Tag Archives: race fitness

Preparing to re-start and post-Covid fitness

08 Thursday Jul 2021

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The amazing thing is that this is where I had my first ever Formula Vee race back in 2015, and so will be a bit like a re-birth after my two year lay-off.

The Covid lockdown was tough for my fitness. Actually, that’s not entirely true – it’s been so damned long that I’ve put on weight, lost loads, then put on even more into the start of 2021.

More serious than that, was that my overall fitness was terrible. Working from home, rarely going out of the house, no gym, and with no real fitness routine, things had got pretty dire.

I started doing quick five to ten minute online workouts – mainly from Billy Blanks’ Tae Bo program. This was brilliant to get me moving again, and quick enough to fit in on a morning work break to get me away from staring at a PC all day. Highly recommended if you don’t think you can face full-on fitness malarkey (and if you can, he also has hour long, 5000 calorie killer workouts).

Tae Bo "I Like What You Do" (Part 2) - YouTube

There is a fitness program provided with the iZone Driver Performance Training, but that looked far too full-on, so I’ve saved them all to work through when I want something more hardcore. My main focus was to get back to the gym ASAP, which I finally got to do. Oh how I’ve missed that heavy bag for slamming in Thai-style elbows and shin kicks, rather than just filling my face with Thai Pla Sam Rod!

Other than working the bag, my two or three weekly sessions have been all about getting my aerobic fitness back up, and flexibility. I have a strong martial arts background so losing my flexibility for the first time since I was eight years old has really bugged me!

Lots of cross trainer, indoor cycling, rowing and pounding it out on the treadmill. I will switch my focus back to core strength by picking up my weights and going back to 100 squats per day and stuff.

iZone also helped with other things that are often overlooked, and I planned to change this year anyway: I barely used to drink liquids, but upped that to at least two litres per day. I switched to an ‘intermittent fasting’ diet (basically skipping breakfast and having two meals per day between 12pm and 9 in the evening – you just need to learn that feeling hungry doesn’t mean you have to eat). Kevin from iZone recommended healthier snacks that you might not expect – like greek yoghurt, peanut butter or cheese so that your body gets the fat it needs to think it’s full. And I always have a nut mix of almonds, Brazils and walnuts as they all give great nutrition.

This has all lead to me dropping a stone of weight I’d put on, but more importantly hasn’t been anything so extreme that I can’t easily sustain all the changes. It also means I’m not denying myself the odd takeaway or fried breakfast – hey, I still want to love food and this isn’t exactly Formula One!

All of this has also massively stabilised my blood sugars and generally seems to suit me. So that must be worth a few seconds a lap, right?

I have plans for a few other things to boost my performance when I get back on track – some of which I might tell you about in another blog, but possibly not all of it!

I hope you have all been keeping yourselves in shape – you never appreciate your fitness until you don’t have it any more. Go on – do a quick Tai Bo Body Blast and see how good it makes you feel!

Getting Back On It For 2019: How to get fit

29 Tuesday Jan 2019

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I lost half a stone in the month after my motorcycle crash last June.

Unfortunately, my injuries (especially my back) then meant I couldn’t really do anything training-wise, and when I went to a medical appointment in December I found I’d gained a stone since then!

More importantly, my fitness was screwed.

I’ve been doing Pilates (and another therapy I’ll do a blog on) to keep things moving, but I can’t class it as ‘real’ exercise – that is, it’s not exactly the intensity I’m used to! Don’t get me wrong, it’s great and has helped me a lot, but you’re never going to hear an interview where a boxer has used it to train up for his next fight…

So what to do, now I feel I can start to push things again?

I very nearly joined a “Couch to 5k” course. 9 weekly sessions to get you from nothing to being able to run for 5km. I love the idea, and know that running is the ultimate exercise – but I don’t actually LIKE running. So that came and went, along with all the Park Run events that you could follow it up with… not for me!

Should I join a gym?

It’s great if you can motivate yourself to go, but I know after 3 months I’m going to be bored with it and make excuses. Plus it costs far too much for my budget! I’m still open to it, and may pay for the odd single session – I actually will run on a treadmill, weirdly. Not that I run weirdly – I mean, for some reason I don’t mind doing that.

It’s a fact that if you’re doing something, it’s better than doing nothing. So, short sharp bites to wake things up again.

Years ago I used some Billy Blanks workout videos. He does Tae Bo – like kickboxing but more focused on your aerobic fitness. Or like less poncy aerobics, if you prefer.

Image result for billy blanks

On YouTube, he even has some “10 minute” fitness vids. You’d think this would be a nice, mild workout to fit into your day, and you’d be half right. Give one a go and you’ll soon see that they’re anything but mild, though!

How hard is it to get yourself up off the couch for 10 minutes? So I have an alarm set and I’ll be doing this on a regular basis.

There are actually a load of 10 minute workout vids on YouTube – so there’s enough variation there not to get bored. And remember it’s all free!

Sure, if you want something even easier then drop and do 20 push-ups, 40 squats, 40 seated leg raises but you will get bored of that quickly. And Billy Blanks is actually quite entertaining!

And speaking of entertaining, Karting has to be the most fun training – and it is very hard work. OK, so it costs a bit, but there are usually offers around the ease the pain…

The best thing is you’ll be using the actual muscles you use for racing, so will strengthen all the right bits, and it is an awesome workout for your heart and breathing.

After finally going for it, I’ve also found out that the one part of my back that it doesn’t make ache is the damaged bit, so I’ll definitely be doing more of that!

I feel a bit like I’ve been beaten up and was starting to make some very strange noises around the hairpin turns towards the end of the second session, but it’s good pain! I also set a personal best lap at Teamworks Halesowen, so there’s still life in this old dog, yet! And more motivation to knock off the few hundredths of a second that will drop me into the 22 secs… And of course it keeps that competitive edge nice and sharp!

There will be some sim work before I race again, and I’ll cover that in another blog.

What are you doing to keep you race fit? Any interesting revelations that you’d recommend?

Fitbit from Croft

06 Monday Jun 2016

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Fitbit from Croft

After the interesting heart rate readings from Brands Hatch, I once again wore my Fitbit for the races at Croft.

Qualifying was my first ever lap of Croft, and with the rain absolutely clowning it down, you might expect me to be a bit excited about it all.

Unfortunately, this was before I started to enjoy the rain, and so I just trundled around without even trying to kill myself – and this seems to be reflected in my heart rate:

croft20qually_zpswoakbmlt

So, much like I thought of my own performance in that session, it’s a bit ‘meh’.

But then things dried out for the afternoon, and for my first ever dry lap of Croft I’d have to be at full racing speed with no idea what the car would do in the extremely fast corners.

As you might imagine, this one told a different story:

croft20r1_zpsulsnjqnf

So we have a new record at 172 bpm peak!

A lot of the back of the circuit is foot to the floor, and then just turn the sucker in and hop you’re on the right line. I like this sort of thing, but it’s unsurprising that it would get the old ticker beating a bit faster. There was also frustration at not getting 2nd gear, and Darren Lomas filling my mirrors waiting to pounce on any mistake.

And, of course the huge moment when my Z-bar broke and I put 2 wheels off and had it all got a little bit skew-whiff…

Race 2 saw the return of rain with a vengeance. I’d sworn to push, whatever the conditions, and couldn’t actually see much of the track, corners, or other cars because of the spray.

And I was taking those same flat-out sections as fast as I dared in those horrendous conditions.

So you’d expect, if my heart didn’t stop completely because of me being dead, or something, that my heart rate would be through the roof, right?

croft20r2_zpssrr64fgf

What the…?

OK, so this is the same pattern as Brands Hatch, but this time the high heart rate seems more linked to high speed than being inches and split seconds from disaster.

In that second race I was enjoying myself and having fun, but I’m pretty sure I remember having a bit of a whoop inside my helmet in the dry race, too.

Is it that I’m more used to the track and so much more relaxed for that second race? Because the pressure is off to get the car back safely for another race?

At Mallory Park the qualifying session and both races are all on the same day – so will this same pattern repeat, or will the hear rate get higher and higher like it has done on the first day of a race weekend?

sjn20croft20002_zpsieurzrqh

Back In A Kart!

12 Monday Jan 2015

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Back In A Kart!

When a few mates over Christmas suggested we should go karting, I realised it had been over 2 years since I last went to my local track!  This wasn’t good enough, so this time we actually sorted it out, and turned up at Birmingham F1K to take advantage of a £20 deal for 30 mins of track time.

Last time I was there, I’d done a few sessions close to each other, and was convinced that my 27 second lap time was as good as I could drive, and my weight was the only factor left to bring my lap times down.

That said, when I’m karting I’ve always used the brakes as a bit of an on/off switch.  This worked to get the kart sliding and drifting, but, as I hope we all know by now, if your tyres are sliding you’re almost certainly going slower than you could be.

On previous sessions I’d worked at making sure I’m hitting the right lines, and there’s less than an inch between me and the edge of the track so I’m using everything I can.  These things alone will help you carry speed through corners – which is vital in a kart that goes ‘off the boil’ the instant you release the loud pedal.  This time, I was determined to have a go at using the brake pedal a bit more lightly and progressively.

Video here:

I was a lot faster than the others on the track – which made the passing fun, but didn’t actually give me a whole lot of clear laps.  And it was all just a bit of fun, so I do like to get majorly sideways and full on the throttle through a few of the corners on the track! I also wasn’t going to shove the others out of the way and ruin their enjoyment, knowing I wasn’t going to get stuck behind them for long.

I was here to work a little and get some benefit from it, though…

I remember getting a good exit onto the start/finish straight, looking over to find the track ahead clear for most of the lap, and thinking “Right, let’s get a quick one in!”.

I scrapped the drifting, and used very delicate braking for the whole lap – just to see if I could get a faster time.  This was Lap 9 – and I smashed my previously ‘unbeatable’ (for me!) time by a full second!  And I still weigh the same as I did, then!

The other few clear laps I had I did the fun way – which felt faster to me, and wasn’t far off that time (a few tenths in it), but never bettered that Lap 9 time. 

So, experiment concluded – keep it all in line for the best times!

Of course, I’m once again convinced that I’d need to lose weight in order to beat my best time – so it’ll be fun to go back again soon, and see if I can get under 26 seconds!

Race Fitness – Part 2

08 Tuesday Jul 2014

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Race Fitness – Part 2

It seems that my last post here about getting ‘race fit’ attracted a fair bit of attention.

I feel a bit bad about this, as I glossed over the specifics of what I’m doing, so anyone reading that blog won’t actually get anything of much use from it!

I did mention that running is my primary exercise. Ask any boxer what the best training is for fitness, and they’ll tell you it’s all about road work.

It’s the fastest way to lose weight, tone up, and massively improve your aerobic fitness.

I run on the treadmill, as I don’t want to terrify old Grannies on the streets as I lollop past in a wheezing splutter of sweat and stitches – or spew my guts up as I fall past the 1 mile mark in public before collapsing in a charity shop doorway.

Set a target that’s realistic to YOU! Ignore what anyone else is doing – if you want to walk for 5 mins then jog in 2 min blasts, then you do that! Likewise if your aim is to burn 200 calories, do 2km, or to just spend 20 mins on the treadmill. Just remember that you do need to keep pushing yourself further and faster to get the best results.

Breathing is often the first thing people neglect. However fit you are, however strong your muscles, if you’re not BREATHING you’re going to fade fast inside the car.

Most people will hold their breath in a stressful situation, so this is something very important to racing. I might stencil ‘REMEMBER TO BREATH!’ in the cockpit somewhere!

I basically use all the gym equipment after I’ve had my run – the bike, cross trainer (again awesome for your aerobic fitness), rower, then do 2 or 3 sets on the weights machines.

Putting on muscle will increase your weight. It will also protect you when you’re tumbling end-over-end smashing into the chassis, so don’t look at it as a totally bad thing to build!

Strengthening the core body muscles is a good idea. I’m doing squats, abdominal crunches, and neck exercises outside the gym.

My neck gets a lot of stick from riding a sports bike, so isn’t too bad for strength. When I used to play American Football I used to do the ‘wrestlers bridge’. You need to be very careful building up your neck muscles, and be warned now that this one is pretty extreme, and won’t work for all of you!

Basically, you lay on your back with legs bent. Keeping the back of your head on the floor, push the rest of your body upwards so your back arches, and then roll from back to front of your head.

Isometric exercises seem to fit well with motor racing. Because you’re working one muscle against another, this will strengthen your muscles for efficiency, rather than just for show. Personally, I also do stretches for flexibility – I’m not sure of the outright value of this for racing cars, but the more range of motion your muscles have, the less likely they are to pull or tear.

I need to pick up my free weights at home (not in the gym, staring at myself in the mirror, because I find that weird!) as I’ve noticed my arms have wasted a bit, and arm strength will be essential to wrestle the car around.

I’m no expert on all this, and even if you think my somewhat half-assed approach to a routine is too much for you, DO SOMETHING!

I’m planning on introducing short sessions to my routine by setting alarms on my phone, and doing a few crunches, squats, push-ups etc. If you do just 10 push-ups a week then you’re 10 push-ups ahead of someone who doesn’t!

You need to motivate yourself to get started – then the rest will come.

And what better motivation than living every child’s dream to be a racing driver!

Race Fitness

06 Sunday Jul 2014

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Race Fitness

I’m not built for speed.

14 years ago, I was at at the peak of my fitness – 11 1/2 stone with barely any fat on me, and prepped ready for a ‘no holds barred’ fighting tournament.

Sadly, after that I got a job in security, and sat there for 2 years eating free bacon from the factory canteen. This now leaves me – although not an outright fat git – at an unhealthy 13 1/2 stone with a Homer Simpson belly.

I still have the balance of a cat, and riding motorbikes keeps my reactions top-notch, but most of my muscles have faded and been covered by 37 year old chub.

Whilst I know I need to get fitter to help me race, I also need to remember that:

A) I’m not a professional racing driver, and,

B) Trying to deny myself of all the ‘bad’ food WILL NOT WORK, and is the ruination of almost everyone’s so-called dieting.

So, luckily for this realistic approach, I’ve stopped my sitting-down-eating-bacon diet long ago, and DO now eat a good, varied and balanced diet.

I’m not going to go over the top with a diet, but am already making some changes – such as snacking on rice crackers at work where I may have had chocolate or something before. These sorts of small changes all add up, and don’t let anyone tell you it has to be all or nothing.

Despite all these fad diets, there is really only one simple rule to losing weight and getting healthier:

Eat less and exercise more.

 

I’d like to lose 2 stone, but a realistic target is to lose 1.

My time in the gym took a knock with an ankle problem recently, but now I’m back on it.

I also know that the absolute best way to get fit is to run!

I’m not an outdoor runner, so do this by pounding the treadmill. This raises your heart rate for the prolonged period necessary, burns calories, and teaches you to control your breathing – something that is very important when hurtling around a racetrack at silly speeds.

I’ve also found that I can focus on the view from a Formula Vee cockpit as I run, visualising lapping race tracks. And THAT motivates me!

I have no real set routine, other than that. I just work the rest of the machines to try and tone up my muscles, and am working for muscle strength and flexibility rather than mass (which adds very little to racing except more unwanted weight).

I’m never going to be the lightest driver on the grid, but I think the Sheane is under the minimum weight limit, so we’ll be using ballast, anyway.

Oh, and the engine is now back in the car! Glenn has made a few changes to the rear ride height and seatbelt mountings, and from now it’s just a case of prepping everything, painting parts, and putting it all back together ready to get it out for testing!

We’re also finding that various bolts and bits can be VERY hard to find after a car has been left in pieces since 2009!

My focus is now stepping up a gear, and I shall be posting more blogs about my thoughts and what I’m doing as I get ready to take to the track!

Thanks for all the support I’m already getting from friends, family, and the other Formula Vee drivers! I’m gagging to get out there, and should do so before the end of this season!

Formula Vee – The New Attack Plan

25 Monday Nov 2013

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Formula Vee – The New Attack Plan

 

So, you may have noticed my posts dried up about my start to racing.

I didn’t crash and explode in my first race, or anything exciting – in fact, I had to write off the 2013 racing season.

The Ray and the Sheane Formula Vee cars are both still in pieces.  The Ray, from the Mallory Park crash at the end of 2012, and the Sheane because we’re dropping the ride hight at the rear, and adding some extra strength to the rear of the chassis.

This all would have been done and dusted, but unfortunately, ‘life’ got in the way a bit, and due to work commitments and illness of family members, Glenn hasn’t been able to do as much to the cars as he’d anticipated.

Whilst this is frustrating for me, I fully understand and support his decisions.  He’s giving me an awesome opportunity to drive one of his cars, and so I’m more than happy to wait until next season.  I’ll also have more budget for a proper attack at Formula Vee, rather than maybe a single round or two.

Formula Vee has been in a bit of turmoil for the last few years.  It’s not something I want to go too deeply into here, because it feels wrong to talk about this to ‘outsiders’.  Basically, some competitors have been taking some liberties with the rules and/or the outright spirit of Vee as a cheap and tightly controlled series.  Many felt the 750 Motor Club were sorely lacking in the way it was all handled.

It’s no secret that a lot of the competitors were unhappy, and I know for a fact that this all contributed towards a lack of motivation with Glenn as well as some of those competitors.

However, I am now pleased to say that rules have been clarified, changes have been made, and the future for Formula Vee looks great, once again!

I’ve been to a few rounds this year, and found that rather than seeing any of the racing that I’d paid for, I spent the whole days chatting to other drivers and people from the Vee circles – literally only watching the Vee races when there was nobody left to talk to as they were on track.  The worst thing about this, is that I really bloody enjoyed it!

Looks like I’ll fit right in with them!

I have kept up my gym membership, and although I haven’t even been karting for a long time, I find visualising the view from a Vee cockpit when I’m running on the treadmill gives me a massive burst of energy.  It’s why I’m there, and if I can lose a few stone it can only be a good thing.

So for 2014 my eyes are back on the target.

There will be a race in June at Castle Coombe, which may be a good target for my first race.  It’s also Rob Cowburn’s home race, so hopefully he’ll be back in the car and we can do a 1-2 finish!

I’m thinking about grabbing one of the Experience Days whilst they’re cheap over Winter – but I’m not sure how much driving a Ferrari will teach me, and having seen the single-seater experience at Silverstone, they seemed so slowwwwww I think I’d end up headbutting the steering wheel in frustration – so I’ll have to see…

Either way, I still want it.  In the worst possible way.

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