The Wide World of Auto Racer’s Fitness. Let’s Get this Magazine acting more “Magazinee”

 

Recently, we left off with the observation that Racers who fail to workout are leaving themselves vulnerable in a very competitive sport.  We also discussed that there are numerous tools to achieve our fitness goals and that Racers Workout is my favorite, but it isn't the only one.  There is indeed a Wide World of Auto Racers Fitness and it is getting wider and more information rich by the day. I want to spend a couple days sampling news and articles from all over the racing world about the direction the sport is headed.

There are a couple big things I want to accomplish for you here: 1. Simplify the finding and exchange of information if you happen to be searching (and you should be if you want to improve and win) and 2. Give you access to ideas. We talked before about how powerful a great idea can be if you are willing to keep learning. As hard as it is for me and my big old ego to admit, I do not have the market cornered on great ideas. I have the best package for Racers Fitness and the only Online Racers Fitness Magazine on the planet, but I don't own the market on new or innovative ideas. We're all better for the fact that people are always seeking new and better ways. I want you to have access to whatever I can find because it might make all the difference between great success or being the guy sliding helplessly off the ski jump platform.

My colleague Troy Eichers from http://trainingbytroy.com recently attended a The National Strength and Conditioning Conference in Vegas and sat in on a presentation entitled "Strength and Conditioning for America's Largest Sport: Stock Car Racing." The presenter's name was Dr. William Ebben. Troy told me that not only is Dr. Ebben a very smart guy holding a PHD working directly with The University of Wisconsin System in their human performance departments, but he is also a stock car racer. I want to thank Troy for sharing the material with me and allowing me to report my thoughts to you. I think very highly of Troy and I hope you'll check out what he is doing with training and peak performance.

Among the specific recommendations for Auto Racing Fitness training for max results, Dr. Ebben made the following suggestions:

--in lower body training, try to train both for quick movements (running, leg press at a high pace) and for sustained isometric holding (slow squats, yoga holds) The holds being especially important for max strength and control in applying sustained pedal pressure.

--He talked at length about core strength being of emerging importance. This keeps with much of what we see in Racers Workout where we place heavy emphasis on these muscle groups. Our reasoning has always been that it promotes durability and prevents injury to the back.

--Regarding upper body, Dr. Ebben suggested performing exercises in the seated position as a variation. This serves to promote strength and endurance at the wheel. A great idea and an easy variation to make within your Racers Workout program.

--Dr. Ebben gave startling statistics of the overall total body endurance demands required in the sport. Basically reinforcing the known fact among the community that race car drivers are elite athletes with unique athletic skill sets. He highly recommended interval training to simulate the consistent oxygen needs of driving and also preparing a Racer for the sudden bursts where higher exertion is needed.

--Worth noting that Dr. Ebben also talked about the psychological demands of the sport and proposed that Racers practice concentrating for long periods on one thing and also that workouts be intentionally hard for both the physical and mental benefits (overcoming adversity)

Overall, I was very pleased about how we did with The Racers Workout after reading what was said by Dr. Ebben. There is still more to do and improve on though. Beware of anyone who says they are perfect. They are perfectly set up to fail.

"Paging Dr. Tate. Dr. Ebben Paging Dr. Tate"

Athletes and Twitter are a lot like good wine. A glass done at the appropriate time is fine and even beneficial. Too much of it can lead to lots of bad outcomes. Which brings us to the case of Seattle Seahawks Football Wideout Golden Tate and his pronouncement on Twitter in conjunction with the Wednesday's ESPY Awards that attempted in one 5 second burst of ignorance to lay waist to all the hard work of sports scientists like Dr. Ebben.

"Jimmy johnson up for best athlete???? Um nooo .. Driving a car does not show athleticism...." proclaimed a participant in a sport where there is less then 20 minutes of actual competitive movement in a 60 minute game.

Now, we've been down this road before. But if you want to see me in action on twitter trying to help Mr. Tate along the path of evolved thinking, check it out. (Here is the budurl link to the article from the Auto Racers Workout Magazine a few weeks ago talking about the sad myth that Racers aren't athletes. The first one I sent him seen in the twitter thread was wrong so ignore it)

1. @ShowtimeTate http://budurl.com/nsjq This is an article published in My Auto Racers Fitness Mag. talking about Athleticism of Racers.about 3 hours ago via web
2. @ShowtimeTate Racing is athletically demanding and requires very special athletic skill sets just as football does in it's own way.about 3 hours ago via web
3. @ShowtimeTate Saw you at Notre Dame. I have trained pro auto racers like Kasey Kahne. It's a different athleticism than the field sports.about 4 hours ago via Tweet Button

LIke I said in the caption above, we all should be thanking Golden because you know a lot of athletes and fans of the field sports are thinking and saying the same thing. Let's get the issue out there and let them see what guys like Dr. Ebben are saying. People who have raced just once know the truth but science is starting to give us some real data.

Just Cool

Saw these on Facebook yesterday from Pennsylvania Racer Randy Kaylor. I want one. I can't help it. Why does it seem that the local Racers (usually with the smaller budgets) come up with the coolest designs for Racing shirts and gear. Friend Randy over on Facebook. I am hoping he'll send me an email telling me about his team and how he got that built up, so I can share it with you. I get as many questions about getting sponsors and building a race team as I do about fitness.

 

Filed under: Product Reviews • Workout Tips

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