Fitness

I've been told that the Laser is an "athletic boat".  Honestly, I'm not sure that it's much more "athletic" it is than most other dinghies.  I mean, when I go out on something like a 29er or Hobie, I'm aching the next day from all the pseudo-squats I'm doing from the wire, and I have yet to see someone unable to sail a Laser because they were not strong/agile enough.

What I think people mean by "the Laser is an athletic boat" is that "fit folks tend to sail Lasers a lot faster than unfit folks".  Compare that to something like the Albacore where those carrying more, um, "ballast" can still win by being very smart tactically and knowing the particular tweaks and trim settings to get every ounce of speed from the boat in any wind condition.

So, in prep for the Worlds' it couldn't hurt to get fitter.

Hiking: I built a hiking bench like Doug Peckover's and have been working on getting my time up.  From 10 seconds initially, I'm up to about 45.  A long way to go.

Upper Body Strength: I bought some rope and hung it from the rafters in the basement.  The two ends of the rope are about shoulder width apart and end in loops with plastic tubes as handholds.  I do chinups on this rope, I'm up to two or three sets of five.

Lower Body Strength: I have an old barbell with 70 pounds on it.  Doing 2 sets of 10 squats.  Perhaps I should get more weights?

Situps: I do situps on the hiking bench.  Sit-ups are actually easier than the "hiking" part.  I'm not sure how many I can

Flexability: Flexibility and cardio are by far the weakest points.  I never had great flexibility, and keep forgetting to work on it.  Any tips?

Cardio: I have no stamina.  I can jog maybe one kilometre, on a good day.

Agility: I have no idea how to train for improved agility/balance/quickness, other than to "sail more".  Any thoughts?

I'll try to remember to post in a month with improved results.