How Strength Training Results in Faster Lap Times

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There are numerous professional opinions on whether or not strength training should be an instrumental part of a racer’s training program.  In my opinion, strength training is imperative for the successful racer at multi-day races like Loretta Lynn’s, Ponca, Lake Whitney and Oak Hill. Overall body strength will help prevent the effects of cumulative fatigue and allow for proper bike position and efficiency on the bike throughout the entire week of racing.  Also, full body strength is a complement to the other elements of a complete performance training program: endurance, flexibility, nutrition and mental preparedness.

Let’s take a look at three direct benefits of strength training from a physiological stand point and how it relates to motorcycle racing.  First, it will increase the amount of force your muscles can exert on a particular object.  As a racer, moving a motorcycle around that weighs anywhere from one hundred to two hundred plus pounds for any extended period of time requires strength levels above the typical athlete that only has to concern himself with one’s body weight.  When you add both the weight of the rider, the weight of the motorcycle and the law of physics that exponentially adds resistance to the working muscle, force is a key component for finishing a race as strong as you started.

Second, strength training will permit your muscles to reach a maximum output of force in a shorter period of time.  Even if you are not a big fan of science, hang in there with me for this concept.  Weight training will increase and facilitate the balance of strength in all working muscles and the resulting motor units (which include motor nerves and muscle fibers).  One nerve impulse can charge hundreds of fibers at once; a rapid series of multiple fiber twitches can generate maximum force quickly and for a long period of time.  Weight training will “teach” your nervous system to recruit a wide variety of fibers.  As one group of fibers fatigue, another group will be prepared to relieve the fatigued group.  Without getting to complex, think about nerves as messengers from the brain which control every physical response.  If motor nerves don’t “tell” the muscle fibers to twitch, your muscles won’t contract.  The entire concept behind physical training is to teach your nervous system, with repeating particular muscular movements, to get the correct message to the working muscles.  With a diversified strength program, you will initiate a message to include the number of fibers to be recruited, type of fibers used (fast twitch A or slow twitch B) and frequency of contractions.  Remember, a diversified training program will recruit all of the fibers and the types of fibers needed for the required physical demands.  This is the purpose behind sports specificity and related workout – the more specific the more productive.

Finally, the duration of time your muscles can sustain the level of force before exhaustion is extended.  The overload principle is based on the concept of subjecting the muscles to slightly more load levels than it has incurred in the past.  With incremental load levels, the muscles will increase the fiber solicitation and corresponding recruitment.  With proper rest, the muscles will grow stronger by developing new muscle tissue as an adaptation to the load levels.  With increased muscle mass, the muscles are able to exert higher levels of force and for extended periods of time before exhaustion.  To capture a better idea of this concept, imagine you have muscles that fall under the category of primary and secondary muscles.  The primary muscle groups are the obvious muscles that are responsible for assisting movement.  The secondary muscle groups are also referred to as “assisters” for primary movement.  However, once the primary muscle groups fatigue, the secondary muscles are required to step up to finish the task at hand.  Strength training makes this task familiar to the secondary muscle groups at both the muscular and neuromuscular levels.

Three indirect benefits of strength training include stronger tendons and ligaments, greater bone density and enhanced joint range of motion.  Concerning tendons and ligaments, weight training will increase the size and overall strength of both which will increase the stability of the joints that they surround.  Bone density will increase as a by-product of tensile force being placed on the bones – without this tensile force, the bones will actually become brittle and susceptible to breaking.  An increased range of motion at the joint is due to the increased strength and size of the tendons and ligaments.  This increased strength will enhance the ease of mobility within the joint due to tendon and ligament strength and resulting efficiency.  When you look at all three of these components collectively, they address the concern of every racer: broken bones and torn up joints (particularly knees).  Keep in mind that the ultimate goal of the muscles and a self- protecting mechanism called the Golgi Apparatus are to keep the bones from being taken outside the normal range of motion.  If your have a strong muscular system (accompanied with good flexibility), you will be able to take large impacts without the typical injuries because your body has the proper mechanisms to protect itself.

As a top racer, you need to identify your weaknesses and address these variables specifically.

Six Healthy Habits of Fast Racers

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Over the last 33 years of working with elite racers, I have noticed there are six specific habits that run consistently through all of these riders.  Not only do these habits create both speed and endurance on the track, they are easy for any rider or racer to implement on a regular basis.

Manage Your Schedule

You can’t manage time, only yourself.  Time keeps ticking no matter what you choose to do with the 24 hours that are in a day.  To get the most out of a day, avoid being rushed.  If you are short on time getting to the track, unloading, getting geared up and then trying to ride, you will inevitably skip your warm up because you are short on time.  If you cut your warm up short, the quality of your riding session will be negatively affected (notice how you feel better at the end of a moto than in the beginning?  This is because you are finally warmed up).  If you are tight on time, you will skip (or at least delay) eating after your session which results in a delay in your recovery process (leaving you sore and tired). You can see how this daily problem becomes a bigger ripple as the week transpires resulting in less than optimum results.

Get Plenty of Sleep

Sleep allows the body the opportunity to “absorb” the workloads completed on a daily basis.  If you don’t fully recover from each workout, you drive yourself into a mode of overtraining with negative performance results.  Strive to get 8 – 9 hours of sleep a day.  If you are getting less than this, look at your overall weekly schedule and make it a priority to sleep – you will be amazed at what happens to your performance results.

Don’t Over Train

Many riders believe that the professionals train all day every day when in fact the opposite is true; ironically, many amateur racers ride and cross train more hours per week than the professionals!  It has been my experience that the most successful riders train for 60-90 minutes in the morning (2 hours after breakfast) and then again in the afternoon for 45-60 minutes after a 2-3 hour nap and high quality snack or smoothie.  The reason for this pattern is to allow the body to absorb and recover from each workout.  Keep in mind that a rider doesn’t become faster by riding and cross training, but rather from eating and sleeping (see above).

Eat Every Two Hours

To help keep our rider’s body fat levels low and their strength to weight ratios high, I have my riders eat one piece of fruit, a sliced vegetable (the darker green the better) and a lean source of protein (2-4 ounces) every two hours.  By eating every two hours, the rider’s blood sugar levels remain constant which helps manage hunger levels.  Low hunger levels result in less food being consumed before the feeling of being full is achieved.  Two additional benefits to eating every two hours with fresh fruits and vegetables are that the rider becomes pre-hydrated with water and they receive a healthy dose of vitamins and minerals that are necessary for the production of energy.

Eat Plenty of Fat and Protein

Fat and protein are the ONLY food items that actually satisfy your hunger.  Healthy fat (avocadoes, salmon, nuts, olive oil, coconut oil) is necessary for optimal health and performance.  Protein (specifically amino acids) is necessary to rebuild your muscles after you tear them down during your riding and cross training sessions.  The body that you have today is a result of what you have consumed over the last six months because it takes this long to completely rebuild your body; if you want to have less body fat and more muscle in six months, start today

Receive Massage & Stretch Regularly

Simply put, as muscles are used for physical movement, they become progressively tighter.  As the muscles tighten, they shorten which puts strain on the attachments at each end of the muscle (origin and insertion).  If the muscles become too tight, they develop a condition referred to as a trigger point.  To illustrate what a trigger point is, put your finger tips into the muscles in your shoulders (between the base of your neck and the end of your shoulder).  Push each finger tip down into the muscles and act as if you are playing the piano.  You will inevitably find a couple of “hot spots”, this is a trigger point.  To help get the trigger point to release and decrease the tension on the muscle’s attachment, keep direct pressure on the center of the trigger point and breathe deep; within 5-10 seconds you will notice the level of tension becoming less.  By receiving a massage on a regular basis (as often as once a week) keeps the muscles from becoming overly tight.  As the tension in the muscle is reduced, the range of motion of the muscles (primary and secondary) improves which results in higher levels of strength and endurance.  In addition to massage, top riders know how to properly isolate and stretch muscles.  For optimum stretching results, stretch muscles ONLY after they have been warmed up with low intensity movement (ideally sport specific) for 10-15 minutes.  The low intensity movement allows the blood to be diverted from the spine, organs and glands and into the various muscles in the arms and legs.  Once the temperature within the muscle reaches an optimum level (as evident by sweat on your arms and face), stop and stretch (refrain from bouncing) the isolated target muscle; hold the stretch for 4-6 seconds while focusing on your breathing.  For some riding specific stretches to reduce improve your range of motion and reduce your risk of injury, please visit my Youtube Channel.