I helped Greg and Cacey Scace obtain a rowing machine as a major part of their exercise routine in their Olympic quest. the US Sailing coach was firm that this was the single most useful piece of equipment for sailing conditioning. It makes sense as you have, a) a cardio workout, b) develop your arms and upperback, strengthening them for pullling (we pull a lot in sailing), and c)develop your leg muscles (good for trapeze work). With cats, one doesn't use the abdominals like dinghy sailors do, because we trap instead of hike. In trapeze work, the thigh muscles are worked out as one extends and squats while adjusting their weight.

Stretching, cardio work and strength work; three major elemets of a proper exercise program are all very helpful for cat sailing, or any other active sport.

Here's the aweful truth. The design of the human body was "locked down" about 100,000 years ago. It hasn' t really changed since. What were our ancestors doing then? Running, jumping, lifting, throwing, chasing, being chased...all this activity is what exercise now mimics. They definitely weren't spending the day sitting on their butts! Today's exercise helps the body be involved in doing what it was designed to do and what it thrives on doing. So, exercise should be a lifetime activity.