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Cardio Training for The Track...

Cardio Training for The Track...
By Ilya Feynberg (c)

Your cardio training is one of most crucial elements of your training…so listen up!

As you’ve already read above (or should have anyway); cardio training will strengthen the muscles that are involved in respiration thus greatly improving your ability to get oxygen into the needed muscles, heart and lungs. This combined with the fact that cardio training increases your ability to expel waste (CO2) and you’ve got a training method that will greatly improve your endurance. Now remember that huge muscles are not needed to drive a car on the limit, not to mention that the added unnecessary weight gain will hamper the cars ability to perform. Instead the goal has and always will be to increase muscles strength to just enough, and then to get your muscles to work to the maximum for an entire race weekend under intense pressures.

There are three main types of cardio exercise techniques that a driver can utilize to his/her advantage. These are:

Cycling/Mountain Biking/Gym bike

Running/Jogging/Walking/Sprinting/Treadmill

Gym Stairmasters/Swimming

Each exercise technique has its own advantages and disadvantages, which are dependent on the driver’s preferences and safety issues. For example:

Cycling is great way to gain more endurance and can be fun to do as well. But it can have its drawbacks; bikes can get expensive (but you don’t need an expensive bike), it can also get boring and mundane when your constantly riding alone in the same cycling venues.

With mountain biking, boredom is not a problem that you’ll have to worry about, as a good deal of adrenaline is involved. While mountain biking is great for building endurance, muscles and conditioning, it too has its drawbacks. The bikes like cycling can get expensive, and injury is something of a bigger risk when mountain biking then when simply cycling, after all your almost never on level asphalt. One point that I do want to make on equipment costs is that you do not need a top of the line cycle or mountain bike to perform your these exercises. While $5,000 bikes are wonderful, they’re simply not a requirement. I started out with a $280 mountain bike that I used and enjoyed for almost 2 years.

The gym bike is always easy to get to and use and with a gym membership, very cheap in comparison. Using the gym bike also holds a very slim chance of injury; you’d have to perform the exercise totally wrong for this to happen. However the gym bike is probably the most boring exercise method known to man kind, and as a result your motivation to constantly hop on and do your cardio for the day might diminish rather quickly. However, if you’re more disciplined and focused then average and enjoy the bike…well…by all means.

Running, jogging and sprinting are all a great ways of getting your cardio exercises, but too have their drawbacks. Running puts a decent amount of strain on the muscles, tendons, ligaments and bones of the body and can lead to injury or overtraining quickly enough if not balanced out with other exercise techniques. However these exercises are the cheapest to perform and have the highest cost to effectiveness ratio, just make sure you set your cardio training up just right to avoid overtraining and injury.

While swimming is nothing new to cardio training, the use of the Stair Master or Stair Climbing machine is a rather new trend that’s catching on rather quickly. While the Stair Master Machines can be found in just about any decent gym (in the cardio room/section) they too have they’re benefits and drawbacks. The Stair Master is a great tool for your cardio workouts and will definitely help get you into great cardiovascular shape, not to mention a good workout for your legs and calves. Even this exercise technique has its drawbacks however. For instance, the Stair Master should not be the only cardio exercise that makes up your cardio routine, since it can cause excessive knee and joint wear overtime. Also, gym cardio machines like the stair master, treadmill, gym bike etc… while great exercise tools can be a boring and tedious way of going about your cardio training.

Swimming is a fantastic exercise for building up your cardiovascular endurance and unlike other exercises has fewer and more simple drawbacks and is also a rather inexpensive exercise to perform. Swimming is easy on the muscles and joints and the only real drawbacks are going to be a lack of variety in your routine, and some safety issues (which we will go into in the swimming portion). Swimming also will not work the legs and calves as extensively as other cardio exercises will.

Let’s take a more in depth and detailed look into the different variations of cardio training…

photo by maHidoodi

Driving Alone is NOT Enough!!

Driving Alone is NOT Enough!!
By Ilya Feynberg (c)

It can not be stressed enough, that driving alone is NOT enough to advance your physical conditioning, and yet it is a very important part of your training…if not one of the most important parts. While you train your physical body for endurance and strength, you can not get the same mental edge and practice as you can by actually being on track and driving.

You have to look at it from the perspective that you train outside the car and away from the track to build the ability to respond for the needed stresses of racing, BUT the actual act of driving is essential to fine tune your skills and body to make the whole package come together. In the coming chapters of Fastlane Fitness we will go into greater detail of how to accomplish this, and put the whole package together.

photo by nahtanoj

The need to be fit...and why driver's just don't understand

The need to be fit...and why driver's just don't understand
By Ilya Feynberg (c)

Ok, so we now know (or at least should know) that driving and physical conditioning go hand in hand and are such a powerful combination. Yet, everyday I'll get some sort of response from a fellow driver that goes something like this "I'd rather be investing my time and money in making my car/kart go faster then worrying about my how fit I am". Um...ok...and when your performance starts to drop off half way through the race, you can't focus anymore, your muscles are shot, and the now "slower" cars/karts are on your rear end ready to pass you...you and your super fast car/kart have now become worthless. NEVER underestimate the importance of physical conditioning, it will beat you and I promise you'll learn the hard way. Sure, you can probably get away with it in some very novice and junior series, but when it comes time to drive among the big boys, passing the entire package is what separates the boys from the men. Look into the works of any winning race team and driver package and you'll see how much emphasis they place on physical conditioning...even for the pit crew! If you want to stand a chance, you better raise your game! Are you fit enough to race?

Is physical Conditioning really that important for racing?

Is physical Conditioning really that important for racing?
By Ilya Feynberg (c)

This is a question that I receive more then any other…and to answer it directly, YES! It is very important for a driver to be in his/her best possible physical shape to truly out race the competition. The best drivers are always the ones who know how to put all the pieces of the puzzle together, and more importantly…know why they need to. Just as the package that a team brings for the race weekend must be the fastest in order to win, so does the actual driver package have to be the strongest.

It used to surprise me how many “regular folk” or non- racers never considered motor sports as an actual sport and still don’t. That’s okay, but what still surprises and frankly shocks me still to this day is how many of “our folk” or racers don’t fully understand that racing is a real sport. Um…hello…it’s motor SPORTS for a reason. Driving a race car under the pressures of a race is just as demanding as playing soccer or playing American football, in fact even more so. What’s so disappointing is to see how many drivers don’t pay attention to how they feel while driving the car and when they get out, if they did they would notice the need for such training. Your pace drops off a quarter or half way through the race for a reason, just like when you get up the next morning and your awfully sore. Your muscles, respiratory system, and mind are being used extremely hard and if you’re not in proper shape, your muscles, respiratory system and mind is being pushed way beyond its limit.

When a driver increases their physical readiness to race they open up a whole new world of opportunities for themselves on and off the track. Just think about it for a moment….if you can stay on the ball and be extremely quick in ALL stages of the race weekend without tiring, how much more of and edge do you have over those drivers who are not in proper physical shape? What if you can remain focused throughout the entire length of the race weekend and be at your optimum mind function, all the way from the first practice lap, to media relations, and to the checkered flag on race day. It’s not enough to just posses talent or desire to win anymore. Those who posses all the qualities of a great package and work hard to achieve them will always come out on top.

Training hard to get into proper physical shape specifically for motor sports is not something most drivers are used to, and as a result the transition might be difficult. Not everyone posses that burning desire and discipline to do everything within their power to become a champion, that’s why there can only be one. The question is….do you have the drive?

Photo by Eagle Shooter

Fitness in Motor Sports Today

Fitness in Motor Sports Today
By Ilya Feynberg (c)

The Ferrari F1 team spends a little over $1 million a season to make sure that their drivers are in peak physical condition….

Mclaren Mercedes F1 spends $2 million on various programs, trainers, and in house gym’s, all to make sure that their drivers can not only endure, but excel in the most demanding conditions possible……the race car…

NASCAR driver Tony Stewart has a personal trainer that goes everywhere Tony does….


Yet, somehow the “non-pro” driver seems to totally miss the mark when it comes to realizing the incredible impact that fitness has on his/her performance on track. While many aspiring drivers easily see the steps that high profile teams and drivers take to make sure that they are in top physical condition to race, very few seem to understand why, and most importantly why they too should take part in something that can so dramatically improve their driving that the world’s best teams spend millions on.

The demands of modern racing are not for the faint of heart, that’s why only a few excel at the sport. One very linear and constant variable that you’ll find throughout the whole field of top drivers, whether NASCAR or Formula 1, is that the best drivers are always the most fit. Why do they have to be fit? Simple, because if their not, the demands that racing exerts on the human body will drive them to failure on track….literally. With cockpit temperatures easily exceeding 125 degrees Fahrenheit (or 52 degrees Celsius), up to 5 g’s during turns, and braking that will have you looking at your knees within a second and you start to realize that the demands of modern motor sport are a lot like those of running a marathon with some space shuttle adventures mixed in.

You don’t have to be in the pro ranks to understand the need for fitness in the motor sports arena. You can feel it for yourself every time you race, and witness it from the sidelines. Whether you race just for fun at local track events or are a future world champion, fitness will play a very critical role in your ability to perform consistently on track.

Becoming fit to race and increasing a drivers performance on track is not an easy task but a necessary one for any driver. There are four main areas of fitness that a driver must look into to and create a training program out of. These are:



Cardiovascular fitness

This area of physical conditioning is without doubt one of the most crucial to increasing a driver’s fitness level and on track performance. Cardiovascular fitness refers to improving the overall fitness of the lungs and heart, which in turn gives those vital organs the ability of taking in higher levels of oxygen and essential nutrients to the proper muscles far more efficiently. Cardiovascular exercise also greatly increases the strength and overall tone of the skeletal structure.


Endurance Training

Structuring an endurance training program as a driver can be of great benefit if done properly. Endurance programs for driver’s can be a tricky area of training as it requires a very considerable amount of time, planning and carries the possibility of increased risk of injury. However, since muscle and respiratory fitness as well as endurance during long and hot (or cold) races are what the aim is….it could be a program that’s incorporated into a fitness regime. In turn, you will reap the benefits of the extra hard work put it.


Weight Training

Weight training is the form of exercise that develops strength and size of the muscles in the skeletal structure. While it is the most common form of resistance training, it is not the only form. Weight training focuses on the strength and growth of the muscles needed to drive and control a race car from start to finish. This area of fitness is very important. Cardiovascular training alone is not enough to develop muscles and to instill the right amount of endurance into them. However, weight training programs for racers must be structured differently as the goal is not size, weight gain and mass brute strength. The goal is to develop the muscle so that it can withstand constant abuse and work throughout the entire race weekend at peak levels.


Mental Training

As if physical training and conditioning wasn’t overlooked enough by racers in the motor sports arena…mental training is even more of a hidden secret. Developing and perfecting the right mental mindset is critical and not an easy task to tackle. Proper mind set up is not only curial to stand up to the pressures of the sport, but also to simply get into shape. The mind is a very powerful wonder that can become a great asset to a driver’s efforts, or become his/her worst enemy. From the first run down the dirt trail for your cardio, the last repetition in your weight training routine to the final lap of the race weekend…mental fitness plays a much larger role then meets the eye.

If you’re still not convinced that proper physical conditioning plays a major role in the performance level of a driver and are not currently involved in any training programs specific to racing, then go out for a race among fit and successful drivers…..I promise you that your mind will change half way through the race weekend.

Stay updated as more valuable articles and information on structuring and increasing driver performance are coming soon!

Photo by TMWolf