An introduction to fitness for MX.

So you ride motocross ey?

Picture this, the last lap flag comes out in your race, and you're struggling to make it to the end. You don't train outside of weekend riding and you can't understand why the person in front, is going to win the battle.

Perhaps you just ride for fun, and engage with those battles at your local track. But it becomes demoralising, you just cannot, give anymore to beat that person. And it eats you up inside.

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We've all been there, me included. That overwhelming feeling of sadness you get when you physically and mentally cannot sustain the pace that the rider you're fighting with, is able to maintain. And it gets to us right?

We lose confidence, become a master at self doubt, and lose sight of what we want. Then comes the question we all ask ourselves, 'why do we do it'

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Wanna beat that person in front? Course you do, don't be foolish....read on

- The benefits of training outside of riding.

When all you do is ride Saturday, in preparation for your race Sunday, let me tell you now, this isn't enough. If you're are content with receiving average results, then carry on. If you want to take your overall riding up another level, then you need to do more. You gotta work for the right to be able to place yourself in front of others and it doesn't come easy. But then again if it was easy, for starters, you wouldn't be in a sport like Motocross. SO, let's get straight to it, why bother training? Well, when you train during the week, you will automatically become fitter, stronger and more alert. Your muscles will become used to exercise, they will perform better, they'll be loaded with more oxygen and nutrients to carry out the level of fitness you require, to be able to be maintain them last few laps through pure stamina you've built up. You wont fatigue as quickly, and most of all, gone are the days of Monday morning stiffness you once felt, getting out of bed after racing/riding all weekend. It starts with you and it ends with you. Make the right call.

- Who even bothers warming up?

I can honestly tell you I didn't, for years. To get the best out of yourself, and your riding , trust me when I say, the warm up is just as important as the actual workout, weather that be riding or general training. When you warm up, you do a number of things. First of all, you warm up your cardiovascular system by raising your body temperature, which then increases the blood flow to your muscles. You also, wake everything up and because of doing this, you automatically decrease your chances of injury and can even reduce the chances of suffering from muscle soreness. So what's in a warm up? If you have access to a gym, it's recommended that you complete 5-10 mins on a CV (cardiovascular machine) i.e the treadmill, cross-trainer, rower or any piece of Cardio equipment of your preference. Saying that, most of us don't have this equipment track side, therefore dynamic warm ups are also a great way to prepare yourself before going on the track. This may include, high knees, star jumps, jogging on the spot or arm circles. Following that, dynamic stretching should be completed, you want to aim for full body stretches, that do not require you to be in a static movement. I.e, Bear hugs to chest, heel kicks, leg swings...This will help you to prepare yourself for the upcoming main workout which will also increase your performance throughout.

- Strength Training

You need to be strong. Coming up on the inside of a rider, while trying to protect your position in a race, can lead to easy accidents if you're not prepared for physical contact to arise. Most of you reading this are racers, and if not, you are definitely riders, so we all know what it feels like to be concentrating at such a high level of intensity, therefore why let your strength knock your game? Be smart, train with your bodyweight and also added weights like dumbbells or kettlebells. Doing an exercise like a bicep curl, will load your forearms and restrict your muscles from receiving the blood it needs, therefore leading to a higher chance of developing arm pump when riding which is the last thing you want. As riders, we're predominantly standing, therefore work your legs. Focus on building stronger quads, glutes and hamstrings. This can be done via walking weighted lunges, deadlifts and exercise ball hamstring curls. These exercises are an example of what you should be do to build your legs in the gym, there are many others. Also, remember to include upper body, lateral raises, shoulder press's, pull ups, and press ups...you get the idea. Now, your Core stability (your abs) are one of the most important regions to focus on while exercising. Don't get me confused here, I am in no way saying you need to have a six pack, but a strong core is going to enable you to man handle the bike how you need to. Russian twists, plank (with variations to increase intensity if needed), sit up with a medicine ball. The list goes on, try these out though, you'll definitely see an improvement.

So that's it for now everyone, I hope you've enjoyed the first post on here. Next week's post will consist of a more specific topic. If you have any questions or suggestions please let me know in the comments box below. Have a good weekend!