 Pro Supercross, Motocross, and SMX Racer: Jeremy Hand Photo: Zachary C. Bako Joel YounkinsHigh Performance Coach I have to give it to the moto community, we've come along ways in a pretty short amount of time to get moto training on a decent track. Back between 2010-2020, when I was training my racers like athletes (how I saw them), I took some heat from some people because I was training them differently than everyone else at the time.
Being a former D1 Football Athlete myself, people would say that "I train my racers like football players" (whatever that means). At the time, most racers only cycled and their strength work was in the form of circuit training where they would wave 5lb dumbbells around in their hands while doing everything standing on a Bosu Ball or something unstable. That seemed to be the trend at least... Back then, most trained only to make themselves tired. Racers had to feel copious amounts of fatigue in the gym to feel like they were training hard enough. Their focus was to not get tired at the end of the race and give themselves a mental edge that they outworked their competition. When it came to me doing my thing vs everyone else (it seemed), I didn't listen to what the "moto fitness experts" at the time were doing. Instead, I was studying world class coaches from other sports and disciplines. Coming out of college and into the coaching industry, I was learning real training and applying it into my own philosophy of working with motocross and off-road racers. And more importantly, I was listening to the riders feedback and how they responded to the training. I even had other riders approach me because they saw how the riders I was working with looked on their bikes at the end of motos. They were tired of cycling miles and miles on their road bike, but couldn't beat my riders that would only cycle for their recovery work. I knew there was more to training than just not getting tired. I wanted to push the envelope on actual performance. I wanted racers to ride better, feel better, and have less injuries. And training off of the bike isn't just about "not getting tired," it's about becoming a better athlete, improving your performances, and extending your career. Now, as I write this in 2025, I see more proper training in motocross than ever. I believe racers are starting to see some of the same realities that I saw back in the early 2010's. I had lost a little bit of hope for a while and I mostly just focused on coaching; besides creating The Motocross Training Podcast. But now we see riders like Roczen, Sexton, and even Deegan starting to train like...ATHLETES...And not like football or MMA athletes, but as a MOTOCROSS ATHLETE! Refreshing and hopeful to say the least on my end of things... You shouldn't be motivated to train just to "outwork your competition" or because you're afraid of getting tired, you should at least train for these 3 reasons that I'll explain below. If you execute these 3 intentions properly, I can guarantee that you will become a better racer because of it! 1.) It is to physically prepare you for the sport. Not to replace your riding! I’ve heard the saying a million times now… “The best training is to ride your bike.” Well, yeah of course! You wouldn’t tell a basketball player to just lift weights and run all off season and they’ll be good to go for game one without ever touching a basketball...That’s crazy...The physical training is supposed to help prepare you physically so that you can express your true riding skills on the bike, your fitness should propel you forward and not hold you back from what you're good at! It’s not meant to replace the sport itself at all, it’s meant to be a part of it. In sport preparation, there are 4 main components to your preparation. Technical- This would be your riding abilities. Tactical- This would be bike set up, line selection, etc. Physical- This would be to be physically prepared for your races. Mental-This would be to mental prepare to cope with mental stresses of racing. So, just like if you’re bike isn’t ready to go, your performance will suffer. If your technical abilities aren’t sharp, your performance will suffer. If mentally you're struggling with race day anxiety, your performance will suffer. And if your physical abilities aren’t at a high level, your performance will suffer likewise. Physical training is a part of the overall process and a big slice of the pie. And that’s reason #1 why your physical preparation is a non-negotiable in your program. 2.) Injury Prevention Part of physical preparation is about preparing yourself to give your body a chance to avoid injuries. At some point you’re going to crash. And at some point, you’re going to crash really hard. I hope that you’ve done your work in the gym to be ready for these moments to at least give yourself the opportunity to finish the race and your season. Unfortunately, for some racers it seems like every time they take a hard hit, they get injured. And you have to be in it to win it, right? I hope that you’re preparing for these moments because it’s a part of the sport that you signed up for. It is a big variable that you need to prepare for. When you properly strength train, you not only strengthen the muscles and tendons, but you also improve the strength of your bones. Most injuries that happen in racing aren't soft tissue injuries, they're typically bone breaks that keep racers off of their bikes. Improving some muscle mass (even 5-10lbs of it) acts as a built on body armor to protect the skeletal system itself. But additionally through strength training, your bones also strengthen as well. This doesn't guarantee anything, but it surely helps give you a fighting chance for when you slam to the ground. And lastly, to help avoid crashes in the first place, when you have improved your work capacity (stamina) and your aerobic system, this allows you to keep improving your energy output on the track and minimizing fatigue. A lot of crashes are caused by fatigue, not just fatigue in various body parts, but systemic fatigue that also fatigues your brain that is responsible for decision making and visual processing. Reduce overall fatigue, and reduce the number of times you hit the dirt. 3.) Ride Beyond Your Natural Riding Abilities Say you’ve rode yourself into shape to race two 30-minute motos. That’s great and you should be at least doing this. But you’re leaving a lot on the table by just relying on riding yourself into shape. Lebron James doesn’t just rely on playing himself into shape, he also relies on his training to make sure he’s sucking every ounce of talent out himself. And he’s one of the most gifted athletes of all time, still looking for an edge. By just riding yourself into shape, you’re only training to a minimum requirement. You’re not going above and beyond your natural talents. If you can compete at a high level without training in the gym, that’s a great sign for you. Now, let’s stop accepting training to get to a certain point that’s “good enough to finish the race,” and let’s push your body to another level of its abilities! Other athletes have been doing this since the beginning of time.
When you properly train, you improve the skills that you already have on the bike.
This is the reality of training. It's not just to be in a "good enough" spot. It's to dominate and become the absolute best racer you possibly can become. Become the Complete Athlete The days of being able to rely on being really fast on a motorcycle to get you the finishes you want, are long gone... Now, everyone is fast, everyone believes they can be a world champion someday. Everyone is putting in the work, so being another fast rider, makes you a dime a dozen. You need to be a living breathing athlete and winning machine. The best riders today, aren't just the ones who have the most raw speed. They’re also the ones who have the best technique, the best mentality, the best preparation, and the best team around them. That’s why they bring it every weekend while everyone else only shows flashes of brilliance throughout the year. Physical Preparation is a big piece of the pie. When it's done correctly, it helps amplify the other 3 realms of preparation. Your technical performance improves, your tactical performance improves, and your mental performance improves too! The game changes when you train correctly and for the right reasons, and you'll start to realize that it goes beyond just these 3 intentions that we covered today ;)
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