Paramotoring and fitness

[poz]

I cannot wait to get my wing/paramotor and get stuck in to this great sport.

Normally when I refer to something as a 'sport' I tend to connect it with something that is either going to improve my fitness or requires me to be fit in the first place.

All my other sports ie cycling, walking etc, kill two birds with one stone, ie I enjoy myself and at the same time I'm looking after my health/fitness as well. However, paramotoring is an unusual one. You need a certain amount of fitness/strength on launch, followed by... couch potatoe with a view

I was wondering about the general fitness of those involved in our sport.

Would you consider yourself fit, or do you spend most of your time doing what you do whilst paramotoring ie sitting down. Computer (ahem), telly, car, etc

Unfortunately, most of us spend a significant proportion of our day sitting down on chairs with a back rest (no back muscles required), which leads to poor spinal musculature/function and ultimately, for many, chronic back/hip/knee pain later on.

Interested to hear any views on this subject.

Dan

Notice how happy this little chap is. He's got no spine, hips or knees to worry about

[Farmer_Dave]

Dan

It does help if you're strong enough to wear a motor and fit enough to run along with it. Quite a rellevant topic really.

From my own experience, I have found things easier since running 3 miles twice a week and loosing 2 stone. I still flunk a few forward launches but it's not as hard to repeat the process as you get fitter.

On the other hand, if you have strength but not fitness, a good thrusty unit will do the running for you !

dave

[Guest]

I think it's a bit like anything it life...

It becomes more fun / less work when your fit.

A 'good technique' with ANY motor will get you the same result though.

Ground handling is a great way to get fit as you can make that hard for yourself even on a good day.

If your still not happy, park your car a few km's away from your take off field

SW

[alan_k]

If your still not happy, park your car a few km's away from your take off field

SW

That sounds a bit excessive Simon IMHO. I certainly agree with the good technique.

I agree it's better when you have a certain degree of fitness. My main regime is walking and some cycling, same as Poz.

Although I have been doing a lot of hard work in the garden over the past couple of weeks so I suppose it all helps keep the blood flowing.

When my brother in law was over I took him up to the field and introduced him to ground handling. He is quite fit and does a lot of running, but afterwards he was completly knackered and I had hardly broken sweat. All down to technique I reckon.

Cheers,

Alan

[poz]

A 'good technique' with ANY motor will get you the same result though.

I keep hearing this phrase 'good technique' and I watch experienced paramotor pilots launch so effortlessly and obviously they have good technique.

Even though I have completed a Skyschool course I have to say that I'm still not quite sure what constitutes good technique. Is it something that can be put into words for me to work at.

I have noticed that beginners tend to run slightly bent over (as per my first flights), which I guess directs the thrust skywards, whereas I see the pilots that always seem to get airborne really quickly tend to lean back slightly. So this is a technique I will try to adopt.

Anything else?

The reason that this is so important is because even if you are very fit and strong, the very nature of the paramotor launch (especially with poor technique, prelonging your exposure) requires you to go from nothing to extreme effort in a very short time span, which unless you have warmed up and stretched thoroughly, is a really risky business. You can tear muscles and you won't even know about it until you land and twist and suddenly recieve a back spasm.

I agree that ground handling is a fun and relevant way to improve your fitness level.

[slapper]

Try an off landing or two and see how a bit of fitness helps.

[bignos]

i a lardy bloke that gets out of breath climbing the stairs, and i fly one! if you get failed takeoffs (the early years) it is VERY tiring, but if you pull it up and throttle up and away its just like sitting in a chair

[t_andrews]

There's no real argument that being fit doesn't improve everything, including getting launched after half a dozen botched thermic attempts. Like most sports, the level of effort drops off as skills improve. The pros do make it look easy.

One poster noted the "lean forward" takeoff technique, and while it does look a bit out of place I practice it as an extension of my free flight training. Keep it loaded and all that, until you have forward speed and energy for a flared recovery if it goes bad. This may wear off with airtime, but I think it's one of the main reasons I'm on prop #1 so far.

Tick one on the groundhandling praise.

It's whatever workout you want it to be and all gravy for knowing your rag.