From the creators of “This is just a hobby, I’m just here to do Sunday” and “I’m already over 50 I’m going to notice little improvement”, we present the last story told by trial fans: “I’ve had to give it up”.
Yes. That we know perfectly well that you are not there to prepare for the nationals, maybe not to go up to the reds. You just want to be able to keep riding because spending Sunday morning with your trial group is the best.
And it’s not a problem of time, time is taken out.
It’s not a problem of resources, there are solutions.
It’s not a problem of your environment, half of your colleagues still pull despite injuries.
What happens is that you think you don’t have anything to fight for anymore in Trial. And you’re wrong.
The reality is that no matter how many years pass, even if your goals are no longer competitive, you still have one last motorcycle goal: to be able to ride.
But of course, your body has to let you. The problem is that you use the excuse of being older to let you go physically.
And being old enough to do trials should mean that you take your preparation off the bike much more seriously. Precisely because you’re going to run into difficulties that you didn’t have when you were younger, you’d have to start making sure that when Sunday comes you’re going to be able to go out and ride.
And you’re only going to get that with one thing: in-between-na-lie.
And look, we’re not going to talk to you about health, taking away aches and pains or making you feel better in general.
The reason why senior trial riders have to train is much more basic: you’ve been wearing out your body for at least 50 years. Your internal parts are affected by life, work or riding without preparation and, unlike the bike, your parts cannot be changed.
You know what I’m talking about, don’t you? That little pain in the wrists, the compartment syndrome in the forearms, the knee operation, the lower back discomfort, the shoulders… All those ballots that you’ve been collecting for years to see which one you get off the bike for good.
Your only remedy is to get to work now. Start with something soft, but, for God’s sake, do something, because it’s not too late. You haven’t had to park your bike yet, you still have time.
Two hours a week. Three if it motivates you a lot. You don’t need more to prepare your muscles, delay organic wear and tear and get back to enjoying the bike as before.
Or at least not have to stop doing it forever.
How should and NOT should senior trial riders do their training?
We’re not going to tell you to start training all at once the 8 physical skills that all off-road riders need. You’re not at that point and, after so many years, you’ve probably mastered them by now.
But there are three physical skills that you need to include in your training for senior trial riders:
First, strength. Why? Because with age you have lost muscle mass.
Preventing loss and rebuilding your muscles not only means that you can handle the bike better, but it is synonymous with health: the more you can pull your body on muscle, the less it will pull on bones and joints.
In other words, having muscles capable of supporting you in the activities you want to do in your life is the equivalent of carrying a life preserver inside.
Second, mobility-flexibility. As you age, your muscles become stiffer. And the stiffer they are, the more likely they are to break. It’s that simple.
Third, cardiovascular endurance. Cardiovascular risk factors increase over the years. Just 1 hour a week dedicated to cardiovascular work will strengthen your heart and give you more vital capacity. And that is noticeable in trials, and a lot.
An example of a training session for senior trial riders
If you were to download and try the POWERING Fitness Training App
, entering your age, fitness and motorcycle goals, you would get a training proposal similar to this:
Two days a week, strength and flexibility training. Complete body work, both upper and lower body to put an end to shoulder, knee, lumbar problems, hernias… Some exercises that would help you for this:
SQUAT
BULGARIAN SQUAT
PUSHUPS
ISOMETRIC PULL-UPS
CORE ROTATIONS
One day a week, cardio training. Swimming would be especially recommended because it does not impact your joints and has great benefits against the typical rider’s forearm pain.
One or two days a week. Motorbike, motorbike and more motorbike. With proposed routes or series to complement the rest of the training you have already done.
As you can see, physical training is not for pilots who have high aspirations.
Something as imminent as not suffering the negative consequences of age and the bike, as you have already seen that has happened to so many riders before you, can be avoided just by dedicating a couple of hours a week to take care of your body and your hobby and guarantees you multiply by a lot the hours that you will be able to enjoy them.
An article by Powering Offroad
