Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

... v ..0 o .... u o Part Eight: Training is the key·for top ~erformance How to be a MX Star By David Bailey with Thomas Scott Training ha s become very, very importa nt in motocross racing. Supercro ss ra cing has a new format whi ch requires a split performance. You have to go wide open for 45 minutes a t th e grand prix ra ces, and many o f the national s a rc now held under supe r-ho t conditions. If yo u plan to do well rac ing a nd want to wo rk to wa rds pr eventing injuri es, you'll hav e to in corporat e training int o your sche du le. If yo u ' re riding and you 're out o fene rgy, yo u' ll start ge lli ng lazy, and you' ll crash. I'v e done it , and after it happened 1 felt reall y stupid because I kn ew it co u ld have been pr evented. A great exa m p le of so meo ne wh o wa s in great sh ape - and still is - is Bob Hannah . At the peak of hi s ca reer, he was in fabulous shape, better than a n yone else. He used to get th ro w n o ff the bi ke. do a handstand, run a longside of th e mo to rcycle, th en ju mp back on , and it di dn ' t even phase him . H is co ndi tio n ing a nd desi re to stay on two wheels paid o ff. and it a ll co m es back to training a nd staying in shape. I'v e become very int erested in trainin g. I've sta rt ed running in foot ra ITS, a nd that m ad e things more fun . Now I'm not only training fo r motocross, but I'm also a ble to co m pete while I'm training when I run a 10K. If I run a race reall y fast, and get a new PR - pers onal record - down to 38 minutes, it helps for both types of racin g. Even if I had a desk job, I'd hav e to keep mov in g and sta y in good sha pe. Another sp ort I've pi cked up o n recent ly is swim m ing. I never realized how hard sw im m ing is, but it has become one o f th e most important as pec ts o f m y training. All of th ese sports sta rted co m ing toget her for me, a nd I'v e entered m yself in a few tri athlons. These races com bine sw im m ing, bicycl in g and run nin g in to on e race ; you've probabl y seen it o n TV when ABC telecasts th e H aw aii Iro n ma n . Wh en you co ns id er run ni ng races, rriat h lo ns, and bia thl ons - ru n a nd bike races - th ere are al ot of wavs 10 train and ha ve fun , . I think rhat sw im m in g , bicycl in g a nd run ning will help you a gre~1 dea l when it co mes to rid ing motorcycles. A good way to mo tivat e yourself is to start training in th ese sports, and t~en keep a running diar y of your distances, Johnny O'Mara in tro - duced me to th e di arv idea over a vear ago , and I've kept a dail y record ever si n ce. When you have a log , a nd ca n keep tra ck of your weig ht a nd h ow vou feel , vou 'Il be a ble to see vo u r improvements over a per iod o f t'ime. R un n ing is one o f the best exe rcises for racing because it gi ves me th e sa me feelin g as wh en I ride a reall y tough race. You feel tir ed a ll o ver, but running doesn 't require a wh ol e bunch o f tim e. Fift een minu tes o f running ca n mak e yo u as tired ' as you ge t wh en racing o ne moto. . I think it's a good id ea to run long di stances o n lv o nce or twi ce a week until yo u get m ore acc ustomed to th e di stances. A 3.5-4.0 mile run is usua lly fine, because th at will tak e yo u about a s lo ng to finish as a m oto would. II g ives me a good idea o f how I'll feel during a race, and mv body will know what it ha s left to offer. Some g uys ar e more na turall y in cli ned to ru nn in g. Some weeks I' ll o nly run 15 m iles, and when I see O'Mara a t the track , he'll hav e 50 or 60 mi les in . J ust becau se one p erson runs more, it doesn 't mean he's in bett er shape for the race, beca use yo u might mak e up th at training in difIerent areas , Wh en yo u do run, though , run fast. Mot ocross racing is a sp rint from start to fin ish , so your running shou ld be a lso . T he onl y time I like to run slo w is o n a Monday , j us t to ge t m y ci rcu la tio n after a hard race . You can take so me of th e boredom o ut of runn ing by find in g some woods tra ils to run o n. Sometimes sta ri ng at a long hi ghwa y will mak e me hea d home ea rly, so wh en I get th e o p portunity I'll run o n h ill s a nd trail s nea r so me good scenery. Va riety will mak e running much more enjoyable. Wh en you start running, pa y a tte n tion to th e shoes you wear, as a go od pair will make a big differ en ce wh en it co mes to avo id ing injuries, I pronate, which mea ns m y ankl es turn in wh en I run . I got sh in sp lints, and because .o f t~a t l got specia l run nin g sh oes with m serts whi ch helped th e problem . When you start ru n n ing you' ll probably go through s tag~s where yo u have sore kn ees or shi ns, bUI yo u 'll break past those points. It 's j ust like motocross, once yo u ge t past those fifth and fourth pl ace fini sh es, winnin g co m es much eas ier. In ad~ i t io n to runn in g a nd riding, swrm m mg has become a favorite sport that I enj oy. If you 'r e go ing to become seriou s and swim laps a t the pool , invest in a good SC i of gogg les . Th ey sh ouldn ' t leak, a nd sh o u ld be co m forta ble, a nd sh ouldn ' t di stort vour vision. Sco tt gog gl es mak es No -Fog , and I usc th a t in my goggles to keep them clear. My mother a nd m y gi rlfriend Gina are fai rly good swi m mers , a nd I'v e started to bu ild up m y d istan ces. If yo u ha ve tim e to go to a YMCA or hea lt h cl u b and rak e lessons, or join a m asters sw im class , a nd learn to sw im properly. Swim m ing is more d ifficult tha n I ever th ought it to be. You 'r e ca n sta ru lv keeping yo ur breathin g in rhy th m , keeping yo ur hands in th e proper posi tio n , kickin g properly, an d basicall y tr yin g to stay efficient in th e wat er. I recentl y built a pool in my back yard, a nd I figured o u t how many laps I hav e to swim to mak e a quart er-mile, and a fter a few weeks o f that I'm up 10 a ha lf-mi le a da y. Now I kn ow whv rhe swimmers at th e Oly!npics hav e su ch ma ssive upper bodies. T he dema nds from sw imming ar e pretty h igh beca use yo ur body is usu ally starved for oxygen , and yo u're stru ggling 10 breathe, II makes your body stronger, and yo u r bod y lea rn s to usc ox ygen pr ett y efficien tly. Th ere are currently many different I ypes o f bicycl es on the m arket , but to ge t in som e reall y ben eficial training . a racing bicycl e works best. On these bik es your feet are strapped into th e pedals, and you wear special shorts whi ch arc padded in th e sea t so vou ca n ride longer distances. On th ese bik es yo ur speed is quite high , a nd you ca n co ver a lor of ground - a 50 or 60 -m il e rid e is n ' t OUI o f th e ordinarv, I in vest ed in a racin g bicycl e a fter I found o u t th at R ick J ohnson, J eff Ward, an d so m e o f th e o the r rid ers were using th em, an d I didn 't want a nyo ne to ha ve a n adva n tage over m e in training. I didn 't thi nk bicyclin g would be tha t tough, but it is, A big hill will reall y work o n yo ur legs , and a 20 o r 30-m ile rid e m ak es me feel just as tir ed as an y mot ocross ever did. The o p portun ities that swim m ing , bicycling a nd running provide will hel p yo u better focu s vour abi liti es wh en you ra ce mot ocross. Mak e vo ur trai n ing fu n by usi ng these sports, Alt erna tive ways o f tra ini ng arc those activ it ies th a t ar e a lot of fu n , but don 't seem to be as h ard o n you as a grueling bik e rid e or long run . T h ings like racq u et ball, tennis, Je t Skiing, trampoli nes a nd golf work well wh en yo u' re looking to fill some tim e. Aerobi cs cla sses arc diffi cult and good . If you 've never been toone give it a tr y - th ey'll burn you r butt and sto ma ch! My gi rlfri end took me to a class, and I had to tell th em I'd had en o ugh a fter onl y a sh ort time. Flexibility is ver y im porta nt. Being flex ibl e a nd loose o n th e rnotorcvcl e w ill help yo u go [a ster a nd keep yo u injury-free. Sometimes, wh en I ca n' t sl eep, I'll get up and stret ch, a nd th e next th ing I know it's morning . I als o like tostretch before th e races, so that I'm limber. After I work out, I a lways stretch so that I sta y flexible from da y today. . I'v e a lso been working p n improvm g my bala nce and co ncen tra tio n by working ou t o n a free-styl e bicycl e I bought. It requires qui te a n amount of strength, and I'v e lea rn ed to be q u ire crea tive w he n I ride it. Betwee n flyi ng to a nd from th e ~aces and worki ng a ll m y tra inin g Il1to m y sched u le, yo u ca n sec wh ere racing can become a full -time job. Just rem ember that if you plan to become a MX Star, you have to ha ve a good time along th e way. Learn 10 rrain rhe way I do, and you 'll be read y for th e winner 's circle befor e vou know it! . • ' . Latest Poop (Con ti n ued from pag e 2) ro ll ing desert sa nd d u nes a nd a lo ng th e bea ch es of th e Pacifi c O cean . Acco rdi ng to Fol ks, th e event is bein g back ed by the Peru vian go vern me nt, a nd h opes to have a t leas t 10 Am er ica n rider s part icip at e. Folks pl ans to co ntact severa l motorcycle m anufacturers in o rder to ge ne ra te int erest in th e event a nd p ro vid e so me su p port so th at Am erican riders ca n a tte nd

• Cover