Laser Sailing Basics Review: Is Aerobic Training Necessary?

 Sailing has a popular reputation as a sedentary sport. We Laser sailors do all we can to disabuse people of that notion, but most of us do too little to prepare ourselves for the aerobic aspects of the sport.

So, what is so aerobic about Laser sailing? Swimming, the shock of cold water, anxiety about where you’re falling and what is wrapped around your ankle and repeated maneuvers, like roll tacking can all get you breathing hard.

I remember one race where my competitors continued sailing the course while I swam the bow of my Laser around so the hull would fall off to leeward and un-stick its mast from a shallow, muddy lake bottom. Once I got the mast out I then had to swim the bow upwind. By the time I swam to the centerboard to right the boat, I was puffing and wondering whether I could pull myself up on it.

Another race I was just to windward and behind a boat I thought I could get past and so I started a tacking duel. He wanted to cover me and was not to be dissuaded easily. He matched me tack for tack. Only after 12 quick tacks in a row did I catch him off balance; he stumbled while I nailed the tack and grabbed the right side of the course and eventually sailed back at him with a half a boat length lead. After the race he admitted he had just run out of steam and breath.

A base level of aerobic fitness helps in sailing a Laser. Each series of tacks, each recovery from a flip and even the effort to maintain muscle contractions while you hike or hold the sheet calls for oxygenated blood. Aerobic fitness also creates a base of efficiency upon which other fitness activities build. I find that if I am able to bike at a moderate rate (average 12 mph plus) for an hour or so in moderate hills, hike uphill for a few hours at a deliberate pace, or run or row for 45 minutes at a rate that requires me to interrupt my talking with occasional quick breaths, then I am able to handle the demands of most regattas.

When you first start Laser racing you may well find that just having more aerobic fitness then your competitors pulls you up a few places compared to other beginners, simply because you have the stamina to keep trying, and can think more clearly when you’re less tired. If I back off my aerobic work, I’m likely to find my energy low after a couple of races. If the regatta is held in winds that might flip me once in a while, I find my confidence level higher when I know I have the reserve energy to right the boat.

Sailors don’t need the aerobic capacity of runners or bikers; it can help, but certainly isn’t necessary for weekend competitors. Our aerobics are mostly bursts of activity, like swimming to right the boat. But aerobics create a general state of better endurance fitness (see below.)

Even if you don’t feel you need to increase absolute muscle strength, I would encourage you to improve your aerobic endurance. Regattas, in particular, can be very tiring and aerobic endurance supports your strength and clear headedness. Sailing with adequate endurance brings satisfaction and pleasure as concerns about your energy recede and you simply focus more on the game.

Aerobic capacity needs to be built in two stages. For sailing, you primarily need to build an aerobic base; a level of fitness that provides the endurance. Any intense, or sprint work, you might later decide you want to do is built on this base. Be cautious though, to build a base level you need to work at a moderate intensity level. It’s actually hard holding yourself back; the level can feel too low. But if you take it easy for awhile, your endurance level will be much higher during the sailing season.

Taking the time to build a base level literally teaches your body to use its stored fat as a primary fuel source; given our relatively large source of fat-fuel our endurance is significantly increased. Without this training you can quickly burn through your relatively meager store of carbohydrates and hit the wall.

You know you’re working at about the right level of intensity if your talk is a bit labored, but you can get out more than one word at a time (some people sing ditties to test their level); this means you’re near the maximum heart rate you want to maintain. Another test is whether you can maintain that pace fairly easily for 30 to 60 minutes. If you’re out of shape your good, base-building pace will simply start lower than if you’re in good shape already. Keep adjusting your speed or intensity as you get in better shape, but stay at the moderate heart rate level.

You should plan to spend six to nine weeks working at a moderate and deliberate pace; try for two to three sessions per week. You will improve with every session, but will reach your initial potential only after the 6 to nine weeks. Master sailors will often need to plan a slightly longer base building phase then younger sailors. Each year that you work at improving your base level will add endurance capacity over the previous year.

Once you have spent three to six weeks allowing your body to adapt to the demands of this moderate aerobic pace you can begin to throw in short, “out of breath” sprints if you want. You will get good results even if nothing is too intense. These sprints will prepare you for bursts of intense work that occasionally occur, but this prep work is much less important than the base-building work.

Still not feeling motivated? That’s fine. Try to get in some regular walking, so you don’t get into distress when the boat flips, and then just go out and enjoy the sailing. You will discover as you sail whether it is worth it to you to increase your off-the-water effort next year.