Cardiovascular Training by Phil Cole

The latest breed of production 450cc four strokes, allows all racers the same opportunity to ride very similar bikes and equipment. Since the majority of the ATV’s are so similar in power and handling characteristics, racers are always looking for that extra competitive edge over their competition. Many racers choose to get their ATV engines tuned e.g. high compression pistons, port and polish the head, ignition modules etc. A lot of riders neglect the one thing that they can do to improve their overall performance, that doesn’t cost anything, takes very little time and can make a huge difference- FITNESS!
 
Think of all the times in a post race interview you have heard ‘ I ran out of steam’, ‘I died towards the end of the race’, ‘I couldn’t maintain that speed any longer’. Racers often think that because they ride during the week, that it is enough fitness training for them. To reach the top in any sport you must always go above and beyond what everyone else does! 

One thing that you must be aware of is how qualified your trainer is to help you to reach your goals. There are a lot of people out there trying to get into training Motocross and ATV racers that hold very few if any at all advanced Exercise Physiology Degrees and recognized National certifications. Watch out for people/companies that claim to know what they are talking about in Fitness who are actually nothing more than Chiropractors or Massage therapists. Although on the face of things you might see an increase in performance initially, these unqualified individuals and their unstructured workouts will soon cause you to plateau and you will never reach your highest potential. Always ensure that your trainer has at least a Bachelors Degree in Exercise Physiology and holds a National Recognized certification such as one from the NSCA or ACSM.
This next series of Fitness articles for AEM, will explain the different components of fitness, and methods you can do to improve them.  ATV racing comes in so many forms, such as Desert Racing, Motocross, Cross Country and Flat Track. It is important to train specifically for each type of racing that you participate in.  The energy systems used in each of these forms of racing differ greatly. For example, in a 20 minute motocross race your body will work and use completely different energy stores and muscle fiber types than in a 2hr Cross Country or Desert race.  If you train your body specifically for each type of event you will see huge gains while on the racetrack.

Cardiovascular training (aka Cardio) is any type of exercise that trains primarily the heart, lungs, and muscles. With the correct training you can improve the efficiency of these components. Heart One of the first things that improves with cardio exercise is the ability of the heart to pump blood around the body. In order to keep all of your muscles moving and working correctly, there needs to be a constant supply of oxygen. Oxygen is carried to the muscles by the hemoglobin located in the red blood cells, and is delivered to the active muscles. If not enough oxygen is supplied to the muscles, performance drops and muscles fatigue. Most people have heard of Lactic Acid- this is a waste product formed in the muscles when not enough oxygen is available, causing pain in the muscles and performance levels to drop. With the correct type of cardiovascular training the threshold on which someone can perform without a build up of lactic acid is increased. As a person becomes more cardiovascularly fit, the heart does not need to work as hard to pump the same amount of blood around the body. At rest a person’s heart rate when fit will be lower than that when untrained. A typical normal resting heart rate would be about 60bpm, as a person becomes more trained it will begin to lower (e.g. Lance Armstrong has a resting heart rate of below 40bpm!).  Following cardiovascular training, the muscular walls of the heart become stronger, bigger, and thicker, allowing more blood into the heart and pumping it out to the muscles that require it.  Another change that occurs as a result of cardiovascular training occurs in the blood. With training the amount of red blood cells and hemoglobin increases, as well as aerobic enzymes and hormones that help with energy production. The higher amount of hemoglobin in the blood, the greater the ability to transport oxygen to the muscles leading to an improved performance. Another improvement in the cardiovascular system through training is the ability of the body to thermo regulate. Through training the body improves the way it can disperse the heat produced by exercise. This allows the body to run ‘cooler’ and lessens the chance of the body to overheat. The body becomes more efficient in pumping blood to the surface (hence why your face goes red when your working hard!) so that you cool down quicker and run a lower core temperature.

Residing in New Jersey, Phil Cole is a GNCC racer that works full time for a large corporate fitness company. He holds his Bachelors and Masters Degree in Exercise Physiology. Phil is a certified by the National Strength and Conditioning Association as a Strength and Conditioning Specialist, he is also certified by the American College of Sports Medicine as a Health Fitness Instructor. Phil has worked with numerous top athletes and racers over the years, and is available for consultation to both individuals and Race Teams. He can be contacted via email at ATVFitness@hotmail.com.  Look out for future articles by Phil exclusively here on AEM.
 


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