Hi all,
Went out in 25knts this morning for the first time in years (or is that a decade)... so unfit.
I thought I was fit cycling and trail running 3-4 times a week.
Other than getting out on the water as much as I can,
can anyone recommend a gym routine or cct that will help with Windsurfing 
Cycling and trail running are fine, if you can find a way to hold the boom with your feet. 
When I haven't been able to get out, I maintain my upper body fitness with a dumb-bell routine. High number of repetitions of relatively light weights to build endurance. I do a full range of exercises to cover all upper body muscle groups. Takes about 40 minutes and I'll do it twice a week in front of the telly. Definitely makes a difference.
. The only fix is T.O.W. (time on water) I tried a few things last season, Gym circle work, including Choco's recomendation, rowing machine. In the end it was T.O.W. that got me sorted. Just remember. "It will be all OK when the pains gone"
Rockclimbing - if you have a local indoor climing gym give it a go, uses similar muscles and flexibility and builds endurance. Plus more fun than pumping weights.
if you dont have a rowing machine just use a 70mm dia 1 metre long peice steel!
Depends on what fitness you are targeting endurance burst or weightloss.
this also applies to muscles etc. as in balance muscles etc.
The best best far would be double skipping, burpies push ups situps bridging The weights )(dumbells is a good idea aswell we tend to use heavier weights and hold the arms out etc for 30 seconds changing positions.
another way is get the heaviest sledge hammer you can buy and hit a old forklift tyre in 35 degree heat for 1 hour(boxing punnishment for mucking around)
best of to kickboxing or boxing!
Don't listen to the sheep...The idea that a variety of regular exercise helps endurance is a myth perpetrated by the corporate exercise companies to sell skipping ropes and sweat bands...
This is the answer..
I can vouch for Crossfit. It is a HUGE amount of incredibly hard work but very rewarding.
I can vouch for JayBee vouching for cross fit! Have you seen him lately??? No wonder he wins Formula races now
I agree with the T.O.W. Get yourself some bigger gear. Some folks with only wave gear sometimes go a month without a sail. I prefer to sail my small gear in crazy wind but also love a light wind blast on my Hypersonic to fill in those gaps on light days.
Bigger gear will increase your TOW massively. You will also realise how easy it was doing transitions with a 5m sail once you sail with something bigger.
Easty has got the right idea, Rock climbing is more fun than the gym and engages the core, glutes and upper body all at once. After a few sessions you will have popeye forearms.
If you can't be bothered paying, you can always go down to Blackwall Reach (near the cliff diving spot) and do some bouldering for free, just talk to the locals.
Bigger, all-condition gear and rowing when not sailing.
I've had serious shoulder troubles and surgery all along, and these two have allowed me to do much sailing I want in the end.
Bigger gear: keeps the muscles "warm" as way more outings. Allows freestyle, where you do a lot of pushing as well, so this completes the exercise. Go harnessless a lot.
Rowing: not the cheap one with 2 unis, but the apparel with the fly-wheel. Probably not worth buying, but worth taking a club membership if you must. Do long distance whilst watching TV, or perving around if in a club.
Weight training works.
I don't like going out to a gym, so I just do dead-lifts, benches and a few dumb-bell exercises at home.
The dead-lifts are the best.
Stand-up paddling works a treat too, especially if you get out the front and get beaten up a bit.
Long-board skate-boarding is also great for core and balance, and you can learn to dance those little feeties too.
I'll do almost anything as an alternative to going to a gym.
At some point you need heavy stuff in your hands to be good for sailing though.
I'm trying to to decide about buying light wind gear. The flat water options around here are not that great, and I'm not sure I want to take a big cambered sail out the front. Probably need to stop being a sook and just deal with that.
to the fool who red thumbed me I was being quite sincere in my admiration for Jaybee. John has so far managed to lose 28 kilos if I am not mistaken by his cross fit training and is looking bloody sensational. If whoever did the red thumb considers that to be a negative then you are a very strange individual.
I wouldnt worry Rex, you obviously have a stalker :-). To the red thumb person - You obviously don't know SER nor me.
Thx for the compliments though. Getting fitter has certainly helped me on the water.
The obvious answer to the original question is that there are many varied ways of achieving the same goal. None of them involve sitting on the couch eating chips. Get out, get active and push yourself hard. Find something that you can resonate with, something that fits into your lifestyle and go hard.
Jb
So what IS Crossfit, a structured franchised gym class, or just any old hard work that makes you cross?
First - just to clear things up, I have no interest in convincing anyone to do Crossfit. I have been going for 7 months, had fantastic results, and have failed at many other gyms in the past.
Crossfit is a structured fitness methodology. You can go to a Crossfit gym if you want, or all the gyms publish their daily workouts on their webpages if you want to do Crossfit on your own. Most crossfit gyms only offer 1 month membership increments so if you don't like it you are not tied to a contract.
Pros & cons:
There are some gyms that just do Crossfit (pro & con)
You can do Crossfit in any gym or home garage on your own
Crossfit workouts are all published on the Internet, there is no secret!
Crossfit gyms don't use long term contracts
The only machine in a Crossfit gym is often a rowing machine
Crossfit gyms are more expensive then "globo-gyms"
Crossfit is not a panacea - like any other gym you only get out what you put in.
I have to thank you for a heads up on this.
MY general training fits in well with what I have read about Crossfit today, but I have been looking out for an environment to share that in.
I'm going to give it a go.
If nothing else, it is already motivation to step up my training a notch.
I have a feeling
i took up gym many years ago as cross training. i focussed on strength-training because it was what i was interested in, and it definitely helped me on water. i'd go so far to say as almost any physical activity will make you a better sailor in some way. try and find something you like, so it isn't a chore.
sucking breath; don't think this will be your problem as you are doing a fair bit of aerobic activity anyway. if it is try to up the intensity in your running/cycling.
blowing out arms/legs/whatever; get into some strength (low-reps/high weights) and endurance (high-reps/low weights) training. Alternate sessions and stick to exercises that use your body-weight like chin-ups, dips and push ups.
the later is more effect of not being able to sail comfortably. maybe on the 25kt day you needed smaller gear, or should have tuned differently. if the water churns up or you're overpowered, it's always going to be very physical.
i find as i start into my forties, that after a few decades of sailing ,that 'match-fitness' is there. i beleive that's really from being able to sail comfortably, getting gybes so i don't fatigue in waterstarts and my body simply being used to it.
for me it's the day after that's the killer. i bounce back slower so i try and make sure to stretch out when i get home and use a foam roller for remedial self massage.
This is all really great advice. Thanks 
I like the horizontal pull ups, and definatly more arm work.
Problem is I had a near on 15 year break, so after half an hour I was finding it really hard to find the strength to complete the gybes that go wrong etc etc etc... bit annoying when your mind remembers what you used to be able to do but your body can't handle it.
I have light wind gear as well. I only get the opportunity to sail on the weekends, so training during the week will hopefully speed up being ready for the next big day.
Hopefully by the end of summer this will all be a distant memory.
It's worth going to a gym and doing a heavy weights work-out at least once a week too.
Dumbell pull ups are good to do.
I got a dumbell set with 50kg for about $129, I think, which lets me do all sorts of compound exercises.
functional trainer - tree chops, and all the middle twisty ones.. stood on a bosu
Dead lifts and squats
And 10km rows
I have been thinking about getting a rower to balance all the cycling I do for cross training. Can anyone recommend a good rower (not hydraulic) with computer so that you can see your progress? There are so many out there it is hard to know what is good & what's not.
I have a WaterRower and I really like it. It's light and easy to store and move around and get out. Great for light aerobic exercise and warm ups. Not so good for strength training. I actually use it in the off season so I think it's a good thing. It's quiet so you can watch the TV and not disturb people with the noise.
I have two criticisms:
- you have to use a fair amount of technique to get a hard resistance. Resistance is proportional to how hard you pull and inversely proportional to the speed of pull. So you pull slow and hard for heavy resistance. Fast and light for endurance. You can't just dial up a big number, turn your brain off and start pulling.
- with longish duration sessions I get a sore lower back.
Dumb bells are the go for strength training. I have a Selecttech set that you can quickly dial up any weight you need and they sit neatly stashed away. They are real weights, not springs or cables or rubber bands or stuff like that.
