My wife and I have been cruising in Mexico on our trawler, Well Deserved, for the past two years. We love the lifestyle of cruising along with tacos, chips, salsa, and my personal favorite, Pacifico Beer. Before we retired, my wife and I exercised religiously, a minimum of five days a week. We lifted weights, played racquet ball, walked a lot and even rode mountain bikes. Perhaps, because of this exercise, my dreaded root beer belly was kept at bay.

My wife and I have always been athletic, and in the past I even competed in body building. Having never taken steroids, it didn't take long to realize that a natural body builder like myself wouldn't have a chance competing. So much for the natural contest, I personally don't think they exist. Although along this arduous route I did gain a good education on diet, exercise, and self-discipline.

When my wife Jackie and I first began cruising, we believed that walking, kayaking, swimming, snorkeling and scuba diving would keep us relatively fit. Wrong! Well, it worked for Jackie but not for me, as I loved my beer and with that the creation of my root beer belly was born. I soon began to realize that the cruiser’s lifestyle was beginning to take its toll. When you consider all the cocktail parties with other cruisers, with hors d’oeuvres,

chips, salsa, and my so dearly loved Pacifico Beer, I was doomed. My definition was fading as my root beer belly began growing larger by the week. What I also noticed is that pulling the dinghy up on the beach became more difficult, cleaning the bottom of the boat was a laboring experience, and I didn’t feel as strong and energized as I once was. What I decided was I needed to take better care of myself and try and get back some of that old self discipline that I once had.

At 58 years old I knew that it wasn’t going to be easy, especially when you have a wife that stays in terrific shape with little to no effort. What I didn’t want to do was cut out the things that I enjoyed so much, beer, tacos, you know, the good stuff. Looking back I found moderation to be the key.

What I decided to do was to buy a small, collapsible workout bench and a small amount of weights, adjustable dumbbells as they are easy to stow away. Space is something that should always be considered, so keep in mind alternatives could be used, such as jugs that you can fill with water and lift instead of dumbbells, or an ice chest instead of a workout bench.

To become motivated and stay motivated is probably my hardest obstacle. I find it so easy to put off working out, but you can’t if you want to accomplish your goals, remember self-discipline. Daily my wife and I walk, kayak, or swim, but this old guy must do much, much more. I do 100 sit-ups a day (without fail) along with 50 pushups and 10 chin-ups.

I developed a weight routine that takes approximately 30 minutes, three days a week. My shoulders and joints bother me at times, so I use light weights focusing on repetition and working the muscle to its maximum throughout each exercise. I usually do four sets per body part, working the muscle to the max during each set, allowing only 10 seconds rest between sets. This type of workout will develop good definition along with increased endurance and agility. When working on a particular body part, concentrate on that individual muscle and I’m sure you will notice rapid improvement. Because of the lack of rest between sets, you are also working on increasing your lung capacity and you will soon realize that you are burning more calories. I’m using light weights, so the work out is easier on the joints, thus less wear and tear on my old and abused body.

My weight workout is quite simple, consisting of four sets of curls, bench press, incline press, overhead press, lateral pulls, and side bends. I sometimes do leg bends, but walking seems to keep my legs in good enough shape and I have yet to see a root beer calf or thigh.

Cruisers can be creative when developing a work out plan, as they can do dips on the bow pulpit or between two chairs, chin-ups on the hand railing, or put your wife in a harness and pull her up the mast. I think I like that one. I developed a workout that takes less time that most people take having their morning coffee. I know that it doesn’t sounds like much, but results will soon develop. I

still dread working out, but when you have completed your workout, you feel so much better about yourself. One day at a time, as they say.

I believe that in the long run, a daily physical fitness routine is worth every minute spent, as my energy level has increased, I’m more agile and my endurance has more that doubled. I will never look like a lifeguard on Bay Watch, but I am maintaining fair definition and the appropriate weight for my age, so perhaps we can still enjoy the cruiser’s lifestyle and maintain our physical health.

What we should also consider is, if we are cruising and maintaining good physical fitness, our safety factor on our vessel is increased, thus resulting in fewer injuries and accidents aboard. For those of you who have experienced rough conditions at sea, and it will happen if you are out there for any amount of time, being fit may be the difference between surviving the storm or not.

I’m not sure if good conditioning will extend your life, but I’m confident it will extend the quality of your life and your cruising time on the water. Don’t forget to continue those beautiful walks on the beach and make some form of physical activity part of your daily routine. Remember self-discipline is the key and perhaps the old adage, “No Pain – No Gain,” comes into play. I hope that this article will encourage some of you fellow cruisers.

My wife and I wish you all many happy and safe years cruising at sea. May you have fair winds and following seas.