@PING 23

Ping discusses his feeling toward PulpMX, training back in the day, and the possible financial impact of COVID-19 on pro motocross and supercross teams.

@PING is brought to you by Troy Lee Designs, Eks Brand, and VP Racing.


Ping,
What do you have against Steve and Pulpmx show?
BMc914

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BMc914,
I’ve avoided discussing it, but there are a bunch of incorrect assumptions, so I’m going to answer it one time. Steve and I share completely opposite beliefs when it comes to politics; I’m conservative on most issues and he has progressive, liberal views. He made some very pointed comments about the President and Supreme Court Justice Kavanaugh, and I told him I thought his viewpoints were ignorant. That’s not verbatim, obviously, but you get the point. I’ve always been able to compartmentalize politics, which has allowed me to argue with a friend about politics, and then move past it once we realize we aren’t going to change each other’s minds. Well, Steve wasn’t able to move past it. I sent him multiple dates that I could come back to Vegas to be on the show after that dialogue, and he never responded. A second time I sent dates… nothing. We haven’t spoken to each other since. 

Eight months later I started The Whiskey Throttle Show, and he’s done some childish things regarding my show that haven’t sat well with me. Sometimes you think a person is your friend, and they turn out to be anything but. I’m not bashing the guy, just telling accurately what happened.
- PING


Ping,
Sorry if you've been asked this in the past, but what was your training regimen like during your career and did a lot of guys train hard during that era? The perception for some is that real training started with Carmichael, which I don't believe is true. Anyway, I'd like to hear your take on the evolution of training in the sport.
Atkpilot99

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Atkpilot99,
My training regimen was erratic and troglodytic. The boys of the 1980’s started the fitness craze, including Johnny O’Mara, David Bailey, Mark Barnett, Rick Johnson, Broc Glover, Jeff Ward, etc. Those guys all admitted they probably over-trained at times and went it to races and series over-trained. Then the 1990’s hit and top racer’s training regimen started to include Goldschlager shots from the cleavage of a scantily dressed teenager at the sand bar in Lake Havasu. There was other stuff too, like, jogging or whatever. McGrath was killing the game on talent and Fro was sharing Jeremy’s training program, including cardio like dancing at Kokomos in Havasu. Then Ricky came along and raised the bar very, very high. 

When I got my first ride with Pro Circuit, I tried latching on to Ryan Hughes for some training tips, but he wasn’t interested in helping anybody back then. I tried Jeff Spencer, Albee’s trainer, Button’s trainer, Eddie Casillas, and I tried my own program a couple different times; each of them were good for different reasons. I had bad knees very early on so much of my cardio base was built on bicycles. I did rudimentary strength training most seasons, but also tried staying away from weights and doing more functional movement and body weight workouts. The one thing that made more of a difference than the training was staying healthy. I, like many racers, was constantly coming back from injury or riding with something in pain. The times when I could string together a length of time injury-free, I posted my best results. You also learn over multiple seasons what works for you and what you need to add to your program; it’s constantly evolving. The great thing about training today is that it’s easy to generate data to directly steer your training. If you didn’t listen to the Whiskey Throttle episode with Coach Robb Beams, do it.  There is so much good info in there that anybody can use. 
- PING


Ping,
With the global pandemic the world is facing right now, recession in economy is evident. When you have a struggle market to reinsurge from the ashes of a cataclysm you cannot ignore the fact that demand of non-essential products is driven by variables linked to a positive growing tendency of a certain geographical space, in this case the USA. Those markers are absent in this point in time: GDP reduction, unemployment on the rise and such. Do you believe teams in the best case scenario will reduce their budgets for next year as a result of shrinking sales from sponsors in all aspects (gear, aftermarket parts, OEM bike sales cut short) or in the worst case scenario teams shutting down operations? Which teams, in your opinion, are more likely to close doors (JGR comes to mind). Also, do you foresee riders (Top Tier) facing a "salary" cut? 
FC

FC,
That was a weird read, buddy. I hope that was run through a translation app or something. To your point, there is certainly going to be fallout from the economic crash. Some teams have already made cuts and all of them will have to find ways to do more with less. Just like the 2008 recession, salaries will shrink in the coming years, and then build as the economy returns. It wouldn’t surprise me to see some teams close up shop in the next two years as well. You can’t shut the global economy down and expect things to continue on as normal for business, and that trickles down to us all.
- PING

Do you have burning questions that need answering? E-mail Ping at ping@vitalmx.com. Want more? Click the @PING tag below to quickly find all the previous columns.

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