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This plan is for riders who want to ride hard enduro: slow, steep, technical terrain where the bike has to be placed precisely and the rider has to stay calm for hours. It works whether you're new to dirt bikes, coming across from motocross, or a trail rider who keeps getting stuck on the same climbs.

It isn't a race programme. It's the order in which skills build on each other, so the time you spend riding turns into progress instead of repeated failed attempts on things you aren't ready for. If you aren't sure what hard enduro involves, read what is enduro first.

Work through the courses in this order. You'll overlap them, and that's fine, but don't skip ahead to hills and logs before the fundamentals are solid.

Hard enduro happens far from help, so the basics come first:

• Gear. A properly fitting helmet, boots, knee protection, gloves and body protection. The beginner bike and gear guide covers what matters most when you're learning.
• Bike setup. Suspension sag for your weight, controls positioned for standing, protection for the parts that break. See bike setup and maintenance.
• Decisions. Learn the STOP/GO framework before you need it. It gives you a clear way to say no to a line when you're tired or unsure.
• First aid and a plan. Know the trail first-aid basics, carry a small kit, and tell someone where you're riding.

Set the controls up for a standing rider before your first practice session. Controls 101 has a checklist.

This is where most of your early progress comes from. Everything later in the plan is built from these skills:

1. Controls 101: throttle, clutch control, rear brake, front brake, gear selection and kill/start.
2. Body positioning: the standing stance that lets the bike move under you.
3. Full-lock figure-eights: every control at once, at walking pace.
4. Static balance: stopping still to look, think and choose a line.
5. Clutch feathering and front-end lifts: the bridge to logs and steps.

Dirt Bike Magazine calls static balance "crucial and, in all honesty, one of the most challenging exercises to accomplish". It's also one of the most useful. Riders who can stop and balance make better decisions on hard terrain because they aren't forced to keep moving.

Once the fundamentals are calm and repeatable, take them onto real ground, one feature at a time:

• Pivot turns for switchbacks and tight trees.
• Logs and rocks, which are front-end lifts plus timing.
• Hill climbs and descents, which rely on clutch control, gear choice and restarts.
• Water crossings and, much later, splatters.
• Controlled wheelies and stoppies to place the bike exactly where the terrain demands.

Start each one small, low and dry, with a clear run-out. Make it bigger, steeper or looser only when the smaller version is boring.

Hard enduro is an endurance sport as much as a technical one. Fatigue makes your clutch hand clumsy and your decisions worse. Build an aerobic base with the endurance lesson, add strength and mobility work, and learn the mental game tools for nerves and mistakes. The arm pump guide covers the most common physical problem riders hit on long technical days.

Short, focused sessions beat long, aimless ones. Transmoto's advice for building confidence in technical terrain is simple: "practice. A lot!"

• Somewhere you're allowed to ride. A practice track, private land with the owner's permission, or an organised off-road venue.
• Flat, open and grippy first. Dirt Rider's advice for learning the clutch applies to all of the fundamentals: practise "in a big dirt area where there's nothing to hit and plenty of space".
• A gentle slope nearby for holds, restarts and easy descents.
• Ride with someone. A friend can help with a stuck bike, spot you on a feature and film your drills so you can see what you're really doing.
• Keep sessions short and stop while you're still riding well. Tired practice teaches tired habits.