Building a Better Fly Fisherman
There was a guy I worked with for a few months who asked me to take him fishing. When I went to pick him up, he came out to the truck, put a cooler in the back, and got in the cab.
“Where’s your gear?” I asked him.
“In the back…”
“No I mean your rod, tackle, that sort of stuff…”
“You mean you really fish when you go fishing?” Todd honestly believed “fishing” was little more than a euphemism for “drinking.” See most bodies of water in Massachusetts are open to fishing, so the best way to spend a night drinking on the beach is to bring a few rods, set them up and the EPO’s will leave you alone. It never occurred to Todd that some people actually fish while “fishing.”
Then there is the more classic belief that fishermen are simply lazy. The Norman Rockwell-esque image of a guy dozing under a tree while his bobber dances from the only bite of the day.
The truth of the matter is that fishing - like most things - is what you make it. You can fish mere steps from the parking lot or trek to destinations hundreds of miles from the nearest civilization. You can fly fish from the decks of power boats, but given the nature of fly fishing quieter, simpler human powered craft are another choice. Kayaks, canoes, rowboats, and even bicycles are a viable means of reaching fishing spots.
What you can do, is limited only by what you can do.
“Lack of activity destroys the good condition of every human being, while movement and methodical physical exercise save it and preserve it.”
Plato
As Plato reminds us if you don’t use it you’ll lose it. There is slightly more to it than that. When I took my tumble I learned one thing for certain, being able to do stuff is a hell of a lot easier than not being able to do stuff. Being even moderately out of shape makes life harder. In fact, there is a point where being out of shape requires, in the course of a day, more work than the work you would have to do to get in shape. Think about that…and the next time some Jabroni brags about being lazy you can totally steal his thunder - the reaction will be priceless.
Exercise offers innumerable health benefits. The primary of these being a reduction in stress. Many people believe that stress is something you only feel emotionally, but that’s not necessarily true. Stress is far more complex, involving chemical signals from your brain to your body. If you have ever flipped through a medical journal or encyclopedia, you will note a fairly common theme of stress being a major factor in nearly every illness both physiological and psychological. If exercise did nothing else besides reduce this, that would be more than enough.
There is just one two other general points I wish to make about exercise, and it is fairly important. I think that far too much of the emphasis of exercise is placed on how it affects how you look. This is certainly a benefit but not a very meaningful one, at least not to someone out of shape.
What do I mean?
Time will tell, rather time has told. If being in shape to look good was an honest motivator for a person then they’d be in shape already.
Everyone needs to find their motivation. For instance, when I played football I was at the gym 4-6 hours a day…I didn’t enjoy working out, but I enjoyed being able to knock my opponents on their asses. When I stopped playing football, that motivation was largely lost.
Life changes so motivations change. I’d then go to the gym to stay in shape so I could be the Mack Daddy…okay to make sure that instead of being terrifyingly hideous I was merely very unattractive to the ladies. The workout changed as well. Instead of focusing on a purely strength building routine, started to do more weight maintenance.
Now, that I’m a member in good-standing of The He-Man Woman Haters Club, I don’t give a crap how ugly I am. However, after my injury I now workout primarily to better enjoy fly fishing. This is a motivation I suspect I will have for the rest of my life. Given that you are reading this blog I suspect it can be a motivator for you as well.
The second point is another little detail I realized over the years, and this is good news and will hopefully inspire you.
The difference you will feel between doing “something” and “nothing” is far greater than the difference between doing a hardcore workout and a moderate one.
If you are used to doing no exercise and then you start to walk for 15 minutes a day, the change you will feel in your overall health is amazing. Far greater than the difference between a solid hour long workout compared to a semi-professional 6 hour workout.
What this means is that if you think you have no time to exercise in a meaningful way, you are wrong. If you think you have to spend a lot or start a dramatic diet, you don’t. A very modest 10 minutes a day will have you feeling stronger, have better endurance, and coordination.
As a disclaimer, you should probably check with your doctor to make sure you aren’t going to to keel over and die - or worse blame me for your problems. Honestly though, if you go to a doctor and he says that you shouldn’t perform some light exercise you may want to change doctors - unless you are in an iron-lung or something. Easy does it. Listen to your body, and you’ll do fine.
Equipment - just your sweet self.
After all that build up I hope this doesn’t seem like a let down, but The Flyosopher’s Fly Fisherman workout is exactly two exercises: The Hindu Squat and the Hindu Push-up.
Picture’s worth a thousand words, so moving pictures ought to be worth a million.
Politically correct aside:
I hesitated to use the term “Hindu” like most things these exercises do go by other terms. The only ones I’ll mention are the bethaks and dands which are their original terms - well so far as I know. These exercises may be 4-5 thousand years old. As is the case with anything that ancient, exact knowledge is nearly impossible. There are drawings in Eqypt of similar exercises and mentions of them in the writings of Ancient Greece. It is highly likely that the Spartans may have done similar exercises. Yet I defer to the two martial artists I know, Mark and Brian, both of whom agree that if India wasn’t the birthplace of the martial arts it was an essential crossroads of ideas. Furthermore the “Hindu Push Up” is basically three yoga positions tied together: Down Dog, Crocodile, and Up Dog. Hinduism is - of the major religions - the one with the longest history and most tradition, so I think it is proper and respectful to use that term to describe these exercises.
When performing the squats breathe OUT when you come DOWN - like an accordion. Don’t hold your breath. If at first you can’t balance on the balls of your feet you can do them flat footed to build up strength in your knees and legs. You want to do these until you start to feel a burn in your legs, and then do just a few more. Build up slowly. The first time you do these you WILL feel sore the next day.
Why work the legs?
Two main reasons…first wading. Wading in a current is extremely demanding. The stronger your legs the easier it will be. These squats also build the muscles of your lower back and will improve your posture. For me this was a God send because of my back injury, but the increase in endurance especially when standing for long periods of time is essential. The second benefit is simple math. The more of you that is muscle the healthier, stronger, and more endurance you will have. Neglecting legs is the stupidest thing, yet so many people do it. When your legs start to feel solid you probably notice a few other things. Odds are you’ll sleep better, and get out of bed quicker in the morning. That backpacking trip you dreamed about now seems doable, and walking to distant spots will get easier and easier.
The fly fishing benefits of the push ups are more obvious. In addition to strengthing your core, this exercise strengthens every part of your shoulder. The shoulder is actually a collection of muscles and needs to be strengthened from a variety of angles. This exercise will also strengthen the muscles of the arms, wrists, and chest. What’s not to love?
I was a weight-lifter for quite a long time. One of the principles of pumping iron is to isolate the muscle and work only it. With these two exercises, you can work every muscle in your body. The risk of injury - a constant concern with weight-lifting - is minimal. Also I find that I have more endurance than I did when I lifted weights. Also the flowing fluid motions seem to have made me slightly more agile…which is saying a LOT.
I learned these exercises from my brother, who learned them from his Karate Master. There are others but honestly I use them only for variety when I feel the need to break the routine a bit.
To close a historical aside. The Great Gama was an Indian Wrestler (real not the WWE) who in 5000 matches was never defeated. He wrestled all comers some of whom were nearly double his size. To workout, he wrestled, and did these two exercises.