Healthy Nibble

I peruse the sailing news, but still keep a finger on the pulse of today's health and fitness trends. Here's a link to a document I thought fitting for this time of year:

• Nutrients for the Common Cold? Will Anything Help Relieve Symptoms?
  Catching a cold can sideline your training plans. In this issue we will look at some popular supplements and what the evidence has to say about their effectiveness on fighting colds. (Read the article)

Since February is a tribute to all things "heart" related: Heart Healthy Recipes!

Oh and stress is an evil vigilant element in all our lives, how about A Top Ten Stress Buster List!

A lovely weekend to all. Cheers!

Counting Down To Acura Key West Race Week 2009

At last! I've been biting-at-the-bit to really start counting down to Acura Key West. YES YES YES!!! Ha ha ha, can you tell I adore this event? (My enthusiasm may have something to do with spending the great portion of last month in Northern Vermont, through three snow storms!)

Let's get down to business,"are YOU Key West ready?" Want to look and feel your best, post here and we'll get this virtual party started and ensure no one freaks about the weigh-in scale or donning those board shorts and two-pieces. Remember, Sailing Anarchy IS planning live on-the-water coverage, ESPN will be flying over head and photographers at every mark. What better way to ensure you are camera ready then with SailTrim/BoatBites tricks and tips...

To start, dig out clothes you'd like to wear in Key West. How they fitting? Perfect? Good for you! Barely up the thigh? There's some work to do.

Take five minutes to think about these questions:

• Do you eat breakfast?
• Do you drink enough fluid THROUGHOUT the day?
• What time do you eat your last meal of the day?
• Are you physically active?
• Are you under a lot of stress?

Post thoughts, comments or shoot me an email at jennifer[at]sailtrim.org. I'll be addressing these questions, bits on losing at least 3-5 lbs by the 19th and whatever else comes up relevant to KWRW.

Happy New Year!

Spring training...around the corner!

I am in Annapolis this moment and when you walk around town there are little hints of Spring: buds on trees, bulbs pushing through and birds singing. However, it does not feel like Spring as I have long underwear on beneath my clothes while walking around town!

The upcoming March issue of The SailTrim Journals will cover some general health topics to set a stage for a successful "Spring Training", how to make breakfast a habit you never break and using the rising mercury to motivate de-stressing in the natural world.

The work on this issue has my mind wrapped about starting the season off on the right foot and if you are not inspired to get outside just yet, looking at your day-to-day nutrition is an ice breaker. This blog is a little bit of a "sales-pitch" but how else am I to let you all how I've taken my favorite client activity and automated it so I can provide more people with a means to get feedback and consider lifestyle tweaks for leading a healthier life and improve sailing performance?!?!

My favorite client activity? The Food Journal! The best way to figure out how food impacts your life is writing it down (recording it) - we science types also LOVE data to work with!

Two weeks (~ 14 days) is a nice chunk of time for someone like myself to assess if what you eat is slowing you down. It is also an inexpensive short term way to help folks address key things which make "making weight" a challenge, provides great self awareness and extremely educational.

I am just so excited to have this available and with my research interest in nutritional timing and muscle recovery - well, lets just say this is some of my favorite work to do (next to sailing of course!)

Give it some thought...in 14 days you could unlock your own little secret to never worrying about making weight again...

Oh wait..there's more... TEASING - had the tune of one of those TV infomercials in my head!

Sailing with finesse...

...on a 30 foot boat with "big jobs" and little sailors...

This weekend awarded the opportunity to share the Mumm30 experience with a fellow sailor. I was able to sail the boat, once again, from beginners eyes and brought back to the day when I was once told I was too small to do the fore deck on a Mumm30...

As I walked through the fore deck and pit positions, flooding her head with way too much information, it occurred to me all the explanations, tips and tricks were geared towards someone who can't "muscle through" a job or task.

As a science fanatic, I do respect anatomy and physiology, knowing some "bodies" are better suited for different types of jobs within the different levels of sailing. With that said, not being a very big person who aspires to sail on medium to big boats, getting the job done on occasion requires some mental and physical finesse.

So... Sailing Finesse 101...which only works if you have sailing 101 under your belt...

"Big jobs can be done by little people...remember David and Goliath..."

Use your head...think ahead...respect own abilities and inabilities and don't be afraid to ask for help when needed (leave the ego at the dock, bringing the humble heart on board)...still struggling to get the job done...is it because of feeling too small...not strong enough...can a different "tool" be used to help complete the job...could a tweak in "how" the job is performed help...or, at last..."communication" to fellow crew to set a slightly different stage to perform the job (my fav...."please square the pole"...)???

Aside from on the water practice, trial and error there is land training to the aid of us little sailors who can...want to be a 5 foot halyard jumping rock star on a 50+ foot boat...you will have to use that 5 foot stretch of arm length to it's fullest potential with both speed, strength and agility (since stable surface only occurs while docked).

How?

Perform an "air hoist" with a coach to first assess if full range of motion(ROM) is being employed, then either head to the gym or fitness center to consult a trainer in formulating a program/plan which maintains ROM, builds power in the movement with speed. Freestyle swimming, climbing and rowing are all great (and fun) extracurricular activities to build stamina and strength for rock star hoisting and many other jobs on a sailboat.

Need more guidance ... ask SailTrim. On land training, positive attitude and on the water practice can help someone tune their mental and physical attributes to finesse most "big jobs" on any size boat...

Fair Winds,
Jenn

The little black figure on the bow is me at this years Acura Grand Prix:


Photo: Tim Wilkes 2007

Besides "beginner's eyes" on this weekends sail, gratitude to the people who gave me the chance to try the "big jobs" despite little hands. ~ Thanks to my Mudheads and Family!