![\"HAMSTRING](\"http:\/\/www.bwsailing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/Hamstring-Combo.jpg\")
<\/a>CURL TO PRESS
\u2022 Lie on your back with your legs straight and both feet on the fender
\u2022 Place your arms in one of the following three positions\u2014flat on the ground (easiest), just your elbows on the ground (medium difficulty) or both arms up (hardest)
\u2022 Holding your body up in a straight line, pull your heels to your butt
\u2022 With your legs bent, push your hips up as high as you can
\u2022 Drop your hips slightly, then straighten your legs back out, still keeping your body in a straight line
\u2022 Repeat for a set number
of repetitions<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Yes folks, I\u2019m talking about exercise. No, sitting on the boat all day and then consuming multiple sundowners at night is not healthy, even if you were trimming a line or two while sailing or performing the odd boat chore. Activity does not equal exercise, and in some cases, where the same motions are repeated over and over, it could almost be considered anti-exercise. Keeping your body fit while living on a boat requires the same consistent and structured effort that it does on land, and to make matters worse, as cruisers, we have a couple of additional challenges to deal with.<\/p>\n Challenge one is time. Come on folks, is this even a legitimate issue? If there\u2019s one thing we have on board a boat, it\u2019s time. Just make a date with yourself and stick with it. Our experience is that the earlier in the day we get our exercise in, the less likely something will crop up to prevent us from completing our workout. And in the tropics, earlier is a lot cooler!<\/p>\n Challenge two is space. Yes, space on a small boat is at a premium, but with a bit of creativity, a few square feet in the cockpit, saloon or on deck will do. Trust me\u2014it doesn\u2019t take a lot of room.<\/p>\n Challenge three is equipment. Don\u2019t worry guys, no full-blown gym setup or heavy barbells are required to exercise your body. Your body\u2019s own weight can provide you with all the resistance you need. The sample workout that follows uses one simple piece of equipment that just about every boater has on board: a fender\/bumper, or even better, a fender ball.<\/p>\n You spend hours each week on maintenance, keeping your boat in tip-top shape. Doesn\u2019t your body deserve the same care and attention?<\/p>\n Dig out your biggest fender or fender ball and practice the following movements. Once you can do them with proper form, complete them in sequence. Begin the first week with one complete circuit of 10 repetitions per exercise. Do this three times during the week with a day\u2019s rest between workouts (ex. Monday, Wednesday, Friday). The second week, add a circuit so that you complete exercises one through five, rest a minute or so and complete the series again. On week three, add a third set. Be consistent with your exercise sessions and you\u2019ll net the positive rewards. Remember\u2014you deserve it.<\/p>\n Mike and Rebecca Sweeney are full-time cruisers who are currently exploring the Caribbean on their catamaran <\/em>Zero To Cruising. After divesting themselves of virtually all land-based possessions, they departed Canada in the summer of 2010, heading south. On their blog, www.ZeroToCruising.com<\/a>, you can read a step-by-step account of how, in only two years, they went from being self-employed martial arts school owners to liveaboard cruisers. Once their livelihood, fitness has remained an integral part of the Sweeneys\u2019 day-to-day routine. Rebecca regularly shares her fitness strategies on www.StrengthPLUS.ca<\/a> and Mike has recently published a new Kindle book on Caribbean hiking. It is available for purchase on Amazon: http:\/\/amzn.to\/S5JzvW<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Five boat-friendly exercises to get your body ready for cruising\u00a0 (published February 2013) TOP PICTURE 1-LEGGED LUNGES \u2022 Begin with the top of one foot on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":7956,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[116,508,37,509],"class_list":["post-7971","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cruising-news","tag-bluewater-cruising","tag-exercise","tag-living-aboard","tag-mike-and-rebecca-sweeney"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bwsailing.com\/bw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7971","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bwsailing.com\/bw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bwsailing.com\/bw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bwsailing.com\/bw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/92"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bwsailing.com\/bw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7971"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.bwsailing.com\/bw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7971\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7973,"href":"https:\/\/www.bwsailing.com\/bw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7971\/revisions\/7973"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bwsailing.com\/bw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7956"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bwsailing.com\/bw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7971"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bwsailing.com\/bw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7971"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bwsailing.com\/bw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7971"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/a>
\u2022 Begin on your knees (about shoulder width apart and ankles crossed) and place both hands on the fender
\u2022 Keeping your body in a straight line from your knees to your shoulders, roll the fender out (be sure to engage your core so as to not allow your back to sag)
\u2022 Reverse the movement to return back to your starting position (be careful that you are not cheating on this part of the exercise; concentrate on pulling your ribs to your hips as you pull back)
\u2022 Repeat for a set number of repetitions<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/a>
\u2022 Stand to the side of the fender and place one foot on it with your leg straight and out to the side
\u2022 Bend your other leg into a side lunge, keeping your other foot on the fender
\u2022 Ensure that your knee tracks in the same line as your toes
\u2022 Straighten back up to the starting position and repeat for a set number of repetitions
\u2022 Hold onto the forestay or equivalent to aide your balance if necessary
\u2022 When done, do the same on the other side<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/a>
\u2022 Begin in a front plank position with both feet on the fender
\u2022 Do a pushup
\u2022 As you push your body back up, tuck your knees in, pulling the fender toward your chest
\u2022 Extend your legs back, rolling the fender back to its starting position
\u2022 Repeat for a set number of repetitions<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n