To say this was a tough winter for dinghy sailors on the Chesapeake is quite the understatement. Not only did the big ice event in February (and March!) squash frostbiting plans, but icy roadways and trails made getting outside for fitness time dicey as well. So to keep the blood flowing, many small-boaters spent lots of time in the gym.
It’s easy to slip into routines at the gym. Get on the treadmill for a half hour. Do the same machines in the weight room every time you go. Toss in some wall sits. And that’s all good—way better than sitting on the couch moaning about the weather—but could you make your gym time even better? Think about your sailing and racing: How do you actually use your body during dinghy races, and how can you best support that during your fitness training time?
I prefer to run on trails; if that’s not available, roads; if they’re not an option (thank you, ice), the “dreadmill.” After way too many days/weeks of being forced off the roads, I did a little poking around the web to come up with some new ideas for my time on the treadmill. Keyword: intervals.
Not only are intervals—mixing high-intensity periods in with rest/recovery segments—a great way to build fitness and a terrific boredom buster, they also mimic heartrate demands when we race dinghies. Think about it: We spend much of our hiking out upwind, which, while taxing for your quads, isn’t really a cardio buster. We curl up into little balls on light air downwinds, trying not to move. But when we need to move, boy howdy, it had better be fast, strong, and effective as we set spinnakers, round marks, or get into tacking duels.
Interval training not only conditions your body to be able to respond quickly when you need it to, but it also helps train your heart rate to relax once your effort is complete. That lets you refocus on tactics, evaluate where the next puff will come from, and the like. Biathletes, who transition from high-exertion cross-country skiing to high-precision rifle shooting within seconds, are the gold standard example of athletes who need to quiet their heartrate to achieve maximum effectiveness. To a lesser (okay, much lesser) extent, this process can help your dinghy racing. Quieting the heart leads to quieting the mind leads to better decisionmaking.
Luckily, practicing this on dry land is pretty darn simple. The concepts can be applied in many ways: running, biking, swimming, even jumping jacks. Start slow, and add repetitions and intensity as you build fitness.
I like to do intervals using running. Now that the snow and ice have melted away, I’ll find a nice hill that takes about 20 to 30 seconds to sprint up. It’s critical to warm up with a period of running on a flatter surface to prevent injury. For the interval part of my session, I’ll sprint up the hill, jog back down for a recovery period, and repeat the process. As my fitness increases, I’ll increase the number of uphill sprints I do in a session. If it’s your first time out, try for four. You can also walk downhill rather than jog to increase your recovery time.
What I discovered this winter is that you can also do hill sprints on treadmills that have an “incline” feature. After you have warmed up, increase the incline to perhaps seven or eight percent and speed up the belt as well. Try running for 15 seconds, resting for 45, and repeating a few times. Maybe bump it up so you’re running 30, resting 30. Take the incline a little lower and slow the belt down and go for longer intervals: running for a minute, resting a minute. Mix it up, and find a routine that is challenging but doable for you.
Safety is critical. Try lower incline and slower speed until you’re familiar with what your legs and heart will let you do. Slowly increase your effort. Easing yourself back onto the moving belt from standing “on the sidelines” can take some practice; support yourself using your arms on the siderails as you transition back to running. Always be aware of the moving belt so you don’t end up off the back end of the treadmill. I went off the back of a treadmill a few months ago. I had stepped off to the sides to talk with someone, thought I had pushed “stop,” and failed to realize the belt was actually still moving when I stepped back on it. Let’s just say I did not stick the dismount, and I was lucky to not get injured.
The principles of intervals can be applied in many ways. Pick your favorite cardio work and create an interval plan, alternating high intensity and recovery, that will help you on the water.
by Kim Couranz
