Mark Dreyer

I received one of those wrist pedometer devices for Christmas. I have been striving to do at least 10,000 steps/day. On cardio days at the gym this is usually possible with 45 minutes on an elliptical, my normal walking around during the day, then my typical evening one mile walk around the lake. That routine typically puts me at between 10-12k steps.

Now the racing relevance. The past two days I attended the Skip Barber 2 day advanced race school. The second day featured 5 thirty minute lapping sessions. My walking didn't amount to much, however, somehow or another what I was doing in the race car registered as steps to the tune of over 16k steps that day. During normal city driving, no steps are registeredn this device.

Certainly I was physically exhausted as is usually the case after a full day on the track, and I thought I'd pass along this (hopefully) interesting anecdote. Not sure if the pedometer was accurately reflecting the exertion, but I'd like to think so!

ProCoach

I've seen that on the FitBit and Nike FuelBand as well. Amazing...

Veloce Raptor

Mark, did you catch yourself holding your breath at all in the car?

Mark Dreyer

Dave, no I didn't catch myself doing that. Doesn't mean I wasn't of course.

Mark Dreyer

Peter, my device is the Fitbit Force. BTW, one of my fellow students is a Ferrari owner. He has a Challenge car, and he mentioned your name in the context of coaching. The Skip Barber instructor remarked that you are "one of the best".

ProCoach

That's cool. Thanks!

Mark Dreyer

A funny story told by one of the instructors. He was doing a school for some special forces guys, and he was wheeling them around the track at speed in the van. One of the guys looked a bit disturbed. The instructor asked if he was ok. The special forces guy said "I can slit your throat, throw you out of this van, and be in your seat in 2 seconds. SLOW THE FVCK DOWN!"

RickBetterley

As an instructor, that would definitely get my attention.

Veloce Raptor

I have trained a bunch of "those guys (and gals)" and generally they are very uneasy when I give them the fast & furious ride with all 3 rows of seats filled in the up-armored Tahoe or Suburban

Mark Dreyer

He put that maxi van into turn one at probably 50-60 mph. I wouldn't have thought that vehicle could do that.

Phokaioglaukos

Various large government employees train at Summit Point. One of the instructors there told me about an exercise they do to show the trainees why they do not train firing from the windows while performing evasive or aggressive driving, including J turns. They do a demonstration and ask the trainees to watch what their muzzles cover. Despite their best efforts they cover their buddies and the driver. The takeaway is that it's not like in the movies.

ajcjr

Cool info. I do not wear a pedo but i do wear my heart rate monitor while working out, playing ice hockey and a few times at work just to see my calories burned and heart rate during different activities. I know many motocross riders wear a heart rate monitor while training and riding their dirt bike, has anyone experimented with one in a race car? And if so what can you learn from it.

The only reason i am asking this is because i have seen some drivers who are over weight(out of shape) that are very fast. I have been working hard on my cardio and core strength, i know it will not make my driving faster but i am assuming it will help me while being in the car, yes, no??? I also train to be healthy but just wondering what advantage it has when racing.

An example of this may be Tony Stewart compared to Jenson Button. Tony eats soda cookies and Jenson competes in triathlons, could tony be just as fast in a car as Jenson?

ProCoach

Ha! A subject near and dear to my heart! Not for the right reasons, either.

Obese and less fit drivers may (and some do) function at a very high level, but for a very short time.

Cardio and core strength allow better endurance and the ability to hold your body up. Instead of steadying your upper body by your grasp of the wheel, causing tight shoulders, tight neck and huge fatigue, you can relax more easily and "feel" what the car is doing with your fingers, as well as maintain your head upright for better visual gauging.

Most of all, better aerobic and strength fitness will allow your mind to be more relaxed and less distracted by the shifts and forces acting on your body mass. You can drive better and with less mistakes, longer.

I'm in the middle of the newest Haynes Publishing release "Motorsport Fitness Manual" and it is incredible.

I'm fat. Morbidly obese. I'm not proud of it and it has gotten in my way of enjoying my racing so much that I have decided to work on me this year.

I can still do high :52's at Lime Rock, high :21's to mid :22's at Thunderbolt and 2:01's at VIR in a thirty year old, 150 bhp sports racer with 6" wide front, 8" wide rear slicks weighing nearly 1370 lbs with me in it.

But I can only do a few laps... That sucks. But I can fix it.

Spyerx

My wife has a Nike Fuel Band, 2 hours of canyon driving with her as passenger and hers will read 8-10k steps. Often she's taking a nap during this. :-)

Phokaioglaukos

Best of luck, Peter. Let us know how you do. We will encourage.