more like an easy cycle . Tuesdays and Wednesdays are usually very tough days - V02 max interval efforts ( to improve oxygen uptake into the body ) on my bicycle , in specific zones that my trainer and coach sends me - preprogrammed - and I have to ride them on an indoor bicycle . Tuesdays are double days ; in the mornings I always do strength training and the intervals after that in the afternoon .” Rea ’ s personal trainer comes from a non-motorcycling past . “ When I moved home to Northern Ireland in 2018 and started working with my new coach , Johnny Davis , he came from a rugby background . I had a fear of using weights . I kept associating them with big guys and bodybuilders . But I quickly changed my perception on that , because the stronger you are the more economical your muscles can be . You want your body to work efficiently . There is always a balance , you do not want to be too heavy but you need to be strong to do things on the bike .” He continued , “ On strength days I also work a lot on my core stability , my trunk area and my lower back . That is really important for changing direction , and holding yourself on the bike , as well as your arms and legs , obviously . Wednesdays are like a Sunday , I am using a bike of some sort , generally a motocross bike . That ’ s always fun . Because of my motocross background I can ride at an intensity that is quite similar to Superbike , with a very high average heart rate . So it is a very good stimulation to stay mentally sharp . And it is even harder to ride at that intensity as the track is changing , ruts are changing . Motocross is a very good curve ball to get your brain firing , as well as putting similar muscle groups like arms and shoulders under a similar strain like you would have during a Superbike weekend . I normally ride a bike two days a week .” In their own ways , Rea and Razgatlioglu try to inject as much fun into their need to be fit enough to compete for a world Championship . It helps to have a natural desire to be athletic , but they also realise that there is a limit , where too much training becomes counter-productive . Physically and psychologically . Razgatlioglu ’ s naturally laid-back and quiet manner hides his intense desire to win races . Pushing someone like Razgatlioglu to become a real fitness freak away from the track would very possibly damage his overall effort . Racing to win is a serious game of hearts and minds , not just bodies . But a race fit body , however you go about getting one , is essential to winning . Being 34 , not 24 , also means physical preparation is an ever more important thing for Jonathan to include as part of his overall preparations . Rea ’ s Kawasaki Racing Team squad , with their Human Performance manager Albert Cabestany on board in Barcelona , take rider fitness and testing very seriously . “ He is constantly checking in , and that is cool ,” said Rea . His regular coach at home also makes him wear a special band to check on his heart rate variability , which also calculates the calories he burns in a day , as well as a lot of other data . Rea was happy to share some of that winter training info . Consecutive days of training saw him burn 2,600 calories on one day , 2,600 again on day two , then 4,100 - even 2,000 on each day of a ‘ rest ’ weekend . On track expense of energy is similarly strenuous to Rea ’ s most intense gym work , even in a weather affected recent test , for example . In three hours of riding on track in the afternoon - after a two hour bicycle training ride in the washed-out morning session - Rea burned around 3,300 calories . He is by no means obsessed by all the sports science and exercise , but it is simply an important integral part of being a pro-racer . And he is aware that
he has to keep progressing with this stuff , merely to try to stay on top . “ I am at the point now where I am trying to do everything I can to be better ,” he said . “ I am always trying to do a little bit more . You cannot train 24 hours a day , so if you do four or five hours a day , you can run the rest of your life around that .” As we have seen , using Toprak and Jonathan as examples , exactly how you get fit enough to race at the top level can be done in different ways . But on a modern WorldSBK machine you have no choice but to put the effort in during training sessions to be in the right physical shape to claim the ultimate on-track rewards
“ I am at the point now where I am trying to do everything I can to be better ”
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