Developing muscles for driving help

[benjj]

Hopefully this won't sound completely bonkers...

I race/rally a '72 Citroen DS in various long distance UK and European rallies. It has power steering and skinny tyres - hooray!

I've recently bought an '82 Porsche 944 as a combination of daily snotter and potential single day/event rally weapon.

However... the fat tyres, tiny steering wheel and lack of power assisted steering is making me ache. A lot.

One of the problems is that for rallying I am strapped in giving very little upper body movement. This in turn (ho ho) means I can't use upper body power a great deal and turning the wheel in anger is difficult. The type of tests that are included in the rallies I do are a mix of high and low speed with lots and lots of full lock.

So, rather than continue to whinge like a little bh I thought I'd seek the advice of the PH superfit dudes.

So, where to start building up the specific muscles? After a vigorous bout a lot of muscles ache and are clearly getting used: front of shoulders, bicep, tricep and, worst of all, forearms and gripping (as in making a fist.)

I'm not a member of a gym but I do have a set of 5kg dumbells. I also work for myself so can really thrown myself into a daily routine if that will be required.

Any suggestions would be really helpful.

FAOD - I already wk like a demented chimp. With both hands.

Ben

[davepoth]

Go to the supermarket and park in a lot of different spaces.

There are a lot of muscles involved so the best way to work out is to do it for real. The steering is at its heaviest when parking. You may like to let a few PSI out of the front tyres to make it even harder.

[Munter]

If I remember correctly. You see F1 drivers (on tv), holding one of the big circular weights (off the bar), and turning it like a wheel at arms length.

If it's good enough for Jenson...

[benjj]

Re parking - actually a good idea but not really feasible for an hour a day! Also I'd net about 10mpg so a bit pricey.

Re circular weight - good call, I'll look into that, cheers.

[Hoofy]

Well, a good core helps so I'd be doing weighted crunches for a start. I'd also be looking at hooking a heavy resistance band over a door or pull up bar and yanking the ends downwards. When I fked my ribs on a vert ramp, I found it quite difficult to drive home... And finally, I'd be doing front db raises.

[benjj]

Do you think core strength will really help, Hoofy?

One of the reasons for the thread is that when driving the 944 in full on rally anger the position seems to be isolating my upper and lower arm muscles. A hard drive never registers on back, chest, belly, neck etc.

[Hoofy]

benjj said:

Do you think core strength will really help, Hoofy?

One of the reasons for the thread is that when driving the 944 in full on rally anger the position seems to be isolating my upper and lower arm muscles. A hard drive never registers on back, chest, belly, neck etc.

I suppose it does depend on how much give your seatbelts have. Push down with one hand on your desk and see if your abs lock.

[Stu R]

Weights and all that bobbins aside, have you considered just putting a slightly bigger steering wheel on? The difference 30mm or so makes is quite significant from my experience.

[rog007]

davepoth said:

Go to the supermarket and park in a lot of different spaces.

There are a lot of muscles involved so the best way to work out is to do it for real...

I have some sympathy for this advice. At the peak of my own personal fitness a few years ago now when I was training hard and competing in a number of different disciplines, I did the 'Ring on a motorcyle and a few months later a day's rally driving. At the end of both I was exhausted and couldn't move the next day. So whilst aerobically and physically I was very fit, I wasn't motorcycle fit for the Nurburgring, nor rally driving fit for the Welsh forests, which meant to be fit for both I'd have to do more of both. Good luck!

[MocMocaMoc]

Go karting!

[rog007]

MocMocaMoc said:

Go karting!

Indoor!

[Ken Sington]

There was an article in Trackdriver magazine an issue or so ago by a lady driver about improving her fitness for racing. She suggested sitting on a Swiss ball, feet flat on the floor, arms out straight in front holding either a dumbbell or a weight plate and then twisting it to and fro, like turning a steering wheel.

That should hurt nicely after a while