Did You Know There Are Custom Gyms For Race Car Drivers?
Jason Weigandt

Features

Did You Know There Are Custom Gyms For Race Car Drivers?

What makes a race car driver more angry than losing a race? Hearing some one say he or she is not an athlete, and the car does all the work. 

Yeah, back in the day guys could drive with a cigarrette hanging out of their mouth, and then crush some beers when the race was over. Cars keep getting faster, though, so G forces climb, putting way more strain on the neck and core. Plus, when you have an army of engineers working day and night to find one tenth of a second, is it really fair to subsist on potato chips and watch TV all week until you show up at the track? 

Nope. So, training and diet have become a huge part of any top driver's life, and now there are boutique gyms with custom equipment designed to work the muscles used specifically in racing. Also, these gyms help build hand-eye coordination and focus. 

Car and Driver recently profiled one of these gyms, PitFit, based in the IndyCar mecca of Indianapolis.

From the story:

PitFit has a custom $20,000 sensory station created by Senaptec. It takes the old numbered-tennis-ball drill—a staple in baseball training in which the trainer throws a ball at the trainee who calls the ball's number before catching it—and digitizes it. Here, the drivers are asked to interact with moving images on a screen. Their results are measured, indicating their ability to make quick decisions under pressure. 

The story also talks of a weighted steering wheel, head gear attached to straps that simulates G forces on the neck, and special glasses that replicate impaired vision in a race. You can read the whole story here. 


Main image: Monster Energy