Getting race fit
I recently posted about how nutrition has played a crucial role in my everyday life. But when it comes to feeling your best I think it’s important to think not only about what you’re putting into your body, but how you’re moving it too.
It’s always challenging to fit fitness into a schedule. No matter what job you do there always feels like there’s not enough time in the day. But we’ve also had a whole new set of challenges thrown at us this year. With gyms across the country going into lockdown earlier this year, many people (including me) have had to adapt their exercise routine and find new ways to workout and stay active.
Finding a balance
I used to visit the gym three times a week to fit in some form of weight training. But when lockdown happened, I decided to build my own gym in the garage. It’s nothing fancy – some TRX kit, a bench and a few dumbbell weights. I’m also working with Greg Potter, Chief Science Officer at Resilient Nutrition, on some remote weight training programmes that are focused on helping me to build muscle.
I’m mainly focusing on weight training to prevent injury ahead of the race. Sailing the IMOCA is a very physical experience, with heavy loads to manage in awkward positions (including 100kg sails), so I need to ensure I have a strong core and am using the right muscles to do the right job. That’s why I’m using gym equipment, but for general fitness I don’t think you need equipment at all – a good balance of bodyweight resistance and cardio can be really effective.
Like nutrition, I think fitness is so closely linked with mental state and promoting a healthy mind and body balance. An ankle injury is preventing me from running at the moment, and I really struggle without it in my routine. As well as all the endorphins it releases, it is one of the few activities that allows me to take my mind to another place, when I run it helps me gain perspective, to have great ideas and clear my head which often becomes overcrowded with the day to day.
Exercising outdoors
Exercising outdoors is (usually) free and adds extra stimulation. You’re in natural light (even when it’s raining) and you have this interaction with the elements. Fresh air on your skin is invigorating, so for me exercising outdoors is so important. It’s obviously a big part of what I do too.
Sailing itself is incredibly physical and just existing on the boat is exhausting. It’s constantly moving, so to walk around without holding onto anything means you need to be in command of your core and have good balance. To move from one end of the boat to the other I have to climb through the bulkheads, which are solid frames across the boat with small round holes cut in them for a person to crawl through. It’s dark and the boat is often throwing me around so flexibility is important. I have recently installed a ‘coffee grinder’ in the middle of my cockpit, this is like an upside down bicycle which I operate with my arms and allows me to drive the big winches on either side of the boat to put the sails up and down. To be effective on this machine, I need strong legs, a good body position and of course strong arms and a big lung capacity. With sailing, there’s not a huge amount of time where you’re not putting your body under some sort of stress.
Top tips & go-to exercises
Get outside
I’ve always been an advocate of running. You can do it anywhere, it’s free and it gets you outside. You also don’t have to go for miles. Hill training is brilliant for building endurance – just find a hill, start walking up it, then eventually progress to running up it. Even walking up and down stairs is really good for cardio fitness.
Practice technique
The minute you start using weights I think it’s important to have someone assess your position because technique is so important in preventing injury.
Get into a routine
Routine is really important so allow yourself an amount of time to focus on your fitness. Don’t feel guilty, taking regular exercise will help with all levels of productivity.
Stretch
Stretching regularly is important for recovery. I work with a chiropractor and sports therapist twice a week and we’re building a programme for self-treating my own injuries for when I’m on the boat. But we also practice conditioning exercises and strength building (hip mobilisers and hamstring stretches have made such a difference).
Use your body
You don’t have to invest in expensive equipment. Have a good look around online for some bodyweight resistance exercises and you’ll be surprised at how much you can do. Squats, press-ups, sit-ups, chin-ups and the plank are just a few of my go-to exercises.