Gym Training for Moto

MELTON139 wrote:

I've been going to the gym Mon-Fri for the past year just trying to build some muscle and trim down a little bit. I wasn't focused...

I've been going to the gym Mon-Fri for the past year just trying to build some muscle and trim down a little bit. I wasn't focused on training for riding because well I didn't have a bike. I finally got another bike in December and quickly have realized how out of shape I am lol Typical arm pump within 2 laps and just getting tired. I know there's no substitute for riding but as a dad of two little girls I don't get to ride as often as I need too.

So I'm asking yall, what is your workout routine for moto?

dutch_rider wrote:

I do kickboxing 4 days a week. Taking lessons and sparring for 1,5 hour per day. It's really good for your strenght and conditioning. And also...

I do kickboxing 4 days a week. Taking lessons and sparring for 1,5 hour per day.

It's really good for your strenght and conditioning. And also able to react much faster on situations.

And it's really fun to do.

Derek Harris wrote:

I decided at 25 to race 450 class really seriously for A and 25+ at lorettas So starting around September the year before I hit the...

I decided at 25 to race 450 class really seriously for A and 25+ at lorettas

So starting around September the year before I hit the gym and wanted to bulk up to ride the larger bike.
I was around 148 when I began - excellent riding shape could do 30 min motos in texas summer at pace

hit the weights hard - generally pyramids of highest rep at 12 and some heavy days at low reps of 4-5 total failure

I did around 1 hour of "tempo" a day and 2 days of intervals a week the last month before I was ready to ride

Come feb I was 165 and strongest I'd ever been - figured out a diet that put on weight for me (always struggled to gain prior)


First motos back I never experienced worse arm pump in my life. Couldnt' shake it for 1 month of 3 days a week riding

So I revamped and started high rep supersets - 30 + rep type stuff till failure 3-4 sets

And within a month arm pump was gone and overall strength on the bike was my best ever for the length of a moto.

So I stuck with that - but learned to add in 1 or 2 really heavy maximal effort type things a month on a various muscle group

I think ideally - if you have an "offseason" and you want more strength - do it then - but come ride time - the higher rep stuff that includes cardio is helpful

Off research I've done since - and could be wrong - doing maximal output/effort 1-2 rep type stuff is best at building strength - not 4-6 rep heavy lifting which is good for strength but also adds size

Ultimately moto requires a little of it all - but strength to weight is more important than strength.

And it's a muscular endurance sport for sure - thousands of reps a moto

Rickyisms wrote:

Would you be kind of enough to share your diet that helped you put on some weight? I struggle with the same thing.

BobbyLight wrote:

Any of you guys tried functional medicine? I go to a clinic that begins by taking your blood and does all kinds of tests a normal...

Any of you guys tried functional medicine?

I go to a clinic that begins by taking your blood and does all kinds of tests a normal doctor would never do, including allergy tests of hundreds of things. They test the ranges of all sorts of things and their functional ranges are more narrow than the ranges your regular doctor would consider "normal", based on the fact that they think traditional ranges are too wide and are often off what is really healthy, because the ranges are established off people in hospitals, so sick people. Not to mention they test things a regular doctor never would.

Then the 3 doctors tailor a custom ~5-6 month program for you, with a specific supplement regiment to follow based on your lab results while you follow the Whole30 diet. After the Whole30 (30 days) they do all the tests over again and see where you are at, and adjust the program as needed. The whole30 rids your body of all the american bullshit and hidden sugar we eat and allows the test results to be really clear.

This is important because their goal is not to just stick you on 100 supplements and send you on your way, their thinking is that it's a process to discover the root of what is causing certain deficiencies, and treating those directly so that you DONT have to take supplements. In fact, the only supplements you will be on at the end of the 6 months, is because you either have a genetic deficiency, or an autoimmune issue of some kind, and those supplements you will likely need to take for the rest of your life. So in the end its only a couple supplements and a custom diet.

Its pretty expensive, but really cool. They really take the time to explain what is going on in your body and how the different levels of certain things affect other things, that affects other things, etc etc. My issue is that my body was not processing proteins, and was not methylating properly. I also have a insane genetic vitamin D deficiency and am allergic to wheat, peas, and garlic. I even tested positive for some crazy shit that you can only get from ticks, sort of like lime disease but doesn't behave the same way.

Its expensive, at least 5k, but really awesome. Never felt better in my life, mentally just as much as physically. It is like night and day, especially when the brain fog that you didn't even know you had goes away. I'd be willing to bet some factory teams use a similar program. They also will make you a customized exercise program as well, one of the doctors is a triathlete. (all 3 drs bring different focuses to the table). Bunch of other stuff too. https://www.holisticcharlotte.com/

GarySemics wrote:

I heard that, man. Weight training and moto don't mix, unless you know how to do it. Basically, it's weight circuits, light weights with a lot...

I heard that, man. Weight training and moto don't mix, unless you know how to do it. Basically, it's weight circuits, light weights with a lot of reps, no resting between sets. Keep a high HR and don't pump up any muscles groups. For moto, cardio is the most important.

Here's an article I did for Motosport.

Motocross Workouts at home – is your fitness up to par?

Motocross is one of the most physically demanding sports on the planet! To ride good, have fun and stay safe your physical fitness is a primary key. During a race or even during practice sessions a motocross racer’s heart rate (HR) will max out. Their average HR will be at about 90% of max during a 15 minute or longer moto. Just by lining up on the starting gate most riders will be at about 75% of their max HR. In light of these facts it’s easy to understand that motocross is an extremely physical and demanding sport.

For anyone, even seasoned athletes who are in excellent shape, maintaining an average 90% of max HR is very difficult to do; however, doing it while practicing or racing motocross makes it seem easier. Why is this, you may ask? When maintaining a high HR while doing things like, running, cycling or swimming, your HR will raise by the work your body is doing and your mind feels pretty much all of the discomfort, even down-right pain. When riding or racing motocross not only is your body working hard, but also your mind is on high alert. All of your senses are fully activated by your sensory perception. Because of the excitement and the element of danger, this sensory perception is turned on full throttle, so to speak. Since your body and mind are using mass amounts of energy it takes an excellent cardiovascular system to keep all your blood flowing. The flow not only carries blood but everything in your blood: like fuel, nutrients and oxygen. I guess this could be bad or good news. It all depends how you look at it. The bad news could be you have to train, exercise and lead a relatively clean life style. But is that really bad news? The good news is being in good physical shape has many benefits like, looking and feeling better. Again, it’s all in the way you look at it.

Most people don’t understand that the body needs movement on a regular basis in order to deliver blood and nutrients to all the muscles and soft tissues of the entire body. The proof of these facts is easy to understand when you consider what happens to an arm or leg that is put in a case for 6 weeks, atrophied! Many riders may think they don’t need to be in very good shape, because they are just riding for fun or they’re races are very short. But they fail to see the fact that by being in better shape they will have more fun. Being in better shape will also allow them to ride longer and better in order to keep increasing their skill levels. To be honest, riders who think they don’t need to be in good shape are just using that belief as another excuse not to train. Riders can have many different excuses for not taking training seriously, excuses like not enough time, no one to train with, they live too far from a gym, or they are too tired to train before or after work. I’m sure all these excuses are very real to them. I say real to them because they have convinced themselves that they are real. For one thing, you don’t need to go to a gym to train. In the time it takes to get ready, go to the gym and get back home you could have done your workout at home. If they have a physically demanding job and they really are too tired, they could do some type of easy cardio training, stretching or yoga that would be mentally and physically beneficial. There are many ways to train at home. To make a real change with your training habits you have to change the way you think about training, change your perception about training. This doesn’t mean just changing your conscious thoughts about training but changing your beliefs about training at the core, in your sub-conscious mind. If you’re not already training regularly, it means you have negative thoughts and therefore negative beliefs about training and exercising. This causes you to not want to do it and it’s easy to find excuses for not doing it. Once you change these negative thoughts and beliefs into positive ones you will want to train and exercise on a regular basis it will become a habit, a life style and your enjoyment of motocross, along with your riding skills and safety will increase big time!

The bottom line comes down to, what’s important to you, if your motocross riding/racing is toward the top of your list, then except the facts, change your thoughts and beliefs about training and make it a life style. Changing your beliefs is easy to do and just takes a little ambition and know how. It helps to start with some every day, short and long term goals. This first step is very important, so take some time and write out your goals. Then put them in a place where you’ll see them every day. Doing this not only will remind you but also makes them more real. For some people going cold turkey and changing everything at once works, but for most this is not the best method. It’s usually better to change things gradually, like one or two things per day. This method is a lot less stressful on your mind and body and you will be more likely to make lasting changes. Of course getting the desired results from changing your thoughts and beliefs will most likely take time. Until this happens and you really want to exercise you’re going to have to use commitment and will power. Your brain will come up with all the excuses you can image and you’re going to need to ignore them and workout anyway. The import thing is to start out gradually with your frequency, duration and intensity and be consistent. It’s better to workout a little 5 days a week then to workout too much 2 days a week.

If you haven’t been training you shouldn’t train too hard in the beginning. Just do what’s comfortable and keep building. If you’re not used to training and you go too hard, chances are you won’t stick with it. The first step is making it a habit. Then according to your goals, you would increase the frequencies, durations and intensities in order to reach your goals. Once exercising becomes a habit you’ll be like the millions of other people who have kicked their bad habits and replaced them with good, healthy habits like exercise and eating smart. Don’t think of why you can’t do this, rather think of how you can. One step at a time. Discover how fun motocross really can be!

Ok, so once you make the commitment to start training how do you know you’re training methods and strategies are effective for motocross? All sports have different training methods. This is known as “Sports Specific Training”. Motocross is one of the sports where this is the most complicated because motocross uses all the muscles of your body at the same time constantly. Not only do all your muscles get worked at the same time but they also get worked both aerobically and anaerobically, meaning both cardio and strength is needed. There’s a fine line in the way these two forms of exercise need to be done in order to get the best benefits on the mx bike. More bad and good news, in order to understand and apply the most effective ways to training for motocross, you would need a personal Pro motocross trainer or how to videos and books. The good news is we have videos and manuals available.

We have two MX Conditioning DVDs, https://gsmxs.com/product-category/motocross-dvds/mx-fitness-training-d… we also have an Instant Access Video On Demand Streaming platform… https://garysemicsmxschoolsandvideos.intelivideo.com/ Riders can choose one of three subscriptions, with one being an “Online Coaching” subscription. This one has all the most important mx practice drills, fitness workouts, weekly routines, the mental side of training and racing, stretching, strength, nutrition and pretty much everything that goes into a rider’s weekly preparation plans. It has a wide verity of Weekly Routines for the Weekend Warrior to the full time Pro.

I hope this article gives you some motivation to keep training or if you haven’t already started to get started. Whatever your goals may be, I hope you ride and train smart, stay safe and have fun!

Here’s a video with some exercises that can be done at home.

https://youtu.be/s6GLwqyWSCQ