race fitness -getting there [Archive]

View Full Version : race fitness -getting there

FROSTY

25th July 2005, 07:58

James Deuce

25th July 2005, 08:33

Folks its the middle of winter but even so im thinking about next season and how to get in condition for it.
If possible i'd like to hear from people experienced in sports medicine or perhaps athletes on other sports who have gone through this process.
Last thing I wanna do this season is collapse in a heap like I did last year

Probably the first thing to check and modify is your diet. Heather was doing bodybuilding at the same time I was racing, and the right food made the biggest difference, both to training and actually racing. Drink more water too. I know it sounds simple, but the reality is that there are no tricks, just the results of hard work.

Do lots of cardio. Get a mountain bike and get some time in on that. It will keep the brain attuned to two wheels as well as increasing cardiovascular fitness. Start slowly, and you should probably go and get checked by a quack before you start training to check for blood pressure and heart issues.

The "low GI (Glycemic Index)" stuff you hear about these days is the way to go. If you are training intensly you want a reasonable dose of carbohydrate on board, backed up by protein and fibre. Avoid refined sugars like the plague. They root your metabolism temporarily and change your brain chemistry. Eat more often.

If you want to lose weight as well a healthy intake of fat should be no more than 20-30gms of fat per day. Check out the fat content of food, especially processed and junk food and you'll see where the obesity epidemic is coming from (I can talk, but I have an excuse - sort of).

A typical menu for weight loss + Training/Race day should be like this:

Breakfast:

Hubbards Fruitful Porridge, milk or yoghurt on it, a piece of toast such as Vogels with one spread on it (NOT butter, margarine, or peanut butter or Nuttella), Your one, single, the only Tea or Coffee of the day.

Morning tea:

2x Rice crackers with Philidelphia light cream cheese spread.

Lunch:

A Subway 6" low fat option (Turkey & Ham is a good one), an Apple or Orange.

Afternoon tea

2x Rice crackers with Philidelphia light cream cheese spread.

Dinner:

Rice or Pasta, with Chicken or Salmon and fresh vegetables. Make nice sauces for it, but NOT cream or fat based ones.

Supper

2x Rice crackers with Philidelphia light cream cheese spread.

You're not aiming for saitety with these meals either. You'll feel hungry from time to time, but that's OK. Drink 400mls of water with each of these meals and use an electrolyte replacing sport drink when training or racing.

Hope that helps, and I don't sound like I'm preaching.

marty

25th July 2005, 08:57

get 'The Power to Perform" book out of the library/buy on trademe. written by kiwis for kiwis. It is for triathletes/endurance athletes, but it has awesome get fit stuff in it. i have done a couple of ironmans, and heaps of multisport racing, and it is my bible.

marty

25th July 2005, 08:59

and like jim says, watch your fat/carb intake - keep fat down to 30g a day, and you'll see a difference very quickly. as an indication - 100grams of potato chips have about 30 grams of fat. there's your daily intake....

Firefight

25th July 2005, 09:01

Folks its the middle of winter but even so im thinking about next season and how to get in condition for it.

Well don,t know much about race fitness, but with 4,969 posts, you bloody key board fitness seems ok. :whistle: get a trail bike or a mountain bike, Jims diet advice seems good.

F/F :ride:

curious george

25th July 2005, 10:10

Well don,t know much about race fitness, but with 4,969 posts, you bloody key board fitness seems ok. :whistle:
F/F :ride:
Bwahahaha! Nice one FF
Jims advice is good, it's the lifestyle change required to stick to it that is the hard bit.
Find a nice cookboook from the library, http://www.dietitians.org.nz/mainsite/EatToCompete.html is good.
All this healthy food is really good for you, but if you don't make it interesting, it gets boring very quickly, and you'll go off the diet.
You're pretty thin already Frosty, maybee it's just some mountain biking you need? I'll give ya a lift to Woodhill after work one day and we'll do a few trails.

FROSTY

25th July 2005, 10:15

If you want to lose weight as well a healthy intake of fat should be no more than 20-30gms of fat per day. Check out the fat content of food, especially processed and junk food and you'll see where the obesity epidemic is coming from (I can talk, but I have an excuse - sort of).

A typical menu for weight loss + Training/Race day should be like this:

Breakfast:

Hubbards Fruitful Porridge, milk or yoghurt on it, a piece of toast such as Vogels with one spread on it (NOT butter, margarine, or peanut butter or Nuttella), Your one, single, the only Tea or Coffee of the day.

Morning tea:

2x Rice crackers with Philidelphia light cream cheese spread.

Lunch:

A Subway 6" low fat option (Turkey & Ham is a good one), an Apple or Orange.

Afternoon tea

2x Rice crackers with Philidelphia light cream cheese spread.

Dinner:

Rice or Pasta, with Chicken or Salmon and fresh vegetables. Make nice sauces for it, but NOT cream or fat based ones.

Supper

2x Rice crackers with Philidelphia light cream cheese spread.

You're not aiming for saitety with these meals either. You'll feel hungry from time to time, but that's OK. Drink 400mls of water with each of these meals and use an electrolyte replacing sport drink when training or racing.

Hope that helps, and I don't sound like I'm preaching.
rotflmao--Mate Im so sorry to laugh -almost everything you have said makes good sense --but loosing weight :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:
We really do need to meet in person -Me ant the trash man must be distantly related cos I dont carry a lot of body fat
All good info though mate

FROSTY

25th July 2005, 10:18

Bwahahaha! Nice one FF
Jims advice is good, it's the lifestyle change required to stick to it that is the hard bit.
Find a nice cookboook from the library, http://www.dietitians.org.nz/mainsite/EatToCompete.html is good.
All this healthy food is really good for you, but if you don't make it interesting, it gets boring very quickly, and you'll go off the diet.
You're pretty thin already Frosty, maybee it's just some mountain biking you need? I'll give ya a lift to Woodhill after work one day and we'll do a few trails.
Yea george I pissed myself laughing re the loosing bodyfat thing--Being a littlle weed and all that --I just seem to look bigger in my bike gear

James Deuce

25th July 2005, 10:23

rotflmao--Mate Im so sorry to laugh -almost everything you have said makes good sense --but loosing weight :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:
We really do need to meet in person -Me ant the trash man must be distantly related cos I dont carry a lot of body fat
All good info though mate

Thought you wanted to win? :)

If you're over 60kg, you're too heavy for F3. :)

You might be surprised to find that being thin isn't a good indicator of muscle to fat ratio. Get your body fat percentage to 10% or under and your metabolism will take off.

bungbung

25th July 2005, 10:26

Pies, you have forgotten the pies.

That Guy

25th July 2005, 10:41

justsomeguy

25th July 2005, 11:55

Jim has covered the diet bit quite well.

Frosty you need to build stamina and total body strength.

I think as a racer you need to have:

1. Good forearms and hand grip strength to be able to countersteer well and maintain a strong grip when required throughout the day.

2. Good core body (abs/lower back) strength so that this part of your body can hold you together through the day as you move from side to side on the bike and not result in either lower back pain or a general feeling of stiffness.

3. Good flexibility in your legs particularly your thighs (also known as your quadriceps/quads) and the back of your thighs (also known as your hamstrings/hams) as you stretch and contract these muscles alternatively as you attempt to get your knee down around a corner.

4. As with any sport you also need a good level of aerobic fitness - which translates into a healthy heart and lungs that are able to pump a fresh supply of blood and oxygen to your muscles as they get tired. The more tired your muscles become the more they demand more fresh blood and air. So the higher your aerobic fitness and stamina are the longer you will be able to last laps without losing your sharp focus and ability to concentrate.

Of course you need a strong chest and back too, but you'll need to focus on these parts and cover the others through other compound (many muscle-group involving) exercises such as pull-ups and push ups and squats, etc...

Now do you plan on joining a gym or training at a mates / your house?? If you plan to not train at a gym, what equipment do you have and how much time a week do you think you will be able to squeeze to do some exercise.

I believe if you can invest an hour a day 3 times a week - Say Mon - Wed - Fri that you will be laughing.......to start off 45 mins a day for 2 days will be plenty......

Being an ectomorph (naturally skinny guy) you need your strength workouts to be short yet hard and your aerobic/cardio workouts to be longer and comparatively less strenuous.

For starters to give us an idea of how fit you are try and do these in order:

A. How many push ups you can do in a minute
B. How many sit-ups you can do in a minute
C. Can you touch your toes without bending your knees?
D. How many pull-up or chin-ups can you do non-stop
E. Can you jog from your house up the hill to the main road non-stop while maintaining a consistent speed?

Try and rest no more than 5 minutes and no less than 1 minute between these activities. Perform a few stretches before and either skip or jog on the spot for about 2 minutes to get your heart rate up.

If you are getting really tired - rest until you feel your heart beat slowing down and breathe as slowly and deeply as you can in through your nose until your stomach rises and slowly out through your mouth.....IF YOU FEEL FAINT STOP.

Try and eat something like a small cup of porridge with banana's or a peanut butter and jelly sandwich or a nutella sandwich about say 45 mins to an hour before any exercise and consume at least 2 full glasses of water or juice in these 45 mins.....

This should tell us how fit you are and at what level you are ready to start training.

Sparky Bills

25th July 2005, 12:14

My opinion...
Dont worry about any of those energy drinks/foods/powders etc.
They are all full of shit your body doesnt need.

Water, excercise, and good food. (Burger King etc :Punk: ) And plenty of it.
Dont do any hard training a week before a meeting, and make sure riding is part of your training.
Include..
Stretching, running (both jogging and sprints), weights, sit-ups, push ups etc.

This is do as i say not as i do advise. And by any case dont do as i do! :whistle:

Keystone19

25th July 2005, 12:21

You're pretty thin already Frosty, maybee it's just some mountain biking you need? I'll give ya a lift to Woodhill after work one day and we'll do a few trails.

If you guys are going mountainbiking at Woodhill, count me in. Good for balance, co-ordination, picking the right line, and, of course, fitness. A heap of fun too!

If you are getting into exercise try and keep it varied as well though. Running is great for cardiovascular fitness although a little hard on the body. I find a mix of running, mountainbiking and road cycling keeps it interesting.

Don't go past swimming for low impact exercise. Swimming has really helped my cardiovascular fitness this past summer.

The Power to Perform book is good. Jim2's advice is pretty much spot on too.

TwoSeven

25th July 2005, 12:35

I'd agree with jim2 on the diet and cardio as being the two main ones. The other one is upper body and legs.

The first two cardio and diet are important to actually make you fit enough (lungs and all that) to be able to do a race without batting an eyelid. Diet helps with that but also helps with your ability to get 'in the zone' at the start of the race (I think frosty you were mentioning having that problem in an earlier post).

Arms is important. Someone once told me that braking for a 45 minuite 25 lap race is like doing one pressup every 3-5 seconds for 45 minutes. Since I have buggered arms, I kind of suffer from this big-time.

The other thing is that (and this is one of personal style) is that you dont really sit on a bike (except for the straights), so you kind of need to support yourself in the 'squat' position for 45 mins as well as move yourself around all the time. So that involves bucket loads of cycling, squats and other leg exercises. Unfortunately, eating a curry and reading the times while on the khazi doesnt count.

Those are the four main areas. Of course, you'll have to balance out the exercise program with outher stuff as well.

pete376403

25th July 2005, 14:26

When riding for Belle Vue, Manchester (Speedway) Ivan Mauger used to train with a local ballet school. He said the guys there were fitter than anyone he ever encountered on a race track
And if you have seen the isenbeck ballet ad, that would be another advantage

TwoSeven

25th July 2005, 15:44

Quite a few push bikers and martial arts people I knew also did that. Ballet must be a rather guelling sport for training I figure.

DEATH_INC.

25th July 2005, 16:05

If you do get into the weight training,keep it light with lotsa reps,being big doesn't help, it actually harms your endurance (trust me on this).Rowing is good,and of course any form of biking/motorcycling.
And as all the others said,Diet is no.1 on the list,most important being(spot on jim) LOTSA water.

Devil

25th July 2005, 16:38

Wot Jim said.

After 15 years of waterpolo, I've figured out what I need to do over the gap between seasons (not that there really is with waterpolo...and never mind that im only playing socially now because I'm not fit enough to compete).

Carbs are your friend and should be paired with the aerobic exercise accordingly. Balanced diet yadda yadda, there is definately a place for red meat. As mentioned, spread your food over the whole day, the reason for this is to maintain your metabolism.

I find that getting into jogging, or biking is the best way to ease back into the more hardcore training. Gently building up the aerobic fitness works wonders when you start to push yourself more.

My downfall these days: Motivation. I need to be pushed. The easiest way for me to get into the routine is to have someone to do it with. See if you can find someone else who isn't neccesarily a racer, but who is keen to do something about their fitness and diet.

After experiencing the side-effects of having 4 to 5% body fat I've decided I'll head in the other direction ;)

Edit: Aqua-robics! Glenfield Leisure centre, thursday evenings (at least, I believe). Not the dancing around on the bottom crap. The one in the divewell where you cant touch the bottom. Very very very good exercise. Low impact.
Or you could come and learn to play waterpolo (newbies most welcome). Best exercise ever.

2_SL0

25th July 2005, 17:06

James Deuce

25th July 2005, 17:13

Im really interested in this as I started running again about 2 months ago 4-5 times a week, and have just started the Gym again 4 -5 times a week.
Jim, I have a question, Im not on any type of diet but do eat generally healthy. BUT IM FARKIN HUNGRY, what do I do, stay hungry or eat. At the moment IM mainly doing cardio at the Gym. But at the end of the week will be adding weights. I intend to get back into mountain biking. soon. Frosty as far as I can see no pain no gain. (Soz to steal your post) Im interested in the diet side of things as I feel Im burning up alot of energy hence the hunger.

Feeling hungry isn't necessarily bad. If you aren't feeling tired, fatigued, or your recovery time isn't compromised then I'd keep going the way you are. We do tend to eat too much as a rule, and feeling hungry has become a bad thing. Maybe try spreading your calorie intake out more. Smaller meals more often. Make sure you don't under eat though, because the body will chew muscle in preference to fat if you overdo the famine thing.

A banana is really good for knocking those hungry feelings on the head instantly.

SixPackBack

25th July 2005, 17:17

What you need is a nymphomaniac......not only will you loose weght in the most pleasurable manner possible, your testicals will shrink allowing easy movement around the seat.......works for me [fucks your back tho'] :devil2:

Devil

25th July 2005, 18:10

Feeling hungry isn't necessarily bad. If you aren't feeling tired, fatigued, or your recovery time isn't compromised then I'd keep going the way you are. We do tend to eat too much as a rule, and feeling hungry has become a bad thing. Maybe try spreading your calorie intake out more. Smaller meals more often. Make sure you don't under eat though, because the body will chew muscle in preference to fat if you overdo the famine thing.

A banana is really good for knocking those hungry feelings on the head instantly.
Hunger is your body saying you need fuel. Dont mistaken this for your mind saying "ooo some food would be nice". If you get hungry and you KNOW that you've had enough food, have a glass of water. Find a carrot or something to snack on (or banana, thats good too. enermegy!).

Edit: This response is aimed at Kawagreen.

curious george

25th July 2005, 18:21

Last thing I wanna do this season is collapse in a heap like I did last year

I see what the problem might be.... ignore all the advice above Frosty as there is no cure for age! :rofl:

*runs and hides*

Kwaka-Kid

25th July 2005, 18:59

I reckon you have to spend LESS TIME SITTING ON ARSE infront of KiwiBiker! As easy as it is to do. I love Firefights idea and its what ill be doing! That and purging after every meal helps keep me thin. haha.

They say 1kg is worth 3hp in F3, so i figure instead of spending $1000's trying to get more HP, ill save that, and then furthermore save $1000's on food during the year just not eating! its a perfect plan, winnings all round. who wants to join my club.

k14

25th July 2005, 19:12

If you're over 60kg, you're too heavy for F3. :)
Arse, I need to loose 4kg :whistle:

Yeah I've been doing quite a bit of mountain biking recently (between 70 and 100km a week) and can definately notice the benefit of it. I still eat alot of crap though.

I can ride the bucket without breaking a sweat now, although it isn't exactly the most physical thing to ride. Still got a fair bit to go with the RS, although my wrist still isn't back to 100% yet (only broke it 6 weeks ago). Still need to up the cardio a bit and maybe do some upper body exercises to get my arms up to scratch. Got 4 weeks till next round.

ajturbo

25th July 2005, 19:14

simple...... get a skipping rope.. and skip...if you can do 15min X 3 a day.. or if you are lazy (like me) every 2nd day...:Punk:

James Deuce

25th July 2005, 19:15

Arse, I need to loose 4kg :whistle:

Yeah I've been doing quite a bit of mountain biking recently (between 70 and 100km a week) and can definately notice the benefit of it. I still eat alot of crap though.

I can ride the bucket without breaking a sweat now, although it isn't exactly the most physical thing to ride. Still got a fair bit to go with the RS, although my wrist still isn't back to 100% yet (only broke it 6 weeks ago). Still need to up the cardio a bit and maybe do some upper body exercises to get my arms up to scratch. Got 4 weeks till next round.

Ah, yes, but you have an RS125 - you're supposed to be 4'11" and weigh 45kg ;)

k14

25th July 2005, 19:32

Ah, yes, but you have an RS125 - you're supposed to be 4'11" and weigh 45kg ;)
Hmm, need to loose over a foot then, need to chop off my legs from the shins down or take it off the top, hmm. As long as i'm lighter than the bike thats good enough for me.

White trash

25th July 2005, 19:44

Well I can now do 50 one handed press ups with my left arm, none with my right.

This type of training is extremely usefull for counter steering at Manfeld and Pukekohe.

Kickaha

25th July 2005, 19:46

Hmm, need to loose over a foot then, need to chop off my legs from the shins down or take it off the top

Me and Dangerous can handle that,I'll hold you down and he can cut your legs off with his skilsaw :yes:

Two years ago I was Mountain biking 3 times a week and noticed a huge difference in race fitness even with my same crap diet,after breaking my wrist and having my MTB stolen I noticed a definite decline in fitness and a expanding waistline so I'm just getting back into the moutainbiking now.

FROSTY

25th July 2005, 19:56

White trash

25th July 2005, 20:01

Two years ago I was Mountain biking 3 times a week and noticed a huge difference in race fitness even with my same crap diet,after breaking my wrist and having my MTB stolen I noticed a definite decline in fitness and a expanding waistline so I'm just getting back into the moutainbiking now.

Still gotta ways to go though, eh :msn-wink:

Sparky Bills

25th July 2005, 20:03

Just get HEAPS of different drugs and they can sort everything out for you!

Kickaha

25th July 2005, 20:20

Well I can now do 50 one handed press ups with my left arm, none with my right.

This type of training is extremely usefull for counter steering at Manfeld and Pukekohe.

All that wanking has been useful for you then :finger:

Still gotta ways to go though, eh :msn-wink:

Could be worse I could be a anorexic arsehole like you :whistle:

MOTOXXX

25th July 2005, 20:21

My opinion...

Water, excercise, and good food. (Burger King etc :Punk: ) And plenty of it.
Dont do any hard training a week before a meeting, and make sure riding is part of your training.
Include..
Stretching, running (both jogging and sprints), weights, sit-ups, push ups etc.

This is do as i say not as i do advise. And by any case dont do as i do! :whistle:

You mean like when you had the deep fryer out last friday night before manfeild?

haha

Sparky Bills

25th July 2005, 20:36

You mean like when you had the deep fryer out last friday night before manfeild?

haha

Was that before or after the bottlessssss of Johnny Walker?? :whistle:

MOTOXXX

25th July 2005, 20:53

Was that before or after the bottlessssss of Johnny Walker?? :whistle:

that was before the johnny walker AND the tui

Hoon

26th July 2005, 10:33

Frosty, you have a good build and low fat so I'd say your problem is more cardio and endurance i.e. basic fitness :)

We are all different - especially when it comes to body types so what works for one person doesn't necessarily work for others. In the Army I see all types from marathon runners that collapse in a heap after 20 push-ups (no chest strength), Push-up gods/good runners but struggle up hills (weak legs) to great all-round athletes who collapse under the weight of their pack after a few hours (poor back/mid section)

If I were you I'd start off doing some cardio for a month (i.e. 3 x 20 min sessions a week working up to 45 mins) of your favourite aerobic activity be it running cycling skipping swimming whatever....Exercise sucks at first but start small and slowly increase the duration/intensity as your body gets use to it. Don't go too hard in the beginning otherwise you get sore and have to lay up.

Once you get fit, work on endurance of your weak areas i.e. what gets tired on race days. Hands - work on grip/forearm. Arms - push ups etc. You are more after endurance so go for reps as opposed weight.

Also check your bike over too and make sure it fits your body to reduce stress. You may need to raise the seat, lower the clip-ons, adjust the foot pegs for your geometry. If you get sore hands, lube your levers, brake seals etc to lessen the force required.

Dieting is a bit extreme though. If I had to lose weight I rather chop off my legs than start eating tofu. All it takes is just a bit of self discipline to keep things under control - i.e. Fast Food once a week instead of every 2nd day. Try Subway instead of KFC. Have a filled roll and Mizone for lunch instead of pie/donut/coke. Also just eat in moderation instead of to the point of failure....unless someone else is paying of course :)

FROSTY

26th July 2005, 13:21

Thanks a million hoon.
ok Im now opening myself up to be rediculed but what about dancing.
Not Balet but rock n roll/80's dance . Its the kind of erobics that cos you're having fun --hopefully pulling a gal with ya lightning feet you kinda loose track of time.

Warr

26th July 2005, 18:31

jimbo600

26th July 2005, 20:32

Righto Frosty, as I have competed in NZ most gruelling multisport races I know a thing or two about training and my advice is thus:

Train 'till you shit blood.

There you go

TwoSeven

26th July 2005, 21:02

Kwaka-Kid

26th July 2005, 22:13

Ceroc dancing is way cool, No ridicule from this quarter Frosty, Thats where I spend my Monday nights.

Hahaha ohhh no, its you XJ900 owners... it must be the shaft drive that does it to you guys.:nono:

dear oh dear. Frosty that stuff aint meant for us Westies, we cant dance, the hell are you thinkin? just buy an MX bike, 2nd hardest endurence sport on the body apparently, behind downhill X country skiing or something, so its gotta be good for you! and its soo much fun, you can spend a whole day just getting a hard workout and barely noticing till the next day at somewhere like woodhill.

Pros:
Keeps you real fit!
keeps you skinny, that and not eating.
adds to your experience of general biking.
is really really fun.

cons:
it might cost you a $1500 KDX200 or $1000 XR200.
entry fees to woodhill - however there are PLENTY of free spots i can show you out west here, discovering them all the time.
you might ruin the 'boyish good looks' reputation for MX'ers.:rofl:

sAsLEX

26th July 2005, 22:28

cons:
it might cost you a $1500 KDX200 or $1000 XR200.
entry fees to woodhill - however there are PLENTY of free spots i can show you out west here, discovering them all the time.
you might ruin the 'boyish good looks' reputation for MX'ers.:rofl:

or go up murawai to the bombing range, lots of sand and trail for free up there, dont sneak in to the forest the back way or you get trespassed

Sparky Bills

26th July 2005, 22:30

that was before the johnny walker AND the tui

Yeah, The Jonny is good for cleaning out the system, and the Tui is good for the gut.

or something like that anyway.
or is it the other way around???

Oh! and Jimbo...
You cant shit blood when ya run in those tight black bike shorts Ive seen you in :whistle:
The poor children across the road didnt know where/what to look at :rofl:

Hoon

27th July 2005, 10:52

ok Im now opening myself up to be rediculed but what about dancing.

Yep anything that tickles your fancy. As long as you work up a sweat then it must be good but you might have to increase the amount if the exercise isn't intense enough.

Combining exercise with something that you enjoy or need to do helps you stick to your program too. I've done aerobics purely to perve at chicks, played Netball just for the pissup. Participating in a weekly activity like dancing or playing touch adds a bit of variety and makes exercise more bearable.

jimbo600

27th July 2005, 12:45

Yeah, The Jonny is good for cleaning out the system, and the Tui is good for the gut.

or something like that anyway.
or is it the other way around???

Oh! and Jimbo...
You cant shit blood when ya run in those tight black bike shorts Ive seen you in :whistle:
The poor children across the road didnt know where/what to look at :rofl:

Mate don't tell folk about the gimp suit.

Brian d marge

29th July 2005, 13:10

If' you've got the time and money - buy a motocross bike and race it. It'll help keep you brain up to racing speed, help hone your race craft, and exhaust all the right motorcylce racing muscles in 10 minutes like you wouldn't believe.

So true ! 10 min on a cr250 ...and you WILL KNOW how fit you are ...!

All of the points have been covered before, one or to things ,,those sports drinks can be a bit strong ...I water mine down ...and I drink LOTS of Water ...now in summer in Japan I am drinking around 3 or 4 litres a day possibly more
When it comes to exercise, if you are disaplined enough to stick to the plan then cool, if like me you wake up feeling like shit sometimes ...dont kick yourself about not exercising the body needs the rest on order to grow ...

Swimming is very good for all those little muscles that you foget about but actually use in riding!

Me I do
30 min on me exercise bike ( I try for every day but,,,,,)
dumbells 5kg 100 times each hand on me back elbows by me side pushing up,,( pushup would do the same ) ,,,
Squats till you drop ,,,( 40 in a min with 5kg )
and sit ups ( 100 in 5 min every day ,,,same as the bike )

Swimming ...I walked past the swimming pool looked in ......looked in ,,,,,then wandered off to work

So yeah ,,,try to have fun while you are doing it ...MX is a great fitness tool ,,,
and dont knock yourself if you miss a few times !!

Good luck

Stephen