Post Workout Recovery Strategies for Motocross

Motocross requires an incredible amount of training to really excel. From track days, to strength training, and conditioning, there are so many factors that add to the amount of training stress you need to manage as a rider. Because of the sport’s high demands, recovery is going to be one of the most important parts of your routine, specifically post workout. In this article we will discuss why post workout recovery is so important and what strategies you can use to kickstart the recovery process immediately after training.

There are two systems we need to worry about when managing recovery, the fight or flight system (the sympathetic nervous system) and the rest and digest system (the parasympathetic nervous system). The purpose of the fight or flight system is to keep you alive and unharmed at all costs, while the purpose of the rest and digest system is to promote recovery and relaxation. Based on your environment, your brain will make a decision on which system should be predominantly active. Let’s say for example that you are at the start gate ready for the holeshot. You can hear the other riders next to you and you know you have to do everything you can to get out in front and avoid crashing. In this scenario you don’t want to be relaxed! You need to be in race mode! For that reason your brain will have a fight or flight response via the sympathetic nervous system. On the other hand, if you’re hanging out at home on the couch watching some Netflix and relaxing, it’s likely that your brain will respond via the rest and digest, or parasympathetic nervous system, because there is no threat or risk of harm.

Now that you understand how the brain responds to different environments, how can we relate this back to training? When you have a hard training session at the track or in the gym our body responds via the fight or flight system during your workout. This helps you focus and adjust to the physical challenges you are placing on your body. Once the workout is over, what should happen is a shift towards a rest and digest, recovery response, however, this is not always the case. Sometimes, you may stay in a fight or flight state even when you need to be recovering. A great example of this is a person that is very tense and stressed out all the time. They just can’t get out of a fight or fight state and therefore they cannot recover. This is where our post workout recovery strategies come into play.

The primary muscles that you are going to want to target during a post workout cool down routine are the hamstrings and obliques. When these muscles work together, they move the hips and low back into an optimal position for health. This decompresses the overactive fight or flight system, allowing it to relax and let recovery begin. What is also extremely important is controlling your breathing to bring your heart rate and blood pressure down. Rapid shallow breathing can be associated with tension and stress, while slow deep breathing can be associated with relaxation, making it an essential part of kickstarting the recovery process. What you need to do is select cool down exercises that accomplish all of these things.

We have found that incorporating these cool down exercises can do wonders when it comes to promoting optimal health and recovery in riders. These exercises involve light mobility work, or target the hamstrings and obliques. They can be used immediately after every training session, regardless of if it’s at the track or the gym.

Goals:

- Recruit Hamstrings

- Recruit Obliques

- Control Breathing

- Decompress Fight or Flight System

Lat Stretch

• Find a post and grab it with one arm

• Sit back allowing your arm to fully straighten

• Bend your knees and tuck your hips underneath you

• Take 5 long controlled breaths in this position

Lazy Bear

• Setup on all fours with your hands under your shoulders and knees under your hips

• Slightly tuck your hips and lift your knees off the ground

• Take 5 long controlled breaths in this position

90/90 Hip Lift

• Find a ledge or wall and place your feet on it (it is best to use a wall with your feet flat against it)

• Dig your heels down and slightly tuck your hips, you should feel the back of your legs engage

• Make sure that your lower back is flat on the floor

• Take 5 long controlled breaths in this position

Recovery is an essential part of training for motocross. If you cannot recover properly after your training sessions, you won’t be able to train as hard, or as much, as someone who has their recovery dialed in. Take your recovery seriously and assess how you feel each day. Sometimes self-awareness is the best tool for determining how recovered you are and how you should approach the next training day. Using the exercises we’ve provided immediately after training will help you shift focus and better recover for the days ahead, so that you are prepared come race day.