Archive for September, 2009:
Working around Minor Injuries
Injuries are going to happen in our sport. Just look at what happened this last Outdoor Series. Mike Alessi, Ryan Villopoto and Trey Canard got hurt. Unless you broke a bone or tore something, minor injuries can be worked around. However, you just have to be smart and take it slow.
A while back, I shoulders would get stiff and sore, especially after bench pressing. So, I started to do pushups and I would rep out for each set. Now, I didn’t just stop working a muscle group because of an injury. You have to find ways around it and hit it differently. This is where listening to your body comes into play. If you feel like you could train, then try. Just make sure to take it slow. However, if you had a big crash over the weekend and you can hardly walk; training is not looking like a good option!
This goes for cardio as well. Sometimes, my left knee will get a little sore from running, or even just walking to class across campus. So, instead of skipping out on my cardio, I’ll hit the stationary bike. An even better and no impact exercise is swimming. There is literally zero impact and it is used with the elderly because of the minimal impact on the joints.
Another thing to remember is to take things slow. Like I said before, if you got into a big crash over the weekend, don’t try and go hard that week. You have to be flexible with your training schedule and make sure you can make adjustments for incidents like injuries. Work with lower weights and don’t push hard on your cardio because in the end, you will only be further injuring yourself. So, listen to your body, take it slow and get plenty of rest.
Take a Deep Breath
In a lot of race situations, especially off the start or in a tricky section, I would always catch myself holding my breath. This is bad because you don’t get oxygen to the muscles. And when this happens, you build up lactic acid and you muscles fatigue much quicker. This leads to arm pump and “throwin’ out the anchor” mid moto.
There are two ways to get energy to your muscles; the aerobic and anaerobic way. When you are just cruising at a normal pace on the track, you use your aerobic system and your muscles get plenty of oxygen. Because you are not exerting a lot of energy at once, your blood has enough oxygen in it to get your body energy.
However, when you are battling with someone in a rhythm section, you are using a lot of energy to get through the section fast and your heart rate is probably through the roof. In this case, you might not have enough oxygen in the blood stream. So, your body breaks down glucose into pyruvate. Then your body converts the pyruvate into lactic acid so you can break down the remaining glucose for energy.
The burning sensation you feel is the lactic acid. This is why it is really important for you to breath during your moto. You supply the muscles with plenty of oxygen and when you do get into a tough position, you won’t have as much lactic acid. I would always have this problem at the end of the moto when I would push for a few more positions. I would hold my breath and come off the track panting. I would pump up and I was exhausted.
That is why you need to make practice breathing, as stupid as it sounds. You want deep breaths from your diaphragm, not your stomach. This not only helps lower your heart rate, but you will get more oxygen per breath. Practice this on your stationary bike and every time you train. Pretty soon it will be a habit to breathe deep and you’ll be able to last longer on the track.
Acai Berry Site
I was just browsing and came across this site about the Acai Berry. It’s called The Informative Acai Berry Site. It explains everything you need to know about the berry like why it’s good for you, where it comes from and it even has some recipes to use the Acai berry. This goes hand and hand with the rest of the super food list I posted before. So, check out the site and get your hands on some of this stuff!
The link for the site is on the side, right about the Double Zero Productions link.
Advanced Weight Training
Confusing your body is the best way to get results. That’s what all the “at home” work out videos preach. Although most of those don’t produce desirable results – except for P90X – the idea of muscle confusion is correct. This applies to cardio and weight training. If you keep running the same amount of miles per session, your body will get used to mileage and you won’t get the same benefits. This is especially true in weight training. If you are moving up to a bigger bike, getting your strength up is key. So, instead of hitting the gym the same way you have been for a while, why not mix it up?
The following weight training techniques are for those of you who have been strength training for a while. When I say a while, I mean you have been consistently working with weights for at least 6 weeks. These techniques will obviously help with your strength, but they will more importantly help with your muscular endurance. You don’t need to these often, maybe a few times a month at the most.
Negative Reps
These are best done when you are done with at the end of your workout. When you are too tired to “contract” or have a “positive” movement, you can still have enough strength to do “negative” reps. For example, if you are doing Lat pull downs for your back; you can do your regular set of reps. Then, when you’re done with your last set, add a little bit more weight and have a friend pull the bar down with you. Now, you slowly let the bar up. This is the opposite of the normal rep and you use every once strength and endurance you have left.
Supersets
These are done when you perform 2 exercises in a row without stopping. For example, it’s your chest and back day. You can do your normal bench then hit up some pull ups. As soon as you’re done with the pull ups, go straight to the bench press. This gives your muscles the minimum amount of rest, yet you still have enough to get through the sets.
Strippers
This is my favorite. Not because of the name but because of the benefits you get. This is when you go until you can’t get another rep, and then you have a friend take off some weight. For example, you are doing squats and get one last out. Now, you take off maybe the 5 lbs. plates on each side and keep doing your squats. Keep “stripping” the weight off the bar until you are down to the bar. This pushes your muscles to the limit and your anaerobic system is in the red zone.
These are a few of my favorites. In each one of these, you reap some major moto benefits and get your muscular endurance going. And as you know, muscular endurance helps keep your form in the later part of the moto. So this is crucial for all aspects of riding. Remember, you only need to do these for each muscle group once or twice a month, at the most…or you’ll be sore for a week and you risk tearing something.
James Stewart on a Segway
I know I have been on a James Stewart kick lately, but I came across this while looking for the some Ride Day footage. This is a hilarious video of Stewart on his SX track…you gotta listen to his commentating!
Difficult Downsides
Getting to see James Stewart this past weekend was pretty incredible. I was able to see his style and how he works the bike, up close and personal. The “Ride Day” was at Dade City, which can get notoriously rough. I had a quick chat with Troy Adams and he even said it was rough! The soft soil had the riders navigating through deep ruts, huge braking bumps and chewed up landings on the jumps. You could tell that the fast guys had a much better way to get through the dips on the downsides and it saved them a lot of time and energy.
One thing I noticed, especially from Stewart, that you NEED to be able to clear the jump. The slower guys would hit lip, or the very edge of the downside and come up short. When this happens, two things occur. First, you don’t get that rear wheel on the downside to get you driving forward effectively. Second, when bounce from the case, you get yourself out of rhythm for the next section. So, make sure you can clear the jump easily.
Okay, so you can clear the jump. The next part is about mid-air control. If you have ever watched the nationals on TV, the riders always try to get the rear wheel on the ground when things get rough. This applies to jumps as well. When the downside has dips and random craters in it, you want the shock and rear wheel to soak it up for you. As most of you know, when you rev the bike in the air, you will notice that the front end comes up. In this situation, this is what you need to do.
Instead of landing even with the downside, you want the rear wheel to touch the ground first. And, most importantly, you want to be on the gas, hard. You need to get the rear to hit right in the middle of the crater/dip in the landing. As soon as you feel the rear hit the ground, get on the gas and shift your weight back slightly. If you time it right, your shock will be able to absorb the dip without any rebound. It will feel a lot smoother and you will have more momentum coming off a rough downside.
The key points to remember are a slightly higher front end when landing, getting on the gas hard and weight shifted back. Once, you get the timing down, you will notice a big different in the speed you can carry off of the jump and into the next section. It takes some time to get used, but once you do, it’ll be another weapon to use in race situations.
