Indeed. I know many people make the resolution of getting fit for the new year, but it's a good one. Not only for racing purposes, but just life in general.
Happy new year! Or, if your postal carrier is particularly speedy, Happy end of 2024! I’m not sure which is a better milestone, but either way it’s a great excuse to talk about a way to make your car faster. It’s legal in every series and any rulebook. It’s invisible to every tech inspector. It doesn’t cost a cent in parts. And it will even help you live a longer, happier life. I’m talking, of course, about going to the gym.
Every professional racer has a workout routine, and it’s not just so they can look great in promo photos. Racing is a sport, and the simple truth is that athletic drivers are faster than out-of-shape ones.
When endurance racing, a 2-hour stint is basically a 2-hour workout in 100-plus-degree temperatures while wearing a race suit. But even a 20-minute track session is probably a harder workout than most drivers ever encounter in their daily lives.
Workouts like this are exhausting, and exhausted drivers are slower. They make poorer decisions, offer less precise inputs and react more slowly. At the end of the race day, they’re too weak to do the manual labor of fixing the car, then too exhausted to hang out in the paddock with their friends before driving home with aches and pains tormenting them. And back at home, they’re slower and more likely to injure themselves while working in the shop, too.
Most pro racers make their money as driving coaches, and I’ve been stunned by the amount of time they’ve helped me find in every coaching session. So why not hire some help to get stronger, too? I was tired of hurting myself in the shop and tired of setting fast laps early in a stint that then trailed off to mediocrity. It was time to find a fitness coach.
So I hired a personal trainer four years ago, first for FaceTime workouts at home and now for one-on-one sessions in a traditional gym. Prices vary wildly based on where you live, but at least around here I was stunned at how cheap training is. It’s many orders of magnitude cheaper than driver coaching, and unlike pro racers, there are trainers and gyms everywhere, which means plenty of options.
Don’t have a few hundred bucks per month for a trainer? All you really need is some workout equipment, a mirror, discipline and any one of the million free apps/videos/guides/etc. available online.
Another great option is group classes, where a few dozen people work out at set times with a few trainers correcting form. But this doesn’t have to be expensive: You could easily get way stronger than everyone else in the paddock with a $15 Planet Fitness membership and the dedication to use it a few times per week. I tried that and ultimately realized that without a coach to watch my every move, I’d never make any real progress.
Any decent trainer will start by asking your goals, and mine were simple: “I’d like to be able to pick up a Tremec Magnum from the floor and put it on the bench without an engine hoist. And I’d like to be able to race for an hour straight without my lap times increasing.”
I’m 6 feet tall, and at that time, I weighed 150.4 pounds. While I rode my bicycle fairly often and did some manual labor, I had no consistent gym routine and had never learned the basics of safely working out. And all that showed, so his diagnosis was pretty simple: I was just plain weak. The cure, of course, was time in the gym.
So I spent it: 30 minutes a day, three days a week. I learned how to work different muscle groups. How to brace my core and lift safely. And how to keep getting stronger over time, upping the weight and the difficulty. Just like a driving coach, my trainer was there every step of the way, correcting mistakes, quashing bad habits and encouraging me to try harder. I’m nowhere near the perfect student, but I’ve kept making progress.
So, did it work? Well, I’ll start with the bad news: This workout routine is the bare minimum and won’t make anyone look like Arnold Schwarzenegger. I don’t have a six-pack, I’m not a “Big Guy” or anything like that, and I won’t be winning any strong man competitions.
But today, I’m up to 176 pounds but wear a smaller pants size than I did when I started. More importantly, though, I can move a Tremec around by myself in the shop, and I can race at full pace for an hour straight. Then, I can hop out of the car and work on it with a clear head before towing home without the aches and pains I always thought were necessary evils. In short: Working out made me a better racer.
I’m really, truly sorry about writing a column preaching the benefits of going the gym, and the next one will be about cars again (promise!). But if you’re looking for a New Year’s resolution, there’s a reason this is the most common one on the planet.
Indeed. I know many people make the resolution of getting fit for the new year, but it's a good one. Not only for racing purposes, but just life in general.
Apparently, feeling better and living longer are not sufficient motivators for me to exercise but being faster in the race car is.
Chiming in to emphasize the huge variety of options that may be available depending on where you are. Everyone has different preferences, so don't be afraid to try new things to find what works for you.
If you bristle at the idea of additional social interaction after the day at work, going to a traditional gym for some "me-time" can be extremely refreshing (that's my preference). If you want to sneak exercise in as more of a fun hobby or activity with your friends, you can see surprisingly good results from taking up indoor rock climbing or trying a dance class one or two times a week. If you need something in between those things, like a structured workout in a group, there's everything from yoga to Pilates to group HIIT classes or group stationary cycling classes. And YouTube is always a great resource for any kind of at-home workout you could want.
Any additional movement is more beneficial than no additional movement, as long as it's safe and comfortable for your body to do and keep doing. Find your niche and reap the benefits! :)
You left out the part about being in shape makes it much more likely you'll be able to race when you're retirement age.
APEowner said:Apparently, feeling better and living longer are not sufficient motivators for me to exercise but being faster in the race car is.
I know, right? I have a whole new reason to start exercising.
Tom1200 said:You left out the part about being in shape makes it much more likely you'll be able to race when you're retirement age.
QFT. I lived in SW FL for about 15 years-there is a massive difference in the retirees that have a workout routine and those that don't. Not just body, but mind as well.
Out of curiosity are there any racing specific exercises you do? I am pretty consistent with working out but always see F1 drivers doing the reaction lights and neck strength training.
I always wonder if there are some good specific exercises for sports car racers? Anyone have any tips?
In reply to jonnyd330 :
Mostly from what I've seen is endurance training and core workouts. Just doing a round of planks and russian twists regularly makes a difference. There are the specific reaction and neck training exercises but I would call the reaction ones as mental training than physical ones.
My routine and I'm in no way a great driver but just some one who loves cars is 3-4 days cardio and a couple fitness classes each week. The cardio alternates between mountain biking and running depending on the season. I then throw in a kick boxing class mostly for stress release and flexibility and a HIIT class for overall body strength. Overall I spend between 45 minutes to an hour working out with a rest day for recovery as I keep having to remind myself I'm almost 50.
Signed up for a fifty mile mountain bike race last night. Planning on an international distance tri in August. So yes.
Tom1200 said:You left out the part about being in shape makes it much more likely you'll be able to race when you're retirement age.
Absolutely agree with this. I was 62 when I started autocross.
I'm not doing endurance racing, but a full day at an autocross event can be pretty taxing, especially during summer in Florida. The same benefits apply.
I'm also still able to work full time, which may not sound great, but that’s how I can afford my hobby.
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