Hi All 41 guy where whos been riding and racing for the last 15 years. I'm on an RSV4 and i'm 6.0ft, 83kg. Ive just finishing building this WSBK spec superbike and recently I find that Im absolutely drained after 2-3 years I dont know what it is! Originally i thought ergonomics because its totally different to the standard RSV4, but my measurements are not far off a 2017 ZX10 in terms of seat height, foot peg position etc. After say 2-3 laps, im cooked. Im pretty fit but dont hit the gym for muscle work, not that I think thats my issue. I thought maybe its the bike, so incredibly stiff, lots of mechanical grip. Maybe its me.. Keen to hear your thoughts as im at wits end. Cheers
Hydration? You should know what to drink - more water, Gatorade, etc. In extreme heat and sweating, use Pedialyte - Gatorade for babies. At the track, make sure you have to pee on a regular basis, and make sure it is clear. Yellowish tint means you are dehydrated. BTW, meds can have an effect on this. Also - avoid coffee and other things with a high caffeine content. Do you eat well at the track? Do you have a good breakfast to start the day? Something easy to digest at lunch? For lunch, I would always have a few PB&J sandwiches. I'd see Ironman length triathlon participants eat that during the event, so that was good enough for me. Of course, now days things like protein bars are probably better. I like to have fresh fruit around as well. Muscle soreness? Get some potassium in your body. Bananas and orange juice is good for that. Exhaustion, heavy breathing? Build up your cardiovascular ability. Jogging/running can help. Weightlifting with low weights, high reps. Start sessions at gym with time on Stationary bike. Do your weight routine, then another session on the bike. Keep heart rate between 65-85% of max, which is (220 - your age). Muscle tightness? Strech before every session. Another option - massage sessions. Find a specialist that can do deep muscle massage. At the end you will feel beat up, but you will also feel much better the next day. And no, NO happy endings, at least right before race weekends. Increase in body fat? Buy bigger leathers. Be comfortable. You are now in your 40's, not your 20's. Stop thinking you are still the same and adjust accordingly.
Salt intake too low? Combine that possibility with over watering yourself at the track in an attempt to stay hydrated and you’ll be depleted and knackered in no time.
Caffeine theoretically increases arm pump due to vasoconstriction. It also is a weak diuretic (compared to other compounds) I, like most people, need caffeine to have my normal baseline level of consciousness due to years of dependence so it isn't something I would cut out for a ride. I'd have to reduce it well in Advance and normalize my body.
Damn, never heard that but I'm a coffee addict and always struggled badly with arm pump. I also have nerve damage in my left arm and probably have a death grip too, so...but I like blaming the coffee
I'm 57 and have noticed that a hot summer day is getting better and better at kicking my ass. I currently don't have A/C in my trailer, and was nearly in stagger mode when I was loading everything back up to leave last June at CMP. I drank a case of water that weekend and had 8 20oz bottles of Gatorade as well, so I felt pretty well hydrated. Just cutting the yard with a walk-behind mower is starting to get to me as well. Getting old sucks
I went to see a dietician/nutritionist last week for the first time in my life. We talked about eating/drinking for performance among other things. She told me I can drink too much water and deplete my electrolyte levels and that sodium was the one you have to make sure you replenish as it gets depleted through sweat. She said the other electrolytes the body does a good job of making sure you have enough of and if you don't you would know it - I forgot how she said it would manifest itself. She told me to eat some carbs & protein an hour or less before activity, I ate a banana with some peanut butter before hockey on Friday and it felt like I was on crack! It made an incredible difference compared to just eating lunch and playing 5 hours later with no snack before. Another thing she said is that you should ingest electrolytes while playing (I usually just drink water) so I tried that too during hockey. Another thing I was doing wrong is getting the sugar free Gatorade, the sugar helps with energy "now". I know this is only one data point and I will experiment more going forward.
^ This. Get yourself checked. A 40 yo male in decent physical shape shouldn't be wiped after 2-3 laps. Also have you changed your riding style recently without maybe being conscious of it? Sometimes we ride different bikes in vastly different ways because of the way they feel to us. Perhaps you are working yourself harder than you think or maybe the bike is working against you so you are unknowingly fighting it the whole time.
have you tried riding with a heart rate monitor? Just get a baseline of what your cardio looks like during a session. If you're exceeding your VO2 max then you can probably be cashed out in 5 minutes or whatever once its hot out and you're wearing leathers etc.
What exactly is tired? Anything acute or just general fatigue? I started drinking NUUN tablets religiously a few years ago and find they make a big difference. I try to have at least one, if not two, every day.
Assuming proper diet and staying hydrated I would focus on your breathing while riding. Make sure you are continually breathing properly. I found my self becoming tired despite being in great shape and being able to run ten miles at 6:30 pace. I found I was holding my breath at times and not breathing effectively.
Heart rate monitor is a great tool. The average diet already has too much sodium, be careful adding more. If you are a salty sweater, i.e. white salt stains on shirt, then it may be necessary, but it needs to be monitored. People are always throwing stuff at the wall willy nilly to fix things without knowing for sure, like trying to build a fuel map without a dyno. Get information, see a doctor, get tests done, that will give you somewhere to start. And yeah, getting older sucks. I noticed a slow down in my mid to late 40s. Being run over by 16 year old sociopaths certainly doesn't help, so watch out for them.
This. Also, might be worthwhile to do some process of elimination and hop on another bike and see if you experience the same kind of fatigue. Oh, and post pics of the WSBK-spec RSV4........you know, for science.
I would agree with Saiyan66's statement; maybe you are fighting the bike or it's fighting you, and you need to relax. I went from a ZX6 to a ZX10 and the first couple of sessions, I felt like I was just trying to hang on, and everything was very tense. Death grip on the bars, triceps were sore after two sessions, etc. Started to relax and by the end of the day, was much easier to ride. After several track days, it wasn't much more tiring than riding the ZX6, but if you've changed to a much more powerful bike, maybe the above has something to do with it.
I am 1 year younger and feel the same.. I was able to do some back to back sessions at Road Atlanta this weekend.. Not real Race Pace however I was able to do make the 40 Min Marks at a good pace... felt fine until warmers back on and leathers off then boom... My age kicked in...LOL