I grew up racing MX and enduros and always loved hearing ours was "the hardest" , but at about 25 years old switched to endurance running (5k to 200k runs), and Ironman Triathlon (including racing in the Aussie amateur team in the Hawaiian Ironman Worlds.) Numbers: For my fastest 5k, my average heart rate (HR) would average around 175 beats per minute (BPM), which is on or a tiny bit above my anaerobic threshold (AT). For 10k to half marathon, it would be 170 - 172. Right on my AT. For marathon, it'd be around 160BPM. And for longer (100k+), it'd start at anything between 140 to 150, then collapse to 110 to 120 after about 7 or 8 hours running. Ironman was generally similar to marathon, or even a little lower on average. So after doing that for years, I decided to do a couple of 3 hour enduro (dirt bike) races (which is about how long it takes me to run a marathon), and to wear my HR monitor to see how it stacked up. To my amazement each had an average of 175, around 15 BPM higher than running for a similar length of time. So yeah, dirt bike racing kicks arse, or more accurately, it kicks heart rates! On a minute-for-minute basis, dirt bike racing is more intense (in a HR point of view) than any high level running or triathlon related races. BUT - having said that, and saying this as a die-hard fan of MX/SX/Enduro, the hardest, most painful thing in sport I've personally ever done isn't MX. Or marathon. It's the crushing slow-burn pain of a 100 mile running race. The HR might not be as high, but fighting through sleepless nights with relentless full-body pain is... difficult.. Seriously, everything hurts. That weird feeling of being hungry but unable to digest food because of upper-intestine shut-down from lack of blood. But it's also pretty awesome... haha. But anyway - Arlington SX this weekend. Can't wait to watch the races!
That's a great insight! I'm not sure there will ever be a definitive answer because as you just highlighted there as so many different ways to measure the outcome. Thanks for you response!
@@MWMXshow Thanks for the reply! Wasn't expecting one. But yes, it's a bottomless pit of variables involved. Anecdotal experiences like mine don't mean much without some quantitative data to tie them to, and of course that's very difficult to source. One other thought I had while reading your reply was - is there a continuous 24 hour enduro race? And if not, perhaps the longer stages of the Dakar might produce some good data. I'd be interested in knowing what happens to riders in terms of the internal competition of blood/resources between the brain, working muscles and organs after about 8 hours of competition.
I have been riding off road motorcycles since 1975 , and still doing it . I have played most stick and ball games , swimming , Tennis etc. Raced club level throughout my younger years and just ride these days for fun body and mind fitness . Nothing comes close to the mental and physical fitness needed just to play ride . This is why the guys who ride at the pro level are more than just highly tuned athletes , these Men and Women with their amazing machines are just the ultimate.
Same,,,,, did it not also.... Make say Football sprints or line touches, other athletes hated. Seem easy cause you were in motocross shape... Did to me...
As this relates to heart rate I can see that, but how about the extreme hard enduro guys like Billy Bolt etc. That shit looks brutal and has to beat you up!
Zack Osborn answered a phone callers training question today on motox 60 podcast or whatever podcast today. Zack said training for Enduro, it's less high intensity and your heart rate has constant lower heart rate compared to moto or supercross. It is still massively difficult, so understand I love both and not dogging enduro.
What body type do you think is best suited for MX? Right now, it’s mostly just wealthy families & their kids, so the opportunity isn’t spread across the general population and a wide range of body types. What traits are most important? Looks like most pro riders are between 5’6” and 5’10” and quite skinny (light)
I would say skinny jacked. I don't think bulk would help as this is endurance sport. But then you see those fat dudes racing in hare scrambles that do reasonably well.
High Power to weight ratios are always beneficial. And in moto you can apply power/weight ratios in 3 different ways. 1: Riders strenght/fitness, to bodyweight 2: Engine HP, to bike and riders weight combined 3: Rider strenght/power, to weight of bike. So the reason why most of the pro super and motocross riders are not very bulky is that 1 and 2 are very important for acceleration,braking and just moving around on the track and the bike. Hard enduro on the other hand is normally slower, and more technical. So 3 is beneficial for that. And since big dudes are normaly very strong, they can flick around a 450 like a little toy.
@@davidh4129 bro again I’ve done mma most of my life and motocross for about 20 years it’s fuckin harder. Way harder on the body way harder on the mind and in general way harder on your stamina. So if anything is dumb is your inability to accept reality.
The psychological aspect or stress of controlling and hanging on to a 50+ hp. machine likely adds a few beats/minute. I mean, what is the drivers' heart rate of a top fuel dragster at the end of a 4 second run? They're "just" sitting there. 😉
MX and SX are one of the most demanding sports ever at a certain level, so Motocross and Supercross actually are the most physically demanding sports in the world, they both have their differences to why, but when you get to an elite level, you are throwing around a 200lbs bike while constantly sitting and standing up, moving to the back of the bike to get traction, then you also move fowards on the bike and get up to the front of the seat almost to the tank for the corners. If you haven't been building your MX bike muscles, you could be the best weight lifter, pro wakeboarder as I was and still, I would go to the practice track and rode 50% of how fast I really was and rode maybe a few hours and I couldn't even sit up to get out of bed I was so sore that week. I would have to roll off the b d to get to my feet and then from there stand up. My neck, abs, back, and arms mostly were so sore, some legs too. And you are also pulling in the clutch, constantly twisting the throttle, and using brake levers, all the while you are constantly squeezing the tank with your knees so you don't have to grip so hard with your hands because when I do, I have to get someone to help me pay my fingers off the handlebar grips, it's like super arthritis.
1,5 hours of going fast on rough mx track is equal to 4 hours riding time on my mtb. I might not burn as much calories, but the body gets hammered.
I grew up racing MX and enduros and always loved hearing ours was "the hardest" , but at about 25 years old switched to endurance running (5k to 200k runs), and Ironman Triathlon (including racing in the Aussie amateur team in the Hawaiian Ironman Worlds.)
Numbers:
For my fastest 5k, my average heart rate (HR) would average around 175 beats per minute (BPM), which is on or a tiny bit above my anaerobic threshold (AT).
For 10k to half marathon, it would be 170 - 172. Right on my AT.
For marathon, it'd be around 160BPM.
And for longer (100k+), it'd start at anything between 140 to 150, then collapse to 110 to 120 after about 7 or 8 hours running.
Ironman was generally similar to marathon, or even a little lower on average.
So after doing that for years, I decided to do a couple of 3 hour enduro (dirt bike) races (which is about how long it takes me to run a marathon), and to wear my HR monitor to see how it stacked up. To my amazement each had an average of 175, around 15 BPM higher than running for a similar length of time. So yeah, dirt bike racing kicks arse, or more accurately, it kicks heart rates!
On a minute-for-minute basis, dirt bike racing is more intense (in a HR point of view) than any high level running or triathlon related races.
BUT - having said that, and saying this as a die-hard fan of MX/SX/Enduro, the hardest, most painful thing in sport I've personally ever done isn't MX. Or marathon. It's the crushing slow-burn pain of a 100 mile running race. The HR might not be as high, but fighting through sleepless nights with relentless full-body pain is... difficult.. Seriously, everything hurts. That weird feeling of being hungry but unable to digest food because of upper-intestine shut-down from lack of blood. But it's also pretty awesome... haha.
But anyway - Arlington SX this weekend. Can't wait to watch the races!
That's a great insight! I'm not sure there will ever be a definitive answer because as you just highlighted there as so many different ways to measure the outcome. Thanks for you response!
@@MWMXshow Thanks for the reply! Wasn't expecting one. But yes, it's a bottomless pit of variables involved. Anecdotal experiences like mine don't mean much without some quantitative data to tie them to, and of course that's very difficult to source.
One other thought I had while reading your reply was - is there a continuous 24 hour enduro race? And if not, perhaps the longer stages of the Dakar might produce some good data. I'd be interested in knowing what happens to riders in terms of the internal competition of blood/resources between the brain, working muscles and organs after about 8 hours of competition.
I have been riding off road motorcycles since 1975 , and still doing it . I have played most stick and ball games , swimming , Tennis etc. Raced club level throughout my younger years and just ride these days for fun body and mind fitness . Nothing comes close to the mental and physical fitness needed just to play ride . This is why the guys who ride at the pro level are more than just highly tuned athletes , these Men and Women with their amazing machines are just the ultimate.
Same,,,,, did it not also.... Make say Football sprints or line touches, other athletes hated. Seem easy cause you were in motocross shape... Did to me...
I've thought this for ages...don't know how I knew but now I'm happy I can explain why! Thanks
As a professional arm chair athlete even just watching Pro MX get my blood pressure up.
And its the funest and most epic sport to do !!!
Absolutely!!
Great video!
Awesome content. Keep it coming. Just subbed
As this relates to heart rate I can see that, but how about the extreme hard enduro guys like Billy Bolt etc. That shit looks brutal and has to beat you up!
Zack Osborn answered a phone callers training question today on motox 60 podcast or whatever podcast today.
Zack said training for Enduro, it's less high intensity and your heart rate has constant lower heart rate compared to moto or supercross.
It is still massively difficult, so understand I love both and not dogging enduro.
This sound is jacked. Real heavy on my left earbud bud but only background noise on my right. Idk just fyi
What body type do you think is best suited for MX? Right now, it’s mostly just wealthy families & their kids, so the opportunity isn’t spread across the general population and a wide range of body types.
What traits are most important?
Looks like most pro riders are between 5’6” and 5’10” and quite skinny (light)
I would say skinny jacked. I don't think bulk would help as this is endurance sport. But then you see those fat dudes racing in hare scrambles that do reasonably well.
High Power to weight ratios are always beneficial. And in moto you can apply power/weight ratios in 3 different ways.
1: Riders strenght/fitness, to bodyweight
2: Engine HP, to bike and riders weight combined
3: Rider strenght/power, to weight of bike.
So the reason why most of the pro super and motocross riders are not very bulky is that 1 and 2 are very important for acceleration,braking and just moving around on the track and the bike.
Hard enduro on the other hand is normally slower, and more technical. So 3 is beneficial for that. And since big dudes are normaly very strong, they can flick around a 450 like a little toy.
Now I’ve been on this and agree for, well as long as I can remember. But what about heart rates as ufc/mma fighters? Idk food for thought
I’ve done mma for years motocross is harder and harder on your body. And higher consequences for mistakes at the highest levels.
@@davidh4129 bro again I’ve done mma most of my life and motocross for about 20 years it’s fuckin harder. Way harder on the body way harder on the mind and in general way harder on your stamina. So if anything is dumb is your inability to accept reality.
I've said this since 96
The psychological aspect or stress of controlling and hanging on to a 50+ hp. machine likely adds a few beats/minute. I mean, what is the drivers' heart rate of a top fuel dragster at the end of a 4 second run? They're "just" sitting there. 😉
The highest heart rate you’ll ever see is a one rep max on a squat or deadlift.
You mean blood pressure? Not heart rate?
If you believe that Moto is the hardest sport on earth I have some oceanfront property to sell you in Colorado
What’s harder ?
MX and SX are one of the most demanding sports ever at a certain level, so Motocross and Supercross actually are the most physically demanding sports in the world, they both have their differences to why, but when you get to an elite level, you are throwing around a 200lbs bike while constantly sitting and standing up, moving to the back of the bike to get traction, then you also move fowards on the bike and get up to the front of the seat almost to the tank for the corners. If you haven't been building your MX bike muscles, you could be the best weight lifter, pro wakeboarder as I was and still, I would go to the practice track and rode 50% of how fast I really was and rode maybe a few hours and I couldn't even sit up to get out of bed I was so sore that week. I would have to roll off the b d to get to my feet and then from there stand up. My neck, abs, back, and arms mostly were so sore, some legs too. And you are also pulling in the clutch, constantly twisting the throttle, and using brake levers, all the while you are constantly squeezing the tank with your knees so you don't have to grip so hard with your hands because when I do, I have to get someone to help me pay my fingers off the handlebar grips, it's like super arthritis.
Makes a statement but doesn't stick around to explain or give an example.
Motocross in Colorado is definitely the hardest sport on earth.😅
@@profitpiggyboxing, MMA, kick boxing...all of them. Not training but actually fighting.