Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

At Team Husqvama's training school, we concentrate on interval training, that is, -h eavy workout for on e minute, 10 secon ds rest, then on e-minute workout again. Easier work is done for four minutes on, with two minute rest periods. Th e results of the e arly Swedish research are still valuabl e and up to date. But I have continued with follo w-up tests on our riders in order to develop even more effec tive training methods and to adapt them to present-day dem ands. Our riding and training methods here at the Husqvama sch ool h ave changed during th e past five years an d are still chan gin g, just as the motorcycles are. Over 200 Europ ean and American top riders h ave p assed through our " bo dy dynamometer" and many of them stil l attend our sp ecial yearly training camp in Alfta, Sweden to learn mo re and get in shap e for th e world championship season. Th ere are many fin e books on th e market th at tell y ou how to be a top-no tch motorcycle r acer, but mos t do not deal sufficiently with the rider 's mind and body . Your psychological and phy sical co n di tion are equally important to winning mo to cross as yo ur ri ding technique and th e performan ce of y our motorcy cle. As r acing direc tor and ch ief instructor for Team Husqvama the se p ast five y ears, I h ave concen trate d m y work on helping th e riders at our trainin g camp in Sweden to build themselves up in order to become ch am pi on s. With th e right training methods, I give a rider three to four years to become a motocross ch ampion, provided h e has th e necess ary talent . This series of articles will spell out the righ t training methods, proven over eight years of success, and introduce you to a n ew thing in self-evalu ati on th at I call " Body Horsepower. " It is interesting to compare th e "h orsep ower" ratings of the riders who passed th rough th e Husqvama training camp since it began in 1970. (See Figure 1.) The numbers are computed by a simple equ ation that takes in to consideration body weight, pulse rate and work p erformed in a standard period of time. It is not stretching the analogy to o much to think of the resul ts as " h orsep ower" figures , since cri tical factors of the equation are equ ivalen t to th e " breathing" cap ability of a gasoline engine. (Pulse rate equals oxygen absorption) and performance under braking loa d (riders pedal a sta tionary bicycle against braking lo ads of up to 1,800 kilograms). To make a champion you n eed only three m ain things, 1. a good ri der . 2. a good motorcycle. 3. a good me ch an ic. It is most difficul t to m ake th e rider good, since th e important elemen ts in his success are, A. Psychological (will power, motivation). B. Maximum conversion of energy (oxygen absorption, or breathin g. Muscle en duran ce capacity ). C. Te am work between nerves and muscles (t alen t , str ength). And D. Riding te chnique (sm oo th n ess, ability to develop thinking and technique , reasoning power ). The amount of th ese eleme nts varies a great deal depending on an in dividu al 's n ati ve ch ara cter. A rider with develo ped riding tech nique, blessed by n ative phy sical and mental tal en ts N bums up less energy during a race and needs less physical training ' than those of us who are less fortunately endowed. " Natu ral" motocross talents like Joel Robert and Torsten Hallman are rare. They do not have to practice or train as hard as their competitors like Heikki Mikkola, Roger DeCoster, Gercit Wolsink and you. This series will explain the workings of the human body comp ar ed with th e motorcycle and sho w what is happening to your body during training, practice and riding. It will also explain the best known training methods, tell how to do it yourself, and tell how to tes t y ourself physically so that y ou can measure your own body's horsepower as it improves. Not all of this training can be thoroughly done by the do -it-yourself method. It is bes t to be supervised by . someone, a " coach," who can push you th rough some of th e exercises , since parts of the program are hard and tough. As Brad Lackey an d Jim Pomeroy said upon completing our latest training camp session , "After this, every th ing else will be easy." However, it does not matter wheth er you are a novice beginner or an expert, with these tr ain in g methods you will soon noti ce the results of the wor k you h ave done. Whether y our goal is to wear the number on e on y our jersey or jus t be able to ride cowtrails faster, safely, for a few minutes longer , the information in th is series .will guid e your efforts to th at achievement by the most direct route , with ou t wasting any effort on your p art. Next week: How to condition your body, test y ourself and chart y our progress. What the well-dressed m ot ocrosser will wear in Smog City circa 1985. Also used to measure m etabolism while riding. See how the wo rld's best stac k up in body HP below rigbt: Body Horsep ower Comparison Chart 19701971 19721973 19741975 Arne Kring 64 55 66 67 72 Heikki Mikkola 67 75 76 82 Bengt Aberg 48 57 59 59 56 Chris Hammergran 62 67 69 74 Uno Palm 74 54 64 73 Brad Lackey 58 Sylvian Geboers Chris Clark Graham Noyce Gerrit Wolsink 49 55 Mickey Quade 55 A.C. Bakken 53 Mitch Mayes 55 Jim Pom eroy AIl figures are in millili tres of oxygen pe r minute per kilo. 76 82 60 61 43 54 56 Com pu ting nu m ber of ex ercises per minute, and pulse rate during rest periods with body weight an d the size of load y ou can handle, gives Bo dy Horsep ower rating. Heikki Mikko la scored highest BHP at the beginn ing of 1974 season , won World Mo tocross Champion ship that year. Heikki had to pedal against 18C) kilos of we ight to get a f air assessment of his body under strain. Most riders work against load of 900 kg but Brad Lackey work s on 1200 kg. BHP is a goo d gauge of progr ess in this con ditioning program. 37

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