They were forecasting good wind for today, like, a week ago or so. But for the last few days, not a whole lot. Well, lo and behold, it was one of them good old Kingston thermal days that seem more and more rare all the time! Took a few hours of vacation time and sailed 4.7 with the 105 for about 3 hours.
Experimented quite a bit with shakas today. Numerous attempts, some decent, some terrible, but slowly starting to figure them out. Seems like I am perhaps going back on the word to try pushies, but while there were some fun waves out there, it was not a pushy day. The big ramps were just not there.
On the shakas, I am having trouble with rotation. I'm not exactly having any success turning into the wind at all. I think this could be one of two problems or both. Either I am not committing and throwing my body over the sail enough to get it flat, or, perhaps more importantly, I am not keeping my backhand sheeted in enough. ???
Any shaka-doers out there have any advice to help promote rotation into the wind.
I think its going to be something like this:
Solid 4.7 or 5.3 day - work on shakas
Solid 4.2 or smaller - get some pushloop tries in.
Giddy up!
Monday, August 24, 2015
Saturday, August 22, 2015
OMS Update
Two posts in three days OMG! What has gotten into me? I guess I can attribute that to a great session just a couple days ago which brings the stoke level up!
I notice that my post on Old Man Syndrome from a few years ago probably got the most comments of any of my posts. Thank you for reading and thank you for commenting!
I thought I'd give an update. Anyone who knows me or has faithfully read this highly-intermittent blog will be aware that I have been suffering from chronic shoulder tendonitis in both sides for almost 5 years now. Well, it certainly is not gone, but it has improved quite a bit. How? I'll tell you.
In my 20's, pre-family, pre-maturity, my life was essentially focused on living for two sports - climbing and windsurfing. I think they complimented each other quite well. I was injured from time to time, from one or the other, but while I cannot say I was in great shape on the whole, my shoulders & arms were generally in great shape, for me. I could happily sail 4-5hrs nearly straight before cramping, which I thought was pretty decent at the time as I outlasted most people on the water and was constantly trying tricks the whole time.
In my 30's, life changed. I met a great gal, traveled a bit and came home with a couple additions to the family. Around this time, several things happened. I stopped climbing, as it just didn't fit life very well. I got a desk job that is 99%+ desk work. I was a parent, so time to fulfill my active needs decreased a lot. The only thing I hoarded was time for myself to windsurf. During this time, through bad posture, reduced physical activity and much less arm/shoulder use, combined with windsurf-only shoulder activity, things went off the rails.
Part of me had a wee sneaking suspicion that if I could just get to the gym and start working out (without having the tendonitis flare up), I should see some improvement. But, two things: 1) I don't like gyms (never have, never will) and 2) I could not get the pain to subside. That took a long, long time.
This winter, things got much better. Towards the end of last fall's windsurf season, I was a mess. But through massage, stretching & rubber-band exercises from my physio, plus daily icing, attention to posture, etc... etc.. I made it through into this past winter pain free with most normal unloaded or minimally loaded arm movements. Some good friends of mine were planning to start a weekly guys-night-out to the local climbing gym, so I started to tag along. I took it super easy at first, iced/stretched like crazy afterwards, but soon enough, I was starting to make it through each week without having to endure a week, or a few days of pain. I could climb, and be pain free. I could ice-climb, and be pain free. To this day, I can still climb, and be (almost) pain free. If I take the time to warm up, stretch a bit afterwards, and ice, I am usually good to go, and climbing at a happy-for-me level (just 5.9-5.10 max, for you climbers out there).
I think despite all the advice I got, diagnoses I received, treatments done, I didn't listen to my own brain, which kinda had that suspicion that all that shoulder mess was simply due to a massive muscle imbalance that evolved due to a number of factors. Thankfully, through those treatments, diagnoses, etc... I managed to get pain free long enough to get back to climbing, and the multi-directional strengthening it offers which presumably has regained better muscle balance and support for the joint. Windsurfing, I think, is just too uni-directional when it comes to forces on the shoulders.
So, that is the update. OMS? Well sure, I still feel it, I'm still not sailing 4-5 hours straight any more, but managing 3-4 hours anyway and improving all the time. I think this blissful state of emerging from a long bout with shoulder issues has got me AMPED and has lead me to my Quest for Pushies!
I notice that my post on Old Man Syndrome from a few years ago probably got the most comments of any of my posts. Thank you for reading and thank you for commenting!
I thought I'd give an update. Anyone who knows me or has faithfully read this highly-intermittent blog will be aware that I have been suffering from chronic shoulder tendonitis in both sides for almost 5 years now. Well, it certainly is not gone, but it has improved quite a bit. How? I'll tell you.
In my 20's, pre-family, pre-maturity, my life was essentially focused on living for two sports - climbing and windsurfing. I think they complimented each other quite well. I was injured from time to time, from one or the other, but while I cannot say I was in great shape on the whole, my shoulders & arms were generally in great shape, for me. I could happily sail 4-5hrs nearly straight before cramping, which I thought was pretty decent at the time as I outlasted most people on the water and was constantly trying tricks the whole time.
In my 30's, life changed. I met a great gal, traveled a bit and came home with a couple additions to the family. Around this time, several things happened. I stopped climbing, as it just didn't fit life very well. I got a desk job that is 99%+ desk work. I was a parent, so time to fulfill my active needs decreased a lot. The only thing I hoarded was time for myself to windsurf. During this time, through bad posture, reduced physical activity and much less arm/shoulder use, combined with windsurf-only shoulder activity, things went off the rails.
Part of me had a wee sneaking suspicion that if I could just get to the gym and start working out (without having the tendonitis flare up), I should see some improvement. But, two things: 1) I don't like gyms (never have, never will) and 2) I could not get the pain to subside. That took a long, long time.
This winter, things got much better. Towards the end of last fall's windsurf season, I was a mess. But through massage, stretching & rubber-band exercises from my physio, plus daily icing, attention to posture, etc... etc.. I made it through into this past winter pain free with most normal unloaded or minimally loaded arm movements. Some good friends of mine were planning to start a weekly guys-night-out to the local climbing gym, so I started to tag along. I took it super easy at first, iced/stretched like crazy afterwards, but soon enough, I was starting to make it through each week without having to endure a week, or a few days of pain. I could climb, and be pain free. I could ice-climb, and be pain free. To this day, I can still climb, and be (almost) pain free. If I take the time to warm up, stretch a bit afterwards, and ice, I am usually good to go, and climbing at a happy-for-me level (just 5.9-5.10 max, for you climbers out there).
I think despite all the advice I got, diagnoses I received, treatments done, I didn't listen to my own brain, which kinda had that suspicion that all that shoulder mess was simply due to a massive muscle imbalance that evolved due to a number of factors. Thankfully, through those treatments, diagnoses, etc... I managed to get pain free long enough to get back to climbing, and the multi-directional strengthening it offers which presumably has regained better muscle balance and support for the joint. Windsurfing, I think, is just too uni-directional when it comes to forces on the shoulders.
So, that is the update. OMS? Well sure, I still feel it, I'm still not sailing 4-5 hours straight any more, but managing 3-4 hours anyway and improving all the time. I think this blissful state of emerging from a long bout with shoulder issues has got me AMPED and has lead me to my Quest for Pushies!
Thursday, August 20, 2015
The Quest for Pushies
I haven't written anything on this blog for a long time! I guess I've been getting frustrated with the ever reducing amount of good wind we get here in Kingston, as well as getting a bit bored with it.
I think I have the cure - I need to learn a new trick!
There are a number of tricks I've been pining over for some time, the threesome of flakas, shakas and push loops. We'll, I am hellbent on ticking one of those this year, and its going to be pushloops. I think the flakas and shakas need a lot more time, effort and fine tuning of movements, etc... and I just don't get the time on the water anymore. Pushloops? Well, I know how to do them (or at least I think I do), it's just HOLDING ON part that I need to work on. I've gotten too use to bailing.
So, I will reinvigorate this blog with my quest for pushloops!
Had a great session today by the way. Nice waves at Everitt and solid 4.2 for 4 hours did the trick.
If you read this, then thank you very very much for following my blog and forgiving my 16 month absence.
I have also decided to get myself a 6.0 again. I've stubbornly refused for years after living in NZ to get a 6.0, but I think the time has come. 6.0 Banzai! Spring 2016.
I think I have the cure - I need to learn a new trick!
There are a number of tricks I've been pining over for some time, the threesome of flakas, shakas and push loops. We'll, I am hellbent on ticking one of those this year, and its going to be pushloops. I think the flakas and shakas need a lot more time, effort and fine tuning of movements, etc... and I just don't get the time on the water anymore. Pushloops? Well, I know how to do them (or at least I think I do), it's just HOLDING ON part that I need to work on. I've gotten too use to bailing.
So, I will reinvigorate this blog with my quest for pushloops!
Had a great session today by the way. Nice waves at Everitt and solid 4.2 for 4 hours did the trick.
If you read this, then thank you very very much for following my blog and forgiving my 16 month absence.
I have also decided to get myself a 6.0 again. I've stubbornly refused for years after living in NZ to get a 6.0, but I think the time has come. 6.0 Banzai! Spring 2016.
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