Periodization Breakdown
Training for any kind of sport is goes a little bit further than going to the gym, doing a workout you see in Muscle and Fitness then running for an hour. This will get you nowhere. Sure it is better than doing nothing, but there is no structure. If you have been reading my blog for a while, you have seen me talk about periodization. This is the cycling of training priorities from non-sport specific activities of high volume and low intensity to sport specific activities of low volume and high intensity. These cycle so you prevent overtraining, optimize performance and more importantly, peak when it counts.
Starting with the smallest cycle, a microcycle is only one to four weeks long. Combining multiple microcycles together gives you a mesocycle. This can last several weeks to several months. The final culmination of all of the mesocycles results in the macrocycle. This is typically an entire training year.
Let’s use Johnny Racer for an example. Johnny just moved up from minis and plans race Loretta Lynn’s this year. Last year, he did well at his area qualifier but had a bad regional qualifier. It’s a new year and he just hopped on his 125. However, he has a hard time controlling the bike at the end of the moto when it gets rough. For the example’s sake, let’s say that the reason Johnny is getting so tired is because both his cardiovascular system and muscular system are not used to bigger bike. He will need to increase his strength and work on his cardio.
Now let’s set a goal for little Racer: It’s almost February and Loretta’s is early August. That gives us 7 months to work with. Since it is early in Johnny’s training cycle, we will begin with higher volume, lower intensities. Resistance training is light weight with 20 reps, only 2 sets and should be a total body workout. With strength training, you want to give yourself at least 48 hours for recovery to avoid early burn out. Some light cardio, or active recovery, for 30 minutes at 50%-60% of you max heart rate will help with soreness. For cardiovascular work, you can keep the heart rate in the 60%-70% from 45 to 60 minutes 3 to 4 times per week. For added recovery, you can throw a rest week in every 3 to 4 weeks where training is kept to a minimum.
By late March to early April, things can begin to get more intense. However, with added intensity comes less volume. Our resistance training set and rep rang shift as well as our cardiovascular work. For strength work, we move to 3 sets, but drop down to only 10 reps. You want to movements like a dead lift or squat for the first exercise then concentrate on lunges, pull ups, stability ball exercises and core work. Just like the resistance training, cardio goes up in intensity significantly. Our percentages would be 70%-80% and time is about 30 minutes after a warm up.
To wrap up the last 5 to 6 months, we move into more on sport specific training. Our strength training sessions are high intensity with little volume. You want to be fast as possible with reps as they should be in the range of 10 -12 reps and only 2 sets. Cardiovascular training is high intensity as well. You would shift from more of a longer, steady state to interval training. Lower intensity bouts would be in zone 2 while the more intense bout would be in zone 4. Recovery is king in this stage of the year. You only need to be doing this strength training twice per week. The same goes with the intervals. Recovery rides in zone 1 are great for active rest.
This is a rough outline of what a training program would look like. This is a general outline of what needs to be done, but the goals and weaknesses of each rider would determine the schedule. Knowing where you want to be and what you need to work on will make the difference come race day. Not having an idea of what you want to accomplish only leads to lack luster results. Keeping a log of everything you do will help you determine goals and areas of strength and weakness.
Here are a few links for if need clarity on zones for interval training and finding your heart rate zones:
Top 5 Resistance Training Movements
When strength training for moto, you want to choose the most dynamic exercises you can. This means you want movements that will give you the most bang for your buck. You don’t want to spend hours in the gym. The main part of any training program is riding as the cardiovascular and resistance training should just be used to improve physical weaknesses. With that in mind, keeping strength training movements to big, multiple joint exercises will have the greatest effect in the shortest amount of time. In no particular order, here are 5 exercises that you should have in your strength training program.
- Front Squats – Normal barbell squats are revered as one of the best overall exercises. Ever. When you do these, you are utilizing the biggest muscle group in the body (legs) as well as the core and lower back for stabilization. However, when you place the bar in front of your neck instead of behind it, this changes things quite a bit. More emphasis is place on the quadriceps, core and lower back. These will help with the attack position and correct form while riding with the quad work and core stabilization.
- Atomic Push Ups – Push Ups are great for everything upper body. They engage the chest, triceps, shoulders and once again, the core. Throw your feet into a TRX or similar suspension training device and you have yourself one of the best upper body movements for moto. Think about anytime you went through braking bumps or a rough section; the bars are violently thrashing side to side and the whole front end is moving up and down. This requires a lot of upper body strength and muscular endurance to maintain a straight and steady course. You can even place your hands on an Indo board for even more core activation and added intensity.
- Dead Lifts – If you can’t squat, you dead lift. This simple movement is only second to squats. Deads are great for hip, hamstring, and posterior work. If you are moving up in bike size or having trouble controlling the bike at the end of a moto, incorporating dead lifts will make a huge difference. Forget the power lifting style of the wide sumo stance. Go with a narrower stance with your feet about 12 inches apart. For moto applications, it isn’t necessary to go super heavy with this, but still make sure you have the form down to avoid injury.
- Rows – These can be done with almost anything that creates resistance: barbell, dumbbell, kettle bells and suspension training devises. There are even more options with hand positions and going unilateral. This is a great movement for the latissimus dorsi as this goes hand and hand with the push up movement and braking bumps. Rows are the ying to the push up’s yang. Doing these will complete a strong, versatile upper body.
- Lunges – Another great lower body movement. Like the rowing, there are so many variations like step ups, rear lunges, side lunges, etc. This targets almost the whole leg: quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, calves, etc. Lunges are not meant to be done with heavy weight so it is best done with higher reps. Like the dead lifts, these can be extremely beneficial if you have a hard time keeping the bike under control at the end of a moto. Lunges compliment and make a great end to a workout after dead lifts/ squats.
Headshake Solutions
When I first started riding big bikes, I was so stoked to finally have all of the power I wanted. However, with great power, comes great responsibility…courtesy of Uncle Ben from Spiderman. Sometimes, we can get ahead of ourselves on a rougher track and the braking bumps fight back. Most of the time, the chop and speed result in head shake. This uncontrollable shaking can be thwarted with a few adjustments.
One of the most common reasons for head shake is fatigue. When you are fatigued, your form goes out the window and it gets worse as the moto progresses. Your elbows drop and you cannot get enough leverage to keep the bars straight. As you get more and more head shake, you begin to grip harder with your hands and the forearms pump up to bricks. Sound about right? When your upper body feels like rubber, the need to grip with your legs becomes even greater. Again, the quadriceps and hamstrings are a much larger muscle group that can support greater loads of stress for longer periods of times. Start the moto out with a conscience effort of using your legs more than your arms and you will be better off.
Another problem is RPM range. The relationship between the motor and suspension is pretty crazy when you really think about it. When you hear pros run through whoops and moguls, they are running a higher gear. The RPMs are lower and take some of the load off of the forks and shock. They travel smoother and won’t bind, which gives you that bouncing effect through the rough stuff. If you shift down AFTER the braking bumps, you allow your suspension to ride with you, instead of against you. The forks will travel through the entire stroke and do their job; soak up the terrain.
Weight distribution is also important. Maintaining your attack position through the rough chop will help keep your elbows up and in good form. This attack position will place your weight evenly over the bike, allowing you to make changes if need be. As I have said before, riding on the balls of your feet will give you some extra “suspension” and forces you to grip the bike with your legs.
By throwing good form and the right gear together, head shake will be a thing of the past. Of course, making sure your sag is set on the shock and your clickers are dialed is important, but the rider can make a big difference. As always, remember the basics and keep it fun.
Effective Braking for Faster Cornering
Everyone can go fast by hold the throttle pinned on the straights, but it’s when it comes time to slow down that separates the pros from the amateurs. Next time you are at your local track, watch the fast guys around the track; they are either on the gas or braking. Slower riders tend to have a bad habit of letting off before the corner and then braking. However, teaching yourself to hold it on longer isn’t enough. Learning how and when to use both brakes effectively will help take your corner speed to the next level.
Telling yourself to hold the gas on a split second longer is easier said than done, but it can be a life saver on the start. Unlike road racing, there are no markers to tell us how close the corner is. However, we can use simple objects like rocks, fencing or foliage. Finding a marker can help you visualize your spot on the track and help you hold the throttle down longer.
Many people have their own theory on how to brake properly. Some prefer just the front while others like the back. I believe that there is no definite answer. Each brake has different purposes. The front brake is great for diving into inside ruts and coming to a stop quickly, while the rear keeps the rear wheel planted to the ground and keeps your momentum up. Another interesting thing that seems to help me is to “push” the bike in the ground. Trying to weight front or rear down will put more force on the ground to get that extra friction for added stopping power.
One thing that aids in your momentum and drive is to avoid locking the brakes. When you lock up the rear brake, there is no control over the traction and where the wheel goes. All of your RPMs drop and it just creates braking bumps even faster. Your best bet is to “chatter” the rear. This is a method where the rear wheel is spinning, but at a much slower rate. This is great for maintaining drive in deep soil and it squats the rear end down to avoid swapping out.
Each situation is different, but remembering how your brakes control deceleration, you can utilize each one to its maximum potential. If you have an outside line in a corner that looks good, use more rear brake than front. For insides, you would be better off grabbing the front and getting that front end down. Becoming comfortable with both brakes can allow you to have faster entry speed in any corner.
Understanding the Energy Systems Part 2
So yesterday was an intro to the fuel systems of the body. It was brief, but to get the point across, I made it quick and painless. If you noticed, the two sources for fuel were fat and carbohydrates. These are broken down according to how fast energy is needed, then they are converted to ATP for muscular contraction. The relationship between fat and carbohydrates can be seen in the picture.
As you move away from aerobic systems, fat is used less and less as carbohydrates become the main fuel. Looking at the picture again, you see that the red line represents the wastes. This is not related to bowel movements in any way (or we would be in big trouble every time we rode!). The line indicates the accumulation of lactic acid. When the intensity is low and fat is still a prime fuel, the lactate acid can be flushed from the blood and muscles in a timely manner.
The aerobic base is the point where the highest intensity of your effort can still be maintained to be aerobically efficient. Remember, aerobic means “with oxygen” so this is still in the lower heart rate zones. You can actually shift this point with enough aerobic training. This is the main goal when you say “I need to get my cardio up.”
As you move up the graph, you’ll see the lactate acid increase exponentially. This is where you reach the anaerobic threshold. At this point, you stop using oxygen and that burning feeling is rampant. Training in this zone requires a lot of work and athletes physically cannot spend much time here. Once you go past this point, you reach your VO2 max. Quite simply, this is the maximum amount of oxygen the body can take in and use.
By now, you should see a pattern forming here. Your heart rate zones used for training are directly affected by your anaerobic threshold, aerobic base and VO2 max. The fuel required must be consumed in sufficient quantities to ensure that you have the body’s “gas tank” full (i.e. eat correctly). I hope this helps you understand aerobic training a little more.
If you have any questions, don’t be afraid to email me!
Understanding the Energy Systems
I have said this numerous times before, but I will say it again because it is so true: moto is one of the most dynamic sports on the face of the planet. Simply doing cardio for hours on your road bike will not prepare you enough for a 20 minute moto. The body relies on different systems to fuel itself during physical activity and the endless cardio only taps into one of these energy systems. When you know what to train, you can properly set up your workouts for the right time of the year.
Your energy systems are the means of producing energy that is called ATP. This is molecule is essential for muscular contraction. If you have no ATP, you aren’t going anywhere. Depending on the intensity of the activity, you will get most of your energy from one of three systems: oxidative, glycolytic, or ATP-PCr system. All three systems are always being used, but it is just a matter of which one is in the “driver seat.”
The first system is the oxidative. This is the slow and steady way of getting energy. Generally, this is used when activity is over 2 minutes. Because it uses oxygen, this aerobic process takes place in the mitochondria of your cells. Remember those things? They used to call them the power houses of the cells when I was in high school. As you train in this system more and more, your body will produce more mitochondria in order to keep up with the demand for ATP. For the most part, the lower the intensity, to more fat is utilized.
The next system is the glycolytic. In this system, things are getting a more intense and the heart rate is climbing. At this point, you start to use a little less fat and more carbohydrate. This is where glycolysis occurs and breaks down glucose or glycogen. Since this is a higher intensity, if there is oxygen (aerobic), then the glucose can be broken down and sent to another cycle for ATP. However, when there is no oxygen (anaerobic), the glucose is sent to a different cycle for ATP and eventually is converted in lactic acid, but it can be dissipated quickly. This system is used when activity is under 2 minutes.
The final system used is the ATP-PCr system (CreatinePhosphate) . This is utilized when you are going all out. Unlike the oxidative system where you are getting plenty of ATP, the PCr system only generates small amounts. It cannot be sustain for very long before lactic acid and fatigue take place. The main source of fuel here are carbohydrates. The time for this system is very short, less than 30 seconds.
This is an extremely brief overview of these systems. However, if you can understand what is going on, you will be able to train yourself more efficiently. Like the old saying goes, work smarter, not harder. Tomorrow I will tie this in with the VO2 max so you get a better understanding.
