Cruisers: How do you stay fit?

[Solbriller]

I just watch this video of Dylan Magaster pulling up his anchor. I'm usually winded afterwards.

https://youtu.be/Lql1ra3j28s

[dougweibel]

I have thought about this question a lot. I even wrote a magazine article about onboard fitness for Lattitudes and Attitudes a couple years ago.

I think the biggest difficulty in answering this question is you are asking it of such a large group of people with differing states of health, fitness and expectations. My own opinions based on watching others and dealing with my own health and fitness fall along these lines. Cruising is an active lifestyle. For many people just living on a boat will improve their level of fitness. Obviously there is a range of exertion different people are subject to depending on "how" they cruise - examples mentioned in this thread such as rowing versus motoring dingy, weighing anchor versus electric windlass, etc. Also some people's off-boat activities are mostly walking not the beach while other people are constantly in motion - hiking, surfing, kiteboarding, diving, etc. Depending on where you fall with your current health and fitness and your level of cruising activity you may find that cruising is just the thing to get you in shape.

However, you may find the opposite. My wife and I spend half our time cruising and split the other half between our home in Colorado and travel. Over four years I have consistently found that I loose weight on the boat, and for me that is a bad thing. When I loose weight it means I am loosing muscle mass. I get plenty of cardio exercise when cruising and my core stays fairly strong due to dealing with natural motion aboard. I sometimes loose a little lower body muscle mass as some cruising areas are less conducive to running, hiking and walking. Mainly I loose upper body muscle mass. Onshore or off I rarely find enough "natural" activity with a high enough weight bearing component to maintain the upper body strength I want. I am not a body-builder at all, but I do like to have enough upper body strength to do a half dozen pull-ups without it being a huge effort, for example.

So, simply put I need some kind of weight or resistance training. The idea of having weights, even a couple kettlebells, aboard seems wrong both from the perspective of extra weight on a cat and the issue of having to secure them. I settled on using exercise bands. Initially I didn't think you could get a "real" workout with exercise bands, but after spending a couple hours with a knowledgeable personal trainer that understood what I was trying to accomplish I found you can craft a pretty good workout using just exercise bands that are light and fit in a small bag.

Now my only problem is not being distracted by all the other fun to be had aboard and using them consistently. Some months are better than others

[Captain Puget]

The various suspension training systems can work, depending on your boat and there are several body weight strength training approaches that can be adapted to life on board, in addition to the normal activities on board, rowing and hiking.

body weight exercises book - You Are Your Own Gym: The Bible of Bodyweight Exercises, by Mark Lauren

[Ken Pole]

Check out the sundry exercise bands available at a modest cost through Amazon or, if you can, your local fitness shop. They are colour-coded for the amount of pull required, weigh almost nothing and take up no space!. And, as others have said, swimming, rowing, etc.

[docwood]

I would say an exercise ball as you can do a lot of stretching, isometrics and core work. (Instructions come with 23 and you can make your own). It is light so won't cannonball around but does take up room. Therefore I might recommend a foam roller for stretching and some therabands for exercise. All light weight, and therabands can be stuck in a drawer. At home I swim an hour a day at the YMCA. Have never gotten comfortable open swimming in the ocean.

[LoudMusic]

I'm in my 40s, always been pretty thin and trim, but I lost 5 pounds within a few months of moving onto the boat. I stayed at that weight for about two and a half years. The boat is now on the hard for winter and we're back at the house and I've put the five pounds back on in a couple months.

Up and down the companionway, hoisting the dinghy, cleaning the boat, operating the sails ... that's your workout.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by MicHughV

I find that lifting 12 oz weights is good exercise....

That's why I buy beer 2 pints at a time.. Left, Right, Left...

[Training Wheels]

I find exercise not to be an issue when we’re cruising. I run on the beach, SUP, SUP surf no anchor windlass, so pull it up by hand. No electric winches. Lots of walking and carrying heavy bags of provisions. We rarely inflate our dinghy, SUP everywhere. 60 years old and ran 10K on the beach barefoot yesterday.

[Vortec]

Since my boat is locked down in Malaysia, I have started to dig a hole by hand in my garden for foundation and concrete floor preparing a garage. My new EV-car deserves it. Two or three trailer full per day pulled by the garden tractor to the lower part of the garden... Those days I sleep very well 😃

[nepal]

Perhaps an idea: have a folding bike on board.

[Training Wheels]

Originally Posted by Vortec

Since my boat is locked down in Malaysia, I have started to dig a hole by hand in my garden for foundation and concrete floor preparing a garage. My new EV-car deserves it. Two or three trailer full per day pulled by the garden tractor to the lower part of the garden... Those days I sleep very well [emoji2]

Sounds like back breaking work. I’d do it the easy way and use a shovel......[emoji28]

[Vortec]

Me too �� ha ha ha

[Narfi]

If you have enough room, there are several good exercise programs for the oculus quest that will get your heart rate up and keep it up as long as you can endure. I lost a lot of weight doing 60-70 minute workouts with it combined with a healthy change in diet.
It weighs very little and can be an entertainment device as well as exercise equipment.
The best program(Supernatural) requires a monthly subscription and decent internet, so probably not ideal, but the famous Beat Saber can be very exhausting, especially if you load it up with custom songs. FitVR is another I highly recommend and is shadow boxing gamified and always leaves me with sore muscles as I always over do it.

[NedX]

Originally Posted by Solbriller

I just watch this video of Dylan Magaster pulling up his anchor. I'm usually winded afterwards.

https://youtu.be/Lql1ra3j28s

Just watching his trailer I'm exhausted


https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtZ...xF_CIPLBhmQESw

[NedX]

Originally Posted by dougweibel

I have thought about this question a lot. I even wrote a magazine article about onboard fitness for Lattitudes and Attitudes a couple years ago.

I think the biggest difficulty in answering this question is you are asking it of such a large group of people with differing states of health, fitness and expectations. My own opinions based on watching others and dealing with my own health and fitness fall along these lines. Cruising is an active lifestyle. For many people just living on a boat will improve their level of fitness. Obviously there is a range of exertion different people are subject to depending on "how" they cruise - examples mentioned in this thread such as rowing versus motoring dingy, weighing anchor versus electric windlass, etc. Also some people's off-boat activities are mostly walking not the beach while other people are constantly in motion - hiking, surfing, kiteboarding, diving, etc. Depending on where you fall with your current health and fitness and your level of cruising activity you may find that cruising is just the thing to get you in shape.

However, you may find the opposite. My wife and I spend half our time cruising and split the other half between our home in Colorado and travel. Over four years I have consistently found that I loose weight on the boat, and for me that is a bad thing. When I loose weight it means I am loosing muscle mass. I get plenty of cardio exercise when cruising and my core stays fairly strong due to dealing with natural motion aboard. I sometimes loose a little lower body muscle mass as some cruising areas are less conducive to running, hiking and walking. Mainly I loose upper body muscle mass. Onshore or off I rarely find enough "natural" activity with a high enough weight bearing component to maintain the upper body strength I want. I am not a body-builder at all, but I do like to have enough upper body strength to do a half dozen pull-ups without it being a huge effort, for example.

So, simply put I need some kind of weight or resistance training. The idea of having weights, even a couple kettlebells, aboard seems wrong both from the perspective of extra weight on a cat and the issue of having to secure them. I settled on using exercise bands. Initially I didn't think you could get a "real" workout with exercise bands, but after spending a couple hours with a knowledgeable personal trainer that understood what I was trying to accomplish I found you can craft a pretty good workout using just exercise bands that are light and fit in a small bag.

Now my only problem is not being distracted by all the other fun to be had aboard and using them consistently. Some months are better than others

Thank you, Doug, this is great intel. Do you have a link to that article?

I think the biggest difficulty in answering this question is you are asking it of such a large group of people with differing states of health, fitness and expectations.

The whole point of asking this (or any) question of this forum is that I'm curious as to what people do. I already have a program that works for me (it's in the "about me" section at the end of my original post ), but I always

always

always

learn something that never occurred to me when I post here. Lots of admirable programs in these posts.

The resistance bands sound like a great idea. (thanks Doug and RBK and Ken). And docks, marinas, and islands inevitably have a place where you can do pull-ups (to me, the most essential exercise: Watch any action movie. Everyone in it who survives eventually does a pull-up. )

Cape Puget, I'll definitely look up that book.

Nepal, I do like the idea of a bike. Some of the places I cruise, I'd have to fit, in addition to a helmet, a reflective vest, reflective gloves, knee pads, and body armor, the way some drivers treat bikers. But still a good idea.

One thing about boats: In addition to the 12 oz beers in the fridge, there are already a lot of objects of varying weights and sizes and shapes. Since they are not dumbbells or kettlebells, lifting them or moving them around requires minor adjustments that, if done correctly, makes for really good exercises for entire muscle groups at once. Even rows or squats with a jerry can are useful: You can adjust the amount of liquid, and therefore the weight, and the sloshing around requires you to adjust your movements to control it.