Blood testing for motocross athletes

The sport of motocross is one of the most physically demanding sports in the world.  Whether it’s 20 minutes on a Supercross track spent around 95% of an athlete’s maximum heart rate, jumping 75-foot triples or skimming a waist-high set of Supercross whoops; the demands of a motocross or Supercross racer are high. The GNCC series sees racers spending over 2 hours above 85-95% of their maximum heart rate while dodging trees and trying to keep their 220-pound two-wheeled motorcycle upright.  The demands on the body are undeniable.  Something that the general public might not be privy to knowing is the hours these athletes will spend in the “trenches” each week; running, cycling, rowing, weight lifting and of course riding motorcycles. Doing all of this to be able to handle whatever adversity is thrown at them on race day.

To ask this much of your body day in and day out, requires high level testing and monitoring. Enter blood testing. Blood testing that is specialized for athletes is one of the most important steps you can take to get a handle on your general health and know what is going on internally.  When you have real tangible data points on what is happening inside your body, it allows you to make informed decisions regarding the food you eat, the supplements you take, when you should train, when you should rest, and it gives you very personalized feedback of your unique requirements.  It’s also important to note that biomarker levels for athletes should be different than for the general population.  After all, you are trying to perform at your best, not just be healthy.  And each individuals biomarkers will vary greatly depending on sex, age, training volume, frequency and intensity.  Over time you can understand what your ideal levels are, which could be quite different from what is recommended for the general population. 

I’ve analyzed my blood for the last 6 years of my career. This has helped me to stay on track with my diet and keep tabs on my metabolic health, mineral status, red blood cells, white blood cells, lipids and hormone levels. I think this monitoring is important so that I can be firing on all cylinders every time the gate drops.  In a sport where we spend thousands of dollars on bikes, gear, parts, trainers, travel costs and entry fees, blood testing is a relatively cheap way to ensure that you aren’t showing up to the line at a disadvantage.  

For all you hard-charging athletes out there, keeping an eye on these key biomarkers are going to give you an edge over the competition

• Vitamin D

• Iron 

• Ferritin

• Folate

• B12 

• Mineral levels

• Total Testosterone

• Free Testosterone

• Thyroid-stimulating hormone

• Cortisol 

• Inflammation markers (Crp)

• DHEA-S

Throughout my career, I’ve been able to manage burnout and other overtraining-related issues by having an understanding of what is happening on the inside of my body.  Here’s a quick look at two biomarkers that I like to keep tabs on:

Vitamin D

Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that can be found in certain foods like fatty fish, beef liver, and mushrooms, but one of the best sources is from the sun.  This vitamin also plays an important role in regulating inflammation, modulating cell growth, neuromuscular growth, bone density, and strengthening our immune system.  The Athlete Blood Test ideal range for Vitamin D status for someone like me is between 50-110 ng/mL.  When you look at our travel schedule (In a normal year) with 17 supercross rounds and 12 outdoor nationals, we are traveling almost 30 weekends a year!  That means plenty of opportunities to catch a cold or flu in the airports, hotels, dealer signings, and stadiums we visit.  Increasing your Vitamin D intake can’t hurt, but you must know what your levels are before you go blindly taking the supplement off the shelf.

Iron and Ferritin 

These are important markers to keep tabs on for endurance athletes, especially women, as sweating, and blood loss through the urine and GI tract can deplete these critical nutrients.  Iron is an essential component of hemoglobin and the erythrocyte protein that transfers oxygen from the lungs to the tissues.  Ferritin is a measure of your body’s iron stores and can be the first sign of depleted Iron status.  If you're a male in my age range and your levels are below around 70mcg/dL (depending on your training)  this can suggest you have an iron deficiency.  It can be very tough to train and race to your potential if your iron levels are low.  Some common signs of a deficiency are fatigue, increased risk of injury, dizziness, headaches, sensitivity to cold and shortness of breath while attempting basic tasks, poor attention span, and mental function are also common.  Also when competing at high altitude races, (Thunder Valley, or Mammoth)  having low iron can be a huge disadvantage. 

Here are a few tips to increase Iron status:

• Caffeine can decrease your absorption of iron from foods.  Try having your coffee or tea a few hours before or after your meals.  

• Vitamin C has been shown to increase our absorption of iron by up to 67%!  Try having a couple of orange slices or some strawberries with your breakfast of choice.

• Cooking in a cast-iron skillet can increase the iron content of food

We are super excited that the Athlete Blood Test company is working with us as we strive to educate, inform and help athletes tackle the demands our sport throws at us.  Whether you are an amateur racer looking to get in the top 10 at Loretta Lynn’s this summer or a Vet rider ripping it up on the weekends at your local track, this is a huge opportunity to get a handle on what is happening inside your body.  We can offer a 10% discount with the code troll10, and if you become a Troll Training athlete we can offer discounts of up to 25%!

Cheers!

Alex Martin

References:
https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminD-HealthProfessional/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10799377/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17691592/

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