With the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona just around the corner, it’s time to start thinking about physical conditioning! Actually, the conditioning process is ongoing, and I ramped up my training several months ago in preparation for Daytona and the 2017 season.
For me, it started right after Petit LeMans in October. I wasn’t doing physical conditioning as much as actual weight training to build specific muscle groups needed for racing. As an example, your neck and shoulder muscles as well as your forearms and hands require extra training for racing. Even your hips need extra training because they connect your legs to your upper body in the car, and they go through a tremendous amount of lateral load to keep your legs in the correct position on the pedals.
After several weeks of weight training, I started to incorporate some of the intense conditioning back into my routine along with targeted exercises that help delay the onset of fatigue while driving. Conditioning also helps to decrease recovery time so I can get back in the car for another stint after a short break. You can see a video of the type of conditioning I do here.
Now that we’re a couple of weeks out from the race, it’s time to really target those specific muscle areas. With our new Mazda RT24-P chassis, all the drivers have found new areas that are sore points in that car as opposed to our previous Prototype chassis because, among other things, the seating position is different and the downforce levels are higher. We had enough seat time at the Roar that I know specifically what I will be working on leading up to the race to ensure I’m well-prepared physically.
The conditioning has been elevated over the last several weeks, but I’ll start to tone that down going into race week so that my body has enough recovery time to be well rested.
If you’re looking for more specific training expertise for your own driving, you can always go to treyshannon.com/fitness. Folks up north can check out Jim Leo at PitFit.com, a very well known trainer for Indy car drivers, including my two teammates Spencer Pigot and James Hinchcliffe.