Yachts & Yachting – April 2018

Academy sailors facing daily assessments

and regular blood tests, supported by

health and wellbeing partner KX Life,

to precisely determine their overall

health and wellbeing. This responsive

approach allows each individual sailor’s

programme to be precisely tailored and

tweaked,daybyday,andencompasses

everything from diet to sleep routines.

WINNING APPROACH

It’s an approach that Will has become

very familiar with in his time with the

Academy. Prior to Bermuda, where

he did mainsheet on the GC32 he was

following a cardio focused fat burning

programme, starting every day with

anintensetwohourcycleonacarb-

free diet – all while juggling university

studies with 49er campaigning and

Cup commitments. He admits it was

a challenge at first, but a solid routine

andregularsupporthavebroughtreal

resultsinareassuchaslowerback

strength, which, for example, has

allowed him to competently handle

the extremely high loads involved in

out the demands of the boat.”

In the last Cup, Williams’ programme

ensured athlete availability for 96 per

cent of the time over some 900+ days

• an outstanding record by elite sport
  standards. So far the focus has been
  on maintaining fitness and mobility,
  but that is set to change once the
  design parameters for the next Cup
  boat are revealed on 31 March.
  “Once we know the demands of the
  next boat, we will reverse engineer that to
  engineer the athletes,” explains Williams,
  whose job will then be to ensure the
  sailors physically peak to deliver
  maximum power to sail the boat when it
  is most needed. “In the last Cup, where
  we were working with an accumulator,
  it was very much an endurance sport
  approach. If there’s a switch to a direct
  driver, athletes are likely to need a large
  amount of power in a short time. They
  would need to have a repeat sprint
  ability. If that’s the case, Ben (Ainslie)
  and the other members of the afterguard
  will need to be as light as possible. Every
  kilogram of weight they can take off is
  a kilogram that the grinders can gain.
  The physical make-up of the team needs
  to first be built around the power; after
  that we determine the ‘peripherals’
  such as the helm and tactician.”
  Does that mean that some team
  members get off more lightly when
  it comes to fitness training? Not at
  all, according to Williams: “All the
  sailors spend the same amount of time
  in the gym, but following different
  programmes. It can be tough; Ben
  Ainslie had to drop from 95kg (following
  his Finn campaigning) to just 80kg for
  the last Cup; managing a huge physical
  change like that can be challenging.
  “Ican’tmakethesailorsany
  betterassailorsonthewaterbut
  canmakethemasfitaspossible
  and avoid injury,” he says.
  The minutiae of this regime is
  incredible, with both senior squad and

TEAM BUILDING

AT FO RTIT U D E

If you are looking for an alternative

team building activity, Land Rover

BAR is now offering bespoke

experiences for corporate

parties at the Fortitude facility.

For further enquiries on the

programme, email:

[email protected]

WIN!

Land Rover BAR is offering four lucky Yachts &

Yachting readers the chance to win a unique America’s

Cup sailor’s workout with Ben Williams, within the

world class sporting environment of Fortitude.

The winners of this unique prize will benefit from

an intense and physical 90 minute training session

and come awaywith a bespoke development plan,

with a focus on injury prevention mechanisms.

Enter now at yachtsandyachting.co.uk

Follow our new

and exclusive

Land Rover BAR

blog series

yachtsandyachting

.co.uk

Above, top

Academy sailors

racing the GC32

Above

Ben Williams

dispensing advice

Athletes are

likely to need a

large amount of

power... Ainslie will

need to be as light

as possible

lowering the GC32 boards as well as

shoulder and bicep work for grinding.

Visualisation techniques have helped

him channel nervous energy into

both his workouts and sailing, and he

has seen the benefits in his results.

“There are no excuses. Everyone

is here for a reason. If one person

is lacking in any area it will have an

affect on the whole team; you can’t

expect someone else to take up the

slack. Our programme involves regular

testing and is based on scores, so

youcanseethroughanyexcuses.”

Foryoungsailorshopingtofollowin

Will’s footsteps, the Land Rover BAR

Academy has a recruitment programme:

details at landroverbar.com/academy

FITNESS FAST TRACK FEATURE

ALL PHOTOS: HARRY KH/LAND ROVER BAR

68 Yachts & Yachting April 2018 yachtsandyachting.co.uk