I have been working on one for many years. These days it’s more to extend my sailing lifetime than to win races. What you need for sailing is complicated. You need cardio, arm, shoulder, ab,, ham strings and lower back strength for sailing. Then you need muscle to protect your hip, knee, and shoulder joints against the strength you built in the first set. Don’t forget the lower back, think about what most of your friends who have quit sailing complain about.

Like many people I am not willing to give specifics on training. What I can do and what you can do may be way different. You will need a program designed for athletes. The programs created by trainers in most gyms are poor to harmful . Programs for swimming and baseball are pretty good. Laser sailors used to publish a basic to Olympic level guide.

Stay away from supplements unless you know what you are doing. This includes everything from Gatorade to Ripped Fuel and worse. In a gym, this can mean an irregular heartbeat. Working hard in 95F+ temperatures, people have died. (know anyone who would consider rigging a catamaran on a hot beach or a asphalt parking lot?)

Be wary of info from old coaches. A lot of what they told you is a lot of hard work with minimum gain. Some of what they told you can hurt you.

Make sure you do full range of motion. I sucks to discover you can’t extend your arm fully when working the mainsheet (don’t ask me how I know)

Start at what you thing is too easy and work your way up.