Regatta Dieting

Sailing is a physically demanding sport, where you will expend a lot of energy throughout a day of racing.  Not only do you have to have the strength to do basic physical movements such as hiking, trimming, rolling, etc, but you must also have the energy to think tactically and make decisions during a race.  The instant your body starts to run low on fuel, you will start to break down mentally, prior to losing your physical strength.

Every person’s dietary needs are different, but one thing is true for every person: You need more food, when you are sailing, than you typically eat in a single day!  This is true in all wind conditions, but especially true if it is windy.  Furthermore, how you eat when you are on the water at a regatta is different than how you eat when you are off the water at a regatta.

When you are on the water, you should eat many smaller meals every 2-3 hours, or in between races.  These meals should primarily consist of dietary products, such as energy bars, gels, shakes, as well as other small high energy snacks such as fruits and nuts.  The main reason for this is digestion.  It is well documented that your body uses about 10% of its energy simply digesting the food you eat.  Dietary products, like energy bars, shakes, gels, etc. digest much more quickly than normal food, using up less of your energy on the water.  Also, by spreading out the meals 2-3 hours apart, or between races, not only will your food digest faster, but you will sustain your energy levels throughout the day. In other words, you won't run out of energy in the middle of a race.

It is extremely important to drink a great deal of water when you are sailing as well.  This is true no matter how you eat on the water, but is especially true when eating sport supplements or dietetic products.  The reason for this is that they tend to contain a great deal of sugar, which will soak up a lot of the water you have in your system.  Sugar isn't necessarily a bad thing when you are racing, as it will get into your system to provide energy much faster than normal food.  However, you need to compensate for the negative effects it has with much more water than you typically drink.

Off the water, you should eat much larger meals that consist of “real food” packed with lots of nutrients.  Dietary products and sport supplements are missing a lot of the important nutrients that your body needs during the day, so it is important to make up for what you are missing during a day of sailing.  Usually, you will have one large meal before you start the day, and one or two larger meals at the end of the day.
 
Carbohydrates:

Carbohydrates are essential for energy, focus, and protecting your energy stores.  When exercising, carbohydrates are the first energy source your body burns off.  Thus, you need A LOT of them.  Your larger meals should consist of complex carbohydrates with lots of nutrients and fiber.  This includes whole wheat pastas, grainy breads (bagels tend to have the most energy), some cereals, brown rice, beans etc.  Your smaller meals will include more simple carbohydrates that break down quickly.  This will include energy bars, gels, sport drinks, bananas, orange juice, etc.

Proteins:

Proteins help muscles recover, improve muscle function, and sustain the release of energy to your muscles.  Protein should be consumed throughout the day, not just at night.  Your body will only take in about 40-50 grams of protein in a single meal, and you need MUCH more than that to recover during a regatta.  Thus, you should have plenty throughout the day.  I personally like to include a lot of protein in every meal.  The best proteins come from fish, chicken, flank steak, protein shakes, Greek Yogurt, nuts, etc.

Fats:

Many people have huge misconceptions about fats throughout the fitness world.  They are the greatest source of energy, and not including them in your diet will leave you far short of what you need to maximize your performance on the water.  For example one gram of carbohydrates or proteins has four calories.  One gram of fat has nine calories.  Thus, not having them will likely leave you well short of your needed caloric intake, and you will break down much more quickly on the water.

Instead of avoiding fats, eat plenty of the healthy fats that your body can use.  Thus, you want to eat a lot of unsaturated fats (Polyunsaturated Fat and Monounsaturated Fat), and not eat a lot of Saturated or Trans Saturated Fat.  Unsaturated fats are much easier for your body to break down to use for energy.  The saturated and trans saturated fats are much stronger and harder to break down for energy use.  Thus, it is harder for your body to actually use them.  The best sources of the good fats are nuts, seeds, oils, and fish.  The bad fats are found in most red meat, ANYTHING with chocolate or candy coating (seen on some energy bars), butter, and peanut butter that uses hydrogenated oil (solid at room temperature).

Sample diet for four hour long races with short breaks:

Breakfast 
- 12-16 oz. of Greek Yogurt (Protein)
- Whole wheat bagel (Carb) smothered in NATURAL peanut butter (Fat/Protein)
- Grapefruit or Orange Juice (Carb)

Meal 2 (Prior to Race 1)
- Energy Bar or Protein Bar (Carb/Protein & Carb)
- 16 oz. Water

Meal 3 (Prior to Race 2)
- Energy Bar or Protein Bar (Carb/Protein & Carb)
- Energy Gel (Carb)
- 16 oz. Water

Meal 4 (Prior to Race 3)
- Nuts or Banana (Fat & Protein/Carb)
- Ready to Drink Protein Shake (Protein)
- Sport Drink (Carb)
- 16 oz. Water

Meal 5 (Prior to Race 4)
- Two Energy Bars (Carb)
- 16 oz. Water

Meal 6 (Just off the water)
- Protein Shake
- 16 oz. Water

Dinner
- Salmon (Protein/Fat)
- Broccoli (Carb)
- Black Beans (Carb/Protein)
- Whole Wheat Pasta with Pesto (Carb/Fat)

EVERYONE IS DIFFERENT!  What works for one person may not work for another person.  The important thing to take away from this article is to eat plenty and often when you are sailing!  The amount of races you sail in a day, the length of each race, the wind strength, etc. is always changing.  There are also many substitutes for any of the foods on this list.  Experiment with different things, and find out what works best for you!

See you on the water,

Zim Coach

The SB2 Hiking Workout

As discussed in previous posts, Improving Your Hiking Technique and Developing a Personal Sailing Fitness Program, the two most important muscle groups in sailing are your quadriceps and abdominals.  When hiking, quads are used in mostly static movements, while abdominals are used for both static and non-static movements.  The non-static movements, that involve your core, help you adjust for all of the tiny movements you make with your upper body as you sail through waves (e.g. torquing).  Developing your core in this way is extremely important, particularly in small and light dinghies, like the Optimist or Byte CII, which stall quickly if you are not able to work them through every wave upwind.

Here is a great workout for developing this type of functionality in your hiking:

Find a comfortable spot, and lay on your back.  Next, perform exercises 1-4 with no rest (1-4 are all one set with no rest). Rest for one minute.  Incorporate additional sets as needed.

1. Russian Twists – 15 each side (30 total)

2. Leg lifts – 15

3. Full Sit-ups (NOT CRUNCHES) – 15 

4. Reverse Sit-ups – 15

5. Rest 1 min.

6. Repeat as needed

How many reps and sets you do is easy to adjust.  I always recommend starting at 15 reps and three sets if this is your first time.  Using this will get you 75 reps in one set, and 225 for the workout.  As you get stronger, you should start by adding reps, and then start adding sets.  To give you an example, I reached my strong-point as a hiker when I was doing ten sets of 35 reps each.  This is 1,750 reps in a workout.
This workout is effective in hitting all areas of your core, just like you do when you are hiking.  You can integrate it as a piece of your workout routine, or simply use it as a standalone workout.  If you struggle getting through it initially, don’t get discouraged.  Lower the reps, then the sets, and you will see improvements in your core strength immediately.  Then, move them up from there.  Get ready to go fast in breeze!

See you on the water,

Zim Coach      

Developing a Personal Sailing Fitness Program

As the competition level continues to rise in sailing, and boats continue to get lighter, faster, and more powerful, getting in shape is more important than ever in many popular classes in the sailing community.  Sailors are hiring personal trainers, competing at the CrossFit® Games, and the US Sailing Team even went to train with the Navy Seals before the London Olympics.  The interesting thing about sailing is that there is not really a standard for how people are supposed to train for regattas.  This is mostly because the sport and the people in it are so diverse in their goals, making every sailor’s fitness needs different.  For example, a 420 sailor should not train the same as a keelboat or skiff sailor, a sailor who mostly competes on short courses should not train the same as a sailor who mostly competes on long courses, and a skipper often times should train differently than a crew.  Furthermore, sailors often alter their routine for a specific boat or event.  If you get a chance to look at photos of Ben Ainslie over the scope of his career, you will see a great example of how much a premiere sailing athlete will modify their physical appearance for different boats or regattas.  While your fitness needs will vary depending on what kind of boats you race, your role in the boat, or the type of racing you do, the basics always remain the same.

The two most important muscle groups in ANY sport are legs and core.  Whether you are throwing a ball, swinging a golf club, hitting a tennis ball, throwing a punch, or hiking out on a boat, the majority of power in any of these movements is actually generated from your legs.  Even NASCAR drivers use a considerable amount of core strength as they go through turns.  One of the interesting things about sailing is that these muscles are used in a lot of different ways.  For example, sometimes your movements are static, like hiking or holding the mainsheet in place.   At other times your movements are explosive or repetitive, like when you are roll tacking or sheet-vanging.  Thus, how your workout is structured should depend on the demands placed on you by the boat you sail.  For example, if you do a lot of long courses where you do a lot of hiking, cardio sessions and wall-sits are typically a much higher priority than dead lifts, squats, and bicep curls.  In sailing, there are no right or wrong fitness programs.  A program is simply more or less efficient for achieving your specific goals on the water.

There are a few important factors to consider other than core and legs when setting up your program.  First of all, engaging in a lot of exercises where you utilize PUSHING movements (e.g. Bench Press) will do very little for you in a sport where you typically PULL things in and ease them out.  When you do focus on your upper body, it is important to remember that almost every movement you do in a sailboat is using a significant amount of core strength.  Thus, finding upper body exercises that heavily engage your core simultaneously will better prepare you for the water than those that do not.  Furthermore, compound movements will also have a greater impact on your fitness because they will hit both large and small muscle groups at the same time.  For example, pull ups engage your back, biceps, and core all at once, just like sheet-vanging a 420 in 25 knots.  In contrast, a bicep curl will only focus on one small muscle group, and will not simulate how you actually use your biceps on the water.

While programs will always vary from person to person in the sailing world, any good sailing program will incorporate all of the following:

1.  Cardio – Cardio is essential for training your heart rate.  Making cardio a part of your program will increase endurance and focus during long days of racing.  Furthermore, cardio will make you more effective in breezy conditions where you are constantly sheet-vanging and moving your body to adjust to waves and changes in pressure.

2.  Static Leg Exercises – This includes any exercise that causes your quadriceps to contract in a static position.  This will improve your endurance and overall strength while hiking.

3.  Static Core Exercises –This includes all exercises that contract your core muscles in a static position.  This will strengthen your support muscles while hiking, making it easier to support your upper body in a maximum hiking position.

4.  Repetitive Core Exercises – This includes any exercise that engages your core via repetitions.  This will help you use your upper body in a more effective way while hiking, by making you more able to torque and work through waves.  When performing, this type of exercise, it’s more effective to do sets with high repetitions rather than low repetitions.

5.  Compound Pulling Movements – This is a broad category mostly meant to engage your Back, Biceps, and Shoulders.  A compound movement will work bigger stronger muscles such as your back and shoulders, while also engaging a smaller muscle group like your abdominals.  Purely bodyweight exercises are preferable to using weights.

6.  Static Upper Body Movements – Another broad category that is mostly reserved for Shoulder, Back, and Bicep Muscles.  The exercises all involve contracting the upper body muscles for a long period of time while also engaging your core muscles.

7.  Pure Strength Movements (Legs) – This is the least necessary to a great program, but using higher weights and lower rep. sequences with exercises like squats, dead lifts, power cleans, etc., can add considerable amounts of strength to your legs and core.  Your legs are your largest muscles, so they are also the most effective way to add muscle weight to your body if you need to get into a bigger weight range.  This is for very specific and advanced training routines.  All necessary precautions should be taken before engaging in this kind of training.

Zim Coach’s Top 10 Most Effective Sailing Exercises
1. Hiking Bench (Static Leg, Static Core)
2. Running, Biking, Ergometer (Cardio)
3. Static Squats (Static Leg, Static Core)
4. Static Leg Lifts (Static Core)
5. Full Sit-Ups/Leg Lifts (Repetitive Core) – NOT CRUNCHES
6. Pull-Ups/Chin-Ups(Compound Pulling)
7. Super Mans (Static Upper Body)
8. Static Pull-Ups/Chin-Ups (Static Upper Body)
9. Power Cleans (Pure strength)
10. Front Squats (Pure Strength)

Zim Coach’s 5 Most Overrated Sailing Exercises
1. Bench Press
2. Dumbbell Flies
3. Any pure triceps exercise
4. Shoulder Press
5. Bicep Curls

See you on the water,

Zim Coach

Disclaimer: Zim Coach's fitness knowledge and recommendations are made as a professional sailor.  Zim Coach is not a licensed or professional personal trainer.

Pyramid Training

The concept of Pyramid Training is derived from a weightlifting concept where an individual performs multiples sets of lifting weights, starting with low weights and high repetitions, and progressing gradually to higher weights and lower repetitions.  For example, a typical pyramid scheme for weight lifters is performing ten reps, then eight, six, four, two, and finally one.   Each set is performed between periods of rest with increased amounts of weight.  Whether this is a bench press, dead lift, squat, etc., Pyramid Training remains an enduring example of how to build strength, endurance, and definition in the gym.

Applying the Pyramid Training concept towards on the water training sessions can do wonders for sailors looking to build their strength, endurance, and speed, especially in heavy air conditions.  Once the wind picks up to a point where you are hiking, give this drill a try:

1. Hike for FIVE MINUTES as hard as you can; stop and rest
2. Hike for FOUR MINUTES as hard as you can; stop and rest
3. Hike for THREE MINUTES as hard as you can; stop and rest
4. Hike for TWO MINUTES as hard as you can; stop and rest
5. Hike for ONE MINUTE as hard as you can; stop and rest
6. Repeat as desired

The drill helps break down a lot of sailing into smaller, focused sailing repetitions.  This enables individuals to quickly learn something new during each individual piece of the pyramid, and then apply it to the next piece of the pyramid, all the while increasing their overall hiking strength.  Whether you go out to practice by yourself or with a group, the concept of sailing until you can’t anymore when it is blowing 17 knots is often daunting and can seem like a chore.  Furthermore, when you start to get tired and there is no end in sight, you will end up checking out mentally and physically.  This will result in you getting very little if anything at all out of your training session.  By engaging in shorter, defined periods of time where you are hiking, you are both more capable of hiking as hard as you can for the entire period, and more focused on what is happening with your technique, sail trim, and overall speed.

This drill is ideally performed in either single person or small group sailing sessions where you are trying to build physical strength, improve boat speed, maintain focus, or keep a group of sailors together.  Performing this drill at least twice in a training session with a buffer in between pyramids, where you push yourself in a ten or fifteen minute downwind sail, will make sailing a few upwind legs on a long race course seem like a walk in the park.  It will also increase your confidence sailing in heavy air.

Here are a few l tips on how sailors of all levels can get the most out of this type of training:

1.  If you or your students are not yet capable of hiking as hard as possible for a full five minutes, try a mini-pyramid starting at three minutes and working your way down from there.

2.  Remember, this drill is just as much about building boat speed as it is about building strength.  Use the breaks between reps not only for rest, but also to analyze what needs improvement or what you want to try differently on the next piece of the pyramid.

3.  As you continue to improve and get stronger, start by decreasing the amount of rest you take between reps.  As you continue to make the drill more challenging, add additional, longer reps to the pyramid (e.g. start at six minutes and work down from there), or just add more pyramids!

4.  Always try to challenge yourself, and never be afraid of getting better!

See you on the water,

Zim Coach