On The Apex
On The Apex is an information booklet written by Dr Adam Standring of Nobles Hospital in the Isle of Man, containing essential advice for all competitors on the Isle of Man TT Course.
Click on the cover below to download a FREE copy.
Introduction
A little knowledge of how your body functions can help you understand and apply special techniques to improve its performance. Your approach to this subject should be modelled upon the same technical understanding you have about the machines you ride.
The principles of maintenance and tuning for your body are essentially the same as for your bike. Financially, the basic cost of optimising your body is a fraction of what it costs to do the same for a motorcycle - it may turn out to be one of the wisest investments you make in your sporting career.
As a professional, your team and sponsors are relying on you to be up to the same mark as the bikes they give you to ride. You want to get this right and with the minimum of stress and fuss. As a sportsman or woman you want to give the best of yourself, and you owe it to the friends and loved ones who support you to enjoy yourself with the safety odds stacked on your side.
There are a number of factors associated with racing motorcycles that can prevent the correct functioning of the ‘human machine’ and each one of these has an analogy to the problems affecting the performance of a racing bike. All the time, money and effort spent on the mechanical aspects of racing is wasted if the physiological preparation of the rider is neglected. As just mentioned, it takes much less money to get the body optimised than it does for the bike, and for the effort of a little fitness you will gain in all other areas of your life as well as racing - this includes improved health, energy levels, mood and even sexual performance!
Bike racers have a reputation for having a love of pies, beer and cigarettes (no doubt something to do with having a love of pies, beer and cigs). With the exception of elite world championship competitors, we do not generally consider ourselves as athletes, but just think about this: TT Competitors have been found to have the heart rates of sprinters and the sweat rates of marathon runners!
The question is... do we take this seriously when we choose how to prepare for a race? Many of us seem to feel we can thrive on the adrenaline alone, but tiredness and dehydration can take its toll without us realising.
Research shows that it is common to experiance 1-2% dehydration in a race (or practice) at the TT and Manx Grand Prix and some sweat even more. Sweat losses of 2% boy weight or more lead to a noticeable drop-off in physical and mental performance. Some areas of performance are already falling off from as little as 1% dehydration. The negative impact of dehydration will be compounded by low energy (body glucose) reserves. Pre-race nerves make it difficult to eat, and it often seems hard to make time to get food when you are working (burning your reserves) to get the bikes ready. What you eat and drink and when you have it, is critical in allowing you to fully express your skills on the track, as well as ensuring you enjoy your ride.
Ths booklet discusses what you can do to "get it right".
