Wanted: Fat Sailors

[JonathanSail]

High heels,

If you re-read your post on rowing and not knowing what you will do for excercise instead of rowing when you go cruising you may see the gap in logic there that I do. When I think rowing I think of a small boat and two oars. Seems like cruising will be the ideal time to get lots of rowing in. Get some oars for your dink and get to it.

There are plenty of ways to get the exercise that your body was needs while avoiding doing things that are a waste of time except for the exercise.

Jonathan

[High Heels]

You must think I am a total airhead Jonathan ;0)

Rowing in a dink is a lot different than rowing in a scull, or as also known, a rowing shell. An ergometer, the rowing machine I have at home simulates a very similar body movement as rowing in a rowing shell...it has a sliding seat which permits 'the drive' to come from the rower's legs, not their arms...

So many think a rower produces most of their power from their arms but in actuality in a competitive rowing shell rowers are creating the majority of the strength of their stroke in their legs, their arms just acting mostly as a way to hinge that power from the legs to the oar through the arms...the arms really just acting as a conduit of energy...

Can you tell I LOVE the sport!!! It suits me so well because I have super strong legs and could leg press about 450 lbs. with my legs in high school without much strain at all ;0) I was born to row!

Anyway, the issue with having a dink without a moving, sliding seat is that all the muscle comes into play with the arms, and while this is still really good exercise, it is not the same cardiovascular workout as when the large leg muscles are involved...it is also tremendously more difficult on the back, and honestly after rowing in college it is really hard to get in a dink and row when you are acquainted to that lovely, silky feeling of cutting like a knife through butter while balancing on the water...even on the erg I can sometimes feel that same beautiful slide and catch...it is wonderful!! and there is truly nothing else like it...rowing in a dink now for me feels like riding down the bumpiest road with the worst suspension imaginable...o.k. now I just sound like a snob...

but this is why I am having a tough time. If I had a million dollars I would purchase one of those lovely, fast Dragonfly trimarans and store my super fast lovely scull in one of the sailboat's hulls...perfect...but the bank account is not going to permit that.

I will enjoy rowing a dink and get the upper arm workout...I will figure out something to do to keep my legs in shape, but I can't lie I will be dreaming of my ergometer and the beautiful, wooden scull I will own one day when I am back on land ;0)

[flysci]

Highheels,

After spending several months on a mooring and rowing to shore once or twice a day, I can tell you it does wonders for the Abs, waist and belly. If you make sure you use your core to help with the rowing, you will get more than just the arm workout. And maybe balance some of that lower body strength with some upper body strength. Build new muscle - that's what burns the fat. If you do only what your muscles are good at, you won't get as much of a work out. Sure a dink isn't the same as a scull, but it's fun it it's own right.

Margo

Margo

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by High Heels

Rowing is the exercise that my body was built for and it responds the quickest to it on the ergometer. Concept2's model is great Concept2: The World's Best Rowing Machine Don't know what I am going to do when I go cruising because I do find it difficult to find any other exercise other than running that I can do that really gets me to reach this heart rate as quickly and steadily...works upper body, lower body, and both chambers of the heart simultaneously...kind of like getting your cardio and weight bearing exercise all in one.

Use the outboard instead of the ROCNA when you anchor... that way you get to row...

[JonathanSail]

Thanks for the explanation High-Heels. What you say makes a lot of sense and I now understand what you were saying and can see where you are coming from. I've spent a lot of time cycling on fairly top end equipment and can appreciate the vast difference between riding one bike and another. It's taken a while but I've learned to appreciate my cruiser and do get excercise from it. When it comes to getting in the "zone" and really getting a workout though I'm not sure if I could ever really do that on my cruiser. In my Walker Bay rowing is mostly a core and arm exercise as mentioned above. For me this is great as those muscles are often neglected.

Do you think it would be possible to adapt a sliding seat to a normal rowing dink? I know that the speed would never match but it may enable a more balanced workout and more importantly might allow for greater speed/power and performance of the dink. This could come in handy when fighting wind/current on a grocery run.

Jonathan

[High Heels]

I promise Margo I will give it more of a chance...I used to row our little Achilles but that is going to be sold with our first boat...so now we have this huge inflatable not so suitable for rowing although I am sure I can make some modifications...Don't knock it till ya try it!, right?!?

And you are right Margo my upper body strength needs some major work...and I will remember the core issue...sometimes I think I forget to use mine and over work other muscles.

Ha-ha Boatman...it is like you have already seen our vacation video from a few weeks ago with the 37 knots of wind anchoring for the first time with the ROCNA ;0) Chris must have been telling the stories here ;0)

[High Heels]

Good idea Jonathan...regarding the slide modification...think it would mean getting another dink ;0) We have a huge catamaran dinghy we bought second hand and it goes F-A-S-T with engine but it is beamy enough that I would need four foot arms to pull off rowing it on my own. Maybe time to train the cats to become little Vikings!

Ah, your a cyclist so you know! Perfect analogy of comparison between your bikes...yes, that is it! I hope to try truly cycling some day. Chris was a cyclist in his teens and loved racing. Sounds like fun! Thanks for all the suggestions!

[mintyspilot]

** LESS FAT SAILOR POST **

Well, since I joined this thread I have lost enough weight that my trousers now fall down when I walk more than half a dozen steps wearing no belt. My belt has had 4 new holes drilled in it - each 1" apart - and I am on the second new hole whereas I used to be on the penultimate hole so that is 3" off the waistline.

Mrs Minty is now feeling the pressure as my waistline is now approaching hers in size (yes, we are BOTH overweight).

According to the measurements I am no longer obese and am merely overweight. Since 1st Jan I am down 1st 2lbs and this weight loss has been achieved by simply never buying any biscuits. The biscuit barrel has been empty since New Year and that is the only dietry change in my life. It means my average loss is 0.7lbs per week or roughly 3lbs per month.

Amazing that such a small change can achieve big results...

[High Heels]

Congratulations Minty! Good work! It is amazing how some simple changes can make a difference. Although it seems to me that in my regard it means I can have nothing that has sugar in it, no alcohol, or anything fun and work my butt off exercising to lose anything...

I gained all my being sick weight back but then the beginning of April I did get serious...have been rowing at least four times a week on the ergometer minus 10 days when I hurt my shoulder and have been doing exercises with little weights I have at home. I have lost eleven lbs. now and two inches around my waist!!!

I can see the fat in my legs converting to muscle and getting the muscle tone back. Yay!

I highly suggest getting the measuring tape out and measuring chest, hips, waist, etc... because even when the weight doesn't necessarily reflect weight loss the inches sure can reflect the conversion of fat back to muscle.

Overall, I cannot tell you how much better I feel mentally and physically since I have started exercising. It is not always easy being motivated to get on the erg but I am almost always glad I did after it is over and even during the workout.

Keep on keeping on!!!!!

[SaucySailoress]

Damn Damn Damn. I mean, congratulations, well done.

But damn. I think I'm up a few kilos from when I started this thread. I just can't lay off the chocolate box....

[mintyspilot]

Nice to hear of your success HH and I'm glad you seem to be enjoying the process because that really helps IMO.

I'm not going to bother with the measuring tape because I have already had an 'incident' in that respect. First it would be highly silly to get a smaller waist than Mrs Minty. Second I have a £300 ($480??) pure wool, dark grey suit that I wear for business functions and customer meetings. It is now unwearable because I have lost weight from across my shoulders and back and the jacket nearly reaches down to my knees. The trousers feel like both Mrs Minty and I could wear them at the same time (it is not really that bad, but it feels that way).

None of my white cotton shirts fit either. The necks are too big. Last time I wore one I left the top button undone, not because it was too tight but rather it was so loose I used the tie to 'gather' the loose stuff in to make it look a better fit.

This weight loss business is going to cost me a bl**dy fortune.

[zeehag]

i found chocolate makes no difference whatsoever when one rows or paddles kayak and rides a bike every day....... i have found many fishermen in mazatlan like to donate fillets of freshly caught dorado and yellow fin tunaand whatever the days catch is to solitary sailorettes-- yummmmmmmm.. and healthy too!!! row a mile every day and see how that helps---it realllly does.....

[mintyspilot]

Originally Posted by zeehag

i found chocolate makes no difference whatsoever when one rows or paddles kayak and rides a bike every day....... i have found many fishermen in mazatlan like to donate fillets of freshly caught dorado and yellow fin tunaand whatever the days catch is to solitary sailorettes-- yummmmmmmm.. and healthy too!!! row a mile every day and see how that helps---it realllly does.....

I think it depends on your dietary intake. Let us say that you are eating enough calories so as to maintain you present bodyweight and then you eat just 100 extra calories per day - 700 per week (a good size meal). Because you are over your maintenance limit those calories are stored as fat and stay there. Over time the pounds will pile on until the effort of moving that poundage requires an extra 100 calories per day.

That is why cutting out biscuits is working. I'm below the calorific maintenance level and my weight will drop until my body's needs match my intake of calories.

Weird, but it is working.

[zeehag]

intake variations is good reason for rowing....... lotsa rowing-- makes the body activate and use the intake so isnt deposited on thighs , butt, and other spots.....then lotsa dorado just out of sea......and chocolate.... by the bit, not big bars....

[High Heels]

Rowing on a sliding seat for me is seriously the most efficient exercise I have ever done. I ran in college at least 6 miles 3x a week and it still didn't get me in as good shape as rowing on the erg. My arms, core, legs....it all just snaps to at once...I will never be some tiny little thing...but I am cool with that...just want my muscles to be strong and in shape.

Some mysterious pain I actually had in the psoas region and lower back and hips is disappearing and I believe it is because I am getting supportive muscles back.

Thanks Saucy for starting this thread and inspiring us!!!! It is a good thing that you and I are not neighbors because I do love the chocolates...especially the ones with all the different mystery fillings...Yummeah!!!

I still have been cheating a bit on the weekends...well, actually I cheated a lot last weekend and Memorial Day weekend when I actually had two dinners...shame on me...but I couldn't tell our host no

Anyway, during the week I am good and have been trying to cut down on the wine intake. Not happy to find out that the Honey Beers like Blue Moon are some of the most caloric there are...been contemplating giving alcohol up all together anyway...but at 176 calories for 12 oz. and the fact I would average 2 beers a weekend and sometimes a couple of glasses of wine before the weekend was out it is no wonder I packed on the lbs...

Wow Minty you have lost that much that your clothes are hanging on you, Great!!!!

Take care All!!!