How many of you work out with weights?

When Rick and I were in our mid 40's, we started noticing a decline in our strength and endurance, especially in long and difficult regattas. So we started going to a local gym every morning five days a week and going through a weight-training regimen. We did this for about three months straight, prior to the sailing season. It was amazing what a dramatic difference it made in our strength and endurance for racing.

I think regular weight training, along with aerobics, can greatly extend competitive racing years for people who want to race beach cats or high-performance dinghies of any kind.

People on this forum devote a lot of time to the intricacies of rigging and sails and rudders and lines and cleats. So I am just wondering whether people devote any time to making themselves better and stronger athletes to operate all this high-tech equipment.

I've been training for about 35 years...no question it helps me in sailing.I'll be 52 in April.

I lift... but because I have type 1 diabetes, putting any kind of useful weight on (or useless for that matter) is a waste of time. I do it for the confidence it gives me in the sack with the girlfriend :P

Just kidding.

I have been weight training for 12 years. My wake up call was 12 years ago when I had to lay down on the tramp before I could take the boat down after a 2 day regatta.


There are several levels of weight training and it is possible to do a lot of hard work with minimal benefit or set yourself to get hurt. If you are new to weight training find out how to train. The trainers that work at gym's are minimal. A Sports Medicine program is a lot better.If you are really serious and like to hurt, a sports trainer. Finally don't forget to work your back. Stronger arms and legs can put a lot of stress on the back.

I do some weight training, but only under supervision of a physiotherapist, it is part of my program to re-enforce my muscles after surgery.
I intend to keep on training after the program is finished.

I am convinced it will get me trough the summer in a better shape.

I've been fairly habitual in running about 3 miles every other day over the last couple of years, with some weight training off and on. I've found the running and cardio to be a huge help. Over the last couple of years, racing once a week has been my strength training! Probably the biggest help to my sailing was dropping about 30 pounds through the running and diet.

This year will be an uphill struggle - various things have conspired to get me off my exercise program, and sailing season's on the way!

Does anybody know what specific exercises and equipment and weight-training work best to develop the muscles most used in catamaran sailing? And which muscles are they? Forearms? Upper arms? Legs?

For instance, I know serious Laser sailors who live in snow country have their "hiking benches" that they use in the winter while they are watching TV so they can keep their stomach muscles strong.

And I think there also is a sheeting thing that some use in conjunction with the hiking bench to develop strength for the specific type of sheeting they do.

Hi Mary,
Noticed your post, and thought I'd post a "detailed" explanation as to the benefits of "resistance training", and maybe give you satisfactory answers to your questions. I will be back to the forum a little later with my post. I am a professional fitness evaluator and personal trainer; with a college background in work physiology and kinesiology.
Dave

Mary,
The decline in strength and endurance that you and Rick experienced in your mid-40s is par for individuals who haven't been on a regular training program. Some individuals experience that decline before "the 40s", some a little later. It all depends on what you are asking your body to do. If you don't do a whole lot, it takes a "jolt" to realize that you can't do a whole lot.
Active people sometimes come to the conclusion that their "participation" in a particular physical activity is no longer enough. In comes "resistance training" and "cardiovascular training". Question is: "how much do you need"? Well, you need a level that enables you to comfortably accomplish your everyday tasks, enjoy the physical activities of your choice and have a "reserve" for the unexpected over and above your specific needs. This is going to be different for everyone. The catsailor that is "content" with putting the wife, kids, dog, and beer on board for a little Sunday afternoon cruise does not require the strength and stamina of aggressive cat sailing teams. Although, it certainly would not hurt him.
There are many exercises that would benefit the catsailor. And, there is a variety of equipment that can be utilized. I would need a "whole lot of time" to elaborate on everything. You would be on the right track if you were to train "all" your muscles. Legs, upper back, lower back, chest, shoulders, neck, abdominals, and arms. I would make sure to include flexibility exercises. In conjuction with the resistance training, or as a stand alone such as Yoga or Pilates. If you really want to get specific, training for skipper and crew are actually different. They require different demands of their body.
The key to understanding training is that the stresses (and training is a stress) we place on our body is extremely "specific". The closer you can train to what your physical activity is...the better. You don't train a marathon runner by having him/her drag a stove down the road. By the same token, you don't train someone that will be sawing the mainsheet for extended periods of time by using very heavy weights, with few reps. For those with a good fitness foundation, there is also plyometric and ballistic training that can be included. What better way to be able to handle "severe" "unexpected" stresses on the body, than to train the body to accept them. If I had to choose one exercise that utilizes a majority of the muscles used in catsailing, I would give high marks to a rowing machine. There are crossovers between extending the legs from the "compact position", "contraction of the lower back muscles while bringing the upper body back from a bent over position", "upper arm muscles contracting while drawing the fists toward the chest", "shoulder girdle muscles contracting while drawing the elbow back", "abdominals contracting in the layed out position". If you think about it, there is a fairly close relationship there.
O.K., I've probably rambled enough on a subject that I dearly love. As you can see, like sailing, the more you know-the more you realize there is so much to know. You may find this site of interest http://www.exrx.net/Exercise.html
Thanks for listening.
Dave

The following two ideas might improve the sailing community's cardio:

1. Subsitution of throw out score.

Your throwout score could be substituted with
an OPTIONAL cycling Time Trail(TT) finish.
The TT does not have to marathon, say 5 to 20 minutes.
It could be done in mornings or evenings.
(use modified Texel system for rating?)
note: if you TT poorly, you have something to work on.

2. Biathalons.

sailing and cycling (or mountain biking).
side note: don't they sail and ski in one regatta in Tahoe, CA?


For those sailors over 40 or 50, you know the importance of maintaining
your cardio... etc. If you cannot ride a bike should you be on a cat?
Obviously, some regatta site's would better suited for this than others.
Cycling is better than running because it is easier on the joints, for the
running impaired. Cycling is a lot more FUN than running,
mountain biking is even better. (obviously bias)


Cheers,
Chris

Mary,

It's good to hear that others have experienced a noticable decline when reaching the mid-40's. For me, the 45th trip around the sun brought a granddaughter as well. The combination of many new aches and pains along with the notion of being called "Pop" took a bit of getting used to. To fight back, I'm planning on running my first marathon this year and trying to work my way back to my 30-year-old weight. The additional 25 lbs really takes its toll on aging muscles.

As for weight training, I do a little bit a few times a week during the winter. In the warmer months, I get my fill by loading sea kayaks on and off trailers on a regular basis.

Now, if I can only get my neighbor, a Ben & Jerry's employee, to stop bringing over four pints of ice cream every week!

Kevin,
Send your neighbor down here.

Mary,

When I used to work in Dilbert Land I would wait until I had ten pints in the freezer and then bring it to the company lunch room. Within minutes of sending an e-mail announcing, "ice cream in the fridge", it would be gone.

The other night, my neighbor's 3-year-old son showed up at the door delivering pints of One Sweet Whirled. He told me, "My mommy wants you to blow up like a balloon." After I got done laughing, I asked his mom where the comment came from. Apparantly she had told her son, "Take these over to Kevin and Michele. If we keep them here, I'll blow up like a balloon." Little Charlie had interpreted it to mean, "Take these over to Kevin and Michele so that THEY can blow up like a balloon." Kids. Ya gotta love em.

weight training is just boring to me, i do other stuff, kayaking is my favorite alternative. i also bike, run, and play tennis occasionally.i paddle 3 or 4 times a week, often from the sailing club. so i can piddle with my hobie for a while then go paddle my sea kayak,get some cardio and be on the water...but be careful, kayaks are addictive!

Dave...Since this thread has digressed into the area of food, I would be interested in your thoughts on the relationship between the training and nutrition.

I do workout regularly. This time of year while most are trying to loose weight, I'm usually trying to get up to minimum weight. Maybe I need the Ben and Jerrys.

Dan

Yes there is a regatta run from the North Shore every year in the Spring that is run on small monos (lasers?) and is combined with a downhill skiiing race. Check out the details here: http://www.skisail.com/specifics.html.

-Tim

Hello Dan....Good question (very good, as a matter of fact). As with "proper training", "proper nutrition" is a valuable part of the of the big picture. There are formulas that are used to determine specific ratios of macronutrients with relation to an individual's lean muscle mass to body fat percentage. It involves finding out your approx. caloric expenditure, determining an amount of calories that either needs to be added or subtracted from your intake to get the desired results. From what I understood of your post, you are looking at adding muscle to your frame (correct me if I am incorrect). Generally speaking (and that is because there are many factors), you would "tweak" added amounts of protein (used for repair and building muscle) while concentrating on required amounts of carbohydrates and fats for the task at hand. A good trainer has these tools. Also, the amount of weight you lift, the number of repetions you do and the number of sets in your routine needs to be determined. Gets kind of involved, huh?
I'll try to dig up a link that will at least get you on track. I'll send it to your email. Just keep in mind that any "diet" that severely restricts, or eliminates either protein, carbohydrate or fats...needs to be looked at closely. Nutrition is a "lifestyle", not a quick fix.
Dave

[color:"green"]> weight training is just boring to me, i do other stuff, kayaking is my favorite alternative...but be careful, kayaks are addictive![/color]

Dan,

I find sea kayaking to be very complimentary to sailing. When trying to decide which to do, I only have to look at the anemometer. If the winds are good, I sail. If the winds are light, I paddle.

Dan.....didn't see an email address. Here is a link that should be of interest. I am sorry if this has turned out to be a personal training session. I certainly didn't intend it to be.
Dave
http://www.nismat.org/index.html

you are what you eat.....doenst get any simpilar than that,,,

Woohoo! I'm doughnuts and beer! Yeah, baby...

I helped Greg and Cacey Scace obtain a rowing machine as a major part of their exercise routine in their Olympic quest. the US Sailing coach was firm that this was the single most useful piece of equipment for sailing conditioning. It makes sense as you have, a) a cardio workout, b) develop your arms and upperback, strengthening them for pullling (we pull a lot in sailing), and c)develop your leg muscles (good for trapeze work). With cats, one doesn't use the abdominals like dinghy sailors do, because we trap instead of hike. In trapeze work, the thigh muscles are worked out as one extends and squats while adjusting their weight.

Stretching, cardio work and strength work; three major elemets of a proper exercise program are all very helpful for cat sailing, or any other active sport.

Here's the aweful truth. The design of the human body was "locked down" about 100,000 years ago. It hasn' t really changed since. What were our ancestors doing then? Running, jumping, lifting, throwing, chasing, being chased...all this activity is what exercise now mimics. They definitely weren't spending the day sitting on their butts! Today's exercise helps the body be involved in doing what it was designed to do and what it thrives on doing. So, exercise should be a lifetime activity.

Hi Mary:

Actually this a pretty interesting thread. We got a fitness program as part of being on the US Sailing Team last year that really changed the way we went about preparing for sailing. Casy and I are Masters swimmers, but swimming really isn't related to sailing at all, and we have over the past year stepped away from swimming a bit and focused more on the US Team program. The program that Rob Slade (the guy who was the strength coach for Chessie Racing during the last Whitbread, before it became the Volvo Ocean Race) set up focused a lot on core strength, balance, and strength in muscle groups that are used on the boat.

Here's a laundry list of what they recommended for trapeze dinghies, including Tcats.

Core stuff: We do a variety of abdominal exercises. We do lots of crunches with a balance ball under our butts and our feet together so that we have to balance while doing them. We do medicine ball situps where we throw a medicine ball back and forth to each other as we "sit up". These develop quickness. We do back exercises to strengthn our backs.

We do a variety of stuff to develop our legs since you're using your legs to grind sheets from the wire. These include one legged squats, with the other leg on a balance ball, wall sits, lunges, leg extensions and curls.

We do several different rows to develop pulling muscles. We do the traditional bent over rows with free weights, inverted rows (like a pull up from lying horizontal) and one armed cable rows using a machine.

Pullups develop muscles needed to pull yourself up so that you can come in off the wire standing up. We also do dips, chair dips, and triceps pulldowns.

Other stuff we do includes free weight stuff including bench press with either bar, or dumbbells, shrugs, biceps curls. We also do shoulder strengthening exercises with shock cords and light weights.

The biggest eye opener to me was the indoor rower. Many gyms have these things and they are the most efficient method of crushing your butt that I know of. The rower is really great for sailing because it really works the muscle you use in sailing cats. You drive the sliding seat with your legs and pull with your upper body. And since you are using nearly all muscle group, including all the really large ones, you consume a ton of energy. The rower is a huge aerobic workout. We do at least a half hour on the rower. We like the rower so much that we got one for home, which we named Destiny, as in "I have a date with Destiny." We've incorporated interval training into our rowing workouts, such as we do in the pool.

The weight stuff is really good to do and the benefits are obvious within a few weeks, but the program that we were given is not manageable as soon as you go on the road for weeks at a time, or have a job and fundraising to do. It was like working two jobs to go to our regular job, do a three 1/2 hour workout, and then try to raise money. And coming back from regattas and just diving into the weight room is a recipe for problems. I started to develop an overuse injury to one of my shoulders last fall and was advised to substitute other exercises for dips and anything that put one's shoulder at extreme angles while supporting full body weight, since I'm older. As I understand it, as people age the circulation in the shoulder area becomes reduced compared to that of a 20 year old and it becomes easy to wear the joint. I've recently been very careful about my shoulders, and have started concentrating more on the rower since Tcat helms don't do the full-on, constant sail trimming that the crews perform. The rower rocks totally.

More info on the indoor rower can be found at www.concept2.com. Those things are amazing!

I had thought that I was at a disadvantage compared to the younger sailors that we are racing agains because of my age. I thought that my strength potential was prolly less. Then I learned that a long term study of elite swimmers and other masters athletes showed that as long as people remain injury free and stay fit, they do not lose muscle mass as early in life as was originally thought. Many of the athletes in the study were putting in as good or better times in their sport as they aged into their 50s and later. According to the study, muscle mass loss begins in early 60s for women athletes and late 60s for men, not in the 30s as was previously thought. I have to say that I have a long way to go to be an elite athlete, but the results gave me hope that a geezer in his late 40s can race competitively against anyone.

-Greg

Greg,

I agree, rowing on the Concept II machines can be good conditioning for sailing. Or, if you want a taste of some maritime tradition, you can opt for the old wooden pilot gigs. Below is our crew (top boat) after finishing second in the 2001 Snow Row on Boston Harbor.


And this picture as we prepare for the Lemans style start in the 2002 race. (Yours truly holding the bow of "Red Wing".)


I'll be in Boston for the 2003 race tomorrow. So far, the training has been mostly of the "visualization" variety. That, and a healthy dose of Vitamin I (Ibprophen) seem to get us through to the finish.

I have never gotten into the concept of weight training. It always seemed too boring to me, and I always ended up hurting myself by pushing just a little too hard.

I stay fit by doing Bikram Yoga, done in a really hot room so it protects your muscles. It works ALL muscle groups, builds strength and flexibility.

I supplement the yoga with bicycling, kayaking, and rollerblading, depending on what the weather recommends.

As long as I make the time, these activities keep me in great shape for cat sailing, and pretty much anything else I want to do.

If you want to see if there's a Bikram instructor near you, check this out: Bikram Yoga Class Locations

See you out there,
Shambie

Hi Mary:

I didn't see you at the Mega, but I did see Rick, and it's obvious he's strong enough to still muscle these boats around. I'm fifty-five, 5'10", and 172 lbs and I do use weights. The extra strength helps me set the boat up; move it on the beach by myself, and handle the main with a simple 7:1 one handed.

Using a righting pole, I can actually get my 18 magnum up myself with little work. I can't imagine being able to do any of this if I did not use weight resistance. It's not a hard program; maybe I have a total of four hours a week in it.

I want to thank you for bringing this to our sailing friends' attention. I know there are many that are in really good shape either because of their work activities or exercise disciplines, but I've always worried about others that are extremely out of shape and I've actually seen sailors that cannot even get themselves back on their boats if they fall off, or decide to take a swim.

Maybe you'll bring it to their attention that they are actually helping other sailors besides themselves when they try to stay fit.

Wyatt