A Workout for Skydiving

[WooHoo 0]

Does anyone have any exercises they do specifically for skydiving.

I have got a pretty good cardio workout running and cycling throughout the week, but don't do much core or upper body work. It got me to thinking are there any exercises that will improve your physical condition regards skydiving.

I am guessing core/abdominal strength must be good. (Once whilst spinning on my back I couldn't pull a strong arch - but I was spinning pretty fast so I figured it was because of low G force), but any thoughts will be welcome.



"The older I get the better I was"

[dontiego 0]

I did a track jump on friday... and came to think that my legs were quite week.
Difficult to hold the track such a long time.

"We call on the common man to rise up in revolt against this evil of typographical ignorance."
http://bancomicsans.com

[AggieDave 6]

The end all workout for skydiving would really have to be Yoga. Real Yoga isn't just about the stretching, its a strength builder as well. Many of the stretches help with jumping as do the moves that end up building strength and endurance.

Beyond that I put together a TI workout, but that's kinda above the norm for skydivers. Your typical skydiver does a LOT of bicept curls at the end of the jump day and really gets his/her cardio done between loads. (for those that missed the joke, that'd drinking beer and smoking).

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[mjosparky 3]

The best workout for skydiving is skydiving.

My idea of a fair fight is clubbing baby seals

[popsjumper 2]

Gymnastics?
- Good for all skydiving disciplines

Swimming?
- great for AFF and newbie RW

My reality and yours are quite different.
I think we're all Bozos on this bus.
Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239

[Flying_Penguin 0]

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Gymnastics?
- Good for all skydiving disciplines

Swimming?
- great for AFF and newbie RW

On to the right track, as is Aggie with yoga, Pilates also for the core.

As a National Champion Weightlifter in my youth - I can say weights do nothing really for flying your body or making love or hunting Al Qaeda - pretty usless excepts for looking good or lifiting hundreds of kilos over your head(which is fun)

*Gyrotonic(R) Is the next step if you have money and balls
(most skydivers do have both)

Gyrotonic is a mixture of yoga, tai chi, ballet, gynastics and swimming

if your in london then your in luck, you can take Gyrotonic at

http://www.gyrotonic.co.uk/


Blue ones
Joe

If you get a chance surfing is a great sport, as is rock climbing - anything whole and natural - dance-like movement is the best

[Reginald 0]

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As a National Champion Weightlifter in my youth - I can say weights do nothing really for flying your body or making love or hunting Al Qaeda - pretty usless excepts for looking good or lifiting hundreds of kilos over your head(which is fun)

I gotta disagree here. Some basic upper body work helps a lot particularly with serious RW.

I can’t tell you how many people come out of a wind tunnel totally whipped because they don’t have some upper body tone. That really sucks when you have 2 or 3 more hours booked that weekend.

Additionally, good exits while doing 4 way or 8 way will require you muscle around your partners. Shear strength has saved many an exit about to funnel. And if you are doing 10 training jumps in a day you better be in shape!

Massive “body builder” strength probably is near useless for skydiving but some strength and good tone is crucial. For skydiving weightlifting typically people say “low weight with lots of reps”

"We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP

[Tonto 1]

If tracking is hard, flying a wingsuit is REAL hard.

There's a wingsuit workout that works here..

http://www.flybirdman.com/learn/rr/workout.html

t

It's the year of the Pig.

[shropshire 0]

It's falling.... how fit do I need to be?

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[AggieDave 6]

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As a National Champion Weightlifter in my youth - I can say weights do nothing really for flying your body or making love or hunting Al Qaeda - pretty usless excepts for looking good or lifiting hundreds of kilos over your head(which is fun)

You're obviously not a tandem instructor.

I've been able to "get away" with doing somethings by brute force when needed as a TI with a brain locked idiot for a passenger, to keep us safe just by strength.

If you do 10 tandems in a day, you'll understand what the upper body strength is all about.

On the flip side, I've seen some folks frap in under canopy and come away basically ok due to, what I believe, is their level of fitness and having been weight lifters. Not that its an end all, but it has its advantages.

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[AFFI 0]

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The best workout for skydiving is skydiving.

Once again, Sparky has a good point.

Something to consider, when working out it is very possible to become sore and even have a loss of strength as the muscles heal from the workout so make sure you have the strength to flare and all the other important stuff skydivers need to do.

I dont know much about working out but I had a student who came out to make student jumps a day after working out and it left this person unable to flare due to the sorness of the excersize.

Mykel AFF-I10
Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

[druvaughn 0]

Aggie makes a great point about hitting the ground.

A body that is in good physical shape and use to the riggors of physical fitness will handle impacts and hard landings better than a couch potato.

I have had a few hard landings (a result of flaring too high) and walked away, I believe, as a direct result of years of football, lacrosse, skiing and physical training.

My muscles, joints, and bones are all conditioned for more abuse than the average person.

-
-
"Baseball is 90% mental. The other half is physical."

[ntrprnr 0]

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Does anyone have any exercises they do specifically for skydiving.

I have got a pretty good cardio workout running and cycling throughout the week, but don't do much core or upper body work. It got me to thinking are there any exercises that will improve your physical condition regards skydiving.

I am guessing core/abdominal strength must be good.

CORE, CORE, CORE, CORE, CORE. It's totally about improving your core. Also, shoulder for pulling and riser work, but mostly core.

_______________
"Why'd you track away at 7,000 feet?"
"Even in freefall, I have commitment issues."

[Dolph 0]

Aue, but a body that is overly muscular will have a lot of weight, which translates to energy on impact. There's a golden middle ground somewhere.

And there is pure dumb luck. While I personally believe fitness plays a role, it is hard to determine just how important it is in any given crash-landing. Too many stochastic variables.

I'd say "reasonable fitness" is required, which to me means 1 hour of some for of exercise a day and a decent diet. One does not need to be a superhero to be a skydiver, although that does help.

[iamsam 0]

Something I don't do it specifically for skydiving, but I reckon helps A LOT is Tai Chi.

It's not exactly aerobic, or muscle building, in fact the only muscles you should be using are your thigh muscles. Its all about being soft and the physical relaxation of your body. You use power, not strength, which is how come you see a 60 something 5ft nothing lady throwing a hulk of a man quite literally across the room. An analogy my teacher uses is steel wrapped in cotton wool.

Like skydiving, it's not for everyone, but I reckon they compliment each other beautifully.

but what do I know

[FrEaK_aCcIdEnT 0]

I always thought the universal workout was drinking .

ExPeCt ThE uNeXpEcTeD!
DoNt MiNd ThE tYpOs, Im LaZy On CoRrEcTiOnS!