After more than two decades of racing, not counting the go-karting she began as a 10-year-old, Danica Patrick has undeniably made her mark on the sport. As the first and only woman to win an IndyCar race (the 2008 Indy Japan 300) and owner of the highest female finish ever at the Indianapolis 500 (third place), her racing resume is full of records.
Now 35 years old, the question remains as to what's next for the racing legend. As it stands, she won't be returning to her current team, Stewart-Haas Racing, in 2018, but contends that she's not done with the sport if the sport isn't done with her. When it comes to her training regimen, Patrick, who's racing every weekend this month, hasn't let off the gas. While talking about her current campaign with Life Happens, which promotes the importance of life insurance, we asked her about her toughest workout move. She showed us one that's called the "thruster:"
The move: Barbell squat with overhead press
How to do it: This exercise is a combination between a squat and overhead press. With your legs shoulder-width apart, lift the weight using your legs, squat and raise the bar above your head when you drive up out of the squat, for an overhead press.
When I do it: I put them in my workouts multiple times a week.
Why I do it: It's a full body move and it really gets your heart rate up.
Why it's so killer: They never seem like they'll be that big of a deal, especially because most of the time I don't do heavy thrusters. I'll typically use 95 pounds for cleans, push jerks, hang cleans. For dead lifts it's usually even more. With the thruster, I'll use just 65 pounds. But you pick that bar up and by the time you get 10 in you're thinking, "That's like the hardest move ever!"