Arm pump hack: The warm up

This article was originally written for the July edition of Motocross Action Magazine.

Thus far, in the monthly Troll Training blog, I’ve addressed how to combat arm pump on various fronts, including riding technique, nutrition, endurance, and strength training.  These are all things that, when applied to one's program, can help you become a safer, healthier, and (hopefully) faster rider!  One of the more basic, often neglected things I would like to discuss in this article is the warm-up.

Now, some of you are probably wondering what this could have to do with increasing performance.  From my experience, I can’t tell you how many times in my career the gate would drop, and it would take me a good 5, 10, sometimes even 15 minutes to get going, then just when I’m starting to feel comfortable and ride to my potential the checkered flag would be out, and the race over.   I spent many Sundays in the airport after races stewing on the previous day's results with the “what if” stuck in my head.  The worst part was most of the time, I wasn’t physically exhausted or spent after the race. My body just wasn’t prepared to be competing at 194 HR (my max heart rate) when the gate dropped.  So, instead of being 100% ready to go when the gate dropped, I would spend part of my Supercross main event or Outdoor national moto riding around until, you guessed it, I was warmed up!

And let me tell you, there’s nothing like being on a factory team that is pouring hundreds of thousands of dollars into your program, and you are choosing to neglect the most basic element of human physiology to make you look for ways to improve your program!  The best part about a warm-up is it’s free and can be done almost anywhere.

My goal with this article is to save you the letdown I experienced too many times and educate you on the importance of a very basic but often overlooked aspect of performing at a high level.  A proper warm-up can help prepare your body for more strenuous activity and make riding and exercise more enjoyable.  

Here are 7 benefits associated with a warm-up:

• Increased Flexibility- Being more flexible makes it easier to move the body in the proper movement patterns

• Lower Risk of Injury- Warming up can effectively lubricate the muscles, joints, tendons, and ligaments, leading to less chance of injury.

• Increased Blood Flow and Oxygen- More blood flow can help your muscles get the nutrition and nourishment they need before your suffer session.

• Improved Performance- When the body's nervous system and muscles are warmed up properly, you can exercise and race more effectively.

• Better Range of Motion- You will have a greater range of motion to help you move your joints more effectively.

• Less Muscle Tension and Pain- Warmed-up and relaxed muscles may help you move more easily and with less pain and stiffness.

• Can Help Arm Pump- Many people get arm pump at the beginning of the day or moto, but then it goes away. A proper warm-up can help with this.

As you can see, getting a decent warm-up is kind of a big deal.  Anything that decreases the chance of injury, potentially improves performance, and also possibly helps with arm pump, sign me up!  Here are a couple of examples of recommended warm up’s that we give our Troll Training athletes:

• 10 minutes on a stationary bicycle/rower/ski-erg at 115-140 HR and throw in 2-4 x 1-minute efforts at 80-90% effort

• 10-minute warm-up at 115-140 HR before each race with 3-5 x 30-second sprints thrown in at 80-90% effort.

• 15 push-ups and 15 jumping jacks- Alternate back and forth for 3-5 sets.

• 3 sets of 10-15 Burpees

• Jog to the start line and have your mechanic take your bike. Running in moto gear is not easy!

Any of these warm-ups can work with the goal being to create a mild sweat and prime the body's nervous and muscular systems so you can go and give your best effort on the track.  I feel it’s also worth noting that in other sports like the Tour De France, cyclists may have over 100 miles of racing to do, but often, they will be warming up for as much as 30-45 minutes before they actually start the race.  They clearly understand the importance of preparing the body for battle.  Have fun, stay safe out there, and thanks for reading!!

Alex Martin