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246
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10/14/2019
Location
GB
Edited Date/Time
2/6/2021 5:57am
After many years of riding and never really training much, just having youth and general fitness on my side to get me through, I'm now 38 and age has finally caught up with me. It's about time I start helping my body prepare for a day's riding or racing at the weekend!
What are the best basic exercises to improve cardio, core strength, and improve recovery?
I'm in good shape, 6ft 4 and 175lb with almost zero fat, but I'm puffing like crazy after 3 laps and my body hurts for days after riding
What are the best basic exercises to improve cardio, core strength, and improve recovery?
I'm in good shape, 6ft 4 and 175lb with almost zero fat, but I'm puffing like crazy after 3 laps and my body hurts for days after riding
2. strength training - do 3-4 sessions of strength training. does need to be brutal or heavy. body weight is fine. pushups, crunches, planks, pull-ups, etc.
3. stretching - can be static or more active like yoga but stretch.
biggest thing is consistency. more so then killing any one workout.
The Shop
However, there is plenty you can do to supplement your riding and overall general fitness. I have been big into running in the past but I don't believe it to be the best cardio exercise for motocross due to the high-impact nature of the activity. If you don't have any knee problems and want a quick workout in 20-30 minutes then it's still good though.
I am a believer that motocross is enough high-impact activity for your joints/body, so why do more during the week when you can do low-impact exercise such as cycling, rowing, swimming or elliptical? I love cycling - MTB, road, turbo trainer, I do and love it all. Get yourself a heart rate monitor if you can and firstly find your maximum heart rate then calculate your zones (usually 1-6) based off this. There are plenty of articles online just a Google search away. I often ride in zone 2 which is 60-70% of your max HR, for an hour (barely feels like you're working out) and this builds a great base. It almost feels like cheating because you don't need to enter beast mode every workout to get fit! Up the pace if you only have a short time to workout with a 10 min warmup, 20 minutes of high-intensity intervals then 10 min cooldown. I prefer this style of workout during the season and longer base rides during the off-season. Doing HIIT year round will demotivate you for sure. Cycling builds similar muscle groups in your legs to motocross, and the great benefit over running is that you can do it for much longer as your body won't fail you as quickly due to it's low-impact nature.
Recovery rides are zone 1 - just 30 minutes of very light spinning to get the flood flowing and aid recovery. These are almost impossible to do running, but you could do them on other low-impact machines such as the rower, elliptical or an easy swim. In fact you can even promote recovery with a 20 minute walk around the block.
If cycling isn't your thing, rowing would be as good (if not even better) for getting in shape for motocross. Build strong legs, core and upper body all in one exercise? Tick. Work your body and lungs in a way very similar to motocross? Tick. (A killer row feels like I've just ridden the MX bike). I prefer cycling but I personally think rowing is the ticket.
To improve core strength and full-body strength in general you have various options. In the off-season I do a lot of heavier full-body workouts where I aim for 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps to improve muscle size and strength. I generally use dumbbells for these although a barbell is very useful too. During the season I switch to more circuit-style high rep, low weight workouts. I enjoy using kettlebells for these and following the "Kettlebell" app which consist of 30 secs exercising followed by 10 sec rest. It can be brutal but it's also over in as little as 15 minutes. Look into bodyweight exercises also, and don't believe the myth of "if you lift big you'll get arm pump". It's good to have a bit of muscle to protect your bones in the event of a crash!
Biggest thing is diet though. Plenty of protein, veg and monitor the carbs unless you're working out later that day. Drink 2L of water and try to keep the intake as clean as possible!
If you want a couple of strength training workouts just send me a PM and I'll let you know what I do specifically.
Concept 2 rowing machine
I do crossfit bootcamps for strength
Both work for me....
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6356661/
I really like this guy's channel where he has a lot of moto and mountain bike specific workouts. He has a moto specific routine https://fit4racing.com/the-zone/mx-capacity-workout/ If you can do that, you'll be fine on the track
https://fit4racing.com/the-zone-mountain-bike-training-tips/
Here's another moto circuit:
https://fit4racing.com/the-zone/motocross-fitness/
Three sets of squats and 3 sets of ten burpees to start will make a huge difference in your overall body strength in 4 weeks. Slowly growing burpee count as you go.
20-30 minutes a day and you’ll be a new man.
Also, 100 push ups every other day builds your upper body and core strength over time and is good for defending off “Dad bod”. Simple and easy, just do sets of 10 if you have to throughout the day.
Don't worry about thanking me.
Pit Row
Back in my prime I found this to be very gest way for me and I only ran about 5 miles per day 7 days a week.
Paw Paw
Just ride until you can’t feel your hands or move your fingers lol. That’s what I do; when finally I have to pull off the track for a minute or 2 before finishing the 15-20 min moto
I’m noticing I’m not getting arm pump as quickly and my body is less sore after each time I ride. If I only ride once that week then I make sure to hit the gym twice that week hitting legs pretty hard and then shoulders/back/chest
A more recent find for me was Jacob Pennisi. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHXRUZJMQrf_76romS-Enew
Besides what has already been mentioned I get in two days a week of boxing. Either heavy bag or double-end ball. I'm in my 40s and boxing has been incredibly helpful for keeping me fit for the weekend.
I've traded 'some' muscle endurance for outright strength over the last year which had definitely seen a slight decrease in overall performance in the bike (mostly because I lift more then a ride).
Strict gym routines are excellent but if you are still riding and trying to get better at riding, IMO limit them to a day or two a week. As someone mentioned, Yoga is a great training tool.
Leading a healthy lifestyle is going to benefit you the most. Limit smoking and alcohol, eat less processed food and keep your protein intake high to maintain muscle size and strength.
As mentioned by a couple people, HR training in zone 1 is important and training in zone 2 will come as zone 1 improves.
A must and I mean must, is to warm up for 5 mins or so before getting on the bike. Stretch, jumping jacks, running in place, mountain climbers to name a few.
The exercises that can be done with no weight and still have a significant impact, once again, monitor your heart rate
Jumping Jacks, Jump rope, burpee, planks, forward and reverse lunges, squats, jump squats, single leg squats (advance movement if not using a suspension rope to balance), wall sit (1 minute intervals), push ups, wall crawls (plank position, feet against wall, then start walking up wall with your feet and following with our hands)-done properly, your shoulders will burn), Box Jumps-use anything that you can jump on with out breaking it, stack things up. 24 inch height is a good number for beginners.
Start out slow, form is key ingredient, in time you can pick 3 and AMRAP (As Many Reps As Possible) 20 minutes time limit. 10 reps for each exercise, harder exercise you can lower to 5 reps.(burpees for example)
No soda
No alcohol (impossible I know just keep it in check)
No bread
High Protein intake
I’ve heard ZO16 say no dairy but I can’t give up my milk and yogurts! O and don’t forget the ice cream!
My results were very slow and I could still have some sluggish days until I changed how I eat. Bread and beer make me feel sluggish no matter how much cardio I do. I cheat from time to time but all in all I’ve found a pretty manageable diet that works and isn’t grueling or impossible to maintain for long periods of time.
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