Over the years, I’ve done a lot of work to stay ahead of the next guy in motocross competitions. Mondays and Wednesdays are my heavy days when I have to make four to five credit card runs to buy titanium bolts, special suspension coatings, and maybe some custom engine work . On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I will shop online for protein supplements, rehydration drinks, and energy bars. If some guy with great hair promises performance and all I have to do is eat it, drink it or wear it, then I’m done. Money well spent, right?
You know how this story goes. Over time, I learned the uncomfortable truth that no “thing” can help me finish before the next person unless it is matched with equal time and effort. Bottom line: No matter how sophisticated your sweat-wicking, high-speed racer underwear is, they simply won’t do you any good. Even the ones with Grip Bands to stop them from lunging.
Alas, the inconvenient truth: If we want to see performance gains, we can’t cheat on the climbs. In my case, the climb was a combination of time on the bike, fitness on the bike, and a learning journey to learn new and better ways to do the things I’d lost. many years to do. The climb was rarely fun, but the views got better as the oxygen levels gradually decreased, and I grew to appreciate all the tough little battles that kept me progressing.
But I’m not here to give you the quote “hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard” because you probably know all that. No, today I’m bringing you some next generation stuff that offers gifts that money can’t buy. I call it Brain Racing and it means improving reaction time, hand-eye coordination, peripheral vision, etc. Known in professional sports circles as the neurotraining method, it aims to The aim is to stimulate the neural networks in your brain through games and exercises to improve your performance and safety on the bike.
But before we begin, here’s the part of the story where you can take the blue pill and stop reading, or you can take the red pill and come with me. What will happen, Neo? Do you want to see how deep the rabbit hole goes?
Since you’re still with me, you first need to understand that our reaction times are based on a few key factors:
Perception: When we perceive something, we know with a high degree of confidence what we are seeing, hearing, and/or feeling. Cognition can be negatively affected by fatigue, lack of sleep, age, drugs, alcohol, poor vision and/or hearing.
Handle: We need to process whatever we just saw, heard, or felt to know what to do with it. This means we must understand information clearly. If we do not clearly evaluate the stimuli, processing will be delayed and reaction times will be affected. More complex information will take longer to process.
React: Once we perceive and process information, we need good motor function to respond. This is where fitness and coordination work against us, and lack of physical conditioning or underlying mobility issues work against us.
Makes sense? Are you ready to order 3 packs of Super Reflexes? It’s fun, but you can’t call the 800 number on your screen or just wait for an Amazon delivery. No, we can’t just flip a switch, take a magic pill and expect to see results. We need to invest some effort in the form of coordination and response exercises. So yes, I’m giving you work to do, but allow me to brush your teeth and make you some strange promises: These exercises will improve coordination, processing, and timing. your reaction. Remember, we don’t just want to grow older, we also want to grow better.
Drilling tennis balls: Grab a tennis ball, stand 6 feet away from a wall or garage door, and start by throwing the ball with your hand and catching it with your hand using the same hand. Simple. After a few minutes, do the same but catch with the opposite hand. Next, step it up by closing your distance from the wall to 3 feet and using two balls, alternating between hands, to throw and catch. Watch your coordination explode.
Ball drop drill: This exercise requires your riding buddy Jaco, but all we need are the two tennis balls you just threw over the fence. With Jaco holding a ball in each hand and his arms spread across his chest, you stand opposite, as if a mirror image was reflected, and imitate his hand position and posture so that both hands you touch each other at the knuckles. At some point, Jaco will drop one or both balls without warning, requiring you to grab them out of the air as they fall. The lower you go, the harder it is.
Crazy Cat Drill: Stand facing the wall a foot away and give Jaco a laser pointer. When he says “go”, Jaco will shoot small laser points on the wall and you must touch them as quickly as possible. The laser beam only shines for a millisecond, so you need to pay attention, touch the spot it shines and prepare for the next beam. Once you get the hang of it, Jaco can enhance it with more points further apart.
With the ease of the Lazy Boy, these things seem a bit silly. I get it, you’ve grown up and put away childish things. But these drills work. It’s no coincidence that professional athletes who live and die based on their ability to see, react, and react in high-intensity situations practice these same exercises. I bet you: If you do these exercises every day for a week and don’t have better focus, dexterity, and reaction time on the bike by the time Day 8 rolls around, I’ll buy you some racing stickers for you. motorbike. If placed correctly, those alone can add 5 to 7 horsepower.
Quinn wears exclusive Lee Parks Design gloves. Find Quinn at Police motorcycle training.
