First day at Hohenems was great. Successful sunset load speed run with great first-time-here numbers and astounding views. Met awesome people. But we’re grounded for the next few days due to weather. What’s a speed skydiver to do in Hohenems/Dornbirn/Lustenau while it rains?
Starting the day right
Stretching
15 minutes of meditation to calm your mind is a great start. In the last 10 days I traveled from San Francisco to Pattaya, did some training jumps, then flew over to Zürich and drove to Hohenems. That’s a lot to pack in less than a week! Meditation helps to stay calm and focused, and to minimize jet lag.
Long haul flights result in lots of body aches and pains. Do some stretches for that. I follow different routines that my body work coach Heidi Breitmann designed for:
- Ground day option 1: 1-hr of warm up, isometric, planks, and core strength exercises, to stay limber and strong, followed by lifting
- Ground day option 2: 15-min warm up, and core strength exercises, followed by 45 minutes of intense cardiovascular exercise
- Comp day: 15-min start-of-day stretching routine to remain lose and focused
Option 2 was on the menu for the first grounded day, and I alternate days between that and strength training. More on where to go swimming in Hohenems later on this page.
Heidi worked with me for a few weeks at Fitness SF to design specific routines for speed skydivers, before I left San Francisco. If you are training anywhere in the Bay Area, or if you happen to visit, contact Heidi at the Fitness SF Fillmore for a training session. She’s awesome.
Swimming
I prefer to swim over running for cardio during competition days. I checked out various options in the area, the best place to go is das Stadtbad in Dornbirn.
There are several different pools, and there’s also Sauna and other services on-site. You may purchase your entry ticket (1.5 or 4 hours) on-line and add the entry ticket to your iPhone or similar wallet. Beware that they start at different times almost every day of the week. Wednesdays they start at 09:00, but Thursdays they start at 07:00. There are also women- or men-only times for the various pools, plus lessons. Check out their current schedule for full details.
Strength training / full gym
Hands down, the best place in the area is purfitness LUSTENAU, at Millenium Park.
Great facilities, great hours, and they offer day passes.
Heidi is all the way in another continent, but there are also excellent trainers at purfitness if you need a one-on-one fitness routine fine-tuning. Great hours of operation, and they have locations in Lustenau, Hohenems, Lauterach, and Egg. All are accessible to wherever you are staying.
Finding healthy food
Here are the best locations to have food when grounded / away from the airport:
If you want a reasonable, sit down restaurant, head to Schmugglar in Lustenau. Great place downtown, they’re open from early morning until evening, with a hot kitchen all day. Full menu, lots of salad options, lots of healtby food options. No reservations required. Take a stroll around downtown after your meail, it’s a cool area.
In a rush or want lots of cheaper but solid options? Head to the food court at the Dorbirn Messepark shopping mall. There are several great food options, with a wide selection and price ranges.
If you have cooking facilities and prefer to make your own meals, and don’t want to go on a brainless hunt for the right supermarket, there’s a full-service Interspar supermarket at the Messepark.
(The airfield where we’ll hold the competition is right behind Messepark, and you can see it from the aircraft during northbound takeoffs.)
Exploring
You meditated, worked out, found great food, and have the rest of the day to do something… what to do? Sweet and simple:
- Attractions and places to see in Hohenems
- Head over to Zürich, have lunch at the Zeughauskeller, walk along the Limmat, check out the Lindesmuseum – an hour away
- Head over to München (Munich) and check out the historical downtown, have an awesome day — two hours away
Conclusion
There are a ton of things to do to keep us relaxed and at peace with the universe while we’re grounded. Everything I listed here (except the day trips) is an option within a 15-minute drive, tops, from the DZ. From mental and physical preparation, to great meals, to things to do, there are lots of options around. This post enumerates some of the things the Pr3d4t0r Speed Team found in the first 36 hours of boots on the ground. Let’s get out there and explore while the skies are grey and the clouds are low. Blue skies, have fun, and safety third!