Get ready for your next windsurfing session, where ever it may be!

Words by Lagoon Watersports coach, Lucy McCormick.

I am first going to touch on why, as windsurfers, we need to warm up and cool down before and after our windsurfing session, and the importance of getting the right food inside our bodies.

WINDSURFER’S WARM UP

Most windsurfers aren’t too keen on the idea of warming up, prancing around on the beach doesn’t appeal to everyone, but it should as the benefits are massive and an effective warm up only needs to take five minutes.

The main purpose of a warm up is to prepare your body for your windsurf session, as well as reducing the risk of injury and helping to improve your performance on the water.

During the warm up you will increase the blood flow to your muscles and raise your body temperature, this will mobilise the joints and make your muscles more supple, leading to improved reactions and coordination. It will also help you prepare mentally, and put you in the right mind set to nail that new move.

An effective warm up will:

• Increases the blood flow to muscles, enhancing the delivery of oxygen and nutrients.
• Prepares your body and heart for your increased activity, whist you’re on the water.
• Prepares you mentally for your session.
• Warms your muscles, making them more supple and ready for action.
• Prepares your heart for an increase in activity.
• Prepares you mentally for the upcoming exercise.

The warm up video below can be used pre-windsurf session or before taking part in any physical activity. REMEMBER TO CONSULT A DOCTOR BEFORE TAKING PART IN ANY PHYSICAL ACTIVITY.

WINDSURFER’S COOL DOWN

It is as important to cool down, as it is to warm up and again doesn’t need to take up a huge amount of time. The main purpose of a cool down is to promote recovery and return the body to its pre-exercise state.

During our session our bodies will have been worked, certain muscles more than others, an effective cool down can help reduce muscle injury, stiffness and soreness, which will help you to be ready for your next session!

An effective cool down will:

• Assist your heart rate to return towards resting levels.
• Aid the removal of waste products from your muscles, such as lactic acid, which can build up during activity.
• Helps prepare your muscles for your next session, whether it’s the next day or in a few days’ time.
• Reduce the potential for delayed muscle soreness.

The cool down video below can be used post windsurf session or after taking part in any physical activity. REMEMBER TO CONSULT A DOCTOR BEFORE TAKING PART IN ANY PHYSICAL ACTIVITY. 

WINDSURFER’S NURTITION AND HYDRATION

To perform your best on the water and have an effective windsurfing body you need to consider what you are putting into your body to fuel your sessions and in turn give you the energy, as well as helping you recover after.

A healthy balanced diet is a great way to keep in shape, no windsurfer wants too much fat, the lighter we are the sooner we will plane and the more manoeuvreable we will be. Our meals should consist of a good balance of fruits, vegetables, carbohydrates, protein and good fats, to ensure we get all the necessary vitamins and minerals our body needs.

To help you in the right direction here’s quick guide to what is best to eat pre, during and post windsurfing.

Pre Session

Most windsurfers will go for the quick energy fix – chocolate, coffee and sugary drinks are all easy to grab but are not effective in fuelling our body.

What we need to eat before our session depends on intensity, length and type of session you are going to do. Exercising on a full stomach is never a good idea; you will feel uncomfortable on the water and won’t perform your best. To avoid this make sure you eat your meal enough time before your session – this could be one to four hours, depending on what you eat.

Carbohydrates are the main fuel that powers us whilst on the water. So make sure your meal is rich in carbohydrates, and easy to digest.

If the wind hasn’t appeared and you starting to get hungry or you feel your energy levels are suffering then about 30 minutes before your session, grab an easily digestible snack before you hit the water. This could be a piece of fruit (banana is a great option) or perhaps a cereal bar.

During

It is important to stay hydrated whilst windsurfing. Coming off the water every 30 – 45 minutes to drink some water is a great way to stay alert and be at your best whilst on the water.

If you are having a long session then you may need to replenish your energy levels with a snack such as fruits or nuts.

Post Session

This is the time our body needs to recover and we can aid it by putting the right things into our body. Our post exercise snack is critical to recovery and assists us to get ready quicker for our next session.

It is important to consume a snack 30 minutes after getting out of the water; this snack should include both carbohydrates and proteins to be most effective. A good snack could be a protein filled sandwich, such as tuna or chicken with a banana.

Check out more fitness and technique features here on Boards. 

As you would know from windsurfing yourself and the previous articles in the series, windsurfing requires us to have a body that is pretty good shape;  a good general standard of fitness, reasonably strong muscles and a little bit of flexibility will help improve our on water performance and make our time windsurfing more enjoyable.

Most of our joints and muscles will work quite hard while we are out on the water and from time to time you may have suffered muscle soreness or perhaps a bit of pain in your joints during or after your session.

Find out how to keep your body in check after a hard session on the water.

By doing a spot of exercise, stretching out regularly and warming up before your session you can help to prevent muscle soreness and help your joints stay in good working order.

Windsurfing works the majority of our joints and muscles, however there are a few that might need a little bit of extra special attention.

Below are a few exercises/stretches for specific parts that windsurfing works.

Neck

Twisting and turning your neck to look upwind then downwind, and any other directions you decide to look can really work your neck, below are four neck stretching exercises to help decrease muscle tightness and to keep your neck in tip top condition.

With all the neck exercises below begin with your neck in the midline position.

1. Chin to Chest Neck Stretch– Gently bend your head forward bringing your chin towards your chest. When you feel the stretch pause and hold for 20 seconds. Return to the start position and repeat 4 times.
   

   Neck - Chin to Chest

2. Eyes to the Sky Neck Stretch– Gently bend your head backwards so that your eyes are looking up at the sky. When you feel the stretch pause and hold for 20 seconds. Return to start position and repeat 4 times.
   

   Neck - Eyes to sky

3. Side-to-Side Neck Stretch– Gently turn your head to look over your right shoulder. When you feel the stretch pause and hold for 20 seconds. Return to the start position and repeat on the other side. Repeat the whole process 4 times.
   

   Neck - Side to Side

4. Ear to Shoulder Stretch– Gently bend your neck in attempt to touch your left ear to your left shoulder. When you feel the stretch pause and hold for 20 seconds, then repeat on the other side. Repeat the whole process 4 times.
   

   Neck - Ear to Shoulder

Shoulders

All that kit carrying, up hauling, tacking and gybing will make those shoulders work. Below are a few exercises to stretch and strengthen those all important shoulder parts.

A good way to warm up before your session on the water is by performing some shoulder circles (see below) – you can also use these in your exercise routine by adding some dumbbells to increase the resistance – just ensure you maintain a good technique.

1. Backwards Shoulder Circles – Stand up with your feet shoulder width apart and your arms rested down by your sides. Keep a neutral spine and core engaged. Raise your arms out to your side until they are parallel to the floor, from this position gradually rotate your arms backwards in a controlled circular motion.
2. Forwards Shoulder Circles -Stand up with your feet shoulder width apart and your arms rested down by your sides. Keep a neutral spine and core engaged. Raise your arms out to your side until they are parallel to the floor, from this position gradually rotate your arms backwards in a controlled circular motion.
   

   Shoulder Circles

Knees

Climbing up onto your board, going over chop or landing massive jumps will impact on your knees. An awesome way to keep your knees in good shape is to get on an INDO Board. An INDO Board is a balance trainer that will help improve your leg strength, balance, co-ordination and stamina amongst other things. An ideal exercise tool for all windsurfers and great fun to boot!

Knees on the Indoboard

Hips

Trying to get your leg up when beach starting and water starting will test your hips. Make sure you can always get your leg up high enough by following the simple exercise below.

1. Hip Extension – Whilst standing up slowly lift one knee up as high as you can. Keep your back straight and hold for 2 seconds, then do the same on the other leg. Repeat the whole process 10 times.
   

   Hip extensions

Ankles

Windsurfing really uses the ankles, often a forgotten about part when stretching and exercising. Make sure you don’t forget them, check out the stretching exercises below.

1. Dorsiflexion/Plantar flexion  – Sit on the floor, keeping your knees straight. Move your ankles towards your nose, hold for 15 seconds. Return back to the start position. Now point your feet forwards, hold for 15 seconds. Repeat the whole process 10 times.
2. Inversion/Eversion– Sit on the floor with your toes pointed up. Now turn your foot inwards and hold for 15 seconds. Return to start position. Next turn your foot outwards and hold for 15 seconds. Repeat the whole process 10 times.
   

   Ankle - Dorsiflexion

Check out more technique features from Lucy and our other coaches here in the technique section. 

So, you may be familiar with the HUNCH – whether it’s years of windsurfing with poor posture, or years of sitting at a computer in a slouched position, the likely hood is you will have caused your body to remain in a slightly hunched over position.

The Hunch position is achieved by holding your body in a slouched or hunched over way for a prolonged period of time, in this position your shoulders are rounded forwards. This position makes the muscles at the front (chest) become tight which pulls your shoulders forwards – as your shoulders are constantly pulled forwards the muscles in your upper and middle back become weaker as they get lengthened. Over time the muscle imbalances, leading to the spine becoming curved thus creating a hunch back through bad posture.

Now the hunch is not a good look and definitely not great for your health. Most of the time it is reversible and preventable, so by following the few simple tips below, you can help to be upright once again!

-       Be conscious of your posture at all times – especially when windsurfing.

-       Ensure you follow a balanced training programme – don’t over train one area (Guys- Don’t just work your pecs, remember your back as well!).

-       Strengthen your core, as this will help you to have a healthy spine.

If you do suffer from the hunch you can use corrective exercises to help loosen up the tighten muscles which are pulling your spine out of alignment and you can also strengthen any weak muscles that your body has.

Below are a set of exercises that can help strengthen your upper back and shoulders and in turn help prevent the hunch back!

SINGLE ARM ROW

single arm bent over row 1

single arm bent over row 2

Place one knee and hand (same side of body) on a bench with the other foot on the floor and the weight in the other hand. Lean forwards so that the spine is straight and nearly parallel to the floor. Pull the weight upwards, towards your chest. Do not allow excessive rotation of the back or shoulder elevation. Lower the dumbbell back to the starting position under control and repeat.

UPRIGHT ROW

upright row 1

upright row 2

Stand with feet shoulder width apart and knees slightly bent. Grip a bar with shoulder width over arm grip. Shoulders back and core pulled in. Bring the bar up to your collarbone in a slow and controlled manner. Lower and repeat.

PULL UP

pull up 1

pull up 2

Grip the bar slightly wider than shoulder width apart. Pull up from fully extended arms so that you are chin level with the bar. Slowly lower yourself down and repeat.

REVERSE FLYS

reverse fly 1

reverse fly 2

Grip a pair of short bars and stand with your feet hip-width apart and your knees bent. Bend forward at the hips and let your arms hang straight down from your shoulders, palms facing. Raise both arms out to the sides as you squeeze your shoulder blades together. Return and repeat.

With the exercises featured above I have used windsurfing equipment, to give yourself a more intensive workout you can use weights instead.

REMEMBER TO CONSULT A DOCTOR BEFORE TAKING PART IN ANY PHYSICAL ACTIVITY

So, most of us in our time windsurfing would have suffered a little back pain now and again, which can be sore, uncomfortable and most annoyingly, can cut short your time on the water.

Windsurfing is a physically demanding sport, there are many reasons why windsurfing could contribute to, or cause back pain, such as lack of fitness, inexperience, poor technique and certain manoeuvres. Below is a day in the life of a typical windsurfer, including what may seem harmless everyday tasks but that can build up and cause back pain.

You check the forecast and it’s looking awesome, but it’s not in the right direction at your local beach, so you drive a bit further than usual to make the most of the conditions (this might be a prolonged drive with bad posture). You then lift your kit out of the car and carry it to the beach (are you using the correct lifting technique?) you then go for a sail (do you have poor posture whilst sailing? Did you opt for the odd catapult?) You then head back to the beach to de rig (are you bent over?) – all these things alone probably won’t cause you too many problems, but repeating them often might. For the next session, be more aware of your posture and lifting techniques to keep your back in good working order.

Exercise is one of the most effective methods of preventing and treating back pain. By strengthening and stretching the muscles that support the spine we can prevent or reduce back pain. Weak core muscles can causes lower back pain, so by improving our core stability we can reduce the risks of injury whilst windsurfing.

Back strength is of mega importance to us windsurfers and a strong core is a must to be able to handle the twisting and rotating that windsurfing requires us to do. The exercises and stretches below can help this be achieved.

Core and Back Strength Exercises

The Bridge

Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet and knees hip width apart. Keep your arms down by your side and your palms pressed into the floor. Lift your bottom off the floor to bring your body into a straight line from your shoulders to your knees. Squeeze your core and try to pull your belly button back toward your spine. Hold for 10 to 20 seconds and repeat five  times.

Bridge 1

Bridge 2

The Plank Get into a push up position on the floor. Bend your elbows to 90 degrees and rest your weight on your forearms. Your elbows should be directly beneath your shoulders, and your body in a straight line from your head to your feet. Hold the position for as long as you can – approx 20 to 60 seconds.

Plank

The Bird Dog Kneel on the floor with your hands shoulder width apart. Brace your abdominals and point one arm straight out in front of you and extend the opposite leg. Hold for 10 seconds and repeat with the opposite arm and leg. Repeat 5 times.

Bird Dog

Bird Dog 2

Extensions Lie face down and place hands either side of your head. Keep your eyes looking down. Brace your abdominals and lift your chest a few inches off the floor. Lower and repeat 10 times.

Extensions 1

Extensions 2

Repeat these exercises up to three times a week for an awesome back and core workout. Remembering to warm up and cool down before and after any physical activity.

REMEMBER TO CONSULT A DOCTOR BEFORE TAKING PART IN ANY PHYSICAL ACTIVITY

Check out the other article in Lucy’s fitness series.