sore. I was trying to get into the Z shape like one of the articles about Dungey, I think it was, and it was better but just off.

How is it supposed to be done, in general, for woods riding? I need to be able to shift forward or back to adjust for obstacles and it seems I can't find a balance between feeling like I'm going to kiss the bars or fall back.

This is the first summer of really trying to stand and it's better, but awkward still. Any good videos either online or to buy on DVD?

I'm riding a 250x, stock setup on bars, pegs, etc. I'm 5'8" with a 30" inseam.

If you're supposed to stand up, why is the seat foam one of the first complaints in the magazine reviews?

"Squeeze" your legs against the tank. Try to go for as long as you can standing to get a feel for it. Its about strength and balance. Try running, or any excercize with your legs.

I do squeeze with my legs, but if I get off the tank onto the shrouds where I'm balanced, I just slide back. If I get a good spot to squeeze, I'm off balance.

I'm running some and it's helped a lot.

Okay, my buddies were telling me to stand up, back straight with hips forward and under me.

That's not so good for me.

I found the article I was thinking about it, it was on Ryan Hughes, called the Ryno factor.

I find that riding like he talked about in the article helps a lot. Toes in, knees bent slightly, butt out.

It works great, but when I get on the throttle and uphill, I have a hard time holding on even gripping the tank with my knees.

Maybe I just need to build more forearm strength, as the top of my forearms burn after a bit from holding on.

It's great on flats, down hill and slight uphill or without a lot of throttle. I've hit some ugly stuff and the bike kicks a little but comes back rather than tossing my if I'm sitting so now I just try to get a good line and go. Not so much dodging.

Toes in, knees bent slightly, butt out Thats the ticket. Keep your head over the bars built for speed.
Try not to hold on with a death grip let the bike work under you. Also core workouts will help big time with Ryan's style. As for videos The ultimate how-to by Nathan Woods has some good stuff and should help you with technique.

http://www.offroadmxhowto.com/

Found it, now if I could get a copy locally, hah!

I'm trying not to hold on so tight, but I can't figure out how to stay forward on the bike under hard acceleration and especially uphill.

Maybe I'm a whimp, but my 250 could easily get away from me. I can't imagine what a 450 would be like.

Just ordered the video from the above site, if you order $30 or more, it's free shipping. Use the code SummerMX and you get 15% off. I got 3 DVD's for $63 and change. Make great gifts.

I can't wait, I wish I could hit logs like that!

Nice i know it will give you some good tips. Good luck and have fun.

Try practicing your stance, both sitting and getting up on your bike while your bike is on a stand. It sounds funny but imagine yourself ripping down a trail and getting up and sitting back down--hell even throw some clutch and throttle (gas off) in there too. Ive been riding for about 15 years now and I can still remember when I was working on shifting standing up, so I know what a big step it is. Confidence and control is the name of the game. Work on good form first, then start adding speed. Just have fun and dont think too much about it

Hmm, not a bad video, cool riding stuff. Some good tips.

Looking for more now, details and such.