Additional weight should come from muscle. Being stronger has additional bene ts: you can lift heavier sheet loads more easily. Increasing body fat means that you have to carry all that weight around without the additional strength to do so. You should aim to maximise the lean tissue weight gain. This means combining a healthy diet (see 15) with exercise (see 14). Aiming for a maximum of around 0.5 1 kg of lean tissue per week would require an additional 500 1000 extra calories per day. A weight-training programme to gain weight means little rest and lots of sets of the compound exercises those involving several muscle groups (squat, deadlift, chin-ups, shoulder and chest press) for around 10 repetitions for

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four or more sets, going to failure (where you fail to lift the weight on your own) each time with the help of a spotter. Be prepared for some muscle soreness 24 hours later. (DOMS delayed onset muscle soreness shows you have been working hard.) Do not start such a programme if you are not an experienced trainer. If you have never been in a gym, start with a normal tness programme.

Advice from Joe Glanfield:

I think that knowing your body weight and keeping it consistent is important. If you re always putting on weight and then crash dieting, you don t get used to sailing at a certain weight, and in some classes your weight heavily affects the rig you use. Personally, I would always rather be in the middle of the weight range used in the class. You can then forget about it and concentrate on more important things. Nick and I try and change body weight if we know an event is going to be in particularly light or strong winds, but only by a small amount and over a long period of time.

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The Importance of Correct Attitude Dealing with Negatives Relaxation Techniques Advice from Joe Glan eld

In order to win, you not only need to be physically t but mentally t. There is no point preparing your body to win if you do not prepare your mind! At the top level of sailing, championships are won and lost on mental skills more than physical skills. Mental tness can take as long, if not longer, to achieve than physical tness. Quite simply you must have a positive attitude at all times. Think of it this way: positive thinking brings positive results (and negative thinking brings negative results). This occurs in many areas of life, not just in the sport of sailing. Putting yourself in high-pressure situations, as soon and as often as possible, helps you to deal with the pressure. This is why attending a warm-up event prior to a major championship can be so bene cial. Before you start looking into your various goals (perhaps this chapter should have been at the beginning of the book!), you need to decide whether you have the commitment and determination to see the goal through to the end. If your goal is simply to succeed at club level (using your own de nition of success), the mental skills required will be less than to win an Olympic medal. Having said that, lack of mental skills can still hold you back. Increased pressure can bring anxiety, which can only have a detrimental effect on your racing. This is especially noticeable in those new to the sport with limited race experience. This is why attending lots of stressful regattas is a good thing! However, pick your regattas carefully. If you end up doing too many regattas back to back the