MX Winter Training: How do I start strength training in 3 steps
Winter is coming. The titles have been divided, the battle has been fought to the end. But what do we do with the coming period without competitions?
Now a period of complete rest is approaching for most motocross riders, the winter break. But how do you survive this period? Everyone has heard it said: “You win the championship in the winter” or “I had a good/bad winter”. What do they want to say with that? Is it true that you can win a championship in the winter?
Of course you can't win an outdoor championship in the winter. A motocross race or championship must always be ridden. There are numerous factors that can throw a spanner in the works and cause you to miss out on the opportunity to win a title, such as an injury or engine failure. However, you can easily lose a season in the winter by not preparing yourself properly. In the next series of articles you will learn all kinds of tips from Physical Coach Yente Dourte (Coach at X Performance and Energy Lab) to ensure that your winter preparation runs optimally.
Strength training PART 1
I have already talked about the rest period, realistic goal setting, nutrition and sleep. In this article I'm finally going to talk about training. In addition to cardiovascular (physical) training, strength training is an important part of the training program of a motocross athlete. It is of course always important that we start from the athlete himself, what do I mean by this?
If you have never done strength training before, you are not supposed to immediately start lifting heavy weights and performing the most complex exercises. That is why I will provide more explanation and a concrete step-by-step plan on how you can build up your strength training in the next four articles. These articles will be structured according to the OPT model, which can be found below.
Step 1:
When you start strength training, it is important to warm up sufficiently first. First loosen your muscles by lightly foam rolling and then warm them up by moving at a light intensity. Then work in a structured way so you don't feel embarrassed in the gym. Before you go to the gym, make your own plan with all the exercises you will do or take the plan you received from your trainer with you. Also make sure that there is always a logical structure in the exercises you do; do not start with the most difficult variant of the exercise if you have not yet mastered the original exercise. A good example of a warm-up can be found below.
Step 2:
If you are just starting strength training, it is advisable to first get your muscles used to strength work by performing stabilization exercises. During stabilization training, the intention is for the muscles to work isometrically. This means that the muscles will not shorten or lengthen, but will only tense and stabilize. You can do this by planking, performing a wall sit or working with a TRX, BOSU or FIT ball. An example stabilization training can be found below.
Step 3:
Co-contraction: Once you have mastered the stabilization exercises, you will have to make them more difficult and induce co-contraction. Co-contraction means that the antagonists of the working muscles tense up in order to achieve optimal strength in the joint. HUH? Explained very simply, thanks to co-contraction we will be able to absorb unexpected movements. While cycling we often receive a blow or a punch from an unexpected source and it is important that our body and our muscles are ready for this. If our body is not ready for this, we fall. That is why it is useful to train for this in the gym. How do you do that? Below you will find the previous schedule adapted to co-contraction laws and a new invention, the aqua bag, which will stimulate co-contraction.
Have fun with your first stabilization training and enjoy!
If you have any questions about this article, please contact Yente Dourte: Yente.dourte@motocrossmag.be
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