Does trudging up the ramp to fetch your truck and trailer leave you huffing and puffing? What about throwing a jerkbait all day – can your arm take it? How about your last pre-fish? Did you miss out on some opportunities because you didn’t have it in you to stand on the trolling motor for another hour? Do rolling waves cause you to lose your balance constantly? To get into better shape for your next fishing trip, start now.
Getting and staying fit should be a priority to maximize your enjoyment of the outdoors. There are a lot of things you can do to make yourself a stronger outdoorsman. Building core strength is essential – it will improve your posture, strengthen your back, and build endurance and stability.
The Plank is a simple exercise you can do anywhere to build your core strength. Get down on the floor with your elbows and forearms on the floor about shoulder distance apart. Your goal is to keep your body straight and off the floor on your elbows and toes. The toes are bent forward. Start with twenty to thirty seconds, and build up as you get stronger.
Balance and stability are essential whether you’re standing on the deck of a rocking boat or scrambling up a hill covered with loose rock. Find something to step up on, and you can easily work on balance. Step up, raise one knee, and hold it up for two to four seconds. Step back down, then do it over again. Work toward twenty hold-ups on each leg, and concentrate on keeping your back straight while pulling your belly button in.
Investing in a gym membership is an excellent idea. You’re more likely to work out when you are paying for it anyway, and a gym often offers more variety than you can get at home. If you belong to a gym, take advantage of all it offers. Most gyms give you a free session with a trainer once a month, so use it. Tell the trainer your goals, and they can design a workout to help you get there.
A trainer can show you the correct way to use the machines in the gym, but he can also show you many exercises you can do at home or on the road with a minimum of equipment. You can do many different things with bands and a step, and adding a set of dumbbells gives you even more options. The bands and weights can accompany you on those out-of-town fishing tournaments, and you can almost always find something to use for a step.
Muscle memory is good if you are practicing martial arts forms, but if you are doing the same exercises over and over, your body doesn’t get as much benefit out of them. Switch things up constantly to keep hitting your muscles at different angles. This will give you overall body strength.
Strengthening your rotator cuff muscles is crucial, especially for anglers who make casts all day long. Visit the free-weight room in any gym, and you’ll see plenty of guys grimacing as they rub their shoulders. Don’t let that be you. First, you should ask your trainer how to perform the simple exercises that will strengthen your rotator cuffs. Do these every time you visit the gym – make them part of your warm-up routine. A good one is to use a band attached to something at about waist height. Keep your upper arm next to your body and use the forearm to pull the band from your side to the front of you. You can also do this lying down with a light weight. Lie on your side and keep the elbow pinned to your side on top of your body. Use your forearm to lift the weight from the floor to a point just above your body.
If you find yourself constantly performing a specific action, specificity of training can help you build strength in the muscles you use for that action. For instance, use a band to provide resistance while you perform your casting motion to improve your casting stamina. You’ll build endurance and teach your body not to hurt itself.
To keep fit, you don’t need to be concerned with building muscle mass. If you want to build strength and endurance, use low weights and high reps. For example, you can use small dumbbells and lift them using just your wrists to strengthen your wrists. Rest your forearms on your legs and raise and lower the dumbbells with your hands facing down, then again with your hands facing up.
Your program should be designed to be part of an overall fitness regimen, incorporating strength training as well as cardio. Cardio is simply anything that gets your heart and lungs working. Plenty of weight-bearing machines can give you a good cardio workout at the gym. On the road, you can climb the stairs at the motel or walk up and down the ramp a few times. Jogging, vigorous hiking, or bicycling can also do the trick, but remember that your goal is to get your heart rate up for extended periods.
More and more, today’s pro anglers are athletes. Mike Iaconelli is a prime example. Working out and keeping fit and strong has helped him immensely on the road to being a world champion bass fisherman. Ike claims that his fitness regimen gives him an edge over the competition.
Even if you don’t plan to hit the tournament trail, strength training will help you enjoy your outdoor pursuits even more and with fewer injuries. Working out regularly will help you lose fat and build muscle, too. Let that extra weight you’re toting be a big tournament bag, not excess belly fat.
Tips For Healthy Eating In The Great Outdoors
Your snacks should include a balance of carbs and protein for energy and endurance. Balancing carbs with proteins and fats help to keep the release of energy from the carbs more gradual, which helps to sustain energy. So when packing for a day of fishing, bring along things like fresh fruit and nuts.
Jerky is okay in moderation but watch the sodium levels. You should also be wary of energy bars because a lot of them are just like candy. Aim for a good balance of carbs, fiber, and protein when you shop for meal replacement bars.
Drinking water is critical. Water helps flush toxins out of your body, and you’ll produce many toxins while working out. Water also helps maintain muscle tone and healthy skin. If you don’t drink enough water, your body will start to hold on to all it can, and water retention is seldom a pretty picture. Drinking eight 8-oz glasses of water per day is what experts usually recommend, but if you’re overweight, you should add one glass for each extra 25 pounds you’re carrying.
Cardio
Cardio is different from aerobics. A cardio workout pushes you toward the higher end of your target heart rate to make your entire cardiovascular system more robust. A more muscular cardiovascular system means more oxygen and nutrients can be delivered to your muscles, enabling you to work harder and longer without getting tired.
The bonus is that as you get stronger and more fit, you’ll burn more calories even when resting. The staff at the gym can show you the cardio machines (treadmills, elliptical trainers, etc.), and most of them can be programmed with your age and weight so that the machine will adjust your workout to keep your heart level at the target rate.
Preventing Injuries
- Get in shape.
- Do some stretches before fishing.
- You can reduce your risk of slips and falls by wearing shoes that grip well. I also know from experience that using a UV protector that leaves a slippery film on your gunwales is not a great idea.
- Wear good sunglasses or goggles to keep hooks away from your eyes, and watch it when you’re side casting with those ultra-long rods – you could hook your backseater.
- Don’t leave hooks, lures, and knives around on the deck where someone could step on them or put a hand on them.
- If you get snagged, don’t pull straight toward yourself. I can personally attest to the aptness of the name “bullet sinker.”
- Make sure you have a way to get help if you do get hurt. We bought a Garmin InReach Mini for less than $200, and the monthly fee is under $14. Whether you are fishing, hunting, hiking, or off-roading is excellent.
