For obstacle racing, you wanna be as light, lean, and fast as possible. So, if I lift a lot of weights, I'm gonna be a little bit heavier, which will make it harder for me to hold myself up.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
People assume that you need to run fast to get to optimum fitness, but the truth is endurance lifting makes you stronger and leaner.
I've been racing for my whole life, and I know what I need to do to be able to win.
In NASCAR, you don't have to be as physically strong as in some other forms of racing. You've just got to be able to endure the heat and endurance of it.
I keep my weight low, although you need to be able to move your weight around the race car to change the balance. I'm 6ft and I'm 70kg so I haven't much fat on me.
Being an athlete, you know how to train and prepare your body for a performance and you're able to do it under pressure.
Many of us in the jockeys' room are wasting to ride many pounds below our natural weight, but all the while you are doing that, you also want to ensure that you are as strong as possible so that you can give your mount every possible chance in a race.
Of course I want to look well and fit - and as an athlete, I want to look strong.
In running, I can internalize that intensity. I can handle it because it's me and I'm coming back in the next race. I'm always ready for the next race.
When you are racing in an able-bodied competition, you're all equal and you go out there and try your best, and that's what counts.
When I'm competing, I need to be strong.