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8/29/2016
Location
Thomasville, PA
US
I wouldn't say I am completely out of shape, I go on a 20 mile bike ride every day on a MTB bike, as well as doing P90X as much as I can, but my endurance is still nothing compared to what the pros are doing nowadays. I am a young amateur hoping to be at that level someday, but i get tired even with 4 lap motos at the local track. Now i know it may be the way i ride, bad form or whatever, and I need to work on it. But off the bike, i can run a 6 minute mile and have endurance better than most. I read cycling is supposed to help endurance a lot and i can notice a little bit of a difference, but is there anything else I can do? How can i get my endurance to a pro level?
And/or hire Aldon Baker/ Ryan Hughes/ Etc...
Or keep doing what you're doing- sounds like you're on the right track.
The Shop
Almost forgot; STFU Noob! Seriously though, good luck. Wish I was young enough to make a real run at it.
http://www.racerxvt.com/
http://www.gsmxs.com/
http://www.therynoinstitute.com/#!programs/o65ro
The RacerX VT site has great info on all things training:
http://www.racerxvt.com
If you can afford it Coach Seiji who trains Andrew Short offers an online program for $150 a month.
http://www.coachseiji.com/coaching-training-packages/
Indoor rowing is what helped me the most. Well I'm not a pro and didn't try to be one, but it definitely raised my level endurance wise
Pit Row
Figure out how long your moto's tend to be and just run em' out. Push hard at the end. Pretend 2nd place is right on you and you need the fitness to win.
I like the idea of throwing an ipad on a treadmill and running while watching a national. Makes time go by quick and gives you a little motivation.
Pro's echo this thought too, race day is time to shine, not condition.
It makes you sit on your dirt bike.
Easiest way? get a bicycle with no seat / a bmx
Stand and ride and do distance!
If you've got the means? Stand up jet ski
Dont be a fag in tights on a lance cycle! What kind of self respecting dirt biker would wear tights? mtb? I draw the line at DH - again no sitting ! Train in attack mode! Ride & race in attack mode!
maybe build your core muscles which can help you hold onto the bike better with your legs...
If your form and/or technique is bad, that will tire you out, slow you down and increase the likelihood of injury from crashes.
I'm no personal trainer or physical therapist, but i've been through tons and tons and tons of grueling endurance training in my younger years and just know what works for me, so take this however you want.
It sounds like you are doing some good things. In order to improve overall endurance and strength, you need to work hard and SMART, eat right, and allow your body to recover properly in between workouts. All 3 of these things are EQUALLY as important as each other.
Cycling, in my personal experience, has greatly improved my fitness on the motocross bike, but that's only because i used a heart rate monitor and trained on the bike at the same intensity my body was being stressed while on the dirtbike. Actually the best thing to do is train right below the point your body starts producing lactic acid, and over time that point will increase. If you train all the time and produce lactic acid, you won't improve at the same rate. (look up lactic acid threshold tests on youtube). Right before i tore my ACL and Meniscus in a bad crash, i was commuting 8 miles to work on a road bike (16 miles round trip) 3-4 days per week, and depending if i was riding on the weekend i would do either 1 or 2 long 20-30 mile bike rides at high intensity. 20 miles would take me just over an hour. If you are doing that every day, you may in fact be over training. Even the pro's don't do 20 mile bike rides every day. Cycling alone allowed me to las double the time on the motocross bike before getting tired. I went from being dead after 10 minutes of riding to being able to pump out over 20 minute motos at a decent pace. But cycling isn't the only answer.
Cycling only works your legs out and improves your cardio. You need to work out all the little upper body muscles that you use while riding. So, in my experience, train in the gym or cross-train just like you would be riding. Swimming was great, but only if you can swim consistently for the length of time it would take you to do a moto. Indoor rowing is fantastic, especially if you can take an old set of motocross bars and attach it to the machine. You'll notice that most professional motocross riders are not big chested and very bulky, but what you will notice is most have really strong back muscles. You pull on your handlebars a lot while riding, and back muscles and key for that.
You need to EAT A LOT. Seriously, a ton. It will suck to force food into your mouth all day. I was eating nearly 6000 calories a day when i was hardcore in training back in college. Michael Phelps claims to eat 10,000-12,000 calories a day when he's in the core of his training. There are plenty of calorie and macro counting applications out there, but i used MyFitnessPal.
REST. This doesn't mean being an immobile potato, but you do need to give your body time to repair and recover after you beat the hell out of it. You should do light workouts as rest days... like go for an easy bike right, or swim light a couple of laps, anything to get the blood flowing in your muscles so that they can receive essential nutrients and pump out the waste.
Lastly, you need to ride a lot. There is no better advice. Train for longer motos than you actually will be doing. Dont just go out on practice days and rip 4 lap motos. Stay out on the track for 20-30 minutes at a time and push through it.
I wrote a lot more but don't feel like writing it again.
Try getting to 1min 57sec average per 500m for 15 min on resistance setting 7.
Should do about 3,870meters in 15 min. Get there and you will get stronger, have cardio and get faster on the bike.
P.S. Other posters are right, your age will make it hard to be a pro that succeeds.
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