13/11/2006
NEWS STORY
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While he continues his discussions with teams concerning the 2007 Formula One World Championship, Christian Klien is also working hard on one of the most important aspects of any driver's preparations for a new season - fitness training.
Driving a Formula One car is physically demanding, to put it mildly, but for Christian this poses no difficulty due to his long term commitment to effective preparation under the guidance of personal trainer, former Karate World Champion Daniel Devigile.
One of the great benefits that Christian enjoys is the fact that his home town of Hohenems is an ideal location for someone facing intensive training. Lying at the bottom of the Hohe Kugel mountain in the Vorarlberg region of Western Austria it is the perfect location for hiking, mountain biking and winter sports training. The Hohe Kugel is just inside the Austrian border, with great views overlooking Eastern Switzerland and Southern Germany, and it is not surprising that this has given Christian a love of outdoor training regimes.
When training indoors, Christian works out alongside other talented young Austrian athletes, some competing at Olympic level, in his determination to be one of the fittest Formula One drivers around.
"For me, training to achieve a high level of physical fitness is not only an essential part of being a Formula One driver, but also great fun too," says Christian. "I love the mountains, so training outside, and at altitude, is really rewarding. Very few people understand just how tough it is to drive a Formula One car. If your fitness level is not high enough it can make a lot of difference during a long, hot race when you need to remain focused on driving rather than surviving."
As Christian continues his relentless training regime, one thing is certain; when he secures his next drive in Formula One he will be ready for the challenge in every way.