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The
Motostik
By Tim Crytser
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Nick McClintock
- Huntington Beach California
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This
year at the Indy Dealer Trade show as I was walking around admiring all
of the incredible bikes, toys and equipment, when I came across a booth
with a product that I had seen advertised in magazines. It was the
Motostik and I have always wondered if the Motostik was a serious
training tool or just a fun toy to play with. If you are not familiar
with this product, it is a pogo stick hopped up on steroids. This is
definitely not your typical pogo stick that you might have envisioned
from when you were a kid. This stick is modern and looks very moto.
They come in red, yellow, green, blue and of course KTM orange. It even
has a number plate. Very cool indeed. But again, was it a serious
training tool or just a shiny new toy with a moto flavor? I stopped by
the booth and was greeted by the owners Marc and Laura Matson and
introduced myself to them and told them about the Virtual Trainer
website. Not long after talking to them they had me up on one of the
sticks and away I went. Honestly, at the trade show I was still up in
the air as to whether this product could be used in a serious training
program.
Once I got home from the show, I surfed on over to the
Motostik website
and
started clicking around.
They
have a nice website, simple to navigate and full of tons of pics and
videos of kids doing some pretty cool stuff on the Motostik. I was
intrigued and decided to investigate further as to whether the stick
could be used for training. I called Marc and Laura to tell them I
wanted to review the Motostik and post it on the web. I made no
promises as to the outcome of the test, other than I would tell people
what I thought. They agreed and a few days later my Orange KTM colored
Motostik was sitting on my front porch ready for action.
A Little
History
The legend of the pogo stick dates back to just before World War I, when
a German traveler stopped at a small village in Burma, where he sought
lodging with a poor farmer. The farmer told his visitor that his
daughter, Pogo, wanted to go to temple each day to pray, but couldn't
because she had no slippers to walk through the mud and rocks. Unable to
buy his daughter shoes, the poor farmer fashioned a crude jumping stick,
by attaching a short stick to the bottom of a longer pole. After
practicing on the stick for days, Pogo became proficient enough to hop
the stones and mud puddles on the path to the temple.
The German, returning to his country, attached a spring to the wooden
stick to improve the bounce. In 1919, Gimbel Bros. Department Store
imported a shipload of German pogo sticks to the United States, only to
find that humidity had warped the wood and made them useless. Gimbel
then asked Hansburg, a baby furniture and toy designer living in
Illinois, to come up with a better pogo stick.
He came up with an all-metal, enclosed-spring pogo, painted it and began
producing it himself in a factory in Elmhurst, N.Y. The Pogo stick is
still around today and much like rowing there is a whole world of Pogo
fanatics in the world.
The
Test
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Yours Truly the
first time on a Pogo Stick!
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The
first thing I noticed when I opened the contents of the package was that
my new Motostik looked as cool this time as it did in Indy. Within 5
minutes I had the stick unpacked with the handle bars mounted and was
ready to start jumping. At first, it took a little getting used to but
after about 15 minutes of figuring it out I was ready to strap on my
heart rate monitor and see where this thing would take me. Would I be
able to effectively achieve and maintain a good heart rate or would this
prove to be just another shiny new toy to play with? To achieve a good
heart rate and call this toy a training tool I was shooting for a
heart rate between 130 to 155. 130 is my lower Zone 2 (60-70% max
heart rate) and 155 puts me at the top of my Zone 3 (70-80% max heart
rate). If I could achieve those numbers plus get a good total body
workout, I would call the Motostik a training tool and not a toy.
Balance
and Coordination
It was abundantly clear once I got going that this was harder
than it looked. I could immediately see the cross over benefits of
training with the Motostik for motocross. Balance is very important not
only in motocross but just about any sport. The Motostik requires
tremendous balance and I could easily see how this tool could develop
that area of fitness. If nothing else the Motostik is worth its weight
in gold for developing coordination and balance. Another area that I
thought was unique to this product was the use of timing. Jumping up
and down is one thing, but getting the timing down to really soar was
tough and moving forward would have to wait until I logged a few more
hours. I could see this helping on the track in times you need to
pre-load before a jump or coordinate your body in the right position
through a whoop section. Timing and coordination are two areas that are
seriously overlooked in most training protocols.
As I passed the 5 minute mark my heart rate was definitely climbing. At
first I was a little disappointed that it was only in the 120's, but as
I got better and started to string more jumps together, my heart rate
started to climb. Within the first 15 minutes I was able to achieve and
maintain a heart rate of 152. As I was jumping, I noticed another great
benefit unique to the Motostik. I was getting an upper body feeling of
work that I normally only feel when I am riding. No other piece of
equipment I have used has more closely mimicked what I feel while on the
bike. My hands, forearms, and back were definitely getting a workout.
I suspect my legs will get a better workout as my ability on the
Motostik improves.
Incorporating the MotoStik into Your Routine
It didn't take me long to start formulating possible workouts in my
mind. I could envision placing cones on the floor to maneuver around,
pogoing up and down the street at various speeds, and trying to jump as
high as possible developing explosive power in my legs. During my 45
minutes session I combined jumping with some pushups and
core work and quickly developed a total body workout that would be
beneficial to any rider. I can see how the Motostik will be beneficial
especially in the pre and in-season periods.
The
Pogo World
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Jeff Emig
checking out the Motostik!
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Since
this was the first Pogo I had ever been on I was curious to see what the
Pogo world had to say about it. I found a review on
xpogo.com
and
was not surprised to see that they love it. Read some of the other
reviews and you will see that these guys don't pull any punches when it
comes to reviews. This is what they had to say:
System:
It has an internal set of springs. You can adjust the spring tension
with a knob on top to optimize it for the weight of the jumper. Because
the spring chamber is enclosed, it also has a small amount of pneumatic
pressure to help with the jump. This is also, without a doubt, the
quietest stick I've ever used.
Strengths: Lots of
strengths on this stick. It is very, very durably built. Bent shafts and
other problems that occur often on other sticks aren't a worry with the
Motostik. It's adjustable. The construction allows for easy
modifications and addition of after market accessories. It gets a little
bit more air than the Gravity Games stick.
Weaknesses: The handle
bars are very wide. For freestyle jumping you'll probably want to cut
the handle bars down about 4 inches on either side. The straight stick
design and the fact that it's directional (has a front and back) also
limits trick versatility a little bit.
I
guess it is safe to say that the Motostik is well received in the Pogo
World.
Now I'm
Hooked
I highly recommend the Motostik and give it a
rating of wide open.
The possibilities and combinations of routines that can be put together
are limitless. I also think this would be a fantastic tool for warming
up at the races. I have been told by several riders that the main
reason they don't warm up at the track is because they feel silly doing
pushups, calisthenics, and running in place. Well with the Motostik,
people will just think you are playing around when in fact you are doing
the most important thing before any race; warming up. In the 45 minutes
that I tried the Motostik, 3 of my neighbors and a bunch of neighborhood
kids congregated in my driveway. They all tried the Motostik and had a
great time until the sun went down. Incorporating the Motostik into
your workout will improve your coordination, balance, timing and cardio
conditioning as well as put a huge smile on your face. A lot of times
the workouts that are the most beneficial are the most boring. Not the
case here. Visit the
Motostik website to purchase your next piece of training equipment.
Jump, Jump, Jump...... Jump Around!
Check out this
Very Cool Video
.
That's
it for now, so until next time, good luck with your training and, as
always, VT can be reached anytime at
crytset@comcast.net
In
addition, be sure and check out the Racer X Virtual Trainer
archive section
, your
complete one-stop information zone for motocross fitness. 
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