Evan Nystrom
We have a new contributor! Evan Nystrom (@outlierathlete) is a strength and conditioning coach that works with riders like Derek Kelley, Freddie Noren, Chase Marquier, and more! He wants to help you on your fitness journey and share his knowledge to you fine readers of Vurb. If you have any questions feel free to reach out to him via social media or email him at [email protected].
Training for motocross and riding dirt bikes involves a lot of nuances. How many times do you ride a week? How long is it? What mode of riding is it? What were the conditions of where you rode? All of these factor into how you should or shouldn’t train off the bike. I think we have all ridden a track that is well-groomed and flows easily in the morning, but by the end of the day it is rough. The ruts have knives in them, and the braking bumps might as well be doubled, which is what Jett would do. What this means is that it is hard to have measurable metrics of energy use, which energy system was primarily used, and what muscle groups are going to be the most fatigued. So the big question then is how do I train for that off the bike?
The real answer is that you don’t train for braking bumps and rough tracks off the bike; you train for that on the bike! In any other sport, you will see a wide receiver in the NFL run amazing routes and catch the ball one-handed. This is a result of on-field, sport-specific training, not what they did in the weight room that morning. Yes, the weight room is super important and it should be a part of the program, but it cannot replace sport-specific training and skill work. If you are like me and only ride once every two weeks but you wish to still train off the bike to help yourself on the bike, don’t worry, there is an answer for that and it isn’t as complicated as some might think. The big takeaway is that off-bike training is complementary, not a replacement for on-bike training, but we can do our best to prepare the body for high demands when it does come time to swing a leg.
Off-bike training when you can’t ride as much as you’d like will not be like getting seat time, but we can at least train the big muscle groups that are used during riding 2-3 times a week. We can train both the oxidative (low and slow) energy system and then the more intense creatine phosphate system. Don’t worry about the energy system quite as much because that is an energy system we can target with good strength training and the proper weight intensities. This sums up a workout routine that is roughly 4-5 times a week on the weeks you are able to go ride your bike and get that sport-specific training.
Strength training can look like anything from 4-7 sets of reps of 3-8 at intensities of 75-90% of one rep max, or rate of perceived effort for that set. A good rule of thumb is that you want to accumulate 25-35 total reps. So if you are doing 5 sets, your reps would be about 5-6. The lower the reps, the higher the intensity and also the bigger the rest needed between sets. Ex.
- 4×6 @80% Rest: :90-120
- 5×5 @85% Rest: :120-150
- 6×4 @90% Rest: :150-180
The goal, as mentioned, is to incorporate this 2-3 times a week. The exercises used do matter but don’t get too caught up in it. There are hundreds of movements and exercises that people will say you should be doing, the problem with that is you only have about an hour to train, so let’s stick with 6-7 movements per workout. Work on big compound multi-joint movements such as squats, deadlifts, push-ups/bench press, pull-ups/lat pulldown, overhead presses, rows, dynamic core movements, carries, and crawls. While doing work like this, we will see sets taking anywhere from 20-40 seconds at a time. This is going to be a great tool to work our body in and out of the glycolytic energy system of both aerobic and anaerobic. The heavier weight in this training naturally will raise your heart rate into zone 3.
Now for the oxidative energy system, this is the low and slow energy system that we can train quite easily by cycling, running, walking uphill, jogging, rowing, and swimming. Almost anything that takes you above the baseline of where you currently are while reading this. This is called zone 2, zone 2 is 60-70% of your heart rate max. This energy system can run for a long time, like wood on a fire. It burns hot but is not very explosive. Depending on the chosen mode, this can be done for 30-60 minutes at a time. Now quite the opposite is the creatine phosphate system, this is our high-intensity energy system. Only lasts 6-10 seconds at a time, think of this as a full-out hard burst of energy such as sprinting. This is our gasoline energy, rather than burning, it explodes. This energy system can be worked at a 1:5 work-to-rest ratio for multiple sets up to 15. This makes the training session a bit shorter but also means spending more time on warm-ups because the intensity is so high we want to prepare the body properly.
Once again, this is not a full replacement nor a perfectly laid-out program for everyone, but it is a good place to start helping yourself away from the bike. If you are not comfortable lifting heavy weights or not comfortable setting up a routine for yourself, that is where a local strength coach or myself and Outlier Athlete Development can help you to make sure you are doing the right stuff to help you, the rider, achieve your best fitness and be safer on the bike.
Main image: Suzuki
