How Strength Training Results in Faster Lap Times







7 Simple Tips to Find More Speed

 1: Practice Specific Race Scenarios

Set up your practice sessions to simulate a true race scenario (duration, track conditions and intensity levels). Skills associated with racing require that you are able to manage yourself and an environment around others with the ability to adapt to changes of pace, positioning and where decisions have to be made quickly. You have to learn how to get the most out of your performance environments by setting up the closest scenario possible so that you can adapt and improve both physically and mentally as a racer.

 2: Warm Up 

We all have experienced the fact that our lap times get faster as the race transpires. This is because the body is warmed up and the muscles are performing at an optimal level. The trouble is we allow the first two laps of the race to warm up our bodies which results in slower lap times early in the moto.

 3: Eat a High Quality Snack

To top off your blood sugar levels, in your muscles for movement and in your liver to feed your brain for processing, eat an easily digestible snack 10 minutes before your practice or race.  Through our research, we have determined that when a rider struggles to get up to and maintain potential speed it is directly related to food (quality & quantity).

 4: Practice Your Speed Work Early in Your Riding Session

Now that you have topped off your blood sugar levels with an easily digestible snack and jump started your metabolic engine by warming up (ideally for 20 minutes), you can now handle higher intensity levels.  The key to breaking into faster lap times is to implement your speed intervals early in the workout so that you develop both the mental and physical skills necessary to create consistent speed and eliminate late moto fatigue.

 5: Break Speed Ruts

Capture your lap times for 10 lap moto as well as a 20 lap moto. What you will find is that there is not much difference in your speed no matter how long the moto lasts. This is a perfect example of a speed rut.  In the world of human performance, the body should always be able to perform at a higher rate of speed for a shorter period of time; we refer to this as the inverse relationship between volume and intensity.

 6: Implement Fundamentals

Instead of focusing on throwing more effort into going fast, slow down and apply the appropriate skill set to maintain speed and momentum throughout every lap. The most inefficient racer is the one that bounces off the face of everything and blows through every corner – losing momentum which results in lower lap times. If you want to improve not only your overall speed but also your endurance, focus on applying the skills developed through your riding coach that include the utilization of your break, clutch, throttle and body position.

 7: Film

Every factory team films, why aren’t you?  If there is a section that you can’t figure out, film the riders that did.  This is helpful prior to heading out for your first practice – what is the fastest approach to a section, body position, etc.. Duplicate what others are doing to get through the section fast on your first lap verses taking four laps to get up to full speed.  Most everyone has a smart phone these days with a pretty good camera, so use it! Keep in mind that the brain learns in many ways, watching and implementing are two of the most powerful to increasing your speed!

Six Healthy Habits of Fast Racers

Over the last 33 years of working with elite racers, I have noticed there are six specific habits that run consistently through all of these riders.  Not only do these habits create both speed and endurance on the track, they are easy for any rider or racer to implement on a regular basis.

Manage Your Schedule

You can’t manage time, only yourself.  Time keeps ticking no matter what you choose to do with the 24 hours that are in a day.  To get the most out of a day, avoid being rushed.  If you are short on time getting to the track, unloading, getting geared up and then trying to ride, you will inevitably skip your warm up because you are short on time.  If you cut your warm up short, the quality of your riding session will be negatively affected (notice how you feel better at the end of a moto than in the beginning?  This is because you are finally warmed up).  If you are tight on time, you will skip (or at least delay) eating after your session which results in a delay in your recovery process (leaving you sore and tired). You can see how this daily problem becomes a bigger ripple as the week transpires resulting in less than optimum results.

Get Plenty of Sleep

Sleep allows the body the opportunity to “absorb” the workloads completed on a daily basis.  If you don’t fully recover from each workout, you drive yourself into a mode of overtraining with negative performance results.  Strive to get 8 – 9 hours of sleep a day.  If you are getting less than this, look at your overall weekly schedule and make it a priority to sleep – you will be amazed at what happens to your performance results.

Don’t Over Train

Many riders believe that the professionals train all day every day when in fact the opposite is true; ironically, many amateur racers ride and cross train more hours per week than the professionals!  It has been my experience that the most successful riders train for 60-90 minutes in the morning (2 hours after breakfast) and then again in the afternoon for 45-60 minutes after a 2-3 hour nap and high quality snack or smoothie.  The reason for this pattern is to allow the body to absorb and recover from each workout.  Keep in mind that a rider doesn’t become faster by riding and cross training, but rather from eating and sleeping (see above).

Eat Every Two Hours

To help keep our rider’s body fat levels low and their strength to weight ratios high, I have my riders eat one piece of fruit, a sliced vegetable (the darker green the better) and a lean source of protein (2-4 ounces) every two hours.  By eating every two hours, the rider’s blood sugar levels remain constant which helps manage hunger levels.  Low hunger levels result in less food being consumed before the feeling of being full is achieved.  Two additional benefits to eating every two hours with fresh fruits and vegetables are that the rider becomes pre-hydrated with water and they receive a healthy dose of vitamins and minerals that are necessary for the production of energy.

Eat Plenty of Fat and Protein

Fat and protein are the ONLY food items that actually satisfy your hunger.  Healthy fat (avocadoes, salmon, nuts, olive oil, coconut oil) is necessary for optimal health and performance.  Protein (specifically amino acids) is necessary to rebuild your muscles after you tear them down during your riding and cross training sessions.  The body that you have today is a result of what you have consumed over the last six months because it takes this long to completely rebuild your body; if you want to have less body fat and more muscle in six months, start today

Receive Massage & Stretch Regularly

Simply put, as muscles are used for physical movement, they become progressively tighter.  As the muscles tighten, they shorten which puts strain on the attachments at each end of the muscle (origin and insertion).  If the muscles become too tight, they develop a condition referred to as a trigger point.  To illustrate what a trigger point is, put your finger tips into the muscles in your shoulders (between the base of your neck and the end of your shoulder).  Push each finger tip down into the muscles and act as if you are playing the piano.  You will inevitably find a couple of “hot spots”, this is a trigger point.  To help get the trigger point to release and decrease the tension on the muscle’s attachment, keep direct pressure on the center of the trigger point and breathe deep; within 5-10 seconds you will notice the level of tension becoming less.  By receiving a massage on a regular basis (as often as once a week) keeps the muscles from becoming overly tight.  As the tension in the muscle is reduced, the range of motion of the muscles (primary and secondary) improves which results in higher levels of strength and endurance.  In addition to massage, top riders know how to properly isolate and stretch muscles.  For optimum stretching results, stretch muscles ONLY after they have been warmed up with low intensity movement (ideally sport specific) for 10-15 minutes.  The low intensity movement allows the blood to be diverted from the spine, organs and glands and into the various muscles in the arms and legs.  Once the temperature within the muscle reaches an optimum level (as evident by sweat on your arms and face), stop and stretch (refrain from bouncing) the isolated target muscle; hold the stretch for 4-6 seconds while focusing on your breathing.  For some riding specific stretches to reduce improve your range of motion and reduce your risk of injury, please visit my Youtube Channel.

How to Find New Levels of Speed on the Track

There are many different ways to train, depending on who you listen to.  Though each approach is designed to improve a distinct function, there is always some overlap.  The two ends of the spectrum are aerobic to anaerobic and here we will discuss the five elements that fill up the middle of this spectrum.  The key to ultimate success in racing is to combine all of the following elements into your training so that you will be able to compete closer to your anaerobic threshold for a longer period of time without fading.

Explosive Speed

This high energy training is designed to develop power and the ability to throw in bursts of speed when necessary (i.e. to bridge to a rider in front of you or after you go down and need to restart your bike) and to finish a race strong.  The duration of these intervals is usually between 15 and 30 seconds and can be completed 4 to 8 times while maintaining high output levels.  You will be enhancing your fast twitch fibers A (slightly oxidative) and fast twitch B (anaerobic).  Adjust your recovery time to allow for full recovery – don’t begin your next interval until your heart rate is around 20 beats above your resting heart rate.  The fatigue levels associated with this type of training is high and should not be performed within more than twice a week with a minimum of two days of recovery in between.

Sprint Speed

This type of training helps you adapt to high levels of lactic acid and oxygen debt.  The major benefit to this type of training is that it teaches you how to vary your speed within a race without depleting your glycogen storages (i.e. bonking).  The duration of these intervals is usually between 30 seconds and 2 minutes and can be completed 4 to 6 times while maintaining high output levels.  You will be enhancing your fast twitch fibers A and B as well as your slow twitch fibers.  Each interval needs to be started fully rested.  If you allow for this to happen, you will split your energy sources evenly between anaerobic and aerobic.  In my opinion, this type of training is the most productive for high level racing, yet is the most overlooked within a racers program.  High level racing requires that you get up to a fast pace quickly and then maintain it for the entire duration.  During the first lap, your respirations will increase, lactic acid will accumulate and your effort level will be very high.  If your muscles are trained to cope with the lactic acid level and oxygen debt of the initial sprint, your body will not be as “shocked” as a body that has not familiarized itself with this glycogen burning byproduct (i.e. lactic acid).  Due to the higher levels of lactate, you will experience significant muscle soreness and stiffness so keep the frequency of these workouts to two times per week (with a minimum of three days of rest for optimum performance).

VO2 Max

This type of training gets a lot of publicity and is tossed around by many performance coaches as the key indicator of ability.  There is credibility to this mind set due to the fact that a racer that has a greater oxygen uptake number should also indicate a greater aerobic capacity and hence the fastest racer – it is not that simple.  In a race, physical capacities as racers come down to combinations of all the other elements in one’s performance: anaerobic thresholds, technique and efficiency while fatigued and desire.

The benefit associated with this type of training is that your heart pumps a lot of blood per beat and your stroke volume is elevated during the recovery phase, which allows more blood to be pumped during the next working phase.  More blood means more oxygen.  By elevating your VO2 max, will allow you to perform closer to your aerobic capacity.  The duration of these intervals is usually between 2 and 10 minutes and are progressive (you will elevate your HR to a high output level within the first two minutes and then maintain for the duration of the interval).  Your interval count should be no more than 4 times in order to maintain workout quality.  You will be enhancing your fast twitch fibers A as well as your slow twitch fibers.  Your rest interval will be half of your work duration.  One interesting side note, since your VO2 Max is a numerical value determined in relation to body weight, the leaner you are the higher your VO2 maximum due to the increased mitochondria and capillaries (in relation to body fat) present to deliver oxygen.  These types of workouts can be completed three to four times a week with adequate hours of quality sleep and consistent food intake to enhance the recovery opportunity.

Anaerobic Threshold

At your anaerobic threshold, lactic acid begins to diffuse back into the bloodstream for use as a fuel.  If you slow down, you will activate your aerobic system; if you speed up, you will produce lactic acid at a faster rate than you can diffuse it.  Anaerobic threshold training teaches your body to perform at the highest point possible without exceeding your anaerobic threshold.  The duration of these intervals is usually between 1 and 3 minutes.  Your interval count can be as minimal as 10 and as many as 50 (depending on the interval duration) and still maintain overall quality.  You will also be enhancing your fast twitch fibers A as well as your slow twitch fibers.  The rest intervals are short – between 20 and 60 seconds.  It is the enhancement of your Anaerobic Threshold in conjunction with your VO2 Max that makes the ideal racer.  The combination of these two performance elements allows the racer to perform at a higher level of output and for the entire duration of the race! Anaerobic threshold training is not as demanding as VO2 max training; your day to day recovery will be quick.  By keeping your workout recovery times to a minimum, you are stimulating your aerobic metabolism more than you’re anaerobic.  Your lactate levels are not nearly as high (resulting in less residual soreness).   Additionally, you are breaking the effort into shorter segments than in distance training which allows you to perform at a higher intensity level developing your aerobic energy stem to burn more fatty acids in proportion to glycogen.  This side benefit leads to a leaner body which in turn drives up your VO2 Max – see how this disciplined form of training has all kinds of fringe benefits?  Most importantly, working at this level of intensity simulates race pace and all of the physiological changes that occur within a race.  As the body becomes more familiar with this effort, the easier the racing becomes.

Aerobic Training

Aerobic training teaches your body to conserve glycogen and burn fatty acids as a primary fuel source.  Benefits to enhancing your aerobic engine: you will engage the fat burning process within the first 10 to 15 minutes of aerobic exercise; expedites the delivery of oxygen to working muscles; increase your stroke volume within the heart; increases the capillary density within the muscles; increases the mass and number of mitochondria and helps release ATP aerobically.  The ironic element of Aerobic Training is that it is the discipline of training that gets pushed aside first, yet has substantial benefits.  Because we are so acclimated to the “No Pain, No Gain” mentality, we have tendency to think that the easy, long workouts are not productive.  If you want to get fast – go long and at measured aerobic enhancement intensity!  The duration of Aerobic Training intervals are usually between 15 minutes and 3 hours.  Due to the continuous nature of Aerobic Training, there isn’t any actual interval count. You will be enhancing your slow twitch fibers with this type of training.   A couple words of caution with this type of training.  First, don’t check out mentally and go too easy.  You need to be at 60-70% of your maximum heart rate to reap the physiological benefits we are looking for during these types of workouts.  Secondly, though the intensity is low, don’t jeopardize your mechanics of whatever type of training you are doing (i.e. pedal mechanics, swim stroke, etc.) to avoid any unnecessary injuries.  These types of workouts are ideal for working on mental rehearsal and breathing focus (more on these elements in future articles).

As you can see each of the energy systems provide important physiological benefits to a racers performance program.  When you incorporate the proper workouts into a week of training (based entirely on your race periodization – Pre Season, Pre competitive, Competitive) you are building a human body that is as capable as any motor that a mechanic can build for you.  It just takes a little bit of research and field testing on behalf of the racer to determine how to put all of the elements together at the right time and at the correct intensity levels for optimum performance.

6 Training Tips to Improve Your Lap Times

Riding fast (and for a long period of time) is within your reach—it’s not just for the genetically gifted or factory riders. Many times, the simple things hold you back: quality/quantity of sleep, food, hydration, mental outlook, proper warm up and preparation to name a few.  It goes without saying – you must put in quality training (both on and off the track) to develop speed. However, many racers are surprised to learn that what they do off the track makes a big difference regarding how fast they go on the track. Use these six simple training strategies to improve your lap times.

1. Sport Specificity

You won’t become a faster racer by climbing rocks.  As a racer, sport specific speed and efficiency requires two elements.  First, the pattern of joint and muscle coordination must be specific to your racing. Second, you need to make sure that you are subjecting your body to the exact conditions and effort levels that you will experience on race day.  Through a year-long performance program that is based on the scientific overload principle, an athlete will move his or her level of speed and endurance to the next level incrementally from week to week and month to month.

2. Work Smart, Not Hard

Make the most of every workout by working out with a purpose. Before you embark on a training program (both on and off the track), establish 3, 6 and 12-month goals to help keep you focused when the physical training becomes difficult.    If necessary, consult with an online program or human performance coach (not an ex-mechanic!) to design a program that includes strength, flexibility, nutrition and mental development elements to maximize your training results in the shortest period of time. Your training plan should focus on quality, rather than quantity. High-quality training is specific to your goals and available amount of time to train.  Training beyond what is necessary will wear you down both mentally and physically.

3. Vary Your Lap Times & Training Intensities

Riding the same pace day after day creates a “speed rut”. Vary your riding durations and intensity levels regularly to become a stronger, faster racer. Include skills/drills, negative split intervals, heart rate ladders, long motos and short sprint intervals throughout the week of riding.  Your body will adapt to the various demands associated with these workout durations and intensity levels leaving you fresh for key races.

4. Eat Right

The only way your body is going to be handle higher rates of speed is if your body has the necessary fuel to grow and adapt to the stress you submit your body to.  The necessary elements are simple: fresh fruits, vegetables and lean sources of protein.  The fruits and vegetables provide your body the vitamins and minerals necessary for your overall health; an additional benefit is the high water content – this helps hydrate your body from the inside out.  The lean protein provides your body the amino acids necessary to rebuild the muscle tissue that you have torn down in training and racing.

5. Sleep More

When you look at the busy schedules that racers keep, sleep is usually bounced around by either going to bed late or getting up early.  This pattern of sleep deprivation eventually leads to a drop in performance, feelings of depression and frustration with training and life in general. Cutting sleep short will eventually undermine all of your fitness and race speed because during sleep, the body releases growth hormones that repair damaged tissue resulting from the stress of training.  As you increase the amount of either intensity or duration, the amount of sleep must also increase accordingly to maintain balance within the body.  Ideally we are looking for 8 to 10 hours of sleep a night for optimum performance on the track.

6. Warm Up Sufficiently

Riders frequently comment that they feel better at the end of a race than they do at the beginning (ironically lap times validate this feeling).  The reason for this is because the body has reached an optimum performance level within both the muscle tissue and the internal systems that deliver oxygen to the working muscles and remove the metabolic waste created in the energy producing cycle (i.e. lactic acid).  By warming up for 5-10 minutes with a Concept 2 rower, bicycle or a jump rope will get the blood flowing into your arms and legs along with raise your heart rate and your internal body temperature.  This will keep you from using the first few laps of your race to warm the body up.

Periodization – What It Is and Why It Is An Important Component of a Racer’s Program

You are a dedicated athlete that trains on a regular basis. You have the best of intentions with your training, but lately, no matter how hard you work out, you aren’t making any gains. You have plateaued. What has really happened is that your body has adapted to your workouts and it needs new challenges. This is where periodization comes in.

At both the amateur and professional levels, the racing season has increased to the point where the racer is competing nearly year-round and actually inhibiting his or her ability to improve physically as a racer.  It is unrealistic to think that a racer can be in top form every weekend from January through December.  Throughout the year, the body has to be provided the opportunity to develop various energy systems through specific workouts. For long term improvement, a window of time must be provided to rest and recover from the stress loads applied to the muscles and cardiovascular system.  This is where periodization comes into a racer’s program.  Periodizaton creates phases of training or “periods” to keep your body working hard, while still giving it adequate rest. It answers how hard, how long and how often a racer should train to reap the benefits of training without burning out or getting injured.

With riding and racing encompassing so many elements of your life, it has literally become a lifestyle – sleep, eat, ride, train off the motorcycle, repeat until the next weekend.  However, this lifestyle of training, doesn’t allow you to systematically decide to begin training seriously for four weeks out and then be ready for the season’s first big race.  On the other hand, hitting the Concept 2 Rower the Monday after your big race and riding every day until next weekend’s race isn’t productive for you either.  The reason being, you will not be able to push the body beyond its normal performance level and then you don’t allow enough time for the body to adapt to the stress loads.

At MotoE, we break a year into four training “seasons”: Pre-Season, Pre-Competitive, Competitive and Off Season.  Each season has a different performance objective to optimize your training time for maximum results.

The duration of training cycles vary based on individual identified weaknesses during assessments, but typically consist of the following:

Pre-Season (12 weeks): Develops maximum aerobic capacity, muscular strength and flexibility; this is also an ideal time to work with your riding coach to help with technique and mechanics.

Pre-Competitive (8 weeks): Continued development of aerobic engine, final stage of maximum strength development, and the implementation of slight lactate tolerance intervals.

Competitive (4 Cycles of 7 weeks): Specialization is the main component of this season.  Your anaerobic threshold and sprint training should make up the high-quality workouts during the week.  Also during this phase is the increased need for rest – ideally one complete day of rest per week to help you recover both mentally and physically.

Off Season (4 weeks): This is where you deviate away from heavily structured training. Instead of structured training, you are back to casual riding or



This step involves establishing your long-term goals and developing a plan for achieving each of your goals.  This step needs to be quantified, simple, optimistic and realistic. Though this sounds like an easy task, it takes real brainstorming to narrow this first step down and onto pape.r An example of an unrealistic long-term goal: “I want to be fast”.  There is no way to quantify fast and there is no time line established to complete it.  It also doesn’t tell you what you are setting your standards against.

If you say: “I want to be the top local rider in my class by May in the Gold Cup series” – this is quantified, specific and with a little research you can determine what it will take to surpass the current top riders to achieve the status you are looking for.

At MotoE we have our clients establish three sets of goals – 3-month, 6-month and 12-month.  The most important thing to remember when you are sitting down to establish your goals is that they need to be specific and each should have a date applied.  Without specific goals, you will quickly lose your motivation to stick to the homework, especially when it becomes difficult (due to either the duration or intensity levels required) or boring (i.e. stretching).


If you are starting at a minimum fitness level, you will have to increase your overall strength and endurance before your dive into a comprehensive performance training program.  As a general rule of thumb, strive not to increase your duration of your overall workouts by more than 5-8% every other week.  Once you have been consistent with some level of training for six to eight weeks without any physical set backs, it is time to determine exactly where your fitness levels are – this will identify your strengths and weaknesses and what to address with daily training to maximize your training time (especially for those of you that work and/or have a family to balance).


When it comes to assessments, it is imperative that you capture three key testing data points in field testing: aerobic capacity, muscular strength and lactate tolerance.  At MotoE, we are more interested in testing these three variables within the training modalities that you have been using over the last six to twelve months.  The important thing to keep in mind with establishing base line assessment numbers is to be consistent with your testing protocols.  For example, if you use the Concept 2 Rower for your cardio training, it would not be a wise choice to use a running test for your lactate tolerance and aerobic capacity testing due to the different muscle groups and demands on the cardiovascular system – ultimately your testing data would be inaccurate.


This is where a human performance specialist can be an asset to a rider and racer’s development program – identifying where the most progress can be achieved in the shortest amount of time.  As an illustration, a racer gets a riding coach to help work on problem areas around the track.  A racer may be fast through the whoops, but if he or she can not get in and out of the corners fast, the time gained in the whoops is immediately lost in the next corner.  The same applies to developing the training protocols that are going to maximize the appropriate energy systems to enhance the elements of aerobic capacity, muscular strength and lactate tolerance specific to riding a motorcycle as fast as possible for as long as possible.

If you are serious about making performance gains, periodized training will ensure that you continue to make measurable progress and steps towards achieving your goals.