Here we are, the day after Thanksgiving.  Everyone has hopefully enjoyed family, friends, food, and started working on their plans for 2010.  Many of our drivers, teams, and athletes have been working on 2010 for several months already.  The PitFit program in 2010 will be different than ever before, with even more focus on the programs and options for our clients.  I will be directly overseeing all driver training programs and focusing less on the other aspects of running the company.  Our new Pit Crew Coach, Mark Kaiser, has already taken our pit crew program to a new level and we will announce new teams we are bringing on board soon. 

While this is exciting news for us, I want to emphasize to everyone that without a plan you are destined to fail.  One phrase I heard years ago was “Fail to plan, Plan to Fail”.  A plan is crucial to success, but without execution a plan is simply wishing for a change.  Our training plans, our plans for our clients, are constantly being evaluated for progress.  You need to do the same, almost on a daily basis.  Once your plan begins to gel it will be amazing that you survived without one.  Be prepared to adapt this plan but the path you choose will ultimately remain the same.

Whatever you choose to undertake, start putting together your plan.  One of my first bosses in motorsports was Roger Penske.  You have no idea what planning and excellence are until you spend time under a man like Roger Penske.  But everything he does has a plan attached, and maximum effort is put into this plan.  The phrase that everyone involved with Roger Penske lives by is “Effort equal Results”.  Truer words have never been spoken.

Stay fit, stay focused, and I will see you next time,

JL

Looking at this blog, I see I have not updated in quite some time…my apologies.  On a positive note, great things have been happening at PitFit thus my focus has been in quite a few directions.  The biggest news is that PitFit has signed a lease on a new facility set to open January 1, 2010.  If your familiar with our “space issues” throughout 2009, you will know we have been in two locations throughout the year.  It’s been interesting, but throughout the season the goal remained the new facility we are finally setting up.  It will feature a 2500 sq foot training center, 800 sq foot heat training room, in-house chiropractors and massage therapists, and more.  My partner is Dr. Rob Schroeder, who you may know as “Dr. Rob”.  He brings the Indy Health and Fitness unit to all IRL races and has a patient list ranging from Tony George to Peyton Manning to nearly everyone in racing.  We are jacked !

PitFit has also expanded into sports performance and personal training/boot camp for the non-racing population. It’s been some serious work but it’s all paying off.  As I write this, we have the Indy Lights Champion and Indycar Champion both in our program.  We have a driver 1 point out of the championship in NHRA, one driver leading the USAC National Sprint Car series, and another running second.  Hitting for the cycle would be sweet !

Look for weekly updates now.  My gal Heather runs our web site and has reminded me of my lack of focus on the blog, so I need to step up my game !  I’m speaking at the PRI show in December, where we will announce the winners of the Tony Renna Scholarship…..I guess I have quite a bit for my next update so stay tuned !

Stay Fit,

JL

PitFit drivers dominate Edmonton ! Congrats Will Power on winning Edmonton Indycarm Scott Dixon finishing third and taking over the points lead, and Dario Franchitti in 5th and 6th ! Combine this with J.R. Hildebrand winning the Indy Lights race Saturday and John Edwards winning both Mazda Atlantic races at Autobahn and it was a great weekend !

As I boarded my flight Wednesday for Albany, NY to eventually head to Lime Rock, I wasn’t sure how thrilled I was.  Since I don’t travel as much to races these days, I sometimes am less-than-thrilled to make these trips.  But, with Formula BMW mid-season fitness evaluations scheduled, it was time to travel.  With a call from Formula BMW Director Randy Biggs that our hotel was possibly as low budget as they come, and the fact I was booked a tiny Hyundi….well, you get the picture.  But once I landed and got my directions sorted out, and discovered that my 600 mpg hyundi has XM radioAND and an Ipod jack, things looked up.

If you don’t know, New York/Connecticut in the country is absolutely breathtaking, with green trees and mountains as far as the eye can see.  Being from Indianapolis, this is a true gift that I appreciate.   Whenever I travel to an area with large hills or mountains, I immediately begin plotting a brutal run or ride up them !

The hotel was a quaint little “motel” that reminded me of the small rooms in London.  Not fancy, but for someone like me who is easy to please it was fine.  The small little town of Hillsdale, NY is merely a stoplight, our hotel, two quaint pubs, and a gas station.  Up the road was a ski resort called Catamount that was used as a rope climbing program in the Summer…I was in heaven. 

After a day of BMW evaluation, I headed to Catamount only to discover I was too late for the rope climbing program.  I asked if I could run up the ski runs, but the young lad said sternly” Only if we are here”.  He then promptly closed early. I sneakily drove around for 15 minutes, returned, and spend the next hour running up and own ski runs in solitude, getting bit by flys, and listening to the impending boom of an oncoming storm.

The rest of the time in Lime Rock reminded me of the true grass-roots love of racing many fans share, and how if given the right venue these die-hards will drive far into the country to see young, old, and veteran drivers traverse road courses.  Because  Lime Rock Raceway is a BMW-sponsored track, there were more BMW’s parked than I could count.  And Porsches, Mercedes, Ferrari’s, and even a few Bentley’s. It was quite humbling ( remember my rental).

The racing was spectacular, the local bars were full of Yankee fans with accents, and I hardly remember how far I was from the track each day as I drove to and from, watching the countryside speed by from the window of my little Korean rental.

If you get the chance, go to Lime Rock.  Visit the surrounding towns.  Mingle with the locals.  You will be taken away from your worries.  And rent a crappy little import from Suzki, Hyndi, or Kia.  It will make you appreciate how much you should consider having a little toy waiting for you at home.

Safe travels,

JL

Thursday, May 1^st, 2008

Prairie Hills Partners with Pit Fit Training

Prairie Hills proudly announces partnership with PitFit Training, the leader in racing fitness. PitFit Training has stood for the most cutting-edge training programs for professional and amateur racers since they began working in motorsports in 1994. “It’s a privilege to take this expertise to the exclusive membership at Prairie Hills, and enhance a facility that will exceed the expectations of the most demanding individual”, says PitFit President Jim Leo.

“The driver human performance center at Prairie Hills Motorsports Club is second to none in the areas of driver-specific fitness equipment as well as overall training options. The staff at PitFit Training guides each driver through the same training programs as it uses with their world-class drivers, including the 2006 and 2007 Indianapolis 500 champions”

Training and diet programs are custom-designed to suit each specific need of the club member, whether to improve muscle strength or assistance in losing weight. Let the Prairie Hills PitFit staff take your overall and racing conditioning to the next level.

Stay tuned to the Prairie Hills Newsletter for monthly exercise and diet tips.

http://www.prairiehillsmc.com/index.html

Hey everyone.  It’s been very busy in June and July for our staff, and we seem to keep adding drivers along with way.  New drivers in Indycar, Indy Lights, and A1GP have found their way into our training program and we can’t be more pleased.  We also have been bringing in new equipment, like the monsterous Hoist PTS-3 weight machine, the Indo Board, and all sorts of toys from Spri.  The bottom line is that we just flat out love what we do, and it shows.

Our intern Rachael from Purdue has been the catch of the year, and look for a wicked new online store to start in a few weeks.  Customers can buy everything from Concept 2 rowers to Spri exercise bands, all the same things we use in our training.  We wish we could keep her, but new blood will arrive in August……but she will be a tough act to follow.

We have also started doing some training outside of racing, with our new Fast Fitness classes.  Our program is specific in some ways but also appeals to non-drivers.  It’s been very nice to see a diffrerent crowd, but we will never lose our focus on our racing clients.

I’m off Lime Rock next weekend to provide mid-season evaluation for our Formula BMW drivers.  It’s a  beautiful race track in a very scenic area of the country.  Last time I was there was 2004, and I received a fat ticket driving to the Hartford CT airport!  I promise to be a good boy this year.

Chat soon, and stay fit !

JL

Just click the link to sign up!

May is finally over, and we are preparing our drivers in Indycar for the slew of road and street courses coming in July.  This means raising the intensity levels, adding more reaction training, and getting outside in the heat to simulate race conditions.  We have a few drivers from around the world sign on to spend time in our program in June, thus it’s getting a little busy !

We moved into a new location at the end of May.  Plans for a wonderful new facility in partnership with IRL Chiropractor Rob Schroeder took a hit when the company who owned our new property went under, thus causing some grief !  But we still have our eyes on the future, and for the nexy 3-6 months we have taken over new space at Createc Corp/Bald Spot Sports at 8660 Guion Road.  It’s a great situation and we really have a sweet deal.  One of my closest friends, Alan Lewis, owns both companies and the employees enjoy having their own wellness center right in the same building.

We also put the finishing touches on a fitness center for Kasey Kahne’s new WOO shop in Mooresville, NC.  Kasey wanted a great workout facility for himself and Brad Sweet, and we got it done just in time for the Grand Opening the Wednesday before Memorial weekend.  With help from our friends at Bob Block Fitness, Spri, and Concept 2, Kasey has the sweetest training room around !  The plans are for me to spend time down there each month with Kasey and the team, and that’s a great start into the world of NASCAR !

We had great success recently, with Wade Cunningham winning the Freedom 100 and J.R. Hildebrand assuming the points lead in Indy Lights.  Two Dixon’s won last weekend, with Scott winning the IRL race at Milwaukee and Larry taking top honors in top fuel at the NHRA event in Topeka, Kansas.

We also added Team Penske driver Will Power into our program as he prepares for some races in Indycar.  Check out our new Simcraft simulator on youtube.com  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmmNbqjlQbA&feature=channel_page .  That’s my youngest son Nick driving it, but we have had many drivers learning tracks on this wonderful training tool.  Thanks guys !

Chat soon, have to a track workout at Butler University and then swim session at the IUPUI Natatorium.  It’s a good thing !

Stay fit,

JL

Hello all,

Unless you live in a cave, you by now have figured out we are in full swing for the Indianapolis 500 and the Freedom 100 in Indy Lights. It’s an extremely cool time to be involved in the sport of auto racing, and even better to see the drivers daily !  I went for a training ride/run with Scott Dixon and Wade Cunningham this morning in the pouring rain.  It was a sweet reminder how fortunate our staff is in that we get to interact with some incredible athletes.  While we were riding, Ryan was working with a slew of Indy Lights drivers as they prepare for the Freedom 100.   During my ride, I had messages from Paul Tracy, Townsend Bell, and an email from Scott Sharp.  Some were about training, some just chatting.  But all and all we have a great community for the month of May.

We finalized a deal with Robopong last week, and have this absolutely wicked automated machines that kicks ping pong balls back to us.  It’s a great reaction tool for drivers, and it was fun watching drivers like Memo Rojas and Brad Sweet tear that thing up !  Memo is headed off to Laguna Seca for the Grand Am event there, and we all which him a safe and successful weekend !

I will be updating a little more now, but for even more updates join PitFit on facebook.

Stay Healhy and Well,

JL

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