TRAINING

Fitness for BMX is about being able to perform the tasks to complete a race. This is based around three key points Power, Speed and Strength.

Power - Key to the gate start, the Power to get you from stationary at the gate to the bottom of the start ramp first is almost the most important advantage of a race.

Speed - Once you get past the gate snap and get up to you peak speed, then next key is keeping you race speed, this comes from both pedaling & using you skills to maintain and increase your speed

Strength - The more you are able to control you bike & attack the track feature the faster you will go, core and body strength assists you pull up over feature & push through pumping and manuals, again all this adds to your race speed.

Training is dependent on the age of the rider, which can be broadly broken down into the following groups

7years and under: Training should revolve around the general skills of riding the bike, balancing, turning, braking and pedaling. Interval training and sprints can cause serious damage to developing bone and muscle groups and is not recommended. Let the kids ride the track, have fun and enjoy themselves.

8 to 12 years: Specific skills should be prac-ced, such as starting, jumping and cornering which usually all involve sprinting, so a basic form of sprint training can be taking place. Perfecting skills at this stage is the most important goal, so that when they mature and develop greater strength, the rider will be training an already good technique.

13 to 16 years: More formal sprint/interval training can be used, as BMX is an explosive sport with races only lasting 30 to 40 seconds, interval sprinting with 8 to 10 second bursts and a recovery period in between can be used. A gym program with body weight routines or un-weighted tools can be incorporated to develop motion technique, use of weights should be managed by a trained professional. And keep up the skill work.

Senior Riders: Once the rider is fully physically mature serious gym training and interval workouts can be used to strengthen and make more explosive the muscle groups used in riding. But do not let up on the skill work. Riders who reach this level should consult their club coach on a specific program.

Mature Riders: As BMX is a family sport many mature riders do participate with their kids. Training levels can be vastly different in this group. BMXNZ recommend a training structure based on the skill level of the rider. Based off an understanding of the sport membership, skills are the key need in this area. Like the youngest group above, skill acquirement is key, keep it fun & in control. 

These training basics are a guide only and while there are lots of published training programs which focus on pushing athletes to become faster and faster, BMXNZ recommends keeping the underlying level of training to the basics above.

These basic levels aim to keep the rider in the sport for as long as possible. Rider burnout due to over serious training and racing is the main threat to those in the sport.

Keep it fun.