Train for BMX Racing
If there's a big race coming up, you need to know how to win it, or at least do well. Training will ensure that you are not injured after the race and you may have a slight advantage over the other racers. Here's a good way to train for your race. Good luck!
Steps
- Get the details. Without knowing how, where and when the race is going to take place, how will you possibly do well? Get all the details about the event such as:
- Where. Where is the race going to take place? Is it in a street? A track? Find out the distance of the location from your house and how long it will take you to get there. Also find out how long the track is (100m? 200m? 500m?).
- Who. Who else is competing in the race? Is it just you and your buddies or is this a professional race? Knowing your opponents and their skill level will aid you in knowing how hard to train. Watch them at the skatepark, watch them on youtube, watch them down the street. Try to determine how far they can ride and how far you can ride.
- When. What time is the event going to take place? What time will it approximately end? Showing up at 5pm only to be told the race finished two hours ago can be heart breaking. Be crystal clear on the time and keep up to date about any time changes that may occur. Also find out what day the race is actually on.
- Plan. Now that you have all your vital details, it's time to put them to good use. Here's an example for leaving on the day and actually training.
- If you know the track is 800m, it's about a 20 minute ride from your house, and the race starts at 5pm, you know you should leave home at about 4:00 just in case anything goes wrong along the way. You also have time to warm up by going for a lap around the track slowly.
- If you know the track is 800m, you can travel for 200m before getting tired and the other racers can ride 300m without getting tired, you're at a disadvantage. Not to worry though, the race is 4 weeks away. If you ride 200m 4-6 days on week one, 400m 4-6 days on week two, 600m 4-6 days on week three, you should be ok to do 800m on week four. Now your opponents don't have the same logic as you, so now who's at an advantage, eh? You are!
- Make an effective training program like the one described above. Be motivated to stick to it by thinking of all the good attention you'll get for winning, and how you'll make all the other racers look bad. Also, if you're trying to lose weight, imagine your ideal body while you train. Careful not to fall into the trap of only racing for money though, race for fun too.
- Stick to your program. "Oh, I'll take today off" is not good enough (unless you're injured). You need to train whenever you can. If you know that tomorrow you'll be busy at that birthday party, ride your bike there. It's still some form of training. However, pushing yourself too hard can result in a serious injury. As soon as you hurt yourself, stop. Warm up and cool down to minimize injury.
- Ride around the track once a week. How far can you ride without getting tired? All the way around or a small fraction of the track? Make some changes to your program depending on your results but don't be disappointed, you'll start seeing improvement in no time.
- Race. Check out all your equipment and make sure nothing's broken or damaged. You should be all set now, good luck!
Tips
- Try to lighten your bike to help you gain speed. Also, pump your tyres up as much as you can.
- Do some stretches to warm up and avoid leg injury.
- Always wear safety gear including a helmet, knee pads, elbow pads and wrist guards. You may also wear a mouth guard if you need too. A helmet is the bare minimum, everything else is just good to have.
Warnings
- Riding with an injury is the worst thing you could ever do. Don't even attempt it.
- If you fall without a helmet on you could get seriously injured.
- By lightening your bike, it still needs to be safe to ride. Removing the seat, lights and reflectors will make the bike highly unsafe and won't help you win that much anyway.
Things You'll Need
- BMX
- Training program
- Place to train
