Archive for January, 2010:
Smarter Cardio
I am not going to lie; I prefer strength training over cardio. But that is only because it looks better to the ladies! However, cardio is obviously a very important part of motocross. Your strength is going to only last so long before lactic acid runs through your lungs. Getting your cardio up is a pretty tough thing to do and a lot of people don’t really look at it the way they should. Most people think that you should just petal your brains out on a stationary bike for as long as you can. If you have read any of my post, you know that is not the smart thing to do.
The best thing to do is to train in zones. The basic training ranges can be divided up into 4 heart rate percentages. The four zones are:
Recovery Zone – this is the heart rate percentage area where you warm up and cool down. Normally you are about 60 to 70% of your max heart rate.
Aerobic Zone – this is the place where you do the longer, less stressful cardio sessions during the off season. Working on this zone requires at least 30 minutes to get the benefits needed. Your heart rate percentage is around 70 to 80%.
Anaerobic Zone – when you strength train or suddenly swap out in a whoop section, this zone comes into place. Your heart is in the higher ranges of 80 to 90% of your max heart rate. When you do interval sessions, this is the perfect zone to be in when you are on the more intense interval.
Anaerobic Threshold – any heart rate above the previous zone. You don’t want to spend a lot of time in here at one time. This is more of a peak zone. However, coming to this zone pushes your aerobic endurance much faster than staying in the aerobic zone.
So how do you find these heart rate percentages? By using the Karvonen formula of course! It is a pretty simple form:
Target Heart Rate = ((max HR − resting HR) × %Intensity) + resting HR
HR = Heart Rate
Just plug and chug. By using this equation, you can find where you need to be and for how long. Don’t just limit this to cardio though; you can use this for circuit training and regular strength training days. By using this, you not only train smarter, but you won’t have to kill yourself in the gym. You train more efficiently and don’t run your body into the ground.
Practicing with Race Day Intensity
As I watch footage of James Stewart riding a supercross track, it amazes me the amount of speed he carries through the whoops and corners. Granted, I know this is the fastest pace in the world, but it still intrigues me that he still looks for places to pick up time on his lap. If you watch his latest video on RacerX, you will see what I am talking about. He literally “hangs it out” every lap; even on a testing session in Corona. Although, Dungey settled for second, he still gave James a hell of a race. I don’t think anyone was expecting that out of the 450 rookie…I know I didn’t. Even Kevin Windham looked good and he has been doing this dirtbike thing forever!
With all of the testing done over the months before A1, seat time was not a problem. For most people, time on the bike is a problem. That is why it is important to make sure your seat time is used right. Going to the track should be fun and that is the main reason we ride, but if you want to get better, just cruising around is not going to make you any faster. Riding with race day intensity is important to get you mentally and physically prepared for the next season ahead.
When you do a moto at race speed and length, you will see where your speed and fitness is real quick. That is why they call it practice. You practice to get better and that is what every person wants to do. Depending on how you rode last time and the amount of time you have to ride, you can do a couple of things to get your lap times a little lower. The first thing to do is to break down the track into sections. Incorporate a couple of corners and jumps and concentrate on this part. Try to ride through this portion with the high intensity of a race, but remember to try and stay consistent and smooth. Sections that take about 30 seconds or less are a good place to start. This keeps your concentration in one place and you won’t have your focus scattered everywhere.
Another option is to ride the whole track. Obviously, this is what most people do, but you can look at it in another way. If you felt like you were sloppy when the track was rough, wait till the end of the day to ride and bust out a moto in the chop. Granted, you won’t be able to ride as fast, but you will see what techniques you need to work on and you will find out how well you have been training. Try to keep it smooth and minimize mistakes, sprint speed is not what you are looking for….more of endurance.
Just riding at your track on the weekends is fine and fun, but if you want to win races, you need to practice with some intensity. Don’t just cruise around; analyze your mistakes and work on them.
Long Ruts on Straights
Nothing reminds me of motocross more than a rutted up, fast, flowing track. This is the pinnacle obstacle that separates the men from the boys. Most beginners find themselves nervous approaching long ruts and often end up on the ground. It doesn’t matter if a rut is in a corner, on a straight or on the face of a jump, you will encounter one sooner or later. When the snow melts in the spring, the soil becomes saturated and is primed for deep ruts, especially down straights. Some look at this as a burden, but you can actually use these to your advantage.
A lot of people can go fast on a straightaway. It’s pretty simple; open the throttle as far as possible. That’s generally how ruts get formed on straights. People actually use the power of their bikes and it trenches out the soil. Obviously, the main line will get dug the deepest. In the beginning of the day, this won’t be a bad choice to use. It just depends on how it sets you up for the next section. However, a majority of the time, the main line usually gets too deep and ends up slowing you down.
When the whole straight gets rutted out, things start to get a little tricky. The middle of the track is going to have deeper ruts than the edges of the track. So, by taking the edges of the track, you can avoid the choppy mess made by the slower riders and you can save your energy for more important times in the moto.
As with any rut, approaching it with both wheels in line is very important. You want to keep both wheels in the rut, preventing you from getting cross rutted. You also maintain your momentum and forward drive, as well. Once, you have both wheels lined up, keeping your head up and vision ahead is very important. Staring at the ground right in front of you will only send you one place, the dirt. That is not where you want to be. A good guide is to keep your vision a few bike lengths ahead of you. The faster you go, the further you want to look.
Depending on how deep the ruts are, a good idea is to ride on the balls of your feet (and point your toes in, gripping the cases). This prevents your feet from getting caught in the rut and ripping your leg off the peg. As always, you want to be gripping the bike with your knees and applying steady, consistent throttle. As you get to the end of the straight, there are more than likely going to be braking bumps. This is where you want to start shifting your weight back slightly to keep you from going over the bars.
Like I said, if you can conquer ruts, you can conquer anything. It is mind over matter and just keeping good form and looking ahead. Stay loose and relax; you’ll get through them sooner than you think.
Coming back from Mild Injuries
Last was a pretty cool experience for me. I was in North Carolina and got to go snowboarding for a few days with some friends. For a Florida Boy, snow is pretty crazy…so I take advantage of it. We snowboarded a lot and I fell a lot! After a few gnarly falls, my tail bone and back were pretty sore. I wanted to get back into the gym but I was way too sore for any heavy workouts.
This got me thinking about coming back from injuries from the riding. A few riders actually switched coasts because of injuries and are taking time to recover. Mild injuries are pretty common in motocross. So whenever you wash out and fall on your shoulder or swap out, you are generally going to be a little sore the next day. Most of the time, you can get away with just going to the gym and toughing it out.
However, sometimes, it may be a little more severe than that. Training while injured obviously can make things worse, but you don’t want to stop training entirely because one body part is really sore. Working around the problem is a good way to keep on top of your fitness without sacrificing your whole program.
For instance, if your shoulder has been hurting you for a while, doing some push ups might help keep your upper body from getting too weak. In addition, the push ups incorporate your shoulders slightly, helping to ease the problem out. You can also do cardio on the stationary bikes or run outside (if it’s not freezing out). Body weight exercise keep the strength up, but more importantly, it helps keep mobility in the muscle or joint. If you didn’t move it, it would lose movement and it would be harder to get back to your previous point of flexibility.
The main idea to take from this is to find a way to work around the problem. Don’t try to muscle or force your way through a work out; that only makes it worse. Body weight exercises help tremendously when trying to get movement and strength back. If a problem is upper body, don’t be afraid to do some cardio. Just train smarter than the dirt you ride on and you’ll be fine!
Top 5 Tips from 2009
When I started this blog about 6 months ago, I never anticipated where it would take me. It helped me realize what I want to major in college and what I plan to do after school. Moreover, it has helped me learn as well. I have written ways to help improve your training and help you ride safer, smarter and longer. However, there are some really important things to remember when training for motocross. Here is a list of the Top 5 MX training tips from 2009:
Eat and drink a lot
Eating numerous small meals throughout the day helps provide your body with the necessary energy to keep going. Instead of the traditional 3, big meals, you will keep your body from getting in the “sugar crash” mode. When you wait to eat those 3 meals, you wait too long and starve yourself. When you do finally get to eat, you gorge yourself with massive portions. Eating every few hours, your body will metabolize your food faster and more efficiently.
Drinking a lot does not mean drink more beer. I mean to drink plenty of water throughout the day. Get a water bottle and sip on it. Chugging water before a workout makes you feel bloated and you are not properly hydrated. If your piss isn’t clear…drink more water!
Don’t Body Build
The difference between bodybuilding and training for motocross is simple; muscle isolation. When training for MX, you want to use multi-joint exercises such as the clean and press, dead lift, pull ups and front squats. This moves the body in a manner that is close to the way you ride. Muscle isolation focuses movement over a single joint, like using curls to work the biceps.
Remember that the main muscle groups for MX are legs, core, back, and chest. Your arms are more of a hinge connecting your upper body to the handle bars. Sorry, but your arms are not as important as you think (no guns to show off!). Your legs can take a greater load over a longer period of time. That is why you squeeze with your legs to relieve your arms; so they don’t get arm pump.
Change it up
Confusing your body is a great way to make gains in your training quickly. If you do the same cardio routine for months on end, you will grow stagnant and won’t continue to improve your training. That is why training seasons work so well. In the off season, you do longer, less stressful cardio and in the spring (pre/race season) you start to hit the interval sessions again.
Incorporating a few variations of cardio will also keep you fresh and wanting to train. Varying your days as well makes a big difference. If you are used to doing cardio Mondays and Wednesdays, try to do it Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Get some R&R
Rest is not only a time for your muscles to rebuild, but it gives you a chance to relax. If you are going and going and going at a break-neck pace, you will get burnt out. However, most importantly, you could over train and lose all of your progress. For strength training, wait at least 48 hours to give your muscles a rest and for cardio, no more than three sessions per week.
As far as sleep, 8 hours minimum. Sleep is a time for your body to grow and get stronger overall. If you are doing cardio every day, you are not giving your legs, heart and lungs a chance to recover. Make some time to rest and it will pay off.
Have fun!
Why are you training? To ride longer or to get better results? Just remember that for most people, the sport of motocross is a hobby. Have fun with it and you will reap the benefits from the time in the gym. Use the training as an outlet for your stresses so you don’t take that to the races. That way, you can enjoy what all us do as well, riding with our friends!
