Team lluscvarna's training camp in
Sweden developed it for the'World
Champions of Motocross; now the man
in charge tells how you can do it
yourself at home.
"
,
e
Why is this man sm iling? Has he rung the bell ? Has he wo n
the stuffed blu nt-nosed leopard liz ard ? R ead on.
Chart below shows the difference between trained motocross ridersand a control grou p of
untrained 20 - 25 year olds, isometric hand (grip) strength under the following conditions:
c
300
..
When Swedish doctors began to study the ph ysical
demands on vari ous sportsmen in 1965, th ey did th eir
main tests on motocross riders. Some of- the human
guinea pigs who volun teered at th e dawn of th is research
10 years ago were Rolf Tibblin, Torsten Hallman, Sten
Lundin, and a youthful Ake Johnsson. Professor Bengt
Saltin of the Swedish Physiological Institution and Chief
Instructor Goran Agnevik of th e Gymnastics and Sports
Training College compared top motocross racers again st
an equal number of student ph ysical training teach ers men of the same age an d in th e pink of ph y sical
condition. After a series of tests, the results were
astonishing.
Although there was not much di ffer ence in actual
strength and stam ina between the two groups, th e
motorcycle ra cers had the ability to work at their peak
for twice, or even three times as long as the Phys, Ed.
students. In particular, the tests put the strain on legs,
arms and wrists with intense pressure on and off,
alternately for long periods. The tests closely reproduced
the physical demands of lo ng cross-country races. As a
result of these studies, the traditional ideas of physical
conditioning had to be revised drastically , where they
concerned tr aining motorcycle riders. F1at-out
endurance training, like running for long periods at a
time, for instance, doe m 't re ally build the muscles yo u
need for motocross ra cin g, or fast trail riding.
A) Maximum exertion
B) · Endurance, 50% of maximum strength
C) Intermittent, max. exertion
5 minutes work, 5 minutes rest
200
Recommended t '3lining:
Hand-arm-shoulder group - principally '
staticendurance strength
Abdominal-back group - Max static
strength, static enduran ce strength
le g-buttock group - Equally-distributed
max strength and static endurance
exercises.
100
MOTOCROSS
•
C ONTR OL G R O U P
