Reflecting back on 2011, I was a failure. I had goals last year. My goal was to be in the running for Nag 1 going into the grands. Well not even close, Ouch! In 2010 I made my BMX comeback after an almost 9 year hiatus. That year I ended up making every main and getting a bunch of 2nd place finishes at nationals and a 5th at the Grands. I earned a Nag 6 plate for the year, and was really stoked with it. 2010 wildly surpassed any expectations I had for my comeback to BMX racing.
That December I took almost a month off of racing and any real training to think about the next season and mentally and physically refresh myself. I started doing some research to learn how to improve my training, and found a few fitness/strength podcasts that I listened to religiously while working for the next few months. I started reading all the blogs of the coaches I listened to and started to really get into the concepts of functional strength training. I was fascinated by the way the body works, and how it all relates to movement, and more importantly to us how it relates to making us more powerful for our BMX racing. It completely changed my mind and my gym protocol. Back squats were replaced with rear foot elevated split squats and planks and pyloff presses took the place of ab crunches. But most importantly a sore back and tight immobile hips were replaced with flex ability, strength and pain free movements.
Although I'm fortunate now to have a good job, it is becoming less and less satisfying by the day. My new focus is to combine my two passions and help others become better, faster, and healthier racers. So my new goal this year is to take the steps to becoming a fitness coach that specializes in helping BMX learn how to train properly and efficiently. Goals don't change the world, actions do! First step was to become a certified USA Cycling coach. I'm happy to say I just received my card in the mail yesterday. Next step is studying for the NSCA personal training certification.
So although my racing in 2011 was a failure, I didn't totally fail. I figured out how to combine what makes me happy in life and turn it into a job. So now I have a huge goal that might take many years to accomplish, but I’m really excited about it.
I started the RaceFit blog to post my thoughts on training, and other articles and videos I think are interesting and pertain to training for BMX. Do you have any questions, advice for me? Please leave me a comment below; but take it easy on me I majored in Welding in high school not spelling and grammar.
Jake
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