On The Bike Training: Motocross is no different then any other sport from a training/practicing aspect. One of the biggest mistakes most riders make is that most just go to the track and pound laps. Instead, treat it like other sports, such as breaking it down and working on fundamentals. A pro football player does not go to practice and scrimmage all day, instead they work on the basics like tackling, passing, catching, ect. MX is very much alike as everyone needs to work on basics such as body positioning, starts, breaking, jumping, whoops, passing, and on and on...Try to break sections of the track down that you are weak at and work it. Figure 8's, circle ruts, and other courses are important to help with breaking bad habits and developing new. Its easier to accomplish this on these types of courses because there are fewer distractions then compared to a full mx track. Often you must slow down to go fast, meaning you need to slow your riding down to allow yourself to think about exactly what you are doing right and wrong on the bike. Slow it down, do it right, and slowly build it up until its done correct at race pace.

Winter Physical Training: With winter now in full swing, most of us are now in our off season, making now a great time to start thinking about strength training. Strength training plays a very important role in mx. We all know that strong riders are able to muscle there machines around better, but being able to hit the ground and walk away from it will play the important role in a successful racing career(example: RC). Muscles protect your bones and most everything on the insides, therefore the stronger your muscles the more protection you have. There is a balance that needs to be found, we are not looking to be body builders, but overall balanced lean muscle is our goal. What i mean by balanced is that your abs are only as strong as your lower back is. If you work on your abs all the time and not your lower back, you will be prone to back problems because its the weaker link in the chain(this goes for all muscles groups in your body). Its always easiest to work on what your good at, but goals should always be to find your weak areas and target them first to find a balance, then build both groups up together to have a strong balanced body that is resistant to injuries.

Muscle mass gains are hard to accomplish while trying to improve cardio at the same time. While performing cardio exercises your body is using up your carb and protein stores for energy, these carb stores is what your muscles need to rebuild torn tissues after a strength training session. Try to keep your cardio workouts to a min. for the days surrounding your strength workouts. Simply keep your cardio activities light to use for a warm up for strength sessions. 3 sets of 6-10 reps is a good guideline to fallow for muscle building while focusing on all muscle groups. Its often best to break your workouts into separate days, targeting separate areas on different days. Make sure you are giving your body a chance to recover and rebuild to reach full gains every workout. Diets and fitness levels make it hard to set a recovery time, so simply listen to your body. if you feel fatigued and worn out, you need more recovery time. Typically 24-36 hours is needed for full recovery. Towards the end of winter, or with racing season approaching, start converting your training with the focus on cardio and lean strength training. Cardio should be your main focus, and strength training 1-2 times a week with lighter weights/higher rep combo.

Pre-Workout Meals
Some people say training on an empty stomach burns more fat but the fact is you blow through your glycogen stores in about an hour, and then your body turns to fat stores for energy. Problem with that approach is that your body will soon start to burn muscle tissue as well. To avoid this, eat a simple meal before hand and have a solid post workout meal-- to replenish lost nutrients and aid in recovery. Your pre workout meal should be relatively low in fat and fiber so it's easily digestible, but not highly glycolic. The protein should be easily digested and quickly available
The Classic Turkey Sandwich
You have to use the right ingredients. Make with high-protein Ezekiel bread, which you can find at health-food stores or bake yourself. It contains wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, and spelt (a kind of grain) or just use whole wheat. 2 to 3 ounces of fresh-roasted, low-sodium turkey breast (not the salt-laden prepackaged kind), a couple of tomato slices, some bean sprouts for crunch, and honey mustard. (Per sandwich: 300 calories, 30 grams protein, 30 g carbohydrates, 10 g fat)

Stay away from most* performance enhancing products, unless you plan on using those products while on the bike. Remember you are training your body and the overall goal is to be a better rider. Anything you do at the gym we want to carry over to the bike. *Caffeine products are common at gyms, and at first use they help boost your workouts, but after a few uses your body relies on the caffeine to get you through the workouts instead of boosting it. Your are basically training your body to need caffeine for physically demanding work such as riding/racing. This is similar with most performance enhancing products.

On the Way to the Gym
Down one of the following snacks:
• Handful of raisins and nuts. Raisins give you a simple carb for immediate energy, and nuts give you a little fat and a feeling of satiety. (250 calories, 7 g protein, 30 g carbohydrates)
• Piece of fruit. Example: apples and plums, because they offer just enough carbs to get you going. (40 calories, 10 g carbohydrates each)
Post Workout
Within a half hour of completing your workout, try to consume a full meal to help your body recover. Tests have shown that those who replace nutrients within a half hour of their workout recovered fully within 12 hours, compared to those who waited takes 24-36 hours to fully recover. If you cant eat a full meal, try to drink a recovery drink right away. There are a ton of recovery drinks out there, or just try a slim fast. But you still need to eat a full meal ASAP.
Stretching
Motocross is a dangerous sport, and stretching is a easy effective way to minimize injuries. ALWAYS stretch before working out, after workout, and always before riding.
Weight Lifting
There’s a common myth that lifting heavy weights will give you arm pump, but myth is the key word in this sentence. Lifting weights will not give you arm pump if done correctly, and one of the most common mistakes made is your hand grip. Remember this while lifting weights, you are training your muscles and in the exercise your doing, you DO NOT want to train your muscles to have a death grip while in use. Pay attention to you grip on the weights/bars or whatever you holding on to and make sure to keep you grip as loose as possible, and relax your grip between reps.
Mayo Clinic studies have shown that for training your muscles for strength/endurance when you go beyond 13 reps the effectiveness is greatly decrease. Always set 13 reps as your goal, and always make sure your struggling to get to 13. On off season shoot for a lower number of reps with more weight to gain muscle, then transition back to endurance lifting for race season. 3 sets of 13 reps are some good numbers to shoot for.

Certified personal trainers are important for all looking to improve. Good trainers will be able to find and target your weak areas, and will always to giving you new workouts to keep pushing the limits and improving total fitness every workout. Once you have got the basic workouts dialed in, its time to start combining balance and stability exercises with you workouts that are mx specific.

Smart Facts/Choices
Breakfast
Breakfast is by far the most important meal of the day, and most importantly on race day. Here is an example of a smart yet simple oatmeal breakfast:
Mix together then cook (amounts are up to you):
-2 egg whites (crack egg and use only egg whites)
-Milk
-Oatmeal
After cooking mix in:
-1 scoop whey protein(optional extra protein)
-2 tbsp Flaxseed
-Brown Sugar (the less the better)
Along with 2 pieces of whole grain toast this breakfast will kick start your raceday.
 
 
Chocolate Milk - A University of Washington study found that drinks that blend carbohydrates and protein, such as chocolate milk, are nearly 40 percent more effective than protein alone at helping your muscles repair themselves and grow after a workout.
Supplements - Here are a few, easy, cheap, effective supplements that everybody should take to keep your body strong and healthy:
Omega Fatty Acids
Multivitamins
Calcium Supplements
Flaxseed: Flaxseed has great health benefits, and can be added and mixed into almost any meal and doesnt effect taste. Mix in a spoonful to each meal.
Water: Many of us don’t know the benefits to always being well hydrated, and most of us are considered dehydrated most of the time. Easy way to make sure you always properly hydrated is to always keep a gallon jug with you and make sure its gone by the end of the day.

Moto Pushup: We are always looking to improve upon great workouts and add a mx twist to it, and here is a easy do it yourself option that will take the classic pushup to the next level.

Find a old pair of handle bars along with a old triple clamp(top only). Mount them together just like on your bike, throw a old set of grips on them and your ready for some pushups that will closely replica your position on the bike, therefore working the exact same muscles. Take the bars and place on a flat surface, the small surface area of the clamp will create a unstable position on the ground, which is exactly what we are looking for. That unstable position will further help engage your core muscles to stop the bar from tipping forward/backward. To add more difficulty, simply replace the grips with throttle tubes that have screw in ends that doesn't allow the tube to slide off the bar.