Waterman Workout Trailer
I’ve been neglecting Extreme Geezer lately, but it’s for a good reason. I’ve been working hard on an exercise video with Dave Kalama. For those of you that don’t know him, Dave is one of the world’s great watermen and an amazing athlete. If you’d like to know more about him, a google search will pull up plenty of references, but here’s a link to his wikipedia entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Kalama
Dave’s beach workout is almost as famous as Dave is. He’s been developing it since the mid 90’s as a way to meet the challenges of his demanding lifestyle. You might think a workout that meets the needs of such an outstanding athlete would be far beyond anything you or I might consider. You’d be wrong. It’s a great workout for me, and it would be great for you, regardless of your current condition. Here’s what Dave says:
Somehow my workout has gained a reputation of being incredibly difficult–but it’s not. I don’t think a workout that is just a nagging chore, or some kind of gut-buster is going to change your life. I started out with one simple thought: A workout that you stop doing won’t do you much good. So I designed and perfected it as a workout I would never stop.
That means no gym membership, no equipment other than a slightly tricked out rope, and a lot of choices about intensity, time commitment, and accommodating injuries. You can do it at ANY level.
What’s different about my workout is that I’ve always tuned up the exercises to help me be a better waterman. When I find a weakness or a new challenge in something I’m doing I add exercises to help me prepare for it. Over the years that meant windsurfing, big wave surfing, tow in, foilboarding, bodysurfing, short and longboard surfing, Stand Up Paddle surfing, racing, downwinding and endurance events, outrigger canoes for downwind, racing, and endurance events. In other words, anything a waterman might do.
These routines are NOT about doing the exercises hard and fast, and this really isn’t a workout. It’s part of a lifestyle. Something you and I can be doing ten or twenty years from now. I’ve taught these routines to people at all levels of fitness, from super-athletes (including the 2006 Women’s Olympic Ski Team) who add them to their own routines, to very unfit people who want to change their condition. You can start this at any level and keep going. Make it your own, do it where you want, make it fun.
In the spirit of making it fun we’ve put together a few silly trailers. Here’s one. I’m working on a trailer that give more of a flavor of the workout, and I think we’ll have the workout video and workbook ready in a few more weeks. In the meantime, enjoy.
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