In a perfect world, we would be able to go windsurfing everyday of the week! We all know that will never be the case so when it comes time to get back on your board for your first session of the season, you want to be ready!
Windsurfing Works your body!
What burns the most? Is it your lungs, your arms, legs or brain? I can’t tell you how many times I see it….. windsurfers who don’t get to sail that much, hit the water for their first time in 6 months and just blow-up! Arms are working 10x too hard, the adrenaline is pumping; being back on your board is completely exhilarating! Six minutes later, gasping for breath and barely able to grip the boom you kiss the ground once back on shore.
Can this be avoided? I have had several requests to share some tips on some off season training so that you are ready for hitting the water when your time comes! The most successful way to accomplish this is finding something you ENJOY doing- If you hate being stuck inside sweating with 138 other human’s on the treadmill, that isn’t for you. I like to find a sport of some kind, make it fun…. Racquetball is one that always comes to my mind- that whoops you into shape pretty quickly. Most cross country skiers I see coming to Maui are also pretty fit and in great shape.Bikers as well- they can burn the lungs for 5 hours straight and we know the legs are strong enough for anything thrown at them. You want to find a sport that does it all, cardio, legs and arms but most importantly you gotta have FUN!
What if you can only devote 20-40 minutes a day to your workout? This is where I break out thejumprope! The simplest of cardio machines on the market- you can tie up 3 downhaul lines and be ready to rock. If you are a beginner, jumping rope for 1 minute without stopping will knock your socks off! No lie- try it. This builds up your cardio and gets you moving. Wakes you up as well! Next item of business is getting some upper body strength going- Pull UPS! We all love them…. but this is really close to what we are doing on the windsurfer- all those muscles in the back, arms, shoulders are just waiting to come to life. Start with just trying to do 5 of them. If you can’t do one, get a ladder and do them from the top down and go slow. Let gravity do the work for you- mix underhand and overhand grips and don’t forget to breathe. Take a quick cool-down and get back on the jumprope. Next up are Push-UPS and these will balance out the chest and other upper body muscles. Shoot to do 10 of them but do them slowly and correctly. Quantity doesn’t matter right now, build your base and go from there. Rotate through all these exercises at least 3 times in the beginning and you can always turn up the numbers. A good start out looks like this:
Jump Rope warm up/learn how to do it- 3 minutes with lots of crashes probably : }
Rest/Stretch 30 seconds
Pullups x 5 – 2 minutes
Rest/Stretch 30 seconds
Jump Rope- 5 minutes
Rest/Stretch 30 seconds
Pushups x 10- 2 minutes
Rest/Stretch 30 seconds
Jump Rope- 5 minutes
Rest/Stretch 30 seconds
Pullups x 5 – 2 minutes
Rest/Stretch 30 seconds
Jump Rope- 5 minutes
Pushups x 10- 2 minutes
Rest/Stretch 30 seconds
Jump Rope Cool-down— 2 minutes
Pullups x 5 – 2 minutes
Rest/Stretch 30 seconds
Pushups x 10- 2 minutes
36 minutes- DONE! The stronger you get the faster you will go through this- then you know it’s time to turn up your numbers. Start with 2 times a week, then to 3x a week then???? If you can find a partner to do this with even better- Keep it fun and get it done!
Be sure to check out our Aloha Windsurfing Clinics happening in Maui and elsewhere…… after reading this you will be in shape and ready-
See you on the water!
MP