Physical preparation of the Rally Driver: Rachele Somaschini

Rachele Somaschini: you are all the limits you overcome (every day)

Rachele Somaschini, a rally driver, dedicates at least two hours a day to his physical preparation, in the gym or at home.

Ldry physical training (from "dryland", a US term coined to define the training adopted by professional swimmers out of the water) has in fact taken on a important role also in motor sportswhere the driver's athletic preparation is an essential component of competitiveness.

In fact, it is intuitive how, for practical and economic reasons, a pilot, as well as other types of sportsmen, (for example those who compete in the fast disciplines of alpine skiing) have very limited opportunities to be able to train with the tool (and the vehicle, in the case of the pilot) and in the context of reference.

What is dry training for a pilot? The work is focused on resistant force, On isometric contractions joint mobility, with particular attention to the muscle chains that undergo the greatest stress in driving. L'aerobic capacity training and the cardiovascular system is also fundamental: the forces to which the athlete is subjected in competition require resistance over long distances and the ability to adapt to difficult environmental conditions such as extreme heat, which in a rally car on summer days can easily overcome the 50th. The picture is completed by i mental trainings andreflex training aimed at improving mental and physical performance.

There are therefore no doubts about the validity of these workouts aimed at the reference sport, but substantially detached from it and from the stimuli, even playful, that it implies. And it is precisely this psychological aspect that I would like to underline.

The physical sacrifice while driving can be alleviated by the adrenaline component of the competition (which unites all sports), while in dry-work the mental component and the desire to succeed, to exceed one's limit every day, is the real motivational boost. The athlete becomes a fighter who aims at develop and manage your resources to be able to make the most of them when you need them.

The idea of training designed for pilots, and in particular for those who run in rallies, therefore want provide support to withstand the numerous days of competition without performance losses, the few hours of sleep and all the unexpected events that this type of competition entails: from dominating a powerful car for kilometers on rough stony ground or on a winding mountain road, to flat tires and having to change them in the middle of a special stage ( this is how the timed part of the race is defined), the accidental touch, the mechanical failure that occurs at high speeds and to which one must react instantaneously to avoid damage or withdrawal.

Another aspect that is equally particularly sensitive for Rachel Somaschini as not only an athlete, but a person suffering from cystic fibrosis from birth, concerns thetraining as "therapy", both physical and mental. Rachel has to deal with a degenerative genetic disease every day, which affects various internal organs, primarily the lungs, e obtains a great benefit from targeted physical training. Cardio training is equivalent to a respiratory physiotherapy session because by strengthening lung capacity and training the respiratory tract it helps to remove excess mucus and increase the amount of air introduced with the respiratory act. On a mental level, measuring improvements in performance, endurance and physical well-being helps in dealing with the disease and the difficulties it imposes on a daily basis.

This experience further demonstrates that an important technical and motivational value must be attributed to dry training, which goes far beyond the more obvious aspects of physical adaptation.