Motocross demands more than just skill; it requires an extraordinary physiological output that is often underestimated. This article aims to offer critical insights into the physical realities of the sport, providing essential guidance for riders seeking to optimize performance and for coaches, dietitians, and physicians to guide their athletes effectively.
Success in motocross is a complex equation, balancing physical prowess, technical skill, equipment, race strategy, and mental fortitude. However, how these factors contribute to the physical demands placed on the rider often gets overlooked, as do the nutritional aspects required to fuel those demands. For motocross riders, strategic fueling is not just about performance, but also about optimal recovery, long-term health, and longevity in this challenging sport.
Motocross riders often struggle to meet their significant nutritional needs, experiencing substantial caloric deficits during training and competition that can exceed 1000 calories per hour. The addition of a well-planned fueling strategy can dramatically improve endurance and concentration, reduce fatigue, and accelerate recovery, all crucial factors for success.
Sneaky motocross-specific variables influencing energy expenditure include:
- Fitness and experience level: Novice riders may burn more energy due to inefficient movements and increased muscular tension, while more experienced riders may push their training further.
- Training frequency, intensity, and duration: Daily energy expenditure can vary greatly depending on the training, ride, and/or race one is engaging in.
- Anthropometrics: Physical characteristics such as height and body composition play a role.
- Equipment and gear: The bike itself and the protective gear worn can impact a rider’s metabolic rate, increasing heat and requiring the body to devote more energy to cooling mechanisms.
- Track features: Irregular natural terrain, obstacles, jumps, whoops, turns, and bends all contribute to the energy required by the rider. Riders must use their bodies' energy stores to absorb shocks and constantly maneuver their bodies while controlling their bikes over varied features.
However, motocross riders and those close to the sport have no problem recognizing the high physical demands involved. At the rider level, these demands stem from:
- Full-body engagement: Every muscle group is active.
- High adrenaline levels: Extreme focus and skill are essential in high-speed racing, requiring an intense state of awareness.
- Sustained isometric contractions: Gripping handlebars and the bike continuously elevates heart rates for most of the ride, separating this sport from most other sports.
Muscular actions are highly dynamic, with different muscles activating as the rider shifts positions. From landing jumps to maintaining balance over diverse terrain, every joint and muscle, including the trunk, is constantly in motion. Considering these intense and varied physical demands, a rider's unique energy expenditure is highly valuable to understand.
Evaluating Energy Needs in Motocross
There are a number of ways to estimate energy expenditure, each with their pros and cons.
Metabolic equivalents (METs) estimate calories burned during activities using the equation: Energy expenditure (calories/minute) = 0.0175 x MET Value x weight in kilograms (lbs / 2.2). While less accurate than direct and indirect calorimetry, this method provides rough estimates of energy needs when precise information is unavailable.
To put it into perspective, competitive motocross riders experience an estimated MET value of 10-12, classifying it as a very high-intensity sport with significant caloric demands. This is comparable to competitive soccer and water polo in terms of calories burned, two sports well-known for their high energy demands (Burr et al. 2010).
Based on this method of determining energy expenditure, a 150 lb rider may burn approximately 12-14 calories per minute, or approximately 720-860 calories per hour, while riding. A 200 lb rider might burn 16-19 calories per minute, or 960-1,140 calories per hour. Professional motocross athletes can burn over 5,000 calories on race days and over 3,500 calories on training days. Keep in mind the variables that influence energy expenditure in motocross as these ranges can vary significantly based on the unique circumstances.
Another metric often used to determine energy expenditure is heart rate. However, heart rate can be elevated in motocross due to many potential factors beyond physical exertion, such as: dehydration, hyperthermia, and mental stress.
One study of 15 motocross riders during three 30-minute simulated races found that riders spent 87% of their time above 90% of their maximum heart rate, experienced significant increases in blood lactate, and reported "very hard" rates of perceived exertion. Few sports compare to the sustained 96-98% of maximum heart rate observed in motocross. For context, high-intensity intermittent sports like soccer see maximum heart rates between 82-97%, but with more fluctuations, offering athletes some recovery between peaks (Ascensao et al. 2008).
Serious riders need to recognize the demands placed on their body and prioritize meeting their nutritional needs for successful performance, recovery, and health. Underfueling for the demands placed on riders puts them at risk for injury, illness, and compromised performance. Given these harsh consequences, understanding how to assess and meet a rider's energy needs becomes essential. This should involve dynamic fueling based on the rider’s training and competition load, identifying and correcting problem areas related to their energy intake and nutrient timing, and building a routine that is reproducible when at home and when traveling.
While accurately determining a rider’s energy expenditure is a complex and moving target, evaluating subjective energy levels and habits can be an extremely effective and accessible way to identify strengths and weaknesses in their fueling routine. Freestyle Nutrition Co. offers a free and easy tool for riders to highlight areas in their nutrition that they can level up to improve their energy, the Moto Energy Tune Up. This tool empowers riders to pinpoint specific opportunities where their current nutrition could be improved, offering actionable steps to meeting their unique needs.
Resources
Burr, Jamie F., Veronica K. Jamnik, Jim A. Shaw, and Norman Gledhill. “Physiological Demands of Off-Road Vehicle Riding.” Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise 42, no. 7 (July 2010): 1345–54. https://doi.org/10.1249/mss.0b013e3181cd5cd3.
Ascensao A, Azevedo V, Ferreira R, Oliveira E, Marques F, Magalhaes J. “Physiological, biochemical and functional changes induced by a simulated 30 min off-road competitive motocross heat.” The Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness, September, 2008.