Fish-fighting fit?

[Swamp Girl]

Do you do anything to stay fish-fighting fit? Even if you fish from a Ranger, which is about as stable as an aircraft carrier, you still have to load and unload it. If you're fishing from a small boat like me, you have to paddle it for miles, step onto slippery rocks to enter it, etc.

 

So, I focus on my core, doing crunches and planks, and also on agility, doing various stretches. I also walk a couple miles most days. I also make a point of climbing stairs and even if I'm going shopping, I take the parking spot farthest from the door.

 

How about you?

 

Do you coast because you're young? Or do you work at extending your fishing years?

[padlin]

With fishing from the canoe in mind I lost 30 lbs this past spring, it was getting harder to stand up after 6 hrs in the canoe. Shoulder stretches and a couple exercises the PT gave me to do. I’m thinking of joining the Y to get some swimming in, could come in handy when fishing….

 

Without fishing in mind, we hike a couple times a week and take the dog for a walk a couple times a day. Does 2 days a week chasing a 2 year old count? 

[Susky River Rat]

I do 16oz and 22 oz curls. 

[SpellCaster]

Just look up "John Crews exercise" on YouTube 😉

[Swamp Girl]

30 minutes ago, padlin said:

it was getting harder to stand up after 6 hrs in the canoe.

 

Me too!

 

30 minutes ago, padlin said:

Does 2 days a week chasing a 2 year old count? 

 

Counts double. 

 

3 minutes ago, SpellCaster said:

Just look up "John Crews exercise" on YouTube 😉

 

He's a high achiever. I wonder if he's free to portage my canoe at 3:30 a.m. 

[Way north bass guy]

Having a career in stonemasonry, that’s spanned about 25 years and counting, and that doesn’t include the 6 or so years before that when I did it in the summers, I’m not a big “gym person”. I get enough exercise pretty much every day of the week, all year long. I’m not a real big person, but lifting heavy things has never, ever been much of an issue for me😏. 
I’ve lost count of the number of times in my life that someone is totally amazed at what I move around on my own, often just grabbing whatever it is and getting it dealt with, without even asking for help cause I know it’ll just slow me down if I get “help”! 
 

The constant ordeal of working on roofs ( always walking/working on a slope), and climbing scaffolding/ladders etc. keeps my balance, centre of gravity etc. pretty well in line. The pay doesn’t hurt either. If you ever need to get in shape, and want to make a buck or two at the same time, grab some stones and a big hammer and chisel and you won’t have to worry about not being able to move a boat around ever again 😄. 

[Swamp Girl]

48 minutes ago, Way north bass guy said:

The constant ordeal of working on roofs ( always walking/working on a slope), and climbing scaffolding/ladders etc. keeps my balance, centre of gravity etc. pretty well in line. The pay doesn’t hurt either.

 

I bet.

[WRB]

When you get older trying to increase strength is very difficult. Keeping yourself fit is more about stretching exercise in lieu of strengthening exercise when reaching retirement age.

Fitness starts when you wake up the 1st thing should be stretching about 20 minutes before starting your day. 

When I was in my 70’s a gym routine to keep fit included warming up using various equipment like tread mill, spin bike, elliptical etc. This was followed by a routine using several planned weight resistance and ended with a stretching exercise. Being a gymnast as my muscular strength was good but tendon connection were poor. 

Covid ended the gym exercise routine and still trying to keep flexible but my skeleton; hips, shoulders, spine limit what I can do. Falling off a 8’ ladder last summer hasn’t helped. Still trying to stretch every morning because when you stop stiffness over takes you.

I walk nearly every morning, the neighbors dog, about 2 miles weather permitting.

Still agile enough to fish all day, get in and out of boats, but very stiff the next day. My goal now is to be able to tie my shoes.

Tom

 

[Jar11591]

My physically laborious job keeps me in decent fish fighting shape. I’m trying to get more consistent about actually working out, as the older I get the more will need it. 

[gim]

I go to the gym to lift weights, play racquetball, and swim all year round.

 

I also enjoy playing ice hockey in the winter time.

 

I take the dog for regular walks as temps allow which is more of a leisure type exercise.

 

I do in fact fish from a Ranger. I get zero fitness from fishing tho because I power load my boat.

 

One of these days my youth and athleticism is going to wear off. Until then I keep going.

[king fisher]

     I am still young, my muscles are still strong, and my heart is up to any challenge, but my back and joints are not always up to the task.  Some days just getting out of bed, walking the dogs, and going to work is a full work out, but as long as I can breath, I will be able to fish, and the bigger the fish the better.

[WRB]

When I had boat standing on 1 leg and operating the TM with the other while leaning against the pedestal seat in waves for 10 hours was tiring. Lifting the TM can get tiring. 95% of bass fishing is from the pointed end of the boat. Wiping down the wet boat bow to stern and engine at the end of every trip takes some energy at the end of the day then keeping alert driving home in traffic tired me out the past 50 years. Yeh the boat is stable in calm water, something we have about 1 hour a day.

Try doing that for 3 days or night consecutively and it tires out a 50 year old. The way I bass fish is grinding every second on the water, mentally exhausting. This isn’t kicking back drinking beer, not if you want to be successful.

Tom

[Bird]

Fishing is actually counter productive personally, it keeps me from regular exercise and work around the house.

 

This time of year when I'm not fishing, stretching and exercise is daily.

I'm not a good enough fisherman to keep a bent rod. 😂

[gim]

Health is important. Maintaining it is tough and time consuming. But as my great Grandfather once said, “if you don’t have your health, you don’t have much.”

[Swamp Girl]

5 minutes ago, WRB said:

6This isn’t kicking back drinking beer, not if you want to be successful.

 

Tom, I read ^this.^

 

Quote

5 top LMB in lbs; 17.4 & 18.6 Casitas, 17.4, 17.6 & 19.3

 

And then I think about ^this.^

 

And I remember the story you told about you think you had the world record bass hooked, which you would know.

 

So, when you talk about the trials of being a world-class angler, you know.

[throttleplate]

i have been really concentrating on strengthing my hamstrings, all glute muscles, obliques, adducter magnus, yes dont forget the adducter magnus, how many here even knew you had an adducter magnus? The hamstrings lay over the magnus.

The pic of person doing the frog stretch is for the adducter magnus, to strengthen the magnus while in the frog stretch is to try to bring both knees back to center and hold for 10 seconds for 10 reps, this is a isometric strengthing of the magnus. There are many strengthing videos of listed muscle groups, choose the ones that you feel comfortable doing. I also stretch out all muscles listed the day after my core workout.

 

 

 

[A-Jay]

Keeping myself 'in shape' has been a life long quest for my entire adult life.

Started as a hobby 1980 and then became part of my job description in the service

for the next 30 years.  Somewhere along the line there I became addicted to the power I had over my own abilities. After retiring in 2007, I built a small home gym in my basement. I have been Hammering away down there just about every other day ever since and it has really paid off IMO.

At 64 years old, I ain't as good as I once was, but I'm as good once as I ever was.

Through it all, I'm looking to continue to be fit for life.

And that includes everything that is involved with preparing, going & returning from fishing. 

By myself most of the time. 

Objectives are always maintaining a  Lean body mass, possess at least average strength, be stable, Balance & Flexible.  All of which feeds confidence. 

 Past several years, I've posted my efforts here in this forum. (Almost every other day)

https://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/198637-working-to-stay-lean-~/

 

Not only does it motivate me to keep at it. But perhaps there's one or two folks who think that if I can do it, so can they. And they'd be spot on !

Here's 3 recent sessions ~

https://youtu.be/LvQ13sP90w8?feature=shared

https://youtu.be/mA-P4wZH_yw?feature=shared

https://youtu.be/MwRbG5lDADQ?feature=shared

A-Jay

[Skunkmaster-k]

I do 50 hook sets on the cable machine every day while I stare at a poster of Bill Dance.  

[GreenPig]

I train an attack dog everyday. She's the first and going on 7 years of intense training and I've only been able to get her to attack me. I can and do out run her for approximately a minute after that I'm getting mauled. 

I lift hay bales, for strength and balance I tote 50lb feed sacks of feed in root covered catch pens full wet stuff the exits cattle.I also wrestle big big girls, it's true hand to hoof combat. Honestly I'm super thankful on the mornings I can stand straight up

 

[Swamp Girl]

@GreenPig: Remember those training montages in the "Rocky" movies? Your workout sounds like one of Rocky's workouts.

[softwateronly]

28 minutes ago, ol'crickety said:

@GreenPig: Remember those training montages in the "Rocky" movies? Your workout sounds like one of Rocky's workouts.

 

Ivan doesn't stand a chance...

[LrgmouthShad]

Yes I stay active. What I do varies.

 

I was encouraged to see that this winter, I was once again able to paddle a kayak for miles. I've been using a pedal drive. In June of 2022, I injured my shoulder (rotator cuff) and had problems with both for months. Paddling worsened my condition while I was injured and was a factor in me getting hurt. I was stubborn, but eventually took a break from fishing, kayaking, and lifting and followed with physical therapy. The results are that now I can fish and do any (any) exercise that I please without injury and minimal to no pain. I recently put this to the test. I actually believe my shoulder continues to get stronger.

[Susky River Rat]

All joking aside I lost around 130lbs. I was 335 I fluctuate between 203 and 209.  It’s a struggle every single day for me to maintain the weight I do now. I don’t work out. I have no desire to. That stopped when I had to stop racing due to a back injury in my early 20s. Between work and my dog I walk 6-8 miles a day. I by no means think I am healthy or fit. I just refuse to put in the extra work to get any further. I also think I am better off than a lot of people.  Some people enjoy working out. Some feel like they have to. I don’t on either regard.  Here is a now and then. 
@ol'crickety with all the big bass you constantly pull in that should be enough work out for you. 
 

 

[Woody B]

My job is physical.   I've got Popeye forearms due to my job.   It also requires quite a bit of walking.  I average between 12,000 and 15,000 step per day while working.   I have a few extra pounds but my work has done decent in keeping up my strength and stamina.

 

However, since having Covid (and I wasn't very sick) I'm getting winded way too easy.   My Dr says it just takes time to get over it.   I recently went back to doing the daily sit ups, pull ups, jumping rope and speed bag I done years ago.  I'm not sure how much that will help with getting winded but I figure it can't hurt.  

 

Recently I've also managed to eliminate most of my muscle cramps by targeted stretching.   

[Functional]

In my late teens to mid 20s I just stayed active. I raced motocross, chopped wood (actually love this), hiked mountains, was on a national airsoft teem (think paintball) and did Brazilian Jiu Jitsu 3-5 times a week.

 

In my late 20s and early 30s I competed in tactical rifle competitions and mainly had a kayak for fishing. The rifle comps doesnt sound strenuous but when you have to throw a 20lb rifle around with speed and control over 12 courses of fire in 5 hours and lug about 50lbs of gear all day over a few miles it is.

 

Now that I have a wife, house, kids a lot of that has become once in a while. I've gone to the place I hate...the gym 4 times a week. Its only 30 minutes but I get on the treadmill at the steepest incline and fastest speed I can handle. Right now im at 11% incline at 3.2mph...which may not sound like much but for someone who was told they need a heart transplant in a few years I'll take it.

 

I know this thread is about exercise but two of the biggest things that contribute to staying fit and feeling good I havent seen mentioned is diet and hydration. Once I cleaned up my diet and stayed consistently well hydrated with water its pretty incredible the difference I've felt. In my opinion its as important as staying active.