Proper training not only keeps you off the dirt, it helps you get up once you do hit the dirt! photo - Steve Cox

The white flag flies, as you soar across the finish line double, landing smoothly on the other side. You quickly peek behind, triple wide coming across the finish line like a pack of ensuing piranhas. Your adrenaline is pumping, sweat seeping through your leathers as you pin the throttle, shredding the wide sweeping left and leaving the rest of the field to choke on your roost. Without warning, the handlebars jerk to the left. You desperately, vainly search for a grip, only to be pummeled into the earth. Crack! A jolt of pain shoots through your shoulder, followed almost instantly by a wave of nausea, but this is nothing compared to the roar of the field leaving you behind. The adrenaline gone, you numbly grasp your shoulder, gasping for breath.

This scene has played out far too often in motocross facilities around the world; get a little tired, try to push the limits and whack! You’re in the dirt. Well, you could be forgetting a crucial piece of safety equipment. Yep, you guessed it; training. Not only does fatigue significantly decrease reaction time, but also muscle response. In fact, at the end of the race you may be riding around with only half of your muscles working.

Don’t believe me? A recent study by the American Journal of Sports Medicine suggests that, when fatigued, your lower leg muscles have a significantly longer reaction time, or may not react at all. Ten healthy subjects, six men, and four women, all in their early twenties participated in a series of quadriceps and hamstring fatiguing exercises before being subjected to a variety of stress tests. The results showed significant slowing of the lower leg muscles and in some cases an absence of any response at all. The results also showed that fatigue affected the dynamic stability of the knee and could play an important role in the pathomechanics of knee injuries. In essence, fatigue, aside from causing you to wreck, may also greatly increase your chances of knee injuries, especially to the ACL.

Josh Grant's training no doubt plays a huge role in his ability to walk away from big crashes! photo - Steve Cox

Another study done by JYX University was specific to motocross and involved Seven Finnish A class riders and five Finnish hobby class riders. Each rider performed a thirty-minute riding test before taking a VO2 max and a muscle force test. Muscle activity was also recorded throughout the riding test. The results showed that hobby class riders had significantly lower maximal voluntary contractions (muscle force) during and after the riding test then the A class riders did, with the biggest reduction coming in hand grip force. In other words, the A class riders had the ability to recover during and after the race, while the hobby class riders could not, in some cases, posting maximal voluntary contractions that were only half of those posted at the start of the riding test.

So, we now know that fatigue can be a dangerous adversary when braving the loamy jungles of your local motocross track. Fatigue significantly slows reaction time, puts the rider at an increased risk of knee injury and compromises your ability to hold on to the bike! Remember, the next time you hit the track, that a little preparation can be the difference between paying a victorious visit to the podium and making an unexpected stop at the local emergency room.

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.