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Every year around this time i start off slowly getting back into my exercise program with light cardio and weights. I swear this is the worst I've felt in a while. Last year i started my riding season late and stopped early due to my work overwhelming me.
This year i want to start riding earlier , ride more if possible and go late into the season.
What about you guys? Crawling out of the off season / holidays and so forth....you guys struggle to get things moving again. I guess i have a love/hate relationship with it. I love seeing the progress i can make....but gawd dang it's like getting a rusty machine all oiled up and running smooth again.
This year i want to start riding earlier , ride more if possible and go late into the season.
What about you guys? Crawling out of the off season / holidays and so forth....you guys struggle to get things moving again. I guess i have a love/hate relationship with it. I love seeing the progress i can make....but gawd dang it's like getting a rusty machine all oiled up and running smooth again.
Hang in there Jeffro, I feel your pain bro.
The Shop
Think I am supposed to put "bro" after that.
Pfffft...
53, Bitches!
Jeffro, go pedal something until ya "feel right".
Ya young punk-ass kid!
Manny.....quit picking on me!
Bobby....I hear ya! Stick with it and do it!
Justin....We have had one long and cold winter here! It blows , but spring will be here before we know it!
DD and Cowboys.....Going to look into both those things.
Myke....My weight routines are some what a crossfit type program , just modified to help protect my joints.
Might sound weird but I'm really thinking of trying out some yoga classes to work things I don't normally do. I've talked to quite a few dudes and chicks that swear by it.
Got home, sat in recliner. Napped in recliner. Ate dinner in recliner. Napped again in recliner. Wife through a blanket on me, I'll be bed-timing in recliner.
I like motoing better
I've just started, but i've heard it has some great programs.
https://www.amazon.com/Becoming-Supple-Leopard-2nd-Performance/dp/16286…
Pit Row
I'm 54, and plan on racing a lot this year.
If I've been away from training, I ease back into it over a few weeks, starting with full workouts but less weight, less reps, but with good form.
The first week is just giving my body a wake up call, letting it know what's coming, and to get things moving, find any kinks that need to be worked out. The focus is 1) to not injure myself, 2) to not get so sore or worn out that I don't continue.
Second week on I work on stepping up the intensity, but listen to my body. My goal is to increase the intensity until I'm working out like a bad ass 25 year old.
For cardio I do mountain biking with plenty of climbing. It's a great workout, easy on the joints and every climb comes with a fast downhill. I was a runner for years and years, but found that mountain biking (especially with hills) is a better workout and a lot more fun.
My training philosophy is to get to the point.
I'd much rather do 25 or 50 weighted crunches or an ab wheel than to do 200 crunches without weight. Life's too short to spend precious time going through the motions, doing countless reps with low intensity.
The same goes for strength training. I do a lot of super-sets with opposing body parts, like Biceps/triceps, back/chest, etc... since it builds both muscles well, and also builds endurance.
I usually do sets of 6-12 reps and mix it up during the workout.
Usually the first set I'll do 8-12, second set 4-8 with heavier weights, sometimes even 2-3 reps. On the 3rd set I'll go back to 8-12 reps, then either keep going with lower weights, or do forced negatives. Why not work the muscles to failure? It's the last set.
On arms day, I always do regular and reverse wrist curls. When I do, I have zero arm pump, ever. I've been taught that for forearms, you want to do more reps, always 12+. Same for calves. It probably has to do with building fast twitch vs slow twitch muscle.
The point for me is building up the intensity and maximizing what I get out of each workout.
I have a dumbbell set at home that I can do a lot with (10 lbs to 40), then go to the gym for legs, back and chest.
I find that having weights at home allows me to fit in a workout when I don't have a lot of time.
When I'm being ambitious I'll do a set of abs with the ab wheel or push ups while waiting for the water to warm up before a shower, and do the handgrips while I'm driving. It's just a way to squeeze in some exercise when life gets busy.
The ab wheel is great for your core as it works a lot more than just your abs. It feels like it makes my entire core very, very stable.
I can feel the difference the ab wheel makes when I'm on the track. It's very cool, but be careful when starting up. It's pretty tough on your low back at first.
Also, I found some hand grippers that are very intense, and this company actually has a certification when your grip strength reaches level 3. To put it into perspective, most body builders cannot close the Level 1 grip even one time.
I don't believe a super grip is needed for MX, but working toward level 1 definitely helps.
The company is called Captains of Crush. I bought the Trainer (T) and Level 1 grips. I can close the T, but not the 1 yet, and I simply don't get arm pump anymore.
https://www.amazon.com/Captains-Crush-Hand-Gripper-Point/dp/B006G377UQ/…
Hand grips are great, but they do nothing for your thumbs. For thumb strength I use a heavy stress ball, like this one. It weighs about a pound.
https://www.amazon.com/Valeo-Textured-Squeeze-Comfortable-Strengthen/dp…
No matter what I'll do 40 reps or so (not to failure) of a light hand grip (40 ft-lb), and 125 reps of the stress ball on my way to the track. When I do, it makes a difference on the track that day. My arms won't get pumped or ache on the first moto or practice session. They're already warmed up before I get to the track.
When I'm lifting in my home gym, I always watch the GoPro footage of Villopoto 2nd motos at Unadilla, etc... from 2013. It reminds me of why I'm training, and I pick up techniques techniques.
I'll be racing around So Cal this year, in the Ultimate Amateur series if they have it, and also hope to race Mammoth.
I hope to see you out there racing!
2 acl surgeries on same knee have really slowed me. Plan to race a lot of evo and vintage this year and train on my modern bike.
At 70+ I still ride and do a race from time to time and I am the youngest of my riding group with the oldest being 80.
It is still as much fun now as ever, all be it at a somewhat slower pace, but I must say it is a lot more work than ever to get it done and recovery is always a hard thing after each ride.
To here all the young guys complain about age is laughable as it only gets better with age. You reach an age where no amount of training will get your youth back and then you just start having fun. You seem to not note all the acks and pains associated with the days after a good ride as much because there is so much other regular pain everyday that you start looking forward to those rides more and more each day. Roll with it and enjoy it while you can.
Paw Paw
BTW, Ty Dog is full of it. Dude flat out hauls. Best riding form of any amateur I have ever seen. Poetry in motion on a vintage bike. Lousy machinist though.....
Some sage advice there PawPaw. I love what Clint Eastwood said about aginig in this article:
"I never let the old man in."
http://www.andrewpurcell.net/?p=1901
I hope you had a wonderful first Christmas with baby girl!
Hope to see you soon.
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