This travel workout for hunters and fishermen uses gear you already carry: you pull the cooler out of your truck, grab something heavy like a cast net in a bucket, and do weighted step-ups onto the cooler. A cast net runs about twenty pounds, and you can program it for time or for a target number of reps. Having zero equipment is not an excuse. In this Physical Friday I break down how to turn fishing gear into a leg workout.
Listen now: press play in the player above and follow along.
Only a cooler and something heavy you already carry. I pull the Yeti out of my truck and use it as a step platform, then grab a cast net in a bucket, which weighs about twenty pounds, to add load. A tackle box or a bucket of sand or water works too. No gym equipment is needed.
Set the cooler on stable ground, hold your weighted gear, and step up onto the top with one foot, drive up, then step back down. Repeat, alternating legs as you like. It trains your legs hard using nothing but the cooler and the heavy gear already in your truck.
Two ways. You can set a clock for ten or twenty minutes and get as many step-ups as possible, which is density-focused, or you can pick a target number like 150, 300, or 600 and do them as fast as you can. Both train your legs effectively.
A cast net typically weighs about twenty pounds, which makes it ideal resistance for step-ups. Most fishermen already carry one in a bucket, so it is an easy-to-hold weighted implement that is right there in the boat or truck.
Yes. Bodyweight step-ups onto the cooler work perfectly fine if that matches your fitness level. The workout scales, so start with just bodyweight and add a cast net, tackle box, or bucket of sand or water when you want more challenge.
Whatever heavy gear you packed. A cast net in a bucket, a tackle box, a bucket of sand from yellow tailing, or a bucket of water all work. The principle is simple: weight is weight, so the equipment you already brought for fishing doubles as resistance.
We have been talking about training on the road with nothing but the gear you brought for hunting or fishing. I almost always have a Yeti cooler and a cast net with me, so I wanted to show a creative way to turn them into a real leg workout.
Here is exactly how I turn a cooler and fishing gear into a weighted leg session.
If I have a Yeti in the truck and nothing but fishing gear, I will pull it out and use it for step-ups. It is simple and it trains your legs hard. I explain the basic setup in the episode, so press play in the player above.
The cast net is perfect, about twenty pounds and easy to hold in a bucket. But weight is weight: a tackle box, a bucket of sand from yellow tailing, or a bucket of water all work. Whatever heavy gear you packed doubles as resistance. I run through the options in the episode, so press play in the player above.
You can set a clock for ten or twenty minutes and rack up as many step-ups as possible, or pick a number like 300 and race it. Both train your legs with gear from your truck bed. I explain how I choose in the episode, so press play in the player above.
I love this because it kills the excuse we all make when we travel. You are already carrying a cooler and weighted gear, so the gym is in the back of your truck.
It scales too. Bodyweight step-ups if you are getting started, a twenty-pound cast net if you want more. Whether you run a ten-minute clock or race to 300, you are training your legs. Press play in the player above.
Physical Friday is my weekly fitness series for fishing guides, anglers, hunters, and outdoorsmen — the training, nutrition, and mindset to stay in the game for life. Watch and listen to every Physical Friday episode from Tom Rowland.
Tom Rowland · Yeti cooler · cast net · step-ups · tackle box · bucket of sand · Physical Friday · Saltwater Experience
I’m Tom Rowland, a professional fishing guide based in the Florida Keys, host of the Tom Rowland Podcast, and the longtime host of the Saltwater Experience television show. On the podcast’s Physical Friday series I share the training, nutrition, and mindset that keep fishing guides, anglers, hunters, and outdoorsmen strong, healthy, and able to do what they love for life — in short, practical episodes you can put to use right away.
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