Flexibility and comfort on the boat come from preparing your body months ahead — standing more, stretching daily, strengthening your hamstrings, lower back, and legs, and staying ahead on hydration — so a week of long days does not wreck you.
Chris texted me after fishing five eight-to-ten-hour days in the Keys with his hamstrings and lower back completely thrashed, asking about flexibility. The honest answer is that the biggest fix is being out there more, but there is a lot you can do away from the water. On this Physical Friday I lay out the standing, stretching, strengthening, and hydration habits that make the next trip far more comfortable.
Listen now: press play in the player above and follow along.
Because you are asking your body to do something it is not used to doing. Standing on a boat for five eight-to-ten-hour days is its own kind of endurance event, no different than running a marathon you did not train for. If you are not a guide standing on a deck all day, your hamstrings, lower back, and legs simply are not conditioned for it, so they get thrashed by the end of the week.
Stand more in everyday life, starting months before your trip. Swap your sitting desk for a standing desk and build up from half your day standing to most of it over a couple of months. Putting a bosu ball under the desk so you have to balance and shift around makes it even closer to standing on a skiff. Simply being upright for hours is hard, and most people never practice it.
Find a flexibility program you will actually do every day — I use UHP (Ultimate Human Performance) from Joe Hippensteele, but daily yoga or anything consistent works. The key is sticking with it long enough to get the benefit. Add light Romanian deadlifts for hamstrings, Supermans for the lower back, planks and push-ups for the core, and air squats and walking for your legs.
Lie face down on the floor, then lift your chest, arms, and head off the ground while you also arch your back and lift your thighs, knees, and ankles, so the only thing touching the floor is your hips. Then lower back down and repeat. It is one of my favorite lower-back exercises and it strengthens the area that takes a beating on the boat.
It is usually cumulative dehydration. You do not get dehydrated on day one — you just do not quite drink enough, then you fall a little further behind on day two, and by day three you are diminished. Late nights and a few beers make it worse. By Thursday and Friday people are worn out, and the cause is almost always that slow hydration deficit building over the week.
Water plus electrolytes. I like LMNT for its sodium, magnesium, and potassium, but any electrolyte replacement or even a Gatorade is better than water alone. If you are avoiding sugar, salt your food well at night. Staying ahead on water and electrolytes every single day keeps your energy up across the whole week instead of fading day after day.
When Chris told me his hamstrings and lower back were thrashed after five days in the Keys, I knew exactly what happened. Those were five eight-to-ten-hour days of standing, and unless you guide for a living, your body simply is not used to that. Standing on a boat all day is its own endurance event, like running a marathon you never trained for. The single biggest fix is being out there more often, but most of us cannot do that — so we prepare away from the water. I get into how in the episode, so press play in the player above.
My number one tip is simple and most people skip it: practice standing. Swap your sitting desk for a standing desk and build up gradually — half your day around Christmas, three-quarters by late winter, the whole day before an April trip. Put a bosu ball underneath so you have to balance and shift, and you are mimicking the skiff. It sounds almost too simple, but being comfortable on your feet for eight hours is most of the battle. I explain the progression in the episode, so press play in the player above.
Flexibility work is huge, but only if you actually stick with it — my problem was always quitting before the benefit kicked in, until UHP became the first program I stayed with for over a year. Pair daily flexibility with strength for the spots that hurt: light Romanian deadlifts for hamstrings, Supermans for the lower back, planks and push-ups for the core, and air squats for the legs you stand on. I describe each one in the episode, so press play in the player above.
I watched it for an entire career — anglers strong on Monday, fading by Wednesday, worn out by Friday. It was rarely one bad day; it was a slow hydration deficit building from not quite drinking enough each day, made worse by late nights and beers. The fix is staying ahead on water and electrolytes every single day so you hold your energy across the whole week. I talk through how I manage it in the episode, so press play in the player above.
Here is the routine I gave Chris to be ready for the next long trip.
I detail how to ramp each piece in the episode. Press play in the player above.
The anglers who finish a five-day trip feeling strong are the ones who prepared their bodies for it weeks and months ahead, not the night before. Standing more, stretching daily, and staying hydrated is unglamorous, but it is exactly what keeps you comfortable and attentive on day five.
If you have a trip on the calendar, start now. Get on your feet, get on a flexibility program, strengthen your hamstrings and back, and drink your water and electrolytes every day. Press play in the player above for the full breakdown.
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.
Chris (listener) · Florida Keys · UHP / Ultimate Human Performance · Joe Hippensteele · LMNT · Rob Wolf · Romanian deadlift · Superman exercise · air squats · standing desk · hydration · electrolytes · Physical Friday
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, mobility, nutrition, and mindset work that keeps me — and the guides, anglers, hunters, and outdoorsmen who listen — strong enough to keep doing what we love for life.
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