MotoFit Minute

Winter workouts

We're heading into winter, so let’s talk about some basic exercises that are great for motorcycle riders and give you an edge that can make all the difference in your riding next season. When I was racing, we called it earning our seat, meaning all the training and exercise you do adds up to being more ready than the other guy because you’ve worked for it, you’ve earned your seat on the starting grid. Here are some basics to work with.

Bicycling - First off, riding bicycles, just turning the cranks a few times during the week, can make a huge difference. Be careful though - riding bicycles can be dangerous because the more you ride the more you'll want to ride. Make a simple route around your neighborhood and call it a lap; something to measure your success with.

Pushups – Doing a couple hundred push ups a day is great but some is better than none, so start with 10 a day, every day, and you will feel improvement. You can work up from there, rather than jumping right it and hammering away.

Stretches - Stretching is key for good movement on the bike. Reaching for the sky and touching your toes helps tremendously. Once again, this is something that is totally up to you. Your ability to stretch comes with working at it. Thai Chi and Yoga are other great resources. Simply being stretched out makes riding so much more fun. When your joints feel good, you can more easily ride for longer periods of time.

The Russian Kettlebell – This is a super useful training tool to build leg strength and explosive energy. By doing some simple training squats with the kettlebell, you can get your legs really working for you on a motorcycle. It’s also great for rehab after knee surgery. I can speak from experience on that - the kettle bell helped me tremendously. Once again, hit it every day in the effort to reach at least a few sets of 15 daily. Start slow and read up on techniques, or watch several demo videos online.

Now you know what you can be doing all winter: working toward earning your seat and, of course, getting more smiles per mile.

Rob Burch/December 2016

Rob Burch is the founder and principal of MotoFit Group, a company that provides track days throughout the Pacific Northwest. He’s also an avid mountain bike rider and skier.