Sailing fitness - part two

Well it is now over two months since I broke my arm falling off my bike. The main reason for my getting a bike was so that I did not have to spend so much time on a stationary bike at the gym which is exactly what I have been doing recently. Despite a painful and expensive accident I really am very keen to get back on the bike and I hope to do so in the near future. To make the most of my time (there is very little you can do with a broken arm) I have been putting together some training videos which you can find on my website www.jonemmettsailing.co.uk I have also been writing several articles which will come out in due course. One of the most important things is to make sure you take a break (no, not breaking a limb, this is not to be advised, but a break from work… a holiday). The one problem I have is every time I have a break I come back in poor shape and it takes a long time to get fit again. I have been doing lots of work with Jen at the Pilates Centre, Weymouth, and I really notice how tight I get when I do not train with her. Steve Jordan at Cape Active runs what for me was the perfect holiday. Very active (I got to climb up some mountains – although this is perhaps not to be recommended with a broken arm as sometimes I found it very difficult to get back down again!) as well as a proper holiday. I got to see whales so close they got me wet, stroke a cheetah and every day I got to see wild baboons. I even shared a watering hole with them, at the top of a mountain. The youngsters were quite inquisitive but the adults made a bit of noise if we got too close. I also got to carry on doing Pilates every day which meant when I came back I was definitely in better shape than when I went. (There is not even any jet lag from South Africa). It was however slightly frustrating that I could not do everything I wanted because of my arm but as always time heals. Although I missed all the Autumn Qualifiers I did manage to compete in the Radial Inlands, mostly down to a very light wind forecast. It was fantastic to finish the season on a high, winning the event for the tenth time. Although my arm really ached on the way home, that was probably more from lifting trolleys and pulling my boat up the slipway!!!

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