Fit to Race

By Olaf Wolff Sr. Staff Writer

To re-hydrate, during my very first desert race ever, I chugged down three cans of cold Mountain Dew. I got so jacked on sugar and caffeine after the pit stop that I became delirious enough to believe I could catch and pass the fifty or so other riders in front of me. Then I crashed. I saw pretty, sparkling, white spots right before my appendages turned Gumby-like and I buried my front wheel in a sand wash. Laying there under the searing desert sun it occurred to me that I was going to have to take fitness more seriously.

Motorcycle racers are elite extreme endurance athletes. Only professional soccer players, in fact, are on the same fitness page as motocross racers. And soccer players have the option of kicking the ball to a teammate, and they never stress about coming up short on the last triple-jump of a twenty-lap moto.

Back in the day my first training program consisted of a gazillion pushups and three or four nights a week of full-court basketball, and as much actual saddle time as possible. Fitness training has evolved some since then, so to have re-hydration methods, yet there’s one common denominator that remains true – variety and keeping it fresh is still key. Basic human nature changes slower then science, if you get bored and don’t like what you’re doing, you’ll rationalize a reason to stop. Trust me.Mixing up your workouts is the ticket to not getting stale. It’s how we train the brain at the same time into learning how to enjoy working out. Yeah, working out becomes agreeable, especially if you’re motivated by positive results and winning. So what if it’s not always easy – that’s why it’s worth so much – you earned it.

Professional trainers customize their programs for individual racers, based on their body type, injuries, mental chutzpa, goals, and so on. In every case the outlining areas remain the same - the focus is on strength training and cardiovascular work to increase endurance and stamina.

Cardio Work:

Like Ben and Eric Bostrom discovered, the joys and benefits of bicycling are copious. Long medium paced rides for increasing endurance and clearing your noggin. And shorter, harder rides, consisting of either alternating sprints and periods of rest, or organically occurring rolling hills, for buffo stamina and all things good for you.

Cycling is easy on the joints, great for your quadriceps and other major muscle groups, and works well around many injuries. Done outdoors the changing scenery keeps it forever interesting. Although stationary bikes are good when the weather isn’t cooperative, outside is far superior for the yin yang of the mind/body connection thing. The ticket is to try and maintain a peddle-rate of between 60 to 90 rpm during the entire ride. That’s why bicycles come with gears, so you can shift and keep that pace. When it comes to hills during training my motto has always been “don’t gear down – bear down.”

Swimming is another non-weight-bearing form of exercise that can get tossed into the mix. And for more balance a couple of runs during the week are always in order and probably more accessible then swimming. As often as possible though, run off-road, or in sand, as in on the beach, concrete and asphalt are harsh on bones and ligaments and have a point of diminishing returns in my opinion. Go against your strengths as often as possible. If running is easier for you then riding a bike up hills – do the hills until you make your peace with it.

Regular riding is a gimme, it’s going to have a massive impact on your overall fitness. The obvious problem with that is who has a track in their yard, or time and money to go find one? And that’s why there’s cross-training. But whenever possible fire it up and ride your motorcycle.

Strength Training:

Getting your body-fat to muscle ratio in check includes sit-ups, push-ups and chin-ups and some sort of weight training program every other day, at least three times weekly. Ideally, signing up with a gym and getting instruction on the equipment and proper techniques is the way to go, but don’t allow not getting to the gym to become an opportune excuse. With a little research and practice and a simple set of dumbbells, you’ve got all the gym you need. Consistency is the secret, not equipment.

Stretching and Breathing:

Training contracts muscles, so to help prevent injury and to improve the overall muscle strengthening process, stretching is essential. Slow and easy is the way to go with stretching. Never bounce or get herky-jerky, that tears muscles and creates injuries, gently allow muscles to elongate, breathing in through your nose and exhaling through your mouth.

Learning to control your breathing is not only important for training correctly, and for keeping oxygen feeding muscle fibers, it’s absolutely pivotal when applied to keeping your emotions in check on the racetrack. But then controlling your breathing and emotions is much easier when you’ve earned the confidence that comes from knowing you’re fit to race. See, it’s all connected. It damn near bio-synchronicity.

A tremendous way to learn proper stretching and breathing at the same time is yoga instruction. No kidding. Once you think you’re starting to get in shape, take a serious yoga class – that’ll humble you out. There’s nothing soft or prissy about yoga.

Sustenance:

We are indeed what we consume. If you still have doubts about that eat plenty of soft, sweat, fluffy things, and see what happens. You put crappy fuel in your bike what happens? Our bodies are even less magnanimous. Outlining good nutrition would require an entire article. For the time being, it’s like you keep hearing – fruits, veggies, nuts and grains, lean proteins, like chicken, fish, and even pork – that’s always a solid place to start. And always drink plenty of water and/or sports drinks for replenishing critical electrolytes.

This is merely intended as an initial fitness outline. Each one of these headlines deserves a detailed story of it’s own, and maybe we’ll get into that at some point. For now though remember this, learning how to listen honestly to what your body tells you is part of the training process. You have the choice to listen to the wimpy voice sniveling about how it hurts, or just once, press through that, and discover how many other gears you’ve had hidden. The very first time you get a glimpse of just how much more you have to give – that wimpy voice begins to fade, and the pursuit of fitness starts to become a life long relationship that lasts long after the racing is gone.