Motocross Mania

If you are a true motocross rider, even if you have high levels of motocross fitness, at some point you should have felt the strains of arm pump.

Arm pump takes place when the blood flow entering your arms is greater than the amount of the blood flow out, this creates a backlog of pressure, as well as a lot of pain. Don’t worry though, by making a few bike modifications and increasing your motocross fitness, you could be getting rid of arm pump for life!

Luckily, there are a few ways you can try to prevent arm pump:

Riding Regularly
Although this may seem slightly basic, the logic is not. By riding regularly you are exercising the same muscles that are causing your forearms to pump up during motocross races or practices, as well as increasing your level of motocross fitness. By working these muscles of a regular basis, you will be constantly building their strength and stamina, increasing your level of motocross fitness and decreasing the amount of pain for you, the rider!

Staying relaxed
Many riders do not realise that most cases of arm pump derive from holding on to tight, rather than their level of motocross fitness. As you can imagine, the scenario here is pretty basic, instead of tightening your grip, focus your brain into allowing you to ride with more flow, and relieving some of the pressure from your forearms. The seat time you build up here will also increase your motocross fitness!
This may seem difficult and believe me it is, as holding on tight is human instinct. Many riders spend short sessions every time they ride literally practicing to relax on the bike, which may sound silly, but you will reap the rewards when arm pump disappears for ever!

Work it out
An important part of increasing your motocross fitness is visiting the gym every now and then. One mistake many motocross riders make when trying to increase their level of motocross fitness is lifting weights that are too heavy. When I say to heavy, I mean for what they are trying to achieve, rather than their capabilities.
Motocross relies on cardiovascular endurance more than anything, faster blood flow and a greater supply of oxygen to muscles, so light weights, running, cycling, jogging and swimming are all good options to increase your motocross fitness. Lifting heavy weights in small sets is training your body to go all out for a short space of time, rather than maintain pace, something you definitely don’t want as a motocross rider.
Simple stretches and rotations for your fingers, wrists and forearms can reduce arm pump a greater deal, so ditch the weights!

Bike modifications
Personally I have made a few minor modifications to my bike, all aided by trial and error and all have decreased my level of arm pump, even though my motocross fitness has stayed the same.
Seat Cover/Rad Shrouds – My bike now has a seat cover that uses a gripper material. Previously I was using force via my arms and legs to keep myself stable, but I find that the seat cover relieves some of that pressure. The same goes for my radiator shrouds, which have now been fitted with gripper material which comes into contact with my knees.
Suspension set up – While it’s nice to blow a few hundred dollars buying graphics plastics and new riding gear, the best money you can spend is setting up your suspension for your size and weight. This is the key to a faster lap time and decreased arm pump, without increasing your motocross fitness!

My solution!

I have been using a Powerball now for around 2 years; I use it on a daily basis and also use it to as a 5 minute warm up for my arms before riding. Since starting the gym and using the Powerball I have a lot more strength in my wrists as well as a lot less arm pump.

Obviously the Powerball is not perfect, but it has definitely worked for me. (Don’t bother with my more expensive versions; they all work in the same way!)

Click here to have a look!!!

The most typical mistake that most athletes make is not warming up correctly prior to sporting events, something that is also extremely important to sustain your motocross fitness.

If you are asking your body to perform at a higher rate than usual, then it needs to be prepared. This doesn’t mean you have to hype yourself up for weeks, or study videos, just a simple warm up and stretch routine will be sufficient for this aspect of motocross fitness.

The most effective method of warming up to ensure premium motocross fitness comes in three stages; stretch > warm up > stretch. Remember, this warm up is crucial to maintain your current level of motocross fitness.

Start off your routine with a few basic stretches, make sure you are stretching all the muscles you are likely to use, which for motocross, is nearly all of them! Personally, I tend to hold my stretches for around 10-15 seconds to ensure they are stretched correctly.

Once you have completed your stretching routine, you need to do a quick warm up. Activities like riding a bike or jogging for 5 minutes should do the trick perfectly and also will increase your motocross fitness.

Once you have stretched, then warmed up, stretch your muscles through again. By continuously stretching you are preventing pulling any crucial muscles, meaning you can compete with your motocross fitness at its premium.

Over the last few years, the amount of people taking motocross fitness seriously has drastically increased, with most riders now owning a home gym or even having a gym membership, to increase their potential and of course, to improve their motocross fitness.

Unfortunately what is not increasing is the amount of riders developing their cardiovascular endurance, which is one of the key points that need to improve to ensure your motocross fitness is at its peak.

When entering the gym the main priority for a motocross rider, who’s aim is to develop their motocross fitness, should be to work on their cardiovascular endurance. Optimum cardiovascular endurance will allow enough oxygen to get the working muscles so that they don’t give up and are fuelled enough to carry on motoring through a race.

Many riders I see in a gym ignore the above and head straight for the weights instead. Light weights are an extremely good way of getting rid of arm pump, but personally, I feel the heavier weights are not necessary. By doing smaller sets and less reps on the heavier weights, all you are doing is teaching your body to sprint for an extremely short space of time, somewhere in the region of one lap of a normal motocross circuit I’d guess, this is not motocross fitness, it is weight lifting!

By regularly embarking on activities such as rowing, cycling, swimming, walking or jogging, you are increasing your cardiovascular endurance a great deal and by doing so, also increasing your motocross fitness.

These are my hints and tips for some Motocross Fitness training to get you into shape for your race. Please ensure you take care with any exercise program and you seek medical advice if you feel unwell. Motocross fitness is just as an essential part of the rider as the maintenance of the bike. So don’t waste time, get yourself in the right spirit for the race, because if you feel well and healthy then ultimately your racing will improve. It is not all about weight training and running. Its fine to have your body as fit as possible, but you should also concentrate on your mind.

These are my tips for the day of the race

·         Arrive in plenty of time. If you arrive late you will start to panic and your mental state will suffer.

·         Don’t eat too much food on the day; you don’t want to feel full while you are racing.

·         Make sure you drink enough water to be hydrated, but again not to much. Needing to go to the toilet half way round will really knock your concentration.

·         Get checked in and ensure you know what you are doing and when you are racing. If you are unsure then ask. Most clubs are more than happy to help you out.

·         Check your bike over; mentally you will then know everything is ready.

·         Walk the course and make notes of problem areas. This will help your mental state and will also loosen you up after the drive to the track.

·         Do some gentle warm up exercises half an hour before the race. Don’t go mad, you are just trying to stretch your body a little so you don’t pull a muscle at the first jump.

·         Ensure you at the start in plenty of time

·         Try to enjoy the race. The more you enjoy the race, the more relaxed you will be and the better you will ride.

As you can see there is more to Motocross fitness than running round in circles. Positive and calm mental attitude will help you out as much as any strenuous Motocross fitness training programme.

These are my hints and tips for some Motocross Fitness training to get you into shape for your race. Please ensure you take care with any exercise program and you seek medical advice if you feel unwell. Motocross fitness is just as an essential part of the rider as the maintenance of the bike. So don’t waste time, get yourself in the right spirit for the race, because if you feel well and healthy then ultimately your racing will improve. It is not all about weight training and running. Its fine to have your body as fit as possible, but you should also concentrate on your mind.

Here are my tips for general health for the weeks leading up to the race.

·         Eat healthily. Too much junk food slows your body down and also the rate at which your brain can process information.

·         Follow a fitness regime to get your body in shape. You don’t have to run five miles every day, but if you exercise regularly then your body will get fitter Two or three twenty minute sessions a week will keep you reasonably fit.

·         Ensure you are sleeping well. If not, try and find out the problem and sort it, whether it is a hard pillow a lumpy mattress or a noisy neighbour.

·         Are there things on your mind? You need to identify them and get them sorted. Distractions on the day can be costly. So get together a plan of all the items that are worrying you. Write them down and create an action plan to deal with them. Just writing them down will make you feel better.

·         Make sure your bike is maintained. If this item is crossed off your list, then that is one worry gone.

·         Ensure you kit is maintained and ready for the race. To many times I have seen people turn up in dirty boots and clothing. If it is clean and fresh it will make you feel better. How can you have the right attitude if you feel dirty?

I hope you enjoyed these tips and it helps you with your racing. Please come back for part two where I will talk about some of the things you can do on the race day.