Motocross training methods to help with the dreaded arm pump.

- Ride regularly. This is obviously the best form of motocross training but it can be hard to find the time and money to do it. Regular riding exercises and conditions the muscles in your forearms.

- Stretch your forearms before you ride. Stretching should always be part of your motocross fitness regime anyway but it helps to pay special attention to the parts of your body that will be doing the most work.

Sit on your bike and put your hands in front of you like you're stopping traffic. Have your hands below the level of your handlebars and put the tips of your fingers against your grips. Now press against the grips, you'll feel the muscles in the underside of your forearms stretch.

- Don't wear tight gloves. Make sure the wristbands of your gloves aren't too tight, the same goes for the cuffs of your riding jersey. Any tight fitting gear around your wrists will restrict blood flow.
- Control set-up. Make sure your controls are set up properly. The standard is to have your brake and clutch lever in line with your forearms when you're in the attack position. Having them in the wrong spot can make them hard to reach and mess your body positioning up.

- Exercise your forearms. Hold a squeeze ball or a piece of soft foam and clench your hand and then release. Do this until your forearm starts to ache then swap hands. Something I found that really helped me with forearm pump was using a boxing speedball. I put one up in my shed and would exercise on it for about 10-15 minutes most days. It also helps with upper body strength, endurance and general motocross fitness.

- Get your blood flowing. Before you ride go for a short brisk walk or some other type of activity to get your blood flowing. If it's a cool day be sure to keep yourself warm.

- Try using smaller diameter handgrips. I use Renthal Medium Full Diamond grips. Because they don't have a waffle pattern they are easier to get your hands around particularly when you've got short fingers like me!

Forearm pump is a problem suffered even by the pro riders and while regular motocross training helps you will probably always suffer some degree of it. Always try to ride smoothly and pick good lines, the problem gets much worse when you're tense and making mistakes. If you can, ride as much as possible, time on the bike helps with both arm pump and motocross fitness.

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