FITTER BIKERS
Fitter athletes are more relaxed. Being more relaxed improves reaction times. Club racers, track-day riders, even weekend warriors benefit from being relaxed and in shape.
Being fit will make you faster and safer. It means you'll be more relaxed on your machine, which will make riding it even easier.
As a rider you move your body weight whenever you shift from side to side, it compounds fatigue, which lessens control. When your quads are spent, you can't move around on your machine as needed, if your hands and arms are cramped, you can't be as accurate with your steering or the controls, and an imprecise rider is an unsafe rider.
Even if you're not overweight, being in better shape will make you a better rider. Top racers know from experience that a good level of fitness gives them a competitive advantage. Ask any club racer, track-day rider or weekend warrior, they know that after 30 miles of knee-down hard riding, they'll pull in breathless and sweaty.
Mick Doohan, once said "The idea is to be as fast at the end of the race as you are at the beginning. Some guys are really quick for two or three laps, but then go backward. You know their bikes are still good, so the problem's got to be them."
Being physically fit improves your ability to concentrate for long periods. Get in shape and you'll not only ride longer, you'll make fewer mistakes and find you're more able to see and process visual information.
What are the essential elements of riding fitness? It's best if neither you nor your bike is handicapped by excess weight. And it's key that your heart and lungs can meet your body's oxygen needs. A no-nonsense fitness program will help you on both counts.
Bikers don't get much respect as far as athletes go, what's so difficult about riding a new Suzuki GSXR on your local twisty roads or at the track? As anyone who's come out of a turn with his arms aching from the power, flicking a 350-pound sports bike around at speed takes skill, you need to be fit to ride well. It only stands to reason that the more fit you are, the more performance you'll be able to wring out of your machines.
Go for an hour or so, ride through twisty roads and you will see physically fit riders separate themselves from the unfit weekend warriors. They may not be better technical riders necessarily, but their increased fitness allows them to stave off the effects of fatigue longer, fatigue limits performance and can be dangerous when you're riding at the limit of your abilities. Fatigue has a number of negative effects. First, you won't have the power to control your bike as well as you could. Second, and most importantly, two major symptoms of fatigue is a loss of judgment and decreasing reaction times. Simply put, you will start to fall asleep on your machine. A good level of fitness won't protect you from bad decisions or poor form, but it can help you sustain better technique longer and you’ll have more fun on your machine.
You should plan on training at least three days a week. But if you can five to six days would be even more effective. If you're in good basic shape, your training sessions should reflect the length of your training periods. About 60 minutes is good. Every workout should begin and end with a gradual, 5-10 minute warm-up and cool-down period.
If you're overweight, I would train for at least 30-45 minutes at a lower intensity. If you're not breathing hard and working up a sweat, you're not working hard enough. But if you can't carry on a simple conversation, you're probably working too hard. Temper it to your abilities.
Be patient. The idea is to build a habit for life, not to quickly whip yourself into shape and then go back to your old ways. Or cause an injury that puts you off training.
Barry Sheen once said “Don’t wait for your ship to come in, swim out and meet the bloody thing.” Put simply, the only way to get fit is to work at it. It needs to be as important to you as the machine you ride. If you want to be quick on the track or just better on the road, then you need to work hard at your fitness and make it a way of life.
Before starting any level of fitness training, see your doctor. Ask if you can safely start a fitness program.
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