For about a dozen Saturdays throughout the summer, Motocross star Ryan Dungey jumps, slides and fights his way through the dirt and mud, competing with some of the best dirt bikers in the world in the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship. The 23-year-old Minnesota native is willing to do whatever it takes to win – but there’s a lot that takes place before he gets on his bike and suits up in his Red Bull and Target sponsored equipment.
Like any other sport, there’s a great deal of planning, preparation and practice that go into the sport of Motocross. However, it often gets overlooked given its limited popularity. Dungey’s work isn’t confined to just one day a week, but rather almost every day in some capacity or another. Whether it’s checking out a specific course, maintaining the bike, or simply practicing on the terrain, a lot goes in beforehand.
We recently set out to discover what Dungey does before the big race on Saturday – how he prepares, what he eats and anything else leading up to the race. So often we get glimpses into what it takes National Football League stars to get ready on Sunday, but what does it take Dungey on Saturday?
The physical aspect of the ride has long been taken care of for Dungey. Though he maintains an impressive diet and a well orchestrated gym workout, there are other, more important worries.
“All your [physical] work is done in the offseason, that’s where you really put in the base,” Dungey admitted. “As far as leading up to the event, it’s really focusing on maintenance.”
For Dungey, the dirt bike is the most important factor. He rides it three times a week – Monday, Tuesday and Thursday – to not only make sure the bike is riding properly, but to keep things fresh and work on specific weaknesses. Mixed in with riding his dirt bike is a balanced routine of road biking, running and gym sessions. Some weeks he pushes harder than other. It fine-tunes his body for the weekend, as opposed to overdoing it, which is why it’s mostly at the beginning of the week.
The routine begins Friday, when he flies out to the event, has a big meal and spends the majority of the evening in seclusion. The morning of the race, Dungey has to be up and at the track by 7 a.m. and the hotel is typically 45 minutes away. That could make for a rough morning, but thankfully Target has a large transportation bus for his team, allowing him to get a few extra minutes of crucial shut-eye.
“It allows me to get extra sleep and to have our own food, plus it’s nice to be able to cook dinners that suit me best, instead of going out to a restaurant and maybe getting what I want,” Dungey added. “It’s a nice luxury and something Target has helped me out with tremendously and I really feel like it’s had an impact on my racing.”
After a hearty breakfast and maybe some sleep on the bus, Dungey arrives at the track. But his mindset often changes from race to race and he sometimes needs to adjust in preparation.
“Sometimes you could just be in this awesome mood and you wake up and know it’s going to be a good day,” he said. “And then other times, you wake up, you’re ornery and kind of on the edge but it’s always important to keep a positive attitude because it’s just the nature of the sport.”
There’s plenty of time prior to the race for Dungey to get inside of his own head, which can make things a little nerve-wrecking at times, but it just helps build the intensity and excitement. To put it all on the line like he does most Saturdays would frighten most, but it only pushes him harder to prepare.
“I got to remind myself sometimes, you know, you got to have courage,” he confessed. “Sometimes you could be on the gate, nervous and shaking and then all of a sudden you put your goggles on and it’s like if I keep up this attitude, I’m going to fall out there. So you toughen up and take it – and be a man.”
As he gets dressed and suits up, there’s always music playing. As if he isn’t amped up enough at this point, the music provides something to help build the excitement and take his mind off things temporarily. There isn’t one specific style of music Dungey prefers; instead he listens to a wide variety – anything from the current top hits, to Coldplay and even a little bit of hip-hop. Whatever seems to grab his ears’ attention will more than likely wind up stuck in his head while he competes.
From there, it might be a little mingling or maybe a little bit of relaxing, before it’s off to the track.
After the first race, it’s back to the bus right after the podium. Dungey has another race and it’s important for him to refuel in order to be ready to ride once again. He’ll make himself a protein smoothie, followed by a shower and a little bit of stretching, to ensure he’s ready. Race two is followed by awards and a press conference, after which Dungey repeats with another smoothie and shower.
The routine has proven effective for Dungey, who has an impressive résumé that includes a Rookie of the Year award, two 450-class Motocross championships and a Supercross championship.
After expelling all that energy both emotionally and physically, Dungey follows the day up with a big dinner. He doesn’t pig out on fast food or anything like that – instead he remains true to his diet. Some nights he might not get to bed after a competition until 12, but normally it’s early to bed. If not, it’ll make the flight on Sunday morning – which is typically around 6 or 7 p.m. – that much more difficult.
“It might seem like it’s nonstop, but I wouldn’t have it any other way” Dungey said smiling. “If you’re not winning during the week – you’re not winning on Saturday.”
Ed is an MMA/Extreme Sports contributor for CraveOnline Sports. You can follow him on Twitter @PhillyEdMiller, and subscribe at Facebook.com/CraveOnlineSports.
