Warming up exercises?

[cabalar]

Hi all!

Do you make warming up exercises before starting a regatta?

In other sports these exercises are important to prevent injuries. However, I haven't seen many (or would say any) people warming up before sailing -- perhaps in a professional level they are more common, I don't know.

Are there recommended exercises, like warming the back, neck, legs etc?

Do you know of any exercises table especially suitable for sailing?

--- Pedro

 

[alittlenasty]

its been proven that doing warm up exercises does not reduce the chance of injury

 

[Ross B]

and were can we find this data that proves this?

 

[alittlenasty]

dont know but it was a presentation at a college neer me, a test they done which showed that it never helped.

 

[Ross B]

I dunno man, I need proof. I have never stretched/warm up that much, but when I do, I usually feel better. Maybe it's a mental thing, but it never hurts to get the blood moving a bit.

 

[steerrolldash]

its been proven that doing warm up exercises does not reduce the chance of injury

You're confusing warming up with stretching. Some work done (as reported here http://www.lasersailing.com/article/uk/laser-fitness2) has suggested that stretching prior to competition impairs performance. However, warming up is basically a must to get the muscles working at peak effectiveness before exertion.

Warming up effectively is easy - just do any low impact activity which raises your heart rate to about twice your resting heart rate for about 10 minutes. I've seen guys do press-ups and sit-ups on the boat, I've seen others jogging around the boat park. Michael Blackburn recommends simply hiking at a quarter to half maximum on your way to the start line (but that's for a windy day, don't know what he does when its quiet!).

 

[ChrisRSA]

stretching on the water is a good way of keeping warm between races and really helps after sailing to prevent sore muscles and recover quickly

 

[LPW]

its been proven that doing warm up exercises does not reduce the chance of injury

you sure??
Im pretty certain stretching before exercise has been proven to decrease maximum muscular output and is therfore best done after exercise opposed to before. A warm muscle is less likely to be torn/pulled than a cold one, hence warming up is likely to reduce the risk of injury..

A good way to warm up your upper body is to do pressups on your dolly handle.
L

 

[Eric_R]

stretching on the water is a good way of keeping warm between races and really helps after sailing to prevent sore muscles and recover quickly

Ive heard that stretching will actually weaken your muscles for an hour so.

 

[lasailing]

Since some of the key body parts for laser sailing are abs and lower back I use this for training: http://www.stewsmithptclub.com/lowerbackplan.pdf. I use some of the stretching exercises before sailing.

 

[cabalar]

In the meanwhile I've been searching the web and finally found these
recommendations from the RYA. They agree with most of you in warming up before sailing and stretching afterwards. Compared to other sports, the warming up seems to be mostly focused on joints.

At a first sight, it looks like if you do everything you'll almost have no time for rigging and sailing Anyway, I suppose it's just a matter of establishing a routine.

Thanks for your answers,
Pedro.

 

[harraz]

Rig the boat on your own and you should be warm enough

 

[MORESPEED]

I have never seen a leopard do a hammy chasing a rabbit.. Maybe they do stretch before. (in private). Seriously I think it helps to get both the mind and body switched on before a sail or race.