The Athlete

When Helio decided to pursue his dream of becoming a racecar driver, he knew it would require 110% dedication and a serious workout program. Castroneves follows a strict exercise regimen designed by his trainer, Carlos Bailly, to ensure he is physically and mentally prepared for the challenges of open-wheel racing. In addition to the following, Castroneves enjoys playing tennis either with friends or as a participant in charity fundraisers.

SIT-UPS WITH A TWIST: While Castroneves does sit-ups lying on a stability ball he is reading and calling out information on charts in front of him. This helps him work on maintaining concentration while doing physical activity which is paramount during a race. Bailly will even try distracting him by yelling or bouncing a ball for an added challenge.

THE TORNADO: This exercise serves to strengthen the abs, arms and shoulders. Castroneves stands against a wall and swings an eight-pound medicine ball attached to a rope side-to-side for about 20 seconds for multiple reps.

SWIMMING: While Castroneves didn’t like swimming when he was growing up, he now realizes it is a good low impact exercise that uses the whole body. He swims a 500-meter warm-up followed by 20 sprints of 25 meters with half a minute of rest in between. This helps get Castroneves’ heart rate up then slow down similar to what might occur during a road/street course race.

BOXING: Boxing is a good way for Castroneves to work on quickly processing and reacting to information. Bailly has him spar five two-to-three-minute rounds with a minute of rest in between. A number is given to each of the punches (e.g., two might be a left hook, four a right jab). Bailly calls them out in random order and changes sequences to produce different combinations that Castroneves has to follow.

RUNNING: Castroneves enjoys early morning runs on the beach. He will either run three miles in the sand at 81⁄2-minutes per mile or six miles on the boardwalk at 63⁄4-minutes per mile. This often serves as a warm-up to the rest of his workout.