Ryan Dungey on is way to his first 450 SX win at Pheonix photo - Steve Cox

Spring time is here and so is the start of a new race season.  I love this time of year as we all get to put the winter blues behind us and look forward to the long race season ahead.  How you did last year is in the past and how you perform this year will largely be determined by what you do off the track.  If you followed the off-season and pre-season training plans offered here on Virtual Trainer then you should be more than ready to tackle the new season.  Even though pre-season workouts closely resemble in-season routines, the major difference will be in the timing and intensity of the workouts.  During the pre-season, if you are unable to ride due to the weather, then intense workouts throughout the week are needed to mimic the intensity required to race.  Sometimes two-a-days are even needed. During this period we concentrate on moving out of the less intense off-season period where we concentrate on aerobic base training and into the more sport specific, high intensity interval training zone.  Although we weren't worried about peaking or tapering the volume and intensity towards the end of the week, that is what the in-season program is all about.  If you haven't made the transition, now is the perfect time.

The in-season routine is a maintenance workout that will help you maintain your fitness level throughout the season. This workout relies on the assumption that most of your conditioning will come from riding throughout the week and that you did your homework over the winter. If you don’t get to ride 4 to 5 times a week then you will still need to supplement your training with sport specific exercises used in the pre-season workouts. The goal of the in-season training program is to develop the highest level of racing skills while maintaining physical condition. To avoid overtraining during the in-season program, training sessions will have the highest volume early in the week (Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.) with Thursday and Friday reserved for tapering with workouts devoted to riding practice or lower volume cardio activities. Saturday is for rest and hydrating the body before race day.  To be successful as a weekend warrior, you have to train hard but you also have to train smart.

The following routines contain the exercises and schedules that I currently use with a client of mine (The next female ATV Champion!).  She has to pay but you get the workouts for free (shhhh, don't tell anyone!)  The programs are set up with three groups of people in mind. The lucky few who have access to a practice track and can ride all week, the people that get to ride 1 to 2 times per week and the rest of us who only see the inside of a race track on Sundays.

The schedule that you end up with will of course depend on how much time you can devote to training.  The less you get to ride during the week the more time you'll need to spend at the gym, on your road bike, or on the rowing machine.

Monday - Always reserved as a recovery day.  Recovery days are not intended to sit around and do nothing unless you suffered an injury on Sunday.  A good recovery day would be a 1 hour "light" bike ride, 45 minute run, or 45 minute row.  You want to use this day to let your body recover by doing some type of light exercise. Heart rates should be no higher than 60-70% max heart rate or a high 2 on a scale of 1 to 4 (1 being the easiest and 4 being 100% max'ed out effort).

Tuesday - Tuesday and Wednesday are the two hardest days with the most volume and moderate intensity.  If you can ride, spend at least one to two hours on the bike followed by an hour and a half at the gym (follow Workout # 1 below).  If you cannot ride and have the time, substitute a 1.5 hour road ride,1 hour row, or other cardio in place of riding followed by the gym. If you only have time for one or the other it's your pick depending on what you feel you need more of.

Wednesday - Repeat Tuesday's workout except follow Workout # 2 below.

Thursday - Ride if you can followed by a light road ride or similar.  Intensity on the road ride should be slightly higher than Monday's ride (70-80% max heart rate).

Friday - Ride if you can followed by a light road ride or similar.  Intensity on the road ride should be slightly higher than Monday's ride.  If you are feeling tired, take Friday off! You can also do a high intensity interval type workout (depending on how you feel) that is very short in duration; maybe 30 minutes max.

Saturday - Use this day to rest and hydrate.  If you skipped Friday because you were feeling tired, consider a light run (like Monday's recovery run).

Sunday - Race and finish on the podium!

Follow these routines and schedule and you will certainly have more fun this spring and summer at the races.  Getting your tongue caught in the chain is never any fun.

That's it for now, until next time, good luck with your training and remember, if you have a question, log on to the Virtual Trainer Expert Forum and have your question answered by a panel of experts. In addition, be sure and check out the Racer X Virtual Trainer archive section. Your complete one-stop information zone for motocross fitness.

Name

Email

Website

Comment