1. Riding in a higher gear will make a world of difference.  When rev out your motor, it causes the suspension to bind.  That revalve you just paid for is useless if your motor is screaming for mercy.  You will end up dancing all over braking bumps and your rebound will kick a lot more, causing you to get a death grip, which ultimately leads to arm pump.  Another reason to ride a gear higher is because you will have more traction and less wheel spin.  You will dig in and be able to get the front wheel light if needed.
2. Smoother throttle application helps tremendously, especially on 450s.  If you dive into corners, square them up and dump the clutch, that burst of power will eventually wear you out.  Flowing through with the track and steadily applying the gas will keep your arms in their sockets and have you in control.  The quick bursts of power can get to be a handful when the track is full of acceleration bumps and other obstructions.
3. Working the sides of the track will save a lot of energy!  The main lines are generally in the middle because they are the fastest and easiest way around the track…early in the day.  But when the sun dries out the soil and the main line gets too gnarly, look at the outsides/insides.  The sides will have less usage than the middle part, giving you a much smoother track to ride on.
4. Last but not least, stand.  Sitting down on a rough track kills my back and I get extremely sore the next day.  I know it is easy to just sit down when you get tired, but sitting actually results in you getting more tired.  Your hips, knees, and ankles provide an extra set of suspension.  When you sit down, your back and core take a beating.  This leads to poor form over the course of the moto.  When your form is off, your whole riding and stamina are off as well.

This got me thinking about the idea of massive amounts of oxygen in the body.  A little science lesson for you: Oxygen in the red blood cells provides the fuel for the body’s repair.  This includes cuts, scraps, broken bones and anything else you can think of.  The air we breathe is normally 20% oxygen and 80% nitrogen…plus some small amounts of other various gases.

So, when you immerse yourself in a 100% oxygen, you are providing the body with a massive amount of “fuel” to recover.  In addition to the super concentrated air supply, the atmospheric pressure is bumped up from 1 ATA (measurement of the forced exerted by the weight of air) to 2 ATA.  This increases the concentration of oxygen.  These two combined provide enough oxygen that you don’t even need your blood.  But don’t think that once you have been in the chamber, you don’t need blood.  Once you return back to normal air and atmospheric pressure, the body utilizes the blood to get that normal level of 20% oxygen.

Okay, so you have a ridiculous amount of oxygen in your body…so what?  This is where you start to see the accelerated healing process.  Because you have so much oxygen in your body, new passage ways for blood and nutrients begin to grow.  Existing blood vessels dilate (get bigger) and provide even more blood flow.  Healing time can be cut down from months to weeks.  Instead of being in a cast for 6 – 8 weeks, you can be out of the cast in fewer than 3.  Granted, each session costs about $200, but the factories will gladly pay for 10 of these sessions instead of their rider sitting on the sideline.  Usually, you go to sessions about 2 days a week and you feel better and better with each session.  For most people, this is obviously a steep price to pay if you are feeling extremely sore after a gnarly crash.  However, you have to money and you have a big race coming up, why not try it!  If not, take some Advil.

One of the first things I notice about a track is the soil.  Is it tacky, loose, loam or hardpacked?  This can play a huge role when the track gets rough and dried out.  Also, some spots maybe wetter than others; this shows you good lines in the morning, but not so much for the afternoon.  Finding the best dirt for optimum traction will be important.

Going along the idea of soil, a good idea is to think about it track deterioration.  Softer tracks are obviously going to have more ruts and the jumps will become chewed up.  The turns will have bigger braking bumps than a harder soil.  This can help you choose your lines more carefully.  Sometimes, you will get corners where the outside might get blown out and you will have to take the inside.  The same goes for jumps.  If you see the faces are harder than the rest of the track, you may get lucky and have smoother jump faces.  While you are walking the track, you should be able to size up what you can and can’t do.  This will save you time during practice and help you concentrate on the more important parts, like corners.

One final thing to remember is passing options.  If a track looks pretty one lined, you should be concentrating on getting a good start.  However, if the track flows well and there is plenty of options for passing, talk it over with a friend or family member.  My dad and I would always walk the track and discuss situations and line selection.  When you get through practice, you will get a better idea of which lines are worth sticking to and which could be your back up lines.

If you don’t have an opportunity to walk to the track, watching the practice sessions before you will help.  Watching the faster groups will give you an idea of what lines the locals and/or experts use.  I would always try to get to the front of the line for practice.  That way, I could go at my own pace and who ever passed me would just go around.  This leaves the slower riders behind you and you can focus on learning the track.

The first thing is to approach the face at a slight angle.  If you plan on leaning to the right, you want to angle yourself to be pointing slightly to the left.  This allows you to turn the bars and lean the bike without scrubbing off of the track.  As the front wheel comes off of the lip, you want to begin to turn the bars the same way you are leaning.  You don’t want to try and make this like a turn.  That will only throw the rear end out and you will still be upright, defeating the whole purpose of this.  Keep this in mind and just lean.  As I said before, this is a unique technique, so it you prefer to stand, stand up.  If you like to sit down, have a seat.

Once you feel you are off of the jump, you want to keep turning the bars down.  This gets the motion of the whip going.  You really want to try and pivot and squeeze with your legs.  This is not just a movement with your arms; you want to help the bike through the flow with your hips and legs.  As you approach the peak of your flight, you will start to feel a point where you need to bring it back.  I have not brought it back in time and I can tell you, it hurts.

You will feel the bike want to come back to its normal, upright position.  To get this process going, simply turn the bars back the other way.  Combine this with a little bit of gas (to get the rear wheel spinning) and the centripetal motion of the wheels will get you back to the right position.  Don’t forget that apply pressure on the foot pegs so you can help bring the bike back with your legs.

When you get the bike straight, be sure to get on the gas.  This will help you drive through any swaps or any problems you have with the scrub when you land.  Like I said, this is a one of kind technique.  You need to practice this and start small.  Jumps that are slower and have long faces will help you out a lot and when you feel comfortable enough, transition to faster, shorter jump faces.  Everything should be a fluid, smooth motion.  It will come faster than you think and you will be throwing scrubs like James himself.

The Story

So I thought that since this isn’t a site about the economy, I thought I would give you some tips on training without having to pay for a gym membership or if you don’t have equipment.

1. Cardio – If you don’t have a $5,000 bicycle to ride on the road, don’t sweat.  There are plenty of options to get your cardio in.  If your state isn’t covered by a foot of snow, you can obviously go running.  It might be a little cold, but you’ll be glad you went and you can get a buddy to push yourself and each other.  Another option is to go to Sports Authority or a similar store and purchase a jump rope.  Boxers use these trim down and get a Michael Phelps level of cardio.  They are cheap and can be used almost anywhere, anytime.
2. Strength Training – I know that I said you should be concentrating on interval sessions now, but you can use body weight exercises as cardio and strength training….circuit training anyone?  Push ups, squats, lunges, crunches and pull ups.  Yes pull ups.  You can get that “Iron Gym” pull up devise that fits in your doorway.  It works great.  String all of these together with no rest between exercises and you will be sweating like crazy.
3. I know this really doesn’t have anything to do with training, but supporting the motocross community is really important.  If you can only afford to go to the track every other weekend, you are still contributing.  However, if you are in the market for some parts or need some work done, try the local guys first.  The bigger name companies are doing better than the small “mom and pop” shops.  By contributing to the sport, we will have something to train for!

That’s it in a nutshell.  You don’t have to have fancy equipment right now to be in shape.  If you get your cardio in and do plenty of body weight exercises, you are much better off than complaining about the economy!

The first step to sprint training is getting out of the gate as quick as possible.  I have articles on starts and the mental aspect of getting that holeshot, so have a look at those if you need to brush up.  To summarize the basics of starts, you want to find a straight line to the first corner…the shortest line is not always the fastest.  Remember to put all your weight on the bike and get the chain to the point where it is tight.  Looking at the pin holding the gate or looking at the gate itself is a personable preference; whatever has been working for you, keep with it.  Again, don’t dump the clutch.  Let it out easy and roll the throttle on.  I always like to leave both feet down for balance and when I need to shift up, I bring both feet up.

Like I said, that is a basic overview of starts.  I know that they kill you clutch, but doing a few before a sprint type moto will get you in the mindset of riding all out.  Once you have warmed up on the track and have a feel for everything, it is a good idea to do a couple of practice starts.  About 5 should be sufficient and on the 6^th start, start your sprints.

You can do one lap where you are at a quick race pace and record the lap time.  This can be your benchmark.  Being that the area qualifiers are so short, your lap times shouldn’t really drop that much.  If they do drop, it should only be off by .5 of a second or less.  Once you have your benchmark, do a start and bust out a moto at your race pace for however long your area race is.  Once you have completed your first moto, take a break and get some fluids in you.  Then, do the same thing; do a start and do a moto at race pace.

This will let you know where you stand as far as fitness and speed.  If you know someone at the track who is going to ride the same class and they are faster, you may want to work on your weaknesses on the track.  If you cannot complete a moto at race pace, keep doing the interval session from yesterday’s post.  Now is the time where you can start doing cardio three days per week and strength training 2 days.  Like I said yesterday, the first qualifiers took place this past weekend.  It is coming up fast, so get prepared A.S.A.P.!

Most of the time, interval training is the best way to get your cardio in.  It combines a higher, more anaerobic range of your max heart rate and a lower, recovery range.  Here’s a little sample to get you prepared for those area qualifiers….some have already started, so get to it!

Warm up – 5 minutes (don’t forget to stretch!)

30 seconds high, 60 seconds low – 2x for a total of 3 minutes

45 seconds high, 45 seconds low – 2x for a total of 3 minutes

1 minute high, 1 minute low – 2x for a total of 4 minutes

45 seconds high, 45 seconds low – 2x for a total of 3 minutes

30 seconds high, 60 seconds low – 2x for a total of 3 minutes

Cool Down – 5 minutes

That gives you 26 minutes of some good cardio.  Again, if you choose to run, great; if you prefer to spin on a stationary bike, that works too.  It’s up to you.  However, rowing is probably your best bet for more of a motocross style workout.  Like I said, the lists of Loretta’s qualifiers are up and some of them have taken place this past weekend.  If you plan on attending these, you need to get start preparing now.

Now, the average jump on a supercross track is pretty steep.  Much steeper than the jumps you hit on the weekends at your track.  But after looking at pictures of the wall, it literally looks vertical at the top.  But after watching the video of the pros hitting it at speed, it doesn’t look that bad.  However, everything they do looks easy…so don’t take what you see on TV for granted.

The first thing I noticed when riders would the wall is that when the front started coming up, they were standing and had their head over the bars.  The further the front end came up, the further forward they leaned.  This is a pretty simple idea; keep your weight forward to you don’t loop out when on the gas.  As the front wheel reached the end of the lip, the riders began to shift their weight back.  As the rear wheel gets closer to the top, gravity/forward momentum pulls the front wheel down and forward.   Riders would “row” back so their butts were over the fenders.

Most amateur tracks are not going to have this incorporated in the design.  It disrupts the flow of the course and ruts up very easily.  I have ridden something similar a few years ago, but it wasn’t quite as steep.  But I remember that some of the faster riders were approaching it with speed and scrubbing it a little.  This kind of obstacle isn’t something you will probably run into, but if you do, try to approach it straight.  Then if you feel like you can soak it up a bit, try it.  Every situation is different and once things get rutted up, it is a different ball game.  Take it slow and watch the local fast guys hit it to get an idea of a safe and quick way over it.

Skip through until the :35 mark.

As with most jumping techniques, seat bouncing is not for beginners.  However, if you are comfortable with getting some air time, then start small when learning this.

Okay, now that the disclaimer is out of the way, let’s get to this.  One of the most important parts of this is to find a balance between speed and seat position.  If you are coming out of a tight, inside corner, you can sit farther back on the seat.  However, if you are sitting in the same spot, but going twice as fast, things aren’t going to end up well.  Your shock is speed and weight sensitive.  If you are traveling at a high rate of speed and sit on the back of your seat, the shock is going to have a big load on it.  When you hit a jump, all of the speed and weight are going to compress the shock further down than if you were sitting on the gas cap.  When it rebounds, the bigger load will send more momentum forward…possibly enough to send you over the bars.

Enough physics.  You have found your ratio between speed and seat position, now what?  Well, as with any jump, you want to approach it straight and steady throttle.  Blipping the throttle while trying to seat bounce is bad…believe me.  As you get to the face, you want to be in your seat, positioned properly and maintaining a smooth and linear throttle.  The farther up the face you go, slowly apply more gas.  This keeps the power to the ground and the rear wheel spinning, which helps the front end stay up.  As the front wheel leaves the lip, you want to pull the bars and lean back.  Each jump is different, so finding a balance between leaning, pulling and applying throttle will take some time to get used to.  All of these combined put extra load on the shock and enable you to jump higher than normal.

For some people, standing up as soon as they are air born is right.  For others, they wait until they are at the peak of their height to stand.  You will know when you have to stand up and get ready for the landing.  Again, don’t try this on a huge double if this is your first time seat bouncing.  Start small on a table top and work your way up.  The more you do this, the better is feels.  Take it slow and you’ll get it sooner than you think.