IndyCar Series driver Mike Conway took a respite from physical training for the holidays, but he's back logging miles on his bike and lifting weights in the gym to prepare for the starts of the 2014 season.

Conditioning and proper hydration are important elements in the success of a driver, who is subjected to multiple G forces (body weight pushing against you), extreme heat and the physical nature of wrestling a 1,600-pound car around quick and tight turns on road and street course.

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"Looking at it from the outside or an on-board camera angle it looks as if the driver is just sitting there and it's all under control," said Conway, who will drive the No. 20 Fuzzy's Ultra Premium Vodka car for Ed Carpenter Racing in the 12 road/street course events in 2014. "Trust me, you're really wrestling the car. It's not an easy thing to drive, especially qualifying laps when you're really giving it 100 percent to just wring its neck. It's just on edge everywhere.

"It's quite heavy steering and when you go to as bumpy as circuits as we go to even little corrections for two hours it takes it out of you. Combine that with the heat, constant braking and the G loads that go through your body it's quite an ordeal. You get out of the car and you might not feel it right away because the adrenaline is still pumping, but a while later you really feel beat up.

"To prepare for that requires a lot of strength-based training. The whole reason you work hard is to be as fit as you can while you're in the car, which makes the racing just a little bit easier on your body."