Well I race in single seaters, and according to tests my fitness is somewhat really high level. Here's my tips: concentrate mainly on your aerobical fitness. The physical problem with ss' is that you a. sit in a position which makes blood circulation difficult b. are tighten in 6-point belts which also affects the blood circulation c. the vibration from both engine and ground causes that you're eyes and brain must work a lot more to see what's ahead
So your heart must do all the work to deliver the muscles blood they need. Muscles are useless if they get not enough oxygen and blood. The bigger the muscles the more they need consume; that's why racing drivers happen to have slim bodies. Big muscles also makes it harder to move in the cockpit.
During the season I make about 6-8 hours of cardio vascular training (biking,running, uphill climping,rowing) a week. To build up your heart muscle and to increase your Vo2 max, the best is 60-120min at about 120-160 heart rate. I also do gym training ~3 times a week. I'd say the most important is to strenghten your upper and lower back by doing long sets with low weight and long moving ration, so your back will stay 'free' and you'll not suffer from different kind of locks.And don't forget the ab's, you can't even fart without using them...if your ab's get tired, next comes the back and shoulders. In winter time its best to try all the new things so you know exactly which works for you.
Some racers avoid running, because it stresses the lower back. The uphill climbing with sticks is not only the safest but also most complete CV training. And never forget that muscle grows ONLY in rest; between harder trainings there should be some 36 hours break. The right nutrition is most important after the training, so your muscles will not start to 'burn' in lack of aminos and carbos. That's where the scary name anabolic and katabolic phase (is phase right word?) comes from.
To get started, everybody should have somebody to show the basics.Nowadays its easy as every gym etc. has turned into a wellness center with professional staff. Once you start doing wrong, you'll carry on doing it and hurt yourself. Also to know the basics of nutrition is vital. Strong body without right or especially with wrong fuel is useless. Its not about scaling everything you put in your mouth, just to know what to eat before endurance performance.
I use to do a max load fitness test once a year to see the progress. That's something which disables you cheating youself, especially if you're looking to get stronger. If its about beach project '04, mirror is enough... my vo2max is 70ml/kg, max lactate 19.8 and body fat 6,1 %. So far gettin better every year
About motivation... it is simply a pleasure to be fit. You go out and see some drivers half dead with white lips and you just know it won't be about your fitness. And sad but true its not always important what you are but what you look like. Sponsors prefer see fit and happy driver... I spoke with Alex Wurz (who is for sure the fittest guy in F1, no matter what mags say) and he said it well: 9 out of 10 guys, who someday get the big chance, like f1 test etc., fail because they get tired after 15 laps. I wouldn't experience that... The old saying says when the mind is tired stress the body and same upside down!
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