My Fitness

Being fit is a a requisite for all sports and motorcycle racing is no exception. My fitness is something I work very hard at and enjoy, because I believe it puts me closer to my goal of becoming Superbike world champion.

My training varies from intense during the off season when I’m in Australia, to maintaining the high level of fitness I develop during the off season, throughout the racing year.

Rob Crick is my fitness coach. He lives on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland and I have been working with him since I was 13. My fitness level has come a long way since those early days, when I would struggle through a couple of 2km jogs with Rob doing it easy in front of me, often running backwards to rub it in. Things are a bit different now and in a lot of the training we do together, Rob is now chasing me, which I think is more fun.

My off season training regime is varied and consists of running, road cycling, mountain biking, motocross riding, ski paddling and beach training we call “ins and outs”.

The schedule varies, but it can be up to 5 hours a day for 6 days of the week and 1 rest day, but even that involves a 20 minute jog and some stretching.

In a normal week, I cycle 120kms, run 60kms, paddle my ski about the same distance and mountain bike ride for about 3 hours. When I ride the motocross bikes, I usually do a couple 45min race simulations in an afternoon session.

“Ins and Outs” on the beach are really tough. I run into the surf and dolphin dive out past the breakers, turn around and swim in and run hard through the soft sand back up to the fence at the top of the beach. When I get there, I turn around and do it again. It is really hard work and Rob varies them, so sometimes the swims are longer and sometimes the runs are longer, or shorter but more intense.

All the sessions are varied to keep me as fit as possible for all situations for the races. I also spend time stretching well after training.

During the racing year I still train most days by running and cycling, but am careful not to exhaust myself, as just riding the bike is a massive workout in itself.

Rob Crick

Rob Crick; "Motorcycle racing is a tough sport. Not only is it dangerous but it is also very physically demanding and riders have to be at peak physical condition in order to be able to control their bike for the 45 minutes of intense racing.

To get an idea of how demanding the sport is, I did some testing on Chris last year at Phillip Island. By using a heart rate monitor which also had a GPS tracking system, we were able to download information to a computer that showed where on the track Chris’s heart rate was the highest.

Not surprisingly it was deep into turn 12 where Chris is holding on hard from turn 11 through 12 and trying to hold as much speed to hit the straight. At this point his heart rate hit about 175 beats per minute, however by the end of the main straight it had dropped again to around 150 bpm. To perform at this pace for 45 minutes you have to be extremely fit.

After Phillip Island we put Chris through his paces in the laboratory at the Sunshine Coast University and the results were quite impressive. Chris has a fitness level on par with a Olympic level rowers, who are considered to be some of the fittest elite athletes in the world.

Working with Chris over the past 14 years I have learnt a lot about the fitness requirements of a motorcycle racer. Not only is the physical side of the sport demanding but also the mental side of things. Being able to concentrate throughout a race can only be possible with high physical condition. As soon as you start to fatigue physically you will lose that mental edge and be prone to making mistakes"