Archive for August, 2009:
Still Looking….
I am still on the lookout for a good program for my training log. I have been looking at a few good ones, but when I find the right one, I’ll let you guys know. I should have a review of one by next week at the latest.
-Sean #34
Seat Bouncing for Dummies
As much as I love the outdoors nationals, watching supercross makes me pumped and want to go ride. The riding style required for motocross is quite different than supercross. You use different gearing, suspension, and motor settings, as well as techniques. The most common technique used in supercross is seat bouncing. Although, you can seat bounce in motocross, it is mainly used to get over jumps right out a corner.
When you first start to seat bounce, you have to be careful with your speed and seat positioning. A good place to start would be on small table top or even a single. A good rule to remember is that the faster you go, the further forward you want to sit on your seat. If you are wide open in 4th gear and sitting on the rear fender off of a jump, chances are, you’re going to endo. This is because you have placed too much load on the rear shock and it pushes back too fast, too much. So, find a slow speed jump and figure out your speed and seat position “ratio”.
Now, you found your jump and got a good seat position. This next part takes some getting used to. As you feel the front wheel come off of the face of the jump, you want to pull and lean back. This gets enough load on the shock to get you over the jump, but not too much to send you over the bars. You will get the feeling of how much force is needed. Each jump is different, so get a good foundation of the balance needed for small jumps before you move up. Another important aspect of seat bouncing is steady throttle application. You want to keep the gas on all the way up the face; don’t chop it or let off. This will put added force on the front end, which will increase the chance of an endo. A constant throttle also ensures that you will have enough power to clear the obstacle.
Seat bouncing is something that takes a little bit to get used to. If you have been doing this for a while, try to implement it on high speed rhythm sections or on jumps you have trouble clearing. However, remember the basics and don’t get cocky, as this will technique can throw you to the ground fast. So, find a good seat position, lean and pull back, and have a steady throttle up the face and you should be good to go.
Riding Safer and Faster with Plyometrics
Fast and powerful reflexes are needed in motocross. If you are committed to a set of high speed whoops and you feel your rear tire kick out, you need to muscle that bike back under you quickly. This is where plyometrics come in. What is plyometrics? Plyometrics is a form of training that stretches your muscles out, and then contracts them quickly for more power. It involves a series of drills that include hopping, jumps and bouncing. This results in stronger and quicker movement, which is perfect for race situations.
The main goal of plyometrics is to achieve maximum force in the shortest time possible. When you dip down for a squat and explode up into a leap, you stretch your muscle out to get the most movement and you use all of the muscle. From stretch to full contraction, there are 3 phases. The first stage is the pre-stretch. For example, when you squat, you stretch the hamstrings and store elastic energy for the explosion. The next stage is the time between the stretch and the contraction. The shorter this phase is, the more powerful the actual contraction will be. Finally, the contraction completes the cycle.
This quick muscle contraction leads to a number of things. First, when you are constantly forcing the muscle to contract quickly, you will get more power out of the muscle. Combing plyometrics and your strength training program will benefit both areas of training faster than trying to concentrate on one at time. Second, your reaction time will begin to decrease because your neurological system is being worked to the max during your training session. When your muscles are needed to contract multiple times quickly, the brain sends a number of unorganized messages to your muscle to contract. When training with plyometrics, you will eventually send one efficient, powerful message to your muscles. Also, your agility is greatly improved from all of the jumping and footwork involved. And you can’t forget the cardio. Plyometrics may seem easy, but you WILL sweat. If you push yourself hard, you will get a great cardio workout; usually the workouts are under an hour.
There are a lot of different training techniques used for motocross. This is one that will help you in so many areas training. Explosive reactions and more agility can result less time on the ground and more time riding. This could be the difference between a trip to the hospital and a trip to the podium. Keep a look out for some training programs for plyometrics.
Sliding through Hardpacked Sweepers
Not all soil is nice. Sometimes, it can be downright frustrating. One type of annoying dirt is hardpacked. You can’t just crack the throttle open all the time like you can in loamy dirt. Instead, you have to be…..you guessed it, smooth, especially on hard sweepers. A steady throttle will keep you from spinning out and ahead of the pack. It’s just like the old saying, go slow to go fast.
To set up properly, you want to brake before the corner when you are straight and upright. Once you have the braking point down, you want to sit up pretty far up on the seat. As you come down to the seat, you want throw your leg out for the balance…you’re going to need it. Balance is key to hard packed sweepers.
You want to lean in slightly and turn in. When you feel the rear end get light, you can apply some more throttle to get it out. It is just like flat trackers; they find that balance of leaning and drifting. You are more or less steering the bike with the gas. One trick that will help you from spinning out is to drag the rear brake. This adds a load to the shock and the wheel will hug the ground better. This allows you to get on the gas harder and stay more in control.
As always, don’t forget to apply pressure to the outside foot peg. It takes a while to get used to the sliding and balance “act.” You might go through a lot of grips, but the payoff is worth it. Hardpacked sweepers will eventually something you look forward to and you will make up time on your competitors.
Write it down!!!
Progression. Everyone wants it. Some don’t even know what it means; others don’t want to put the effort out. According to good ole’ Webster, progression is the act of forward or onward movement. But, how do you move forward in your training and how do you know what foods work for you in the gym? These questions can have a simple answer; and that is to write it down. Write what down? Everything! If you do a moto, write how long, how you felt, your mood, time of day, conditions of the track, etc. If you go to the gym and you do cardio, write how long you did it for, what you did, how you felt after, etc.
All of this record keeping is a visual aid. If you keep and accurate log of everything that you have done, you will see how far you have come in your training. The log will be a motivational tool to get into the gym and push yourself to the limit. Not only that, but you can see what you did in the last workout and try to out do it. For example, if you saw that you did X number of pull ups, try to do X + 2 pull ups. Never settle because that leads to a stale mental state and you will not progress as a rider or in your training.
This is convenient for looking back on your diet as well. You can see how much of what you are consuming. This is crucial because monitoring your carb/protein levels can help you achieve your training goals. If you have seen a positive result from the foods that you have eaten, keep that diet going. If you are not gaining anything in training, look back at your food log and see what you have eating. If it is junk food and energy drinks, change it up. My father always said nothing is going to change if you keep doing the same thing.
It’s great for keeping track of all the motos you have done. If you come to a track and you have it written down that you struggled with ruts, you need to go out and work on ruts. You can see how you feel after each moto throughout the day. This will tell you if you are getting into good riding shape. If your lap times drop significantly in each moto, you need to hit the gym! It is also great for keeping track of bike settings, such as clicker adjustments, tire selection and other tweaks you have done.
This is a great tool for anyone who is serious about their training and wants to take it to the next level. I have been looking for something that can make this process easier. When I find something, I will let you guys know for sure. Just remember to write down as much as you can. The more detailed, the better; when you look back at your log, you will be able to tell exactly what you did and how you did it, so you can improve on that. And that is something every rider wants…to improve.
David Vs. Goliath
There is always one big jump at your track that kills you. You want to hit it so bad, but you don’t know if you can. You see other people in your class can jump it, but you still aren’t sure. I had this problem a few years ago at a practice track I rode at; it was a long single to table in deep sand. It was really intimidating but with some advice from my friend Hope (yes, a girl. She was one of the fastest girls in Florida before she quit.), I hucked over it and realized it wasn’t as bad as I thought.
If you plan on hitting your big jump, don’t stress about it. If you think about it all day, you are going to ride terrible and your confidence is going to disappear. You will start thinking that today is not my day and you won’t hit it. So, start out your first moto as your usual warm up. Don’t think about it, get yourself warmed up and just ride. When you are done with your first moto, come in and relax.
When you go back out, do a lap or two, and then start to size it up. When you first hit the jump, you want to jump it a little less than half way. Your next lap, hit it a bit farther. When you think you have it dialed in, COMMIT. If you are going to jump it, just do it. Don’t back down on the face of the jump, as this could result in an endo or someone behind you could crash into you.
You want to commit to a steady throttle all the way up the face of the jump. Make sure you are in a neutral body position. If you are too far forward, you could endo. If you think you aren’t going to make it, pull your front end up and do a brake tap if you need to. However, you need to tell yourself that you can clear this without any mid air adjustments.
When you are in the air, you want to find your landing. You need to make sure that you get on the gas when you land so you power through anything that might happen. It is always better to over shoot it, instead of coming up short because if you case a big jump, your chances of riding it out are slim to none. To recap, relax throughout the day, don’t worry about the jump, commit to a steady throttle up the face and make sure you get back on the gas when you land. As long as you are in a neutral position and you are confident, you CAN clear big jumps.
