By

Rodney Womack, CSCS

By now, if you have followed an off-season training program, you should be in good physical condition.  If your racing season has already started then your strength and conditioning should be much improved from what it was in December or January.  In a previous article about pre-season training, I talked about assessing your weaknesses before the season starts.  Once you start racing on a consistent basis this process will continue.  In fact, the focus of your in-season training should constantly address this issue.

In-Season Training

Once your season starts the focus of your training should be your riding.  In order to improve your skills and riding endurance, you should be riding as much as you can during the week before the weekend’s race.  However, you still need to maintain a regular strength and conditioning program.  This is especially important if you do not get to ride much during the week. 

Of course the obvious question is – What type of workout should I do?  In my book, Motocross Fitness, I outline several different sample weeks (examples) of possible workouts.  In addition to your riding time during the week, you still need to include some endurance, flexibility, strength, and quickness training.  This is a tall order when you are already spending time practicing your riding. 

As previously mentioned, your in-season training priority still needs to be correcting your weaknesses.  In essence, you need to fine tune your workouts to fit your needs.  If you are struggling with your endurance then obviously you need to do some more running, biking, jump rope, rowing, or similar activity.  You can either, increase the number of times per week, or up the distance and / or time.  The intensity of the exercise may need to be increased also to achieve the desired result.

If you find that specific muscles or muscle groups are tiring prematurely or are excessively sore after a race, then you probably need to work on those areas some more in your strength and flexibility program.  For example, if your back is sore then you may need some more stretching of the muscles in the area and some more strength work there. 

These are just some common sense ideas, but if you haven’t had a consistent training program up until now, you may not have thought much about them.  However, the question of training time can also be a problem.  Not everyone has several hours a day to devote to riding or training.  Therefore, it is imperative that you use your time efficiently.  For the average amateur racer I would recommend that you do some physical activity 4-5 days during the week.  For example, if you are able to ride two days during the week then it would benefit you to train at least two other (three if possible) days during the week.  Even if it is a quick 20-30 minute workout you will get some positive benefits from it.  Do this several times a week and you will maintain the higher level of strength and conditioning that you achieved during the off-season.  In fact, if your goal is to just maintain, rather than improve, your current fitness level, it probably won’t take much more that a couple of days per week of a good workout program.

What kind of program should I do during my racing season?  You need to put together a total body program that that stresses working your body as a unit, often called “functional training”.  This is the type of program that I have written about in other articles.  If you train at home without weights you can do the previously mentioned exercises such as pushups (different kinds), pullups, situps, and squats.  You can also include sprints, cycling, and jump rope.  These are all great exercises that will build strength and endurance.  There are many other exercises that you can do without weights (described in Motocross Fitness) that you can do as well to get you into good condition.

Circuit training is also a fantastic way to maintain (and even improve) your strength and conditioning during the racing season.  Just be sure to mix up the workouts every couple of weeks to avoid boredom and burnout on the same exercises and training program. 

The main thing to remember during your racing season is to continue to train outside of your riding at least a couple of days a week.  And, be sure to cover all of your bases with endurance work as well as flexibility and strength training.  It is important to train the entire body to work efficiently as a coordinated unit to insure that you are improving your physical fitness in addition to your riding ability.  Not only will this approach make you a better athlete, but it will also make riding safer for you.