The Top 4 Focus Points to Elevate Your Performance!

Being a motorsport athlete requires lots of focus on lots of disciplines in order to succeed, but if we had to narrow these down to my top 4, what in my opinion would they be?

Having been a motorsport Performance Coach since 1996 and worked with drivers from Karting up to Formula 1, I’ve been privy to what drivers feel are the elements of coaching that make the biggest difference to their success on track. Removing the technical elements of actually interpreting data and driving the car, these are most common areas off the track that drivers frequently need assistance with:

1. FITNESS 

Whatever your weapon of choice is, your body is under considerable stress when driving at speed due to the incredible G forces at play. Cardiovascular fitness and muscular strength and endurance is key to be able to deal with these forces but also to assist with your recovery post racing and or potential injuries. As with all professional athletes, of which you are, consistency is key. Depending on the time of the season, you should be training between 3 to 5 times per week with a balance of cardio, strength, core, mobility, stretching and neck work. We always train our drivers, not only for the Championship they are competing in now, but more for the next level up, so when you get that call, you are ready. You do not have to spend endless hours in the gym, but a holistic balance of all the main training areas along with good quality movements will prove beneficial when in the car.

2. NUTRITION

What you eat and drink is as equally important as what you do in the gym. Finding the correct fuel before, during and after your training just as when you are at a race weekend, can mean the difference between achieving new personal bests, preventing dehydration, maintaining concentration levels or even becoming first or second in a race!

Having a good structure around your nutrition plan, but not restrictive, with often small changes to what you chose to eat or drink as well as when you eat or drink, can result in BIG results. Your approach to nutrition should also be adjusted for factors such as how long your race is, the weather conditions (is it hot or cold), are you at your target driver weight or are you overcoming an illness. Like with technical data, do not guess, get the right information.

3. SLEEP & RECOVERY

In the current climate where we often live on our phones, its very easy to spend hours a day scrolling through the inter-web, but this can really play havoc with your mental and physical recovery. Ensure you switch off your ‘white light’ at a respectable time before you go to bed and ensure you get at least 8 hours sleep per night. If you travel a lot with your race calendar, which includes flying or different time zones, a bespoke travel and sleep schedule is worth its weight in gold. Stretching, breathing drills and massage are great ways to unwind, relax and recharge both body and mind, and these should be factored into your schedule if your racing schedule is full time. 10 to 15 minutes a day allows you ’switch off’ and concentrate on what needs to be done

4. MINDSET

Thinking about the job in hand isn’t just about 2 minutes of visualisation when you’re on the grid ready to race. Its about making sure that when you wake up every day you have a plan and you are going to do everything to the best of your ability. Everything you eat and drink, every rep in the gym, every stretch you perform, every piece of data you analyse. Hold yourself accountable to the process. Take the opportunity to celebrate your wins and take time to learn from your errors and if you have a bad experience, learn how to deal with these, but then compartmentalise them and not to carry the baggage onto your next race. You will find your own ways of dealing with this, but if not use the skills of a coach to teach you various strategies and then use the one that best fits your situation. A good mindset also improves your concentration when racing. Keep your mind clear and focused!

Paul Jewiss is Founder and Head Coach at Gridshark Athletic Performance. For more information on Paul and Gridshark Athletic Performance please check out their listing in the Motorsport Prospects Directory here. Paul and Gridshark can work and support drivers globally via their online coaching platform. 

---