We have talked about training build-up in all the different time phases. Now we have to fill these trainings with exercises that will sharpen the desired physical properties. That is why it is necessary to first list the most important physical basic properties in order to then decide which properties you want to work on in a certain training or training series.
The physical attributes are strength, agility, endurance, speed, coordination and balance. The first property power refers to the effort you have to make to overcome resistance. For example, this can refer to the effort you have to make to prevent your handlebars from turning in different directions (this is dynamic force), but this can also refer to the strength in your legs when you stand upright on your motorcycle with slightly bent legs (this is called static force).
By integrating stretching and specific exercises into your training you can significantly reduce the risk of injuries.
Flexibility is in turn interesting in motorsports because greater flexibility reduces the risk of sports injuries. Your muscles, tendons and ligaments can stretch further without being damaged.
A good one endurance is important to perform a movement or a series of movements smoothly for a longer period of time. We can divide endurance into two levels: aerobic endurance and anaerobic endurance. With aerobic it is more about an effort that you will maintain for a long time (we are talking about 45 minutes to an hour and more), people sometimes say efforts that allow you to continue breathing easily. When we talk about anaerobic, we are talking about a short but intensive effort.
With speed we mean the ability to perform movements (whether complex or not) in the shortest possible period of time. This involves an interaction between muscle and nervous system, which can only be improved by practicing a certain movement or series of movements until a kind of automaticity occurs. This can involve speed in acyclic movements or non-repetitive movements such as javelin throwing. Each movement occurs only once. But also speed in cyclical movements. Movements that repeat themselves rhythmically, such as walking, cycling.
You can practice physical speed in many different ways.
coordination connects to speed. If the coordination of different body parts is not perfect, your movement can never be ideal. This characteristic forms the basis for performing specific sports technical skills. Take, for example, taking a bend on a slippery track where you have to adjust with your arms through your handlebars, but also with your legs and your body. What a particularly complex movement you had to analyze it. You should also not forget to look at the situation further down the road to anticipate this.
Balance we encounter them in almost all sports and therefore also in off-road driving. It starts with balancing the motorcycle at low speed (at higher speed the machine balances itself). Gradually it only becomes more difficult to maintain balance when, for example, jumping, where we have to maintain balance in different directions (front-back-left-right).
What makes motocross, enduro, trials and in fact all motor sports just as complex and therefore also the preparations for them is that you have to develop all properties more than average to excel in your discipline. So it comes down to covering the various basic properties regularly in your training or training series. You must of course determine for yourself which of these qualities you already master well and which less so. Then it is a matter of getting the least developed properties to a higher level as quickly as possible.
Text: Bram Deboutte, Source: Bloso
Photos credit: Yamaha Racing, Rutgerpauw.com/Red Bull Photofiles
