Physically preparing for the Vendee Globe
How do you physically prepare for an extreme sporting event like the Vendee Globe? And what do you do if you sustain an injury on board?
One aspect of Pip’s preparation for the Vendee Globe was an injury prevention programme, working on regular stretches and strength and conditioning exercises to ensure optimum physical performance. Shelley Davies, founder of Davies Chiropractic and Sports Therapy, talks through Pip’s preparation and on board routine:
“We’ve been working with Pip for around 18 months. She had a fracture some years ago and when she came to see us she was struggling to run, which is a problem when you’re planning on sailing around the world! Most of the activities on board (like climbing the mast and just moving around the boat) require many of the same actions you would use in running, so our first goal was to work on rehabilitation.”
One of Shelley’s associates, Linn Erixon-Sahlstrom, led the treatment with Shelley consulting on techniques and planning the rehab and strength and conditioning aspects. They began by stripping things back to the basic biomechanics looking at it from a micro perspective and assessing normal movement patterns. They then worked with Pip, assessing her once a week and giving her specific rehab exercises to follow:
“At first we started with resistance bands and then slowly worked up to using weights and kettlebells. We prepared for the Vendee Globe by mimicking her daily actions with resistance bands, so actually doing things like a pulley action, rope action and push and pull moves. We broke this down into a number of smaller programmes and eventually she was able to run pain free. Once we hit that goal, we started working on her main programme to take on board the boat.”
“We provided Pip with a number of stretches, quick exercises and moves to do while sailing - she has a resistance band with her and when she has a 20-minute window she will repeat the moves from her programme while at sea. Time is obviously quite limited so it was important that she had a realistic set of exercises to carry out and this is all very much focused on self management and injury prevention, making sure that she retains optimal physical health while she’s racing.
Pip carries out a conditioning exercise on-board Medallia to relieve back pain in the second week of the race
We wanted to give Pip a number of self treatment tools she could take around the world with her, and we are in touch regularly. After the first week of the Vendee Globe she suffered with a bad back and once we talked it through with her we realised that she had strained her lower back tissues while she was moving sails and also while she was sleeping in an awkward position. In many ways this was to be expected early on, as Pip adjusts to her new sleeping habits and sleeping in a semi-upright position. We gave her some lower back exercises and stretches to do for pain management and she’s recovered really well.
Our preparation and ongoing management is focused on a full body approach (not just isolating the issue); building a strong core, strong shoulders and hips with good balance through the ankles and feet, basically looking at it from a holistic point of view.
There really isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to strength, conditioning and injury prevention. It’s very individual and can be based on a number of factors including muscle mass and past injuries. I would encourage anyone participating in an extreme sport like solo sailing to see someone who can provide an individual assessment that’s personalised - preparation is key.”