Interview: Greg Hammond - Concept2

By: ChrisWorden

Posted: 05/12/09

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Words: Chris Worden

It's safe to say that your fitness is as closely related to your success in racing as is the equipment you're riding upon. In motocross you can't just slip by on aftermarket accessories and raw talent alone. That's why many of our sports top athletes are constantly searching with their trainers for new and dynamic ways to prepare their body for the demands that motocross place upon them.

Concept2 is a small company out of Morrisville, Vermont that makes indoor rowing machines that are proving to make a huge difference in the fitness and general physical preparedness of our sports top athletes (think Stewart, Dungey, Voss). Greg Hammond handles the motor and action sports training for Concept2. He's been doing some great things for the motorcycle industry in the last few years so I thought I'd take a minute to catch up with him and see what's next.

Explain a bit about what you do at Concept2 and how long you've been involved with the company.
The fancy title is "Director of Motor and Action Sports training" but I do everything from Police and Fire sales to Public Relations and even work closely with the Military, CrossFit and the MMA communities. I have a degree in Health Science and had my own business right out of college doing corporate wellness but missed working with serious athletes. I then came to Concept2 in 1996 and have been here ever since.

You also ride a bit of moto/off-road, how often do you get out to ride?
I started as a kid at the age of 10 because my uncles all were into dirt bikes and trials riding. I had a bunch of open trails to ride right behind my house so getting out riding was easy. Even with work I still try to get out at least twice a week to ride in the woods. I have always had the fitness but I am constantly trying to improve my skills. My goal is to be that old guy you see riding at 80 years old with the same smile he had on his face as when he was on his first Honda Z50!

Heath Voss readies himself for the next moto on the Concept2 erg.

Tell us a bit about Concept2's involvement in the motorcycle industry.
I went to my bosses about 2 years ago with a proposal to try and get the word out about how well the indoor Rower works for all types of motorcycle racing, from MX and off-road to MotoGP. It was a tough sell because I am the only person at Concept2 that rides and is a self proclaimed moto nut. Concept2 has a huge respect for athletes that are willing to go all out for their sport and motocross has some of the most amazing athletes I have seen in any discipline. My philosophy has always been if you have to work you should make it something you enjoy doing and indoor rowing and riding is such a great fit that it really came pretty easy. Plus how bad can a job be when you get to hang with the Nitro Circus and go to Supercross, Loretta Lynn's and some of the outdoor nationals. Pretty sweet huh?

Drop a few names on us, who are some of the pro's out there pulling away on a rower to stay fit?
This was a lot easier to do a year ago. Now we have so many I unfortunately brain cramp of some names. Some of the first riders in moto were Pastrana, Stewart, Carmichael, Windham, Voss, Dungey, Canard; some of the teams are KTM Muscle Milk, Joe Gibbs racing, and Motosport Kawi. In the fast growing off-road market we have Destry Abbott, Kurt Caselli, and Justin Soule, Jamie Lanza and Billy Burns and that list changes by the day. Once these guys try the rower they figure out that it is definitely going to help their performance. We also are growing in MotoGP and up here in the north many Snocross riders are starting to train on the rower too.

James Stewart's tricked out Model E rower. Customization done by Man & Machine

Would you recommend rowing as a form of training for the average moto guy, or does it only benefit the super-fit?
One of the cool things about the rower is that it benefits everybody. We sell our rowers to everyone from Middle schools to the US Navy SEALs. The area I see benefitting the most is in the amateur class because they have real lives and can't afford expensive trainers and the time to work out for 3 hours a day. As for the Super-fit it works well because no matter how "hardcore" you are you can't beat the machine.

If I've either got a rower in my home, or access to one in my local gym, what is the best way to use rowing as a cross-trainer for motocross?
The best way to get started is to just get on and row. Every muscle has to fire to do the rowing motion and this is why it works so well. I would then try and do a 15 minute workout to start and see how many meters you get. The goal is to build up both time and intensity and you will do this with a combination interval training and moto length over distance. If you can get on a rower 3 to 4 times a week for 15 – 40 minutes you will see and feel results quickly.

Concept2 rowers are all over Loretta Lynn's pits.

You had a cool setup at Loretta's last year challenging people to a "500 fly and die," what is that and how does this fitness challenge relate to one's fitness?
As a trainer the "Fly and Die" would not be a normal workout. What it does give you is instant respect for what the machine can do for you and to you. The whole idea is to see how fast you can row 500 meters. The "no pain switch guys" guys can do it in the 1 min 20 sec. range most good athletes will get in the 1 min 30 sec. to 1 min. 40 sec range. It is a good tool to test anaerobic threshold but as far as training for Moto there are many, many workouts that you should do to prepare the body for racing. Things like race pace heart rate training and pre-race warm-ups.

Will you be doing this again at next year's race?
I will defiantly be there. Loretta's is awesome. I love the racing and the people I meet are great. I also get to hang with my buddies from RiderDown.org, RacerX Virtual Trainer and trainers like Greg DiRenzo, Robb Beams, Seiji Ishii and the DMXS radio guys. Many of the amateurs I meet at Loretta's actually know more and train harder than some of the pro's and they do this while going to school and working full time jobs! It is amazing. They are the unsung heroes of our sport.

Thanks for your time, Greg.
Thanks!

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