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  S I T E   U P D A T E D  4 / 3 / 07                              J I M   M O O D I E   R A C I N G # 2 1

W e l c o m e  t o  Jim Moodie's  w e b  s i t e


Jim's back to serious training. 28-10-04
Words and pictures by Harvey T.

Over the last few years I've always taken it for granted how fit Jim Moodie really is. I've heard it from many others and for a long while I've badgered the man to take me to his favourite gym, until now, with no real result. When he said he was back training, with that lump of scaffolding still erected around his leg, I thought he was pulling my leg. "I had to see this" I told him, and for the first time I was allowed into the Jim Moodie world of fitness, a world that is hard to put into words unless you are seriously into this kind of thing. For that reason I'm beginning to wonder if I've made a mistake and if it's even possible to explain the effort and sheer hard work that Jim puts into his fitness routine.

Anyway, Jim starts off on the cycle machine, working away at a steady speed to warm up his system. He's already dialled in specific settings, settings that allow Jim to measure accurately his progress against previous data. It was clear there was a considerable amount of resistance, making sure he has to work hard to keep the pedals moving and after about 15 minutes Jim ups the pace considerably. Now he was working really hard as if his life depends on it and all the while watching his speed and heart rate through the monitor attached to his wrist. By this time he's working so hard that it takes his heart rate up to a chest bursting 187 beats per minute, eventually slowing down to a steady pace…which was still fast compared to others using the gym. Jim's heart rate recovers very quickly, which is a sure sign of real fitness and what's more, he then starts the whole process again three times over, working every bit as hard as the first time. Jim was loosing a considerable amount of fluid but he doesn't take a drink during this routine, which I thought strange. Well not really, Jim said "you can't have a drink during a race can you" and who can argue with that?

Jim gets those pedals moving real fast.

Below..Don't try this at home unless you know what you're doing.

Because of the leg operation, serious training was out of the question. So it was all the more impressive and I can assure you that no one else was working anywhere near Jim's level and somehow that didn't surprise me one bit. After all, I could only gauge how hard Jim was working by others around him and I did notice that a few were watching what Jim was doing rather than what they were doing. In saying that, the sight of someone working so hard with a high tech Macano set attached to one leg would do the trick.

After around 35 minutes Jim takes a couple of minutes to recover then moves off to start some stretching exercises. All I can say is he gets into some odd shapes and contortions that the photos don't do justice, supple is the only word. He then starts a set amount of sit ups using a ball; a ball I later found out to be heavy when I tried to push it away. The sit ups are done in rapid succession, all designed for high stamina, working the heart as well as the muscles.

Off we go to the next discipline, a machine that in some ways simulates the heavy braking of a race bike. Pushing over 50 pounds each time, at first Jim made this look easy. But he ran up 50 repetitions in quick succession. I was waiting for him to get up and go, but he stops for about a minute or so then does the same again, and again, every bit as quick as the first, digging real deep to finish the reps with control and discipline. Jim said "have a go" and with doing some training years ago I had a fair idea what to expect. Sitting on the machine I pushed the bars away and it became apparent that moving the weight from a standstill was the difficult part, and Jim was doing that in rapid time. I pushed the bar a few times then said "that's enough for me", and it was.


                                               Above right..You can see Jim's working real hard.
                                             Below right..Workout done, you would never know. 


Jim doesn't hang about, he's off to the next apparatus where he pulls a given weight down from above his head and the same routine unfolds. When Jim was finished one of the other members used the machine. I watched this guy pull more weight than Jim, but no where near as many times and he was also using his body weight to start the weight moving with each rep, whereas Jim was using his muscle to move the weight. Now I was beginning to understand the importance of the way the apparatus is actually used and operated. To the uninitiated doing it the wrong way might look impressive, but once you know what to look for it looks clumsy and could lead to injury.

We were over an hour into his routine and there was more to come and once again it was all done with precision and maximum effort. As this was going on, it was becoming clearer how strong and fit Jim really is and there's no way I can do him justice with this article. Jim's whole routine is geared towards stamina combined with the strength to muscle a race bike as fast as possible from the first lap to the very last.

After a 90 minutes non stop workout Jim was finished his routine and asked if it looks like someone who's going to give up racing. No reply was necessary.

The things that impressed me were; Firstly, how hard he was working to what looked like the point of exhaustion. Secondly, how quickly he recovered from that situation, almost as if it never happened. Thirdly, to then go on and do it all again, time after time. Fourthly, I was impressed by the lack of any muscle pump up, the last thing a professional racer needs and testament to Jim's routine. And finally, when we were leaving, Jim looked as if he just popped in for a coffee. Now that was impressive.  If you're serious about general fitness or Motorsport fitness, why don't you check this out.  End.