If you’ve seen our other articles in this series, you’ll be well aware we’ve been looking at how to keep fit on your yacht, in any and all situations.
Think for a second though, if you didn’t have to take the conditions into consideration for a change. If you found yourself in a perfectly calm, still scenario, where the rocking of the waves played no part in what workout you could do.
That’s where today’s article takes us. No matter how much you enjoy the open seas, every sailor has to come into port at some point, and that is one location where you’ll find the exact conditions I mentioned above.
Now, when given the freedom to do whatever workout you want, the smart option is to do exercises you’re unable to do at other times. We’ve covered resistance training and static strength training, which are both really good options for building and defining muscle. However, we’ve so far covered very little cardiovascular training or aerobic exercises. That is until now, as today we will be looking at some explosive exercises to really get your heart racing.
Like all of our workouts, this will be a full body, 5 exercise, workout. However, this one will be markedly different as it incorporates two new types of training, H.I.I.T and circuit training.
H.I.I.T stands for high intensity interval training. What that means is that you will exercise flat out, or at high intensity, for periods, interspersed with short breaks that are just long enough to keep you going. This has been proven to be an incredibly good aerobic workout and the number one way to get rid of stubborn body fat.
The other type of training I mentioned was circuit training. How this differs from normal exercise is that as opposed to doing multiple sets of an exercise before moving on, you do a single set before you move to the next exercise. Only when you have performed one set of every exercise on your list, a complete circuit, do you move back to the beginning. This is effective as it keeps your whole body working throughout, while not overly fatiguing any one part.
As you don’t have much time in between exercises to stop, we’ll lay out the ground rules ahead of time:
Equipment
Similarly to our previous workouts, we are going to be using very little equipment, in order to save our valuable storage space on board. There are two pieces of kit I will mention for today’s session, however both are optional, based on either personal preference or what is already available on board.
The first item is a yoga mat. While not essential, it will make doing floor based exercises, like we will be doing today, much more comfortable. As they are incredibly cheap and easy to store I would recommend getting one.
The second item is an aerobic step. While it can have different uses in exercise, it is essentially just a raised platform. They also take up more room to store than the other equipment we’ve been using. I would therefore say if you have a suitable step, or sturdy surface a few inches off the ground, elsewhere on your boat then use that instead. If you don’t, then it will definitely be a good piece of kit to have.
You will also need a timer or stopwatch of some sort, but as most modern smart phones, tablets, laptops etc have these there shouldn’t be any need to buy anything additional.
Muscles Targetted: Quadriceps, Hamstrings, Gluteals, Calves, Pectorals, Triceps, Deltoids, Abdominals
We start with burpees, the most rounded exercise of the session, substantially targetting almost every muscle in your body.
Muscles Targetted: Abdominals, Quadriceps, Triceps
Next is mountain climbers, a cardio exercise that puts heavy emphasis on abdominal work.
Muscles Targetted: Calves, Quadriceps, Hamstrings, Gluteals, Deltoids
Next is jumping jacks. A pure cardio exercise, they are very similar to star jumps many people did as children.
Muscles Targetted- Abdominals, Quadriceps, Gluteals
Our penultimate exercise is ab bikes. A heavy abdominal workout that hits your cardiovascular system as a secondary benefit.
Muscles Targetted- Quadriceps, Calves, Abdominals
Finally, we finish with step ups. While they may seem overly straightforward, when you push yourself, this is the most intense, pure cardio, exercise of the session.
Combining this cardio heavy workout with our previous sessions will give you a nice, well rounded training routine. Strong, toned and now with endurance to boot, you’ll be the envy of all men, on land or at sea.
Let us know in the comments, on social media, or by email how it goes for you.
Feel free to share any of your own suggestions for great exercises and workouts to do at sea, in port, or even ashore.
Check out the equipment on Amazon (we may get a little commission too)
