earlyapex

That not fat. TS and JP have a fourth layer of nomex under their skin. It's genetic.

mark kibort

Here is an EXCELLENT Fitness Definition…

The acceptable and deliberate compromise of competence and ability to perform in ALL the areas of cardiorespiratory endurance, strength, flexibility, power, speed, coordination, agility, balance, accuracy and toughness to produce optimum performance results under the greatest amount of circumstances.

So, race car drivers are not particularly fit, compared to other athletes.
This can't count other athletes when they move over to race car driving and continue their "other" training programs .

JimmiLew

OK, its not EVERYTHING, but is a lot! The reality is its HOT in our cars, and your fatugue resistence has a lot to do with how fit you are. I have seen guys in our club fade as the race enters the final laps, and they are just beat sitiing on their cars hanging their heads after the race. Compare that to Carl Edwards who does backflips off his roof in a victory celebration. Does fitness count here? You bet!

That said, its realy a a balance of skill, strength, cccrdination, esperience, and fitness to round out the the package. IMHO.

JL

mark kibort

I think you are reaching a bit. again, its acclimation, not fitness. Some of the most out of shape, fat guys have won races against much more fit compeitiors.
Happens all the time. Now, the fat out of shape guys cant do backflips off their cars afterwards, and might even need an IV, but they can perform at the same level, albeit not as comfortably.

mk

JimmiLew

I hate getting beat by fat out of shape guys. It just reminds me that they are better drivers!

Next time that happens, I'll ask them if they want to run around the track a couple of times at the end of the day!

JL

BostonDMD

That's it Jimmy..... you going to beat them one way or another........

BTW, will we see you at T-bolt?........

Larry Herman

HA! Now we get to the truth.

mark kibort

Yep,sometimes those out of shape guys are mentally "in-shape", as they are watching videos and analysing telemetry data while you are on a full day of brutalizing your mind and body when not in a race car!

JimmiLew

Thats it! I m done here! Time to go for a bike ride!

Seriously, I have been losing interest in driving these days. It eats a lot of time and costs a lot too. Triathlon is cool as its very challening, good for me, and its cheap. Its a fun challenge!

If I really turned my brain and analyzed data all day long maybe I wouldnt get beat by those portly guys! Till then, we'lll never know!

But my point still stands. being a fit driver is a good thing. Just ask Craig Stanton!

Have fun guys!

JL

LDadrenaline

As someone who has gone from an obese person to a now slightly overweight person (11% drop in bodyfat percentage, 52lbs down since the beginning of this year) all in the name of driving, I can say that it does help. Do I really drive that much better being much more physically fit? ehhhh not much. I can say that in the longer races it definitely helps my mental focus though. Even if some of the NASCAR guys like Tony Stewart look fat, they still do fitness stuff. Obviously not at the level of guys like Martin and Edwards, but they still do it. F1 drivers (as someone said earlier) have a NEED to be stick thin to keep the weight down in the cars. I'm not going to argue on the whole that F1 drivers are in better shape than NASCAR drivers, but to say all of NASCAR sucks because they can't do what F1 drivers do is just stupid.

mark kibort

Ive seen craig crash into tires looking for a powerbar. That guy is a stick and doesnt have enough fat on his body to last a couple of hours in a car without passing out.

Seriously, I agree. Being fit is a good thing, but in racing it is one of many smaller factors.

Have fun on your ride, wasting heart beats that could be used to pump blood and adrenalin while in a race car.

Bull

I beat you?

Crazy Canuck

Congrats. I'm trying to lose a few lbs. myself and it's a challenge.

multi21

Share with the class what you've done to shed the lbs and get in better shape/

wanna911

That is actually opposing your statement. It only shows that you are WELL overconditioned for what you are doing. You could be much less conditioned and still get out the car fresh. You don't need to be as fit as you are.