Top 3 tips to make you a safer and faster motocross rider!

Many riders fall short when it comes to meeting hydration and fueling leading to bad arm pump, fatigue, cramping, etc.

In a race, you’re redlining for anywhere between 35 minutes to 6 hours each day. And spending 3+ hours out on training rides is common. Handling your bike for that long is not only physically demanding, but also mentally demanding.

Whether you’re riding motocross, enduro racing, rally, desert or just hitting the trails, proper nutrition for dirt bike racing requires replenishing hydration, calories, and minerals, so you can ride safer and faster.

But you don’t have to take our word for it, here’s what MX superstar Ryan Dungey is burning:

 “On race day we typically burn 5,000 to 5,500 calories, but on a training day it’s closer to 3,500 to 4,500.” says Dungey,

That’s some serious work! Fortunately, we’ve got your back, and we’ve made dialing fueling for motocross or enduro simple and straightforward. 

• Hydration

Hydration is critical for basic human survival, second only to oxygen. And for performance? It’s key. Staying properly hydrated takes a bit more awareness. Just a 1% drop in body weight due to water loss (sweating) puts you in a state of dehydration. When you’re dehydrated, your body’s ability to perform critical functions diminishes, along with your performance.

Dehydration is bad, but let us introduce you to hypohydration. Yeah, it’s worse.

Hypohydration is when you have a sustained loss of 2% or more of your body weight to water loss. This is when you can really get into trouble both mentally and physically. When you consider that most of us A) train and race in warmer temps with higher humidity and B) wear a good amount of protective gear, you can see how easily you can slip into this state. Check out how serious hypohydration is, how easily it occurs, and how to avoid it over here on our blog or just take a look at these key figures:

• 8.3% Loss of Muscular Endurance

• 5.5% Loss of Muscular Strength

• 5.8% Loss of Anaerobic Power

• Higher RPE (Rate Of Perceived Exertion)

   

• Fuel

Where hydration makes sure your body’s essential functions are “all systems go,” fuel is the energy that allows your body to really get after it. Fueling is more than just filling up the tank with whatever calories you have laying around. Much of the energy that we use during endurance sports comes from consumed carbohydrates that are converted into glycogen and stored in our muscles. Glycogen can then be quickly broken down into glucose and used to fuel the muscles. That is our main energy source. The liver also stores glycogen, which has been converted from fructose and serves as an additional “fuel tank” to power your muscles. Your liver is your last resort for energy stores. We want to keep your carbohydrates high to delay that fatigue that you get later in races or training.

• Timing

Starting a ride on a full stomach for most is a recipe for disaster as you’ll likely end up with some unfriendly gastro-intestinal distress (bloating, cramping, heaviness etc.) A better idea is to have a carb-rich, balanced meal about 2 hours prior to your session, then move to Hydro Power just before. When prepping for a race, you may want to try carb-loading. Check out this article from Mayo Clinic for info on how increasing your carbs for several days prior to the race can be beneficial.

Even if you’re properly topped off before your ride, it’s still important to hydrate and fuel during. Follow these fueling guidelines to ensure you keep your brain sharp and muscles happy:

Sessions lasting 1 - 3 hours: Consume 80G carbs per hour or two scoops of Hydro Power

Sessions that last 3+ hours: Consume up to 90 G carbs per hour (starting at the 3 hr mark)

For hydration, For best results, drink a scoop of Hydro Power with 16oz of water 30 minutes before your race or training event. Take a scoop and 16oz of water with every 30 minutes of training or racing. It can be used before, during and after training to stay hydrated and energized.

The good news: you can hydrate and fuel at the same time, using just one product.

Fueling for motocross is crucial to get right - not only for performance, but for your safety as well. That’s why we developed our Endurance Fuel to help get rid of arm pump, increase endurance to make you a safer and faster rider!