Legendary workout is one key to Mark Martin's longevity

For many people, working out is just a hobby or a way to stay in shape.

But for 50-year-old Mark Martin, it’s a way of life.

SOUTHERN 500 SPECIAL EDITION

Make sure you pick up a copy of the Morning News on Thursday. Inside you’ll find the 2009 Southern 500 preview pullout featuring everything you need to know on race day.
This year, they take a special look at the hobbies that keep drivers busy when they aren’t behind the wheel. All week, we’ll be publishing those stories online here at scnow.com.

MONDAY: Mark Martin, fitness fanatic
TUESDAY: Scott Speed, fashion guru and remote control car enthusiast
WEDNESDAY: Marcos Ambrose pans for gold
THURSDAY: Sam Hornish brings vintage cars back to life

In addition, this special edition will have recaps of past races, facts, figures, and more drivers and their hobbies - it's coverage of the Southern 500 you can only find Thursday in the Morning News.

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“I put everything I have into each workout, just like I always drive, as if it were the last race of my life,” Martin said recently told Best Life Magazine. “That’s truly the secret to my longevity.

“What I’ve found is that the extra effort — that all-or-nothing final push — provides me with a little more strength next time.”

Martin’s workouts are legendary among the NASCAR community and he even put them in writing when he wrote his book, “Strength Training for Performance Driving” in 1994. The book, which retails for $11.75, can be purchased on Amazon.com.

“My dad bought me ‘Strength Training’ when I was a kid, and I was like ‘Man, this guy is built like a brick,’” said former teammate Kurt Busch after he finished third to Martin at Phoenix last month. “The guy has been at the top of his game for 30 years in this sport, it’s unbelievable to watch.”

But having a washboard stomach and body fat in the single digits wasn’t always the case for Martin, who is driving full-time for Hendrick Motorsports this season after driving part-time the last two seasons.

Martin said he used to drink and wasn’t one who watched what he ate. That all changed shortly after he was hired to drive for Roush Racing in 1990.

Martin made a commitment to himself to change his ways and became obsessed with working out after he read Arnold Schwarzenegger’s “Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding.”

“I read the book cover to cover and began lifting heavy weights like bodybuilders do,” Martin said. “It took two years of training like a lunatic, but my body fat eventually dropped into the single digits and I earned washboard abs. For the past 20 years, I’ve fought like hell to maintain that level of fitness.”

Martin’s workouts usually begin shortly after 6 a.m. and he exercises usually four times a week with each day working a specific area. Mondays are usually back and triceps. Tuesdays are shoulders, Wednesdays are legs and Thursdays are chest and biceps.

Martin also mixes in cardio and lately has added a lot more stretching to his routine.

Martin’s “hobby” has definitely had an effect on NASCAR during his years. More drivers are committed to working out daily as much as they are to testing their race cars.

Martin even got his car owner Rick Hendrick in the act. Hendrick said at the media tour in January he has lost 20 pounds because of Martin’s influence.

Martin’s racing future is uncertain after this year, but not his workout routine.

“Someday I’ll stop racing, but there’s no way I’ll ever stop working out. It’s just too important to me,” he said.