The cooler workout turns the Yeti in your boat or truck into a portable gym, and my favorite move is Tabata Skiers: you stand beside the cooler with one foot on top, then step over side to side like a skier for twenty seconds of work and ten seconds of rest, eight rounds for four total minutes. Hunters, fishermen, and outdoorsmen already carry the only equipment they need. In this Physical Friday I break down the Tabata Skiers protocol.
Listen now: press play in the player above and follow along.
Tabata Skiers turns your fishing cooler into a step platform. You stand beside the cooler with one foot on top, then step over it side to side like a skier, going for twenty seconds of work and ten seconds of rest, repeated for eight rounds, which is four minutes total. It is my favorite way to use a cooler for a quick, intense burn.
The Tabata protocol is twenty seconds of hard work followed by ten seconds of rest, repeated for eight rounds, totaling four minutes. Some say it is named for a Japanese scientist who developed it, and it is a very common, efficient structure in the fitness world that you can apply to many movements.
Stand to the left of the cooler with your right foot on top. Step over so your left foot is on top and your right foot is on the ground on the far side, then quickly step back so your right foot returns to the top. Go back and forth as fast as you can, like a skier coming down a hill.
Just a cooler, a Yeti or any brand you already have in your boat or truck, and a Tabata timer on your phone. No gym gear is required, so you can do it at the boat ramp, in a parking lot, or at the hotel wherever you happen to be.
Tabata timers are very easy to find on your phone. Just search T-A-B-A-T-A and you will find plenty of free options, many pre-programmed for the twenty-seconds-on, ten-seconds-off structure. If a timer is not pre-set, it is simple to create those intervals yourself.
After the four minutes of Tabata Skiers, throw in some push-ups and squats and you have got a complete session. You need no more equipment than the cooler you already have in your boat, and you can do the whole thing in the parking lot or at the boat ramp.
When you are on the road you often think you have zero equipment, but hunters and fishermen usually have more than they realize sitting right in the boat or truck. I wanted to show how a cooler becomes a serious piece of gym gear.
Here is exactly how I run the Tabata Skiers cooler workout on the road.
On the road you assume you have nothing, but the cooler in your boat or truck is a step platform for step-ups, step-overs, and skiers. It is the gear you already carry, so there is no excuse. I explain the cooler workout idea in the episode, so press play in the player above.
The skier motion is a quick side-to-side step over the cooler, one foot up and one foot down, switching fast like a skier on a hill. Run it on the Tabata clock, twenty seconds on and ten off, for eight rounds. I demonstrate the exact footwork in the episode, so press play in the player above.
Tabata timers are easy to find on your phone, just search T-A-B-A-T-A and many are pre-programmed. After the four-minute skier burn, throw in push-ups and squats for a complete workout at the boat ramp, parking lot, or hotel. I cover the timers and finisher in the episode, so press play in the player above.
This one is all about practical solutions for real situations. When you are focused on the fishing and the truck is already loaded, the last thing you want is to hunt for a gym. Your Yeti is right there.
Four minutes of Tabata Skiers will light up your legs and your lungs, and a few push-ups and squats finish it off. Give it a try and let me know how it goes. 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 · Tabata Skiers · Tabata protocol · Yeti cooler · step-ups · step-overs · push-ups · squats · 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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