Couch Potato

One of the things that was painfully apparent when I started racing a Laser is that I needed to be fit, the fitter the better. The harder you hike, the faster you go.

I naively thought that because I am heavier than most of the Laser sailors in my local fleet that I could make up for my lack of fitness with my sheer bulk. I found that upwind in a very narrow set of conditions, my strategy would occasionally seem to work, although I would always get killed downwind.

I realized, after sailing in the Master’s Nationals in Buzzards Bay a few weeks ago where it blew 10-20 each day, that I must get fitter.

But how?

I am addicted to two things, watching the “Big Game”, and eating regularly and well.

The conventional wisdom says “get off the couch, turn off the TV and go get some exercise while you eat healthier and less”.

Bah, humbug! I don’t want to give up the “Big Game” and my wife is a terrific cook.

So here is my “Couch Potato Fitness Program”.

1. Position your couch in such a way that you can see the big game while laying on the couch (you’ve probably done this already)

2. Every 10 minutes or so, put your hands behind your head and raise your head and shoulders off the pillow. Lower your head back to the pillow. In order to keep your feet from rising off the couch, you may have to tuck them under a pillow. Repeat until your tummy starts to hurt.

3. Every 30 minutes or so, raise both legs off the couch and hold them there as long as you can.
If you are like me, you will find the big game goes by more quickly and you see more of it as you are not napping as much. The big thing is that you will quickly get those hiking muscles in much better shape.

I’ve been doing this now for only 2-3 weeks and I can already feel a major difference. I can now do 50 crunches without stopping and keep my legs in the air for at least a minute compared with 10 crunches and 10 seconds when I started. I’ve still got a long way to go before I can hike hard for the entire weather leg, but it is a good start.

I haven’t done much on the eating part yet, although my wife has a great idea. She said I should make a hiking bench with a tray on either side to hold my dinner plate and drink. The deal is that I can only eat for as long as I can hike. Stop hiking, stop eating.