Monday, August 03, 2009

"Fit" for Sailing...


A lot of people ask us if Scott and I are “afraid” when we tell them what we are going to do. The answer is NO. “Free is the heart that lives not in fear” is a favorite quote of mine (along with nearly every line of the movie Captain Ron, so baring that in mind…). However, there are a few things that I am, for lack of a better word, nervous about.

Namely – exercise. I love the stuff. Scott loves the stuff. We are both triathletes who have to make a concerted effort to sit still. We get in “funks” if we haven’t worked out enough. I work out every day at lunch, and then – two to three days a week - head to the Bikram yoga studio downstairs after work. I am the daughter of an aerobics instructor. We are HAPPY when we exercise. We LOVE to exercise and frankly, I am trying to wrap my head around how to do this in or on a 35 foot sail boat. Sure, sure…there’s swimming. But those who know me well also know I have a shark phobia that runs wide and deep. I watch “Shark Week” religiously (it is, in fact, THIS week) and I also read a lot of sailing blogs/books and you know what? I don’t care what you say - the ocean is teeming with these toothy predators. They are everywhere. So I don’t foresee swimming long distances in open water all that much. Then there is “boat yoga”. Scott and I got excited while watching an episode of Lats and Ats TV and a woman demonstrated this “boat yoga”. Do you know the first and only pose she demonstrated? “Leg on Bow Rail”. I kid you not. She lifted her leg, placed it on the bow rail (the metal railing in the front of the boat) and called that a yoga pose. While it might be a nice stretch, it most certainly is not going to keep us fit.

Ugh. So what to do? I know that the cruising lifestyle is one that keeps you slim and trim naturally – constantly lifting and pulling things, eating small (mostly) healthy meals, and living on a moving object therefore constantly engaging your core – but what about cardio? What about running? Sigh. Guess we’ll just have to pack our running shoes and run ashore…or maybe we can get the DVD version of "Sweatin' to the Oldies" and do that on deck? Hmmm....

Yours in health,

Brittany and Scott

3 comments:

Last Paradise said...

You are so sweet, thank you for commenting on all of my new posts!! :)
Exercise... hm. We hike. A lot (less now, and at a slower pace with Johnny). There are ways to create a weight system for lifting, check out Fatty Goodlanders stuff in Cruising World. Also, walking home from the market with heavy packs helps. There are lots of ways to keep moving without the swimming (I don't get in the water much either, I'm with you on the shark front!)

Lisa Hanneman said...

How many laps around the boat does it take to get in a mile? :)

The visual picture I get of the two of you chasing each other in circles is worth the test...

TheSwede said...

Hiya! Nice boat you've got! I long for the HR37, perhaps some 3-4 lifes after this I can afford one... ;-)

Have been thinking about excercising too.
Not because I'm so much into it, but it's
needed anyway.

I was thinking of a runnerbelt and/or
a bicycle which one can hook up a
generator too (as a charger! :) ), and perhaps also hook up other things
(like a smaller washer machine?)

That oughta get one to get the muscles
aking a bit...

BR,
Swede

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