Race car drivers make it look so easy – gorgeous shiny fast cars and teams of engineers and cutting edge technology at their beck and call. But confined within the tiniest of spaces for prolonged durations, an F1 racer has to cope with extreme forces and high temperatures, all whilst meandering through sharp turns at break neck speeds of up to 300km/hr. A typical circuit will see numerous sharp, high-speed corners, during which the driver has to cope with a sustained G-force of around 3.5 times his own weight. Gear changes can mean shifting up to 25kg with one arm. When braking, drivers can be subject to loads up to G5.5, which means a driver’s head can weigh about 20kg! The brunt of this is borne by the neck muscles in trying to keep the head (and heavy helmet) upright.

As you can imagine, behind the wheels sit mean fitness machines - physiques cut out in top form in all aspects: cardiovascular fitness, strength, flexibility and lightning quick reflexes. And we’re not just talking about the F1 racers. Fitness First met up with one of Singapore’s professional race drivers, Hafiz Koh, to find out what it takes to keep himself in the circuit.

Hafiz’s Races 2009 Formula V6 Asia 2008 Formula V6 Asia / Aston Martin Cup, Asia 2007 Formula V6 Asia Race circuits include: Autopolis, Chengdu/Zhuhai (China), Sentul (Indonesia), Sepang (Malaysia), Bira (Thailand)

FF: What’s your race record like?
Hafiz: I’ve participated in 3 seasons of V6 championship and was placed 5th in the championship, and had 3 podium finishes in 2008.

FF: Tell us about your exercise routine. Your runs are 20km a pop?
Hafiz: Yeah! My favourite weekend hobby is a 20km run in the East Coast! I have fun as I encourage people to come run with me, so there’s lots of company - for most of the leg that is.

I train everyday, alternating between sprinting and distance running. On the days I sprint, I will be at Fitness First. When I want to push the limits, I run outdoors and head to Fitness First either before or after for sprinting.

FF: How else do you train?
Hafiz: My workout routines at Fitness First are usually intense and revolve around training to my MAX heart rate at about 210bpm. As a race driver, I train to my max heart rate and am always trying to increase my VO2 Max hence my training is as intense as the elite in the military.

I usually hit the treadmill for 30mins sprinting to a max incline of about 18% incline for about 2.30mins to 3mins and back down to 5% at about 10km/h. This is followed by strength training for the neck and abs with weights. I also include a variance of core training from using the medicine ball to sitting on a bench in my driving position with weights.