Endurance training

[Southernsupermoto]

Hey everyone, this is kinda long so bear with me.

 

I’m 29 and rode dirt back when I was a lot younger (11-13 years old ). Nothing serious, just playing around. I got into street bike for a few years and am finally back in the dirt. I want very badly to race the SECCA series in the south.

 

I ride every weekend if possible and I am very slow now and it’s super discouraging. I rode with a guy last weekend that said he was C class and he absolutely left me behind . The whole time I was out of breath and nauseous. I lost my father in July of 2018 and gained a good bit of weight after. This is no excuse, but it’s what happened. I have changed my diet tremendously in the past month to lose weight. I’m 6’ 2” and about 255 lbs. long story short I’m fat. I am extremely discouraged with the way I was unable to keep up. I definitely am taking action to lose weight and that includes diet and a lot of cardio.

 

I am the type of person who is extremely competitive. I want to do well in this series and riding means the world to me. Does anyone have any suggestions for things to do off the bike to improve endurance? Any drills on the bike to improve this and speed? Any diet tips for racing specifically?

 

Sorry for the long post and if this seems super sappy. I love riding and want to do well. Any help is appreciated!

[Hans Schmid]

There is no quick and easy solution to the problem you present. It's going to be a long journey of heathy eating and reduced calories. You should be aiming to lose anywhere from 1-2lbs per week. Anything less means you aren't reducing your calories enough, anything more is going to leave you with less energy. 

As for improving endurance, as with weight loss it's going to take time. At this point, my advice is to ride intervals. Lay out a course that's between 15-20min and start riding. If no course, go to your local moto track.

Ride something like 2-20min motos at 70% for the first 3 weeks with a 6-8min rest in between. After your ride, just pack up and go home. You do not want to be sore or tired, you just want to be satisfied you did you best. Work on not just riding for 20min at a time, but trying to ride the absolute best you can. Focus on everything in front of you and nothing else. Hit those ruts and corners perfect and in the right gear, braking at the right time with your body position in the right place, standing at the right moments. An example of poor endurance training are people who just go out and ride to get tired. Next time they do much the same but try to do it longer, etc... Ride to get good at riding, and the endurance will follow. After a 3 weeks, bump up to 2-25min motos at the same 70% intensity. Depending how much you ride, you could do 1-20min moto at your absolute fastest (within control). You really don't need to do 3hr long rides to get good at racing, it just junk miles. After 6 weeks, drop back down to 2-20min motos at 80-85% intensity. And try to shorten up you rest periods. 

Off the bike training, active recovery! Go for long walks, work on stability, pulling your shoulders back and keeping your gut/core pulled in. Nothing crazy, but just always moving.

I work outside and average 12-15miles of walking EVERY single day. I don't do much outside of that other then moto. I'm just always moving. 

[Southernsupermoto]

There is no quick and easy solution to the problem you present. It's going to be a long journey of heathy eating and reduced calories. You should be aiming to lose anywhere from 1-2lbs per week. Anything less means you aren't reducing your calories enough, anything more is going to leave you with less energy. 
As for improving endurance, as with weight loss it's going to take time. At this point, my advice is to ride intervals. Lay out a course that's between 15-20min and start riding. If no course, go to your local moto track.
Ride something like 2-20min motos at 70% for the first 3 weeks with a 6-8min rest in between. After your ride, just pack up and go home. You do not want to be sore or tired, you just want to be satisfied you did you best. Work on not just riding for 20min at a time, but trying to ride the absolute best you can. Focus on everything in front of you and nothing else. Hit those ruts and corners perfect and in the right gear, braking at the right time with your body position in the right place, standing at the right moments. An example of poor endurance training are people who just go out and ride to get tired. Next time they do much the same but try to do it longer, etc... Ride to get good at riding, and the endurance will follow. After a 3 weeks, bump up to 2-25min motos at the same 70% intensity. Depending how much you ride, you could do 1-20min moto at your absolute fastest (within control). You really don't need to do 3hr long rides to get good at racing, it just junk miles. After 6 weeks, drop back down to 2-20min motos at 80-85% intensity. And try to shorten up you rest periods. 
Off the bike training, active recovery! Go for long walks, work on stability, pulling your shoulders back and keeping your gut/core pulled in. Nothing crazy, but just always moving.
I work outside and average 12-15miles of walking EVERY single day. I don't do much outside of that other then moto. I'm just always moving. 

Thank you so much for the help! I will definitely give this a shot. I have been trying to work in as much walking as possible. I really appreciate you taking the time to read all that and help out. Thank you

[Tahoe Gator]

Buy some running shoes. Start running. At the weight you’re at now, that might mean jogging to start with and going just a couple of miles. Work your way up to a faster pace and longer runs. Simply said, it is hard to beat the time efficiency of running in terms of improving your fitness. I do lots of things — cycling, yoga, P90X kinda stuff — that are all great, but nothing compares “per minute” to running for me. You’ll hate how being fat impairs running and that will also serve as motivation to keep at it. The key is frequency. You’ll be sore to start, so maybe every 2nd or 3rd day at the beginning, but aim to get to 5-6 days per week and it will get easier as your body adjusts and your fitness climbs. Being fat and running simply don’t mix. Oil and water. If you stick with it, provided you don’t eat like total crap, you will lose weight and, more relevantly, be in much better cardiovascular shape. Check your resting heart rate now and again when you can run 2x as far at a 2 minute per mile faster pace and you’ll be amazed at the difference.

 

I was gonna write a long change your “lifestyle” reply (diets don’t work long term, only permanent lifestyle changes do) but I think for your situation, nothing will beat the simplicity and time efficiency of running.

 

 

[Southernsupermoto]

Buy some running shoes. Start running. At the weight you’re at now, that might mean jogging to start with and going just a couple of miles. Work your way up to a faster pace and longer runs. Simply said, it is hard to beat the time efficiency of running in terms of improving your fitness. I do lots of things — cycling, yoga, P90X kinda stuff — that are all great, but nothing compare “per minute” to running. You’ll hate how being fat impairs running and that will also serve as motivation to keep at it. The key is frequency. You’ll be sore to start, so maybe every 2nd or 3rd day at the beginning, but aim to get to 5-6 days per week and it will get easier as your body adjusts and your fitness climbs.

I was gonna write a long change your “lifestyle” reply (diets don’t work long term, only permanent lifestyle changes do) but I think for your situation, nothing will beat the simplicity and time efficiency of running.

Thanks man! I appreciate the advice. I do agree with you on the lifestyle change vs diet also. I’m basically going back to eating normal portions with a caloric deficit until I get to a weight to maintain. I travel for work every week so my diet has been absolutely horrible for about a year because I have not paid any attention to what I was eating. I am used to being around 205-210 lbs. this weight is way heavier than I am used to and I feel like crap most of the time. I definitely have changed the whole eating habit for about a month, but I think adding is running along with the cycling I used to do will help with the weight loss for moto. Thanks again for the help! I’ll do some research on running shoes tonight!

[twooofiddy]

9 hours ago, Southernsupermoto said:

Thanks man! I appreciate the advice. I do agree with you on the lifestyle change vs diet also. I’m basically going back to eating normal portions with a caloric deficit until I get to a weight to maintain. I travel for work every week so my diet has been absolutely horrible for about a year because I have not paid any attention to what I was eating. I am used to being around 205-210 lbs. this weight is way heavier than I am used to and I feel like crap most of the time. I definitely have changed the whole eating habit for about a month, but I think adding is running along with the cycling I used to do will help with the weight loss for moto. Thanks again for the help! I’ll do some research on running shoes tonight!

I was a distance runner for years, and my best advice on running shoes is to go to a legit running store and have them help you. They can watch your stride and suggest the right shoes with the right support. This makes a big difference. 

That said, I now prefer lower impact cardio like cycling. XC mountain biking has the added bonus of being sort of like riding my dirt bike ?

[Tahoe Gator]

Thanks man! I appreciate the advice. I do agree with you on the lifestyle change vs diet also. I’m basically going back to eating normal portions with a caloric deficit until I get to a weight to maintain. I travel for work every week so my diet has been absolutely horrible for about a year because I have not paid any attention to what I was eating. I am used to being around 205-210 lbs. this weight is way heavier than I am used to and I feel like crap most of the time. I definitely have changed the whole eating habit for about a month, but I think adding is running along with the cycling I used to do will help with the weight loss for moto. Thanks again for the help! I’ll do some research on running shoes tonight!

I prefer cycling myself. Way more fun and it translates better to the dirt. But sadly running is just more effective per unit of time, plus it’s easy to pack running shoes whereas your bicycle not so much.

I’m traveling today. Staying at a Hampton Inn that has free breakfast. Eggs with cheese and ham, home fries, waffles, all sorts of danishes, etc. What am I eating? I hit the grocery store on the way into town last night and am now eating a modest sized bowl of this...



...and a little bit of the coconut milk will also go in my coffee. I am not advocating for my particular food item choices per se — there are multiple healthier routes to go than what’s on offer — only that even on the road, you can make choices and do not have to limit yourself to what is easiest. It’s simply “choices” you make. Good luck!

[Southernsupermoto]

I was a distance runner for years, and my best advice on running shoes is to go to a legit running store and have them help you. They can watch your stride and suggest the right shoes with the right support. This makes a big difference. 
That said, I now prefer lower impact cardio like cycling. XC mountain biking has the added bonus of being sort of like riding my dirt bike [emoji23]

There’s a good running shop near me. I’ll have to go by there. I have a road bicycle that I need to get on for cross training.

[Southernsupermoto]

I prefer cycling myself. Way more fun and it translates better to the dirt. But sadly running is just more effective per unit of time, plus it’s easy to pack running shoes whereas your bicycle not so much.

I’m traveling today. Staying at a Hampton Inn that has free breakfast. Eggs with cheese and ham, home fries, waffles, all sorts of danishes, etc. What am I eating? I hit the grocery store on the way into town last night and am now eating a modest sized bowl of this...



...and a little bit of the coconut milk will also go in my coffee. I am not advocating for my particular food item choices per se — there are multiple healthier routes to go than what’s on offer — only that even on the road, you can make choices and do not have to limit yourself to what is easiest. It’s simply “choices” you make. Good luck!

I just need to get more disciplined for sure. Do you have a take on the intermittent fasting?

[Tahoe Gator]

I just need to get more disciplined for sure. Do you have a take on the intermittent fasting?

 I’m no doctor or nutritionist so take this advice with a grain of salt, but I began this year on somewhat of a quest to gain knowledge in the general area of longevity (or if you prefer not to live longer, let’s say increasing vitality over what time you have left) and from what I gathered there is general praise for intermittent fasting. Two models I’ve heard about: semi-periodic, for example once per week from dinner on Sunday to dinner on Monday (skip breakfast and lunch one day per week); and regularly, for example from dinner on one night to lunch the next day, every day (skip all breakfast calories, including no milk in coffee). Obviously, the former is much easier than the latter. The merits of semi-periodic seem to be to reset your satiation levels a bit* whereas regular is surely more calorie reduction. I had lunch a few weeks ago with someone who had joined me at a dinner I had hosted with some longevity experts, folks like Dave Asprey of Bulletproof, who had followed the periodic (no breakfast calories) model and had lost 25 lbs in the 4 months between. He looked great, said he felt great and said it really wasn’t all that hard to do. I’m not a big breakfast person so I sort of believe him. I’ll add one more piece of knowledge I gained from having dinner with Dr. Dave Agus (wrote “Short Book for a Long Life”) who, as a trained oncologist, is very data driven in his advice. He said, whatever you do, do these things...

1. Eat your meals same time every day. Do not move your meal schedules.

2. Do not snack between meals. Nada.

...basically that the evidence shows that regularity really matters and that snacking is not something humans were designed for (snacks weren’t really available) and so humans went long stretches without food.

 

These all combine to suggest eating at specific times with long periods of zero calories between does work.

 

My last piece of advice: don’t start something you won’t stick with just to get short term gains. If you’re not willing to make a very long term lifestyle choice it won’t last.

 

 

*how do hot dog eating champions prepare? do they fast? no! they eat big meals to stretch out their stomachs!

 

[sirthumpalot]

I'm in my mid 40's and have been in and out of shape many times over the years.  The only thing I'll tell you is being in shape is a lifestyle, not "a diet" or "a workout plan".  Start living the lifestyle and changes will follow.  Eat healthy, do active things every day.  Make exercise part of your daily routine, and change it up to keep it fun.  The first few weeks are always difficult, you feel uncomfortable and everything seems harder than it should be.  But if you keep living the lifestyle, changes will come. 

[robw122]

I'm a huge fan of a stairmaster. I even duct taped a grip strengthener to the left side hand rest and made it about twice as firm as my clutch so I can train my left hand and it doesn't cramp in long races. Insert hand training jokes here...

 

[Southernsupermoto]

I'm a huge fan of a stairmaster. I even duct taped a grip strengthener to the left side hand rest and made it about twice as firm as my clutch so I can train my left hand and it doesn't cramp in long races. Insert hand training jokes here...
 

I actually have a grip strengthener I use also for arm pump! It works great. I have had way less arm pump at the trails and the track in the past month.

[durielk]

OK, here is the deal... from a pedal biker....  you can't train hard and lose wt at the same time.  You can train, but your going to be tired a lot.  I'd get some gel packs (go to a pedal bike store and take a look, buy a few different ones and give them a go when you are out and run down to zero energy... they will get you home).  Once you find some you like, order a box of them from amazon or somewhere cheap.

1.  Eat your big meal either at breakfast or lunch.  Salad for dinners.  If you fast and want to workout, that is not going to work very good, your going to run yourself down and crash and burn.  You need to change your lifestyle completely, not go on some crash diet and either break down your body or end up eating everything in site cause your so hungry!

2.  Eat vegetables mostly.  You'll need a little protein & some carbs, but don't eat the whole potatoe sack in a week and think you just eating vegetables.  When I say vegetables, that would mean green leafy things, not starches.

3.  @ 255lbs I would not run, you going to kill your knees.  Get a spin bike or go to the gym for swimming or spin bike.  You can do some light high reps wts, but don't kill your self.

4.  STRETCH once a day!   Get a book at the library and get started.

5.  After you lose some wt you can start thinking about building muscle.

Edited May 29, 2019 by durielk

[Southernsupermoto]

OK, here is the deal... from a pedal biker....  you can't train hard and lose wt at the same time.  You can train, but your going to be tired a lot.  I'd get some gel packs (go to a pedal bike store and take a look, buy a few different ones and give them a go when you are out and run down to zero energy... they will get you home).  Once you find some you like, order a box of them from amazon or somewhere cheap.
1.  Eat your big meal either at breakfast or lunch.  Salad for dinners.  If you fast and want to workout, that is not going to work very good, your going to run yourself down and crash and burn.  You need to change your lifestyle completely, not go on some crash diet and either break down your body or end up eating everything in site cause your so hungry!
2.  Eat vegetables mostly.  You'll need a little protein & some carbs, but don't eat the whole potatoe sack in a week and think you just eating vegetables.  When I say vegetables, that would mean green leafy things, not starches.
3.  @ 255lbs I would not run, you going to kill your knees.  Get a spin bike or go to the gym for swimming or spin bike.  You can do some light high reps wts, but don't kill your self.
4.  STRETCH once a day!   Get a book at the library and get started.
5.  After you lose some wt you can start thinking about building muscle.

Thanks for the help! Would you recommend cycling or spinning in the mornings on an empty stomach or in the evening? I have heard many different opinions on what the best time of day is.

[durielk]

The spin/swimming would be to burn calories (fat) off your body, not use your meal for energy.  I would target using it before a meal, don't think it would matter much either morning or night.  It should get your activity level up, so if you did it in the morning or day, you will be more active a few hours after the spin.  If you do it just before bed, your not going to feel like going to bed.

I think you should just try a program and get on it.  You'll want to modify how "YOU' do it, based on "YOU".  My schedule will not work for you I know, I usually get up about 4:30 in the morning, but I've been sleeping in lately.

[Hans Schmid]

Learn about the food/diet first, exercise second... 

[slowmoto]

Try a keto diet. I lost 10 pounds in 3 weeks without any extra exercise. Plus you will have more energy to ride longer. A good book is The Ketogenic Bible.

[jmttech]

I compete in the SECCA series as well. It’s really tough to get in “race shape”. For me i think it has something to do with Adrenalin[emoji51]keeping your heart rate jacked way up...
just come on out to our next race and run the beginner class. I guarantee you’ll have a blast and you’ll get to see where you stack up. The next event will possibly be a 2 moto format so you’ll get a break in between races...

[Hans Schmid]

12 hours ago, slowmoto said:

Try a keto diet. I lost 10 pounds in 3 weeks without any extra exercise. Plus you will have more energy to ride longer. A good book is The Ketogenic Bible.

Yeah, but 5lbs of that was water weight.