To me, this old-school picture is one of the coolest of all time and just makes me want to wipe the cobwebs off my bike and go ride.

To properly train for motocross, you should be incorporating three separate phases to your training program; off-season, pre-season, and in-season periods. The pre-season is the time period of 6 to 8 weeks prior to the start of your season. Your off-season should have been spent doing strength training, recovering from injury, and building a solid aerobic base. If your post-season training was a success, you should be fully recovered, stronger than ever, and ready to attack the upcoming season. With the post-season behind you, it is time to move into the all important pre-season training phase.

Pre-Season Defined
The pre-season workout involves exercises that are sport specific. This phase of conditioning will shift emphasis to speed training, interval weight training and interval cardiovascular training. Speed training conditions the neuromuscular system, developing balance, reflexes and coordination, while interval training increases cardiovascular and muscular endurance, and establishes fast recovery from heavy bouts of exercise. This program is the most intense of the three phases and is generally considered the meat-and-potatoes portion of your training. In this phase, you should be fully recovered from any previous injuries and ready to give 110 percent. Sport specific exercises are very important in the pre-season to get your body ready to get back on the bike. The sport specific exercises we will use mimic the motions and positions your body goes through during a race. In these exercises, we will overload the body by training interval style. Interval style training is necessary in order to push yourself past your normal fitness levels. By overloading the muscles, you force your body to adapt and become stronger and attain higher and higher levels of muscular endurance. This will pay dividends during race day, allowing you to push harder for longer periods of time without tiring.

Energy Systems
There are two energy systems at work when riding MX; the aerobic and anaerobic systems. Since motocross is mostly aerobic, it is very important to broaden your aerobic threshold. By broadening your aerobic threshold, your body will be able to remain in the aerobic zone longer before entering an anaerobic state. The aerobic system requires much less energy to sustain for long periods of time than the anaerobic. For this reason, we want to stay in the aerobic zone for as long as possible when riding. Otherwise, you will enter the anaerobic zone and tire quickly. This is where interval training comes into play. By overloading your body and utilizing both the aerobic and anaerobic systems, your body will become more efficient at utilizing blood and oxygen and remain in the aerobic zone longer.

There are many advantages to interval training. Since Interval training uses both the aerobic and anaerobic energy systems it is a great method to use for MX. Aerobic means "with oxygen" and aerobic exercise is defined as any long duration exercise of low to moderate difficulty using large muscle groups such as the legs, back, butt, or arms. An example would be jogging. The aerobic system uses oxygen to convert carbohydrates into energy from various sources throughout the body. The anaerobic system, on the other hand, draws energy from carbohydrates stored in the muscles for short bursts of intense work such as sprinting or blitzing a whoop section. Anaerobic means "without oxygen", and can only provide enough energy for very short periods of time. The byproduct of anaerobic exercise is lactic acid, that wonderful thing responsible for the burning sensation you get when you push your muscles past their aerobic threshold. Motocross is mostly aerobic; using the anaerobic system in situations where high outputs of energy are required for very short periods of time like whoop sections, muscling the bike through a tough rutted out section, or sitting and standing several times over a short distance.

To help equate these zones, here are some more familiar comparisons specific to MX:

RPE 17 would be what you would ride if you were told to ride a 20-minute moto as hard as you could go but holding equal lap times every lap.

Trail riding for 2 hours at a comfortable pace just for fun with friends would fall somewhere in the RPE range of 9-11.

A one hour hare scrambles event would clock in at RPE 16-17.

A two-minute all out sprint to catch the rider ahead of you for the moto win would be RPE 19-20.

The following exercise program should be used in the pre-season, but can also be use during the season to supplement your weaker areas. When doing this program, stick to the following guidelines to attain peak results.

• Warm-up and stretch before your training session.
• Always do vertical and lateral jump training first.
• Follow training format in the order prescribed for best results.
• Use "off days" for riding practice.
• If unable to ride, use off days to train your weakest element (cardio, strength, endurance, etc.)

You should always be incorporating some lower intensity cardio (base training) throughout your training season. An example of low intensity cardio training would be a 45 to 60 minute run all at a RPE of 9 to 11. If you use heart rate zones, that equates to Zone 2.

Monday – Speed training
Tuesday – Ride or Interval Weight Training
Wednesday – Interval Cardio training
Thursday – Ride or Interval Weight Training
Friday – Ride or Low Intensity Cardio Training
Saturday – Rest
Sunday – Race or Ride

This schedule will vary greatly depending on your own needs. As you train you should become more accustom to what your needs are and adjust your schedule accordingly. If you feel like you need more muscular endurance, then add a day of interval weight training. Getting winded on lap 3, then add more speed or interval cardio training. You must learn to become in tune with your body and adjust this schedule to suit your needs. And remember, a day of rest is a good thing. Don’t over train.

Good luck adding this pre-season training program to your workouts. Remember, depending on where you are in your training program, this workout may or may not apply to you for a vast majority of the season. Evaluate where you currently stand fitness wise, and use the pre-season workout accordingly.

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.