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Motorcycle Fitness


imprez55
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One aspect that has always been interesting to me in MotoGP was how size or the rider was essentially irrelevant. The bigger/taller riders could whip the bike around quicker and the smaller/shorter riders were less weight. Of course all of these guys are all under some sort of rigorous fitness program to keep them in shape, but what all does that exactly entail? Its almost comical to see, in TT3D, the vast difference between Guy Martin and John McGuinness when they cut to diet and exercise.

So the real question is what do you do and do you find it effective? Do you have a special nutrition plan or a special workout routine, whether it be cardio or weights, or is the perfect lifestyle hookers and blow? The question is open to all track day-ers and racers alike. It would also be helpful to include your height and weight if you do any specific routines.

Personally I just got back into weight training but still don't feel too much need for cardio because my endurance has never really been an issue. As for diet, I eat whatever I want whenever I want, so we'll see whenever that catches up to me. For reference, I am currently 6'1" at 140lbs.

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I'm bad at nutrition. Bad food just tastes too good.

I do about 4 hours of cardio a week, split between the elliptical and the bike.

I do an hour of body weight resistance abs and upper body.

My OT has me doing a modified wall sit with a exercise ball supported between the thighs to strengthen the lower quads for faster transitions. It sucks, but that prolly means its working. I'm also using light resistance to build up neck muscles.

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Wanna see a different routine than the norm, check out the way Edwards trains... ;)

Personally, I am screwed. I am 6'1" and 195 lbs. I'm not fat, not over weight, have muscle tone as I am not going to diet and get all boney to fit into a weight for racing. Never have. I've been 190-195 lbs since college and just maintain.

I will say this - muscle building isn't the way to go. You need to endurance train. I Mountain Bike as much as possible, run once in a while when I can and mostly, cross train on a dirty bike just doing laps. Not MX and SX jumping and nothing like single track woods crap. I just makes loos in the woods and try and work on loose riding so I can be better prepped when things get loose on the track.

I just keep active, drink water instead of soda and try and eat at least within a healthy realm. I could shed probably 10 - 15lbs and be good to go, but I don't have the time with work, kids and racing to fit it in...

Cardio is great training that is essentially what I mean by endurance training, but one thing that bothers me the most is my shoulders. They tire rather fast due to the injuries they have taken. But, the only way to really help that is surgery and I am avoiding that like the plague.

I'd get more away from the weights and work on flexibility and cardio. Look at the top racers. They are not muscular at all. Very thin, but very healthy and the primary focus is endurance and cardio. They strength train also, but not to build muscle. In their world, muscle is extra bad because it weighs more...

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6'3" and fluctuate between 215 and 230. I'm built like a power lifter, fat and muscular. I lift 4 days a week and do BJJ. I've never had a problem tossing a bike around but I'll never race given I'm probably 80lbs over idea weight. I just run track days for the fun of it.

Lifting has developed a strong core and this has helped my riding immensely, deadlifting and squatting in particular. A strong back and hips keeps me from resting my weight on the handle bars. Body positioning is easy to hold and switch and I don't gas out and get sloppy. BJJ has kept me flexible so it's not hard to curl and tuck as well as given some muscle endurance.

As for diet I know what to do but I eat like a horse. I keep it pretty clean and my blood work is always top notch, but I consume probably 4000 calories a day.

Sent from my SCH-I510 using Tapatalk 2

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I'm 5'10 and 150lbs and do no type of workout at all and get tired after 20 minutes of hard riding. Very tired in fact. It sucks. Especially with trackdays and races being so damn far apart so I can't rely on that to keep me in shape.

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I'm 6' and 168 as of last Thursday. That's the lightest I've been in years though.

I try to jog, but my knees protest after a few successive days. Otherwise I just do pushups and pull ups along with whatever leg-based cardio I can manage.

I've also started to eat better and drink less (on weekdays). By cutting out soda and making chicken salads for lunch, it's kept me feeling better and made the cardio more about endurance and less about staying thin.

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One thing to consider is the way one rides also... Think of it this way - if you are working harder on your bike and not so efficiently, you will tire more quickly than if you become more efficient.

So, seat time is key of course, but if the wallet will not allow more track days and seat time to get better at riding more efficiently, then try getting some off road work in. The idea is that the longer you last and the longer you can focus and ride, the better overall you will become. You can lift until you are looking like the top body builder in the world and never be able to ride a 20 minute moto... Cardio and core training is a must and with the rigors of racing and longer riding, you need to build your system up to that.

You don't have to be an MX superstar - trust me, I am not even close - but riding a two wheeled machine in an MX/SX/Off Road environment, allows you to build your ability for one, but also build your efficiency on a bike and build your tolerance as you get deeper into the sessions...

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I'm 5'10" and about 180. I'm hoping to drop that down closer to 170 but I haven't been that light in 10 years. Not much fat, just lots of leg muscle since I've been skiing/snowboarding since I was 3 and bicycling regularly since I was 7. I spent my teenage years racing mountain bikes, so I'm in pretty good shape in terms of endurance.

Any more I just get out and spin for an hour on my bike as often as I can. I'm fortunate to be riding distance to the Cleveland metroparks, so I have paved and dirt trails along with hills right there. I'm slacking right now but I try to do 3-4 days a week. Because of this, I rarely get tired at track days unless I get a bad night's sleep the night before. Even then I can take a 2 minute nap at lunch and I'm good to go for the rest of the day.

I go to the gym a fair bit through the winter but I hate going there in the summer. If anything I do pushups and situps at home. I also try to stretch a bit.

I watch my diet to an extent. I don't eat much fast food and I cook 90% of what I eat myself. I don't stuff myself, or I try not to anyway. I limit pop and took up drinking club soda to get away from the calories, it helps and tastes way better than any diet pop. I'm trying to drink more milk these days too. It's made a surprising difference.

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I have been riding two wheel vehicles all my life! From BMX bikes, mountain bikes, road bike, MX, and now street motorcycles. I know I ride better and more when in shape... remember fatigue causes bad things. To stay in shape when not riding I play ice hockey (Fall and winter), do a little weight training in the winter, run with my dog, and recently I bought Insanity!

In my opinion the best workouts that work for me are Biking and the Insanity workout. Road cycling is great because its like riding a motorcycle but it works the shit out of your legs but also keeps you in the riding position to help strengthen your core (lower back). Mountain biking helps with tossing the bike around and making the bike do what you want it to do.... not to mention builds a little upper body strength. The reason I like Insanity because helps with cardio/ strength/ flexibility/ focus and agility. I think all of these are used during track riding and are all important.

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I have been riding two wheel vehicles all my life! From BMX bikes, mountain bikes, road bike, MX, and now street motorcycles. I know I ride better and more when in shape... remember fatigue causes bad things. To stay in shape when not riding I play ice hockey (Fall and winter), do a little weight training in the winter, run with my dog, and recently I bought Insanity!

In my opinion the best workouts that work for me are Biking and the Insanity workout. Road cycling is great because its like riding a motorcycle but it works the shit out of your legs but also keeps you in the riding position to help strengthen your core (lower back). Mountain biking helps with tossing the bike around and making the bike do what you want it to do.... not to mention builds a little upper body strength. The reason I like Insanity because helps with cardio/ strength/ flexibility/ focus and agility. I think all of these are used during track riding and are all important.

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DUDE!!! Sick stuff with the MTB bike. Where do you ride to get that kind of riding area with jumps, etc? I no longer have a DJ, but my Niner RIP is an All Mountain, but not worthy of such terrain as you pictured. That's awesome, man!

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Thanks man!

Not sure where your from, but most of the places are in comlumbus. The first photo is at Westerville BMX track (jumping the berm), Photo 2 is in Palo Alto Cali, Photo 3 is a secret loaction... If your interested shoot me a PM, and the last is at the Westerville Skatepark.

There are some other places to ride, Alum Creek, Hocking Hills near lake hope, and I have never been but near Mid Ohio there is Mohican which I heard is very good!

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All good responses so far guys, keep 'em coming!

Wanna see a different routine than the norm, check out the way Edwards trains... ;)

...

After you mentioned this I tried to find something on the internet but to no avail. What does he do that is so different? Knowing his personality I would think he would attest to the John Daly style of training.

...

I'd get more away from the weights and work on flexibility and cardio. Look at the top racers. They are not muscular at all. Very thin, but very healthy and the primary focus is endurance and cardio. They strength train also, but not to build muscle. In their world, muscle is extra bad because it weighs more...

The thing that concerns me is that if you looked at Simoncelli's stats, he was about as tall as I am yet weighed 20lbs more. When looking at the heights/weights of motogp riders, I am mid pack when it comes to weight yet am off the chart for height. I can only imagine that I am missing something since all of their heights and weights correlate so closely; then again "the grass is always greener".

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All good responses so far guys, keep 'em coming!

After you mentioned this I tried to find something on the internet but to no avail. What does he do that is so different? Knowing his personality I would think he would attest to the John Daly style of training.

The thing that concerns me is that if you looked at Simoncelli's stats, he was about as tall as I am yet weighed 20lbs more. When looking at the heights/weights of motogp riders, I am mid pack when it comes to weight yet am off the chart for height. I can only imagine that I am missing something since all of their heights and weights correlate so closely; then again "the grass is always greener".

Well you forgot he has 20lbs of hair... so now your even!

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