Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126415
E • ~ E T h e a g o n y o f v ic to r y . By Jim Ryan Motorcycle tech nolo gy has incr ease d significand y in the past few years. Tod ay's mot orcycle, especially the off-road type, is capa ble of muc h grea ter speeds due to high ly evolved suspensio ns, power packa ges and frame design s. Much attent ion h . .d h b as een pal ,t~ streng t 7,01ng the motor cycle s anatom y, but 26 what about the rider? How has his or her anatom y been update d to get the most out oftoday 's machin es? Johann a Steners en, former Nation al Wom.en's Motocr oss C~ampion and now mstruc tor at Nau.ulu s/Newp ort, was more than happy to answer the questio n by introdu cing us to the Nautilu s trainin g program . Johann a became involved with the program while she was still strongly involved with her racing effort and has been instrum ental in getting motor- cycle. compet itors familia rized with Nauttlu s. The Nautilu s program has been in use since 1970 when the first machin e was sold. The Nautilu s idea, however, has been under develop ment for the past 22 years! The program is now compos ed of 12 to 14 machin es. This system when used correct ly will conditi on the body for greater strength, flexibility, and cardiovascular conditi oning. Perhap s the most import ant aspect is the prevent ion of injuries that riders, because of their physical conditi on, could not escape in the past. The Nautilu s program , because of its highly successful backgr ound with professional sports, (footba ll, b~ball, etc.) bas been adopte d by most college athletic program s and is now fmding its way into profess ional motorc ycle compet ition through Man. Blackwell, Suzuki Team manage r and former Nation al motocr oss star. Mark is a strong advoca te of the system - talk to any of Suzuki Team rider. All the riders have varied ideas concern ing Nautilu s but most agree that it is a valuabl e tool in meetin g the high physica l deman ds that are encoun tered in racing. Brian Myerscough and Mark Barnet t, Suzuki' s 125cc Nation al racing crew, are firm believers in the program . Mark has been workin g with a Nautilu s center in Chicag o for some time wi!lt his traine.r Leon Wolek of Athlete s NC and his perform ance on the nationa l circuit as well as his physical shape can be attributed in pan to his training program . Brian has just recentl y been introdu ced to the program but has felt a noticea ble incre~ in only a few months . Kent Howen on looks to the progra m for its injury preven tion potenti al. Kent bas suffere d numero us lower leg and foot injuries and believes the Nautilu s program will strengt hen the desired areas 50 that any further injuries might be avoided . Road racing' s Carter Alsop sees physica l its besides Nautilu s, advant ages, as the ideal physica l conditi oning center for those who are as traveli ng. (such frequen tly profess ional racers). There are many Nautilu s centers in the country and once an exercise program has been establis hed it could be continu ed at any Nautilu s center, thereby allowin g a person to. mainta in peak strengt h even while travelin g. Why Nautil us? A trainin g p~am should have two goals: To maximIZe strengt h of muscle groups involved with your particu lar sport and to reduce body fat to a minimu m level. To maximiz~ body strengt h or