Motorcycle riding is not only fun, it’s also a physical activity that requires strength, endurance, balance and mental acuity that far surpasses any video game.
It’s logical for a motorcyclist to master the mechanics of their machine and their safety gear, yet the human factor of the motorcycling equation is often overlooked. By improving your fitness, you will improve your ability to ride.
Article Summary
How Fit Do You Need For Motorcycle Riding?
Being fit reduces the chances of crashing, and make no mistake about it, a motorcycle ride is an adventure that can be a life or death experience. The goal is safe and fun riding that rewards you with an amazing lifetime experience!
This article discusses why being fit is important for the motorcyclist, and lists ideas for improving your ability to ride safely and pleasurably.
1. Enhances Control and Handling
Motorcycling is a very physical endeavour in control. You have to be consciously in control of your body to ride (at least you do if you’re riding well). This involves core strength so you can balance and maintain stability, but also arms and legs for gripping the throttle and brake control, the clutch and, certainly, for maintaining good riding posture.
All these can improve motorcycle riding ability significantly. A regular strength training programme will help one to be in better motorcycle control.
2. Increases Endurance for Long Rides
While any kind of motorcycle riding can be a workout, prolonged touring rides truly test your physical limits. Endurance should be an obvious consideration, because maintaining focus and comfort over extended hours is very hard work.
If you’re cardiovascularly fit, it’s not. Improving stamina and reducing fatigue through regular cardio work (running, cycling, swimming and the like) will ensure that you ride longer while experiencing less physical discomfort and soreness.
3. Improves Reaction Time
Fast reflexes are vital to safe motorcycle road usage, whether this means reacting to an object in the road, adapting your speed for a wet patch, or carrying out an evasive maneuver at the last moment. Being physically active helps your reactions be quick off the mark and sharp as well.
4. Reduces the Risk of Injury
Physically fitness can reduce the risk of injury in the event of a motorcycle accident. How about moderate exercise, the sort that would involve riding a bicycle? Couldn’t you walk around and see the sights instead? Of course, you could, but that too would come at a price: there are many benefits riding offers that you can’t get doing the things you’d do instead.
Be in good shape so that, if you crash your motorcycle, the shock isn’t transmitted through your joints with quite such force, reducing the risk of a bad injury. Maintain a healthy weight so that your muscles and joints don’t strain under the extra load.
5. Prevents Common Riding Aches and Pains
Motorcycle riding can lead to aches and pains in your neck, back and shoulders. These can come from holding the same position for a long period of time. So, general stretching and strength training can help reduce these by improving your posture and making your muscles more resilient.
Pay attention to functional training exercises that help with the lower back, shoulders and neck that can help alleviate different discomforts during riding and post ride.
Practical Fitness Tips for Motorcyclists
1. Core Strengthening Exercises
Do core-strengthening exercises such as planks, sit-ups and Russian twists. A strong core will help you maintain balance and stability on the bike.
2. Cardiovascular Workouts
Increase your cardiovascular endurance by running, cycling or swimming. Try to do at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity or 75 minutes of vigorous activity each week.
3. Flexibility and Mobility
Some activities to increase flexibility and joint mobility include yoga and Pilates. Stretching exercises are part of most good fitness routines as flexibility prevents stiffness and increases general ease of movement.
4. Strength Training
Spend some time each week practicing exercises that build strength in your arms, legs and back. Weight-lifting, ‘weights’ with a resistance band, and bodyweight exercises such as push-ups and squats are all good options.
5. Balance and Coordination
Get some balance and co-ordination exercises in there, too, such as exercises with a balance board, single-leg stance drills, agility drills: anything that helps you stay vertical on your bike, and react more quickly to what’s going on.
6. Mental Fitness
Add activities that strengthen focus and cognition, such as mindfulness meditation, brain-training games, even reading. Getting your mind as sharp as your bike is as important as getting your body fit for safe riding.
Conclusion
You can’t overstate physical fitness for motorcycle riding. Riding becomes so much easier when you’re fit. Control is better, stamina increases (and that makes riding so much more fun), reaction times are faster, injury is less likely, mental focus is better, and common riding aches and pains go away. Getting fit means you get to ride better, safer, longer and with more energy. The solution is simple – ride-specific exercise.
Try to ride three or four times a week, and focus on overall strength, endurance, flexibility and mental acuity. You can read more here. A fit rider is a safe rider, and committing to ride-specific exercise is one of the best things you can do for your motorcycle riding experience. Get fit, hit the road and ride fast and free, comfortable in your body and your bike. Take care.
