Snowmobile
Train Like a Pro: Nick Lorenz
Nick Lorenz reveals how he prepares for the high-impact sport of snocross.
Nick Lorenz is a star in the high-speed sport of snocross racing. At speeds of up to 60 mph, he maneuvers his snowmobile around a tight, technical course, expertly threading through a pack and sending it high over a series of jumps. “Racing is high intensity and high heart rate,” he says. Growing up in Kenosha, Wisconsin, Lorenz spent his winters riding snowmobiles out on the trails (and riding motocross bikes in the summer). At age 7 he began racing snowmobiles. “I fell in love with the sport,” he says.
He turned professional when he was 18. After two years of injuries interrupted his progress, Lorenz, now 22, competed in his second full year in the Pro Lite class in 2020. Last February he scored his first pro victory at the Seneca Allegany AMSOIL national championship series event. “When I’m out there on the track, it’s my fitness and my racecraft,” says Lorenz. “It’s all on me.”
RACECRAFT
"A long cardio workout is a good mental test."
"If you get off first, you’re not stuck behind people where you can’t see. With the hole position, I can set the pace for the whole field. I do a lot of testing for starts, and having really good clutching is key. I had a hole-shot device made so that I can practice. It’s a handlebar- and-throttle setup, and I can practice going off a red light.
"I’ll repeat that a few times the week prior to a race and even on race day. It helps me get used to the muscle reflex of hitting the throttle and watching the light disappear.”
STRENGTH
“I strength train twice a week.”
"We stop racing in March, and I typically start training again in May. I have a couple strength days each week. I do a 4,000-meter row or a 2-mile run to start off and get warmed up. I work with kettlebells and do squats and do a lot of body-weight stuff like push-ups. I do a new set every minute for a total of 10 minutes. I also do a lot of knee stability workouts, like single-legged Roman deadlifts, so that I can build balance and strength in that area."
Nick Lorenz
© Ryan Taylor/Red Bull Content Pool
CARDIO
“A long cardio workout is a good mental test.”
“When there’s no snow, I do a lot of work on a rowing machine. I also ride my road or mountain bike for up to two hours. I use the road bike for interval workouts. My motocross bike is a total body workout that’s similar to snocross.
"The dirt bike’s a little easier on the body, so I use it for cross training. It’s good for timing, endurance and in-the-moment decision making. I have a Polar heart rate monitor. I use it to track my sleep schedule and my resting heart rate. Then I know how I need to train the next day."
RECOVERY
"Yoga helps me keep loose."
“After I do a hard workout, I like to stretch and roll out my muscles. Snowmobile racing is super rough on your body. If I’m riding—on test days and riding days—I’ll do yoga afterward.
"If I ride four times a week, I’ll do yoga every night. It gives me flexibility and mobility. It keeps me loose and I just get to know my body more. I’ve had a couple of knee surgeries and other surgeries, so if I don’t stretch and do yoga, I notice it. I wake up the next day and I am a lot tighter."
