9 Gym Exercises for Kart Drivers
Most racing drivers (including myself) start their careers in go-karts. Whatever level of the karting ladder you race at, you’re joined by 1000s of other people who want the same thing as you - to win.
However, the drivers who neglect training and nutrition will enjoy watching their competitors on the podium.
The problem is that few published studies suggest ideal training for motorsport, let alone for drivers in karting. So, I’m combining my personal experience on the race track and years of training as a fitness and performance coach to give you the 8 exercises that should be in your training programme.
The key determining factor of the exercises I have included is efficiency. As racing drivers, we cannot afford to spend hours and hours per day training when we’ve got sponsorships, simulator practice, and everything else to deal with.
What areas of Fitness should Racing Drivers focus on?
Much to the contrary public opinion, racing drivers are athletes. You need to be physically and mentally fit if you want a long career in the sport. More specifically, you should focus on building muscular endurance in your shoulders, chest, arms, and neck, not to mention cardiovascular fitness and core strength.
1 - Incline Bench Press
When you’re fighting the kart around the track during practice, qualifying, and races, you need a strong foundation of strength in your chest and front deltoids (shoulders).
The incline bench press works on both of these areas and is my favourite exercise to strengthen the chest.
How to do the Barbell Incline Bench Press
Set the bench to 45 degrees and sit in a position where you can comfortably reach the bar above you.
Grip the bar with your hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.
When you’re set, arch your back and squeeze your shoulder blades together. Your butt and upper back should be touching the bench.
Un-rack the bar and position yourself comfortably, keeping your chest pointing towards the sky.
Control the bar as you lower it towards your chest, angling your elbows to roughly 45 degrees - keep your shoulder blades squeezed together.
Push the bar back to the starting position, mentally focusing on activating your chest
2 - Bent Over Row
Your back takes a beating in the kart. A strong back helps you stabilise yourself when racing, and the bent-over row is the best “bang for your buck” exercise for back strength you can do.
However, proper technique is crucial to see any results. Watch the video to see how to get the most out of this exercise.
How to do the Barbell Bent Over Row
Grip the bar with your hands and feet roughly shoulder-width apart (toes pointing forward).
Carefully stand up straight to set your feet in position.
Keeping your back straight, hinge at your hips, allowing for a slight bend in your knees as you get your chest as parallel with the ground as comfortable.
Tuck your elbows to your side as you lift the barbell towards your belly button
Control the movement on the way to your starting position, letting your back relax in a stretched position at the bottom (this helps with muscle growth).
3 - Incline Dumbbell Bicep Curl
Any dumbbell curl is great for kart racing. Your arms are always going to be contracting in one way or another when you’re behind the wheel, you need to develop exceptional muscular endurance in your entire arms and hands to be able to withstand the challenges you face on the race track.
The incline dumbbell bicep curl optimises your return on time investment in training by extending the time under tension throughout the movement. They are completed on a bench set at an incline of about 45 degrees.
How to do the Incline Dumbbell Bicep Curl
Set the bench to a 45-degree angle and hold a dumbbell in each hand.
Sit on the bench with your back laid flat, letting your arms relax to your sides.
Keep your shoulders in this position and bend at the elbow until you cannot anymore.
Control the eccentric phase of the movement to back to the starting position.
4 - Russian Twist
Great core strength should be at the core (pun intended) of your karting training programme.
When you perform the Russian twist, you are in a similar position to that of sitting in a kart, but it also requires you to move your upper body while maintaining a tense core. This is essential when you’re navigating the turns of whatever track you’re racing at.
You can use any sort of weight to do this exercise, but I prefer to use a kettlebell.
How to do the Russian Twist
Sit on a flat surface in a comfortable position with your legs in front of you.
Hold the weight by your front with both hands.
Raise your feet off the ground so that only your hips are touching the floor.
Keep your legs still as you move the weight either side of your body as far as you can go.
5 - Barbell Back Squat
If we’re talking essential exercises, the back squat is the ONE. If the barbell back squat was the only leg exercise you did each week, you’d still experience the benefits.
How to do the Barbell Back Squat
Set a squat rack with a barbell at a comfortable height.
Hold onto the barbell with your hands in a comfortable position slightly wider than shoulder width apart and step underneath the barbell.
Position the barbell in a comfortable position on your upper back and extend your legs to take the weight off the rack.
Step back to a position where the barbell will not make contact with the rack throughout the exercise.
Think about hinging at the hips, knees, and ankles at the same time, while keeping your chest high and eyes pointing forward.
Control the movement down as deep as you can go into the squat and push back up to your original starting positioning with your heels as the main point of contact.
6 - Calf Raise
Similarly to the tibialis raise, the ‘knees over toes’ calf raise is inspired by Ben Patrick. It’s always the second exercise I do every leg day (second only to the tibialis raise). Standing with your knee over your standing foot safely strengthens the tendons in your knee, as well as builds your calf.
Think about how your leg is positioned when you’re sitting in your kart. Your knees are bent and you're constantly making the same movement as the KOT calf raises when accelerating and braking.
How to do the Calf Raise (Single Leg, Kettlebell)
Stand facing a wall (or anything stable to hold on to) at a comfortable distance.
With a kettlebell in one hand, hold it in position on the thigh of the leg you are working.
Allow a slight bend in your working leg and push off with the balls of your feet.
Squeeze at the top of the rep and control the eccentric movement to the starting position.
7 - Any Neck Exercise
You need a strong neck in any Motorsport, but your head is far more exposed to the constant g-forces when you’re karting. You can get a neck harness to add weight to your neck exercises, or just use body weight to do neck raises. Resistance bands are also a must-have piece of equipment. They add realistic resistance to your exercises.
How to do the Neck Bridge (Wall Variation)
Stand roughly one foot away from a wall.
Slowly lean back until your upper back makes contact with the wall.
To complete one rep, push your upper back away from the wall, but maintain contact with the back of your head.
Hold this position (use cushioning for comfort), focusing on using your neck to maintain posture.
Control your head and upper back to the starting position.
8 - Cardio
You need good cardio to perform at a high level on the race track. Continuous cardiovascular exercises like running or cycling are great ways to prepare your heart for racing. If you want to make your cardio work as close to racing as possible, force yourself to use your brain while exercising. Just like you are required to be 100% focused behind the wheel, working your brain AND cardiovascular system is great for karting.
Summary
These 9 exercises are vital to any training programme for kart drivers. Whether you’re racing for fun, or competitively, including these exercises in a balanced training programme will increase your performance on the track.
