ANGLERS ACHES and PAINS!!!
By Montana Grant

Posted: September 11, 2022

Fishing is hard work! After a Spring and Summer of cranking and fighting fish, anglers are sore and tired. Tennis players are not the only ones with a sore elbow, stiff knees are not just for Racquet ball fanatics. Anglers have been slipping, sliding, and floundering into rivers, lakes, and boats all year.

Casting requires the use of shoulders, arms, wrists, and hands. Reeling requires the same. Fighting a fish also involves the back. Piscatorial athletes are bruised, battered, and fried.

With ice fishing just around the corner, there are things that fishermen can do to get back into shape. 

Hands and Wrists    Casting involves articulating wrists and reeling with fingers. The entire joint needs to rotate and bend. Use a compression ball, Towel Twist, and do wrist curls with light weights. Make the joints move in all directions. Your hands, wrists, ankles, and feet contain 107 of your body’s 206 bones.

Elbows    Flexing and curls strengthen elbows. Do 90-degree curls and lifts. Light weight and repetitions are best.

Shoulders    The shoulder needs to flex and rotate fully. Use curls and weighted extensions to increase strength and maintain range of motion. 

Forearms    You have 2 long bones in your forearm. Keep the muscles around them strong using curls and twists and pressing style motion. Move joints and limbs to mimic casting, hook set, and gear motions.

Legs and Torso    Walking is the one best thing that you can do. Use appropriate shoes with the arch you need. Speed walking builds endurance. You can carry light weights and do flexing curls as you go. Swing and rotate to increase motion.

Cardio     Mix up your heartrate activities. Walk fast and slow. Change and vary terrain and surfaces.

Meds     Tylenol works well for most all around aches and pains. Other meds have more side effects or discourage bone and muscle growth. A soak in a spa is nice. Use ice and heat for sore and achy muscles and joints.

Many of these exercises can be done when seated or resting. Jogging is great if your body allows but for less fit or older anglers, brisk walking is fine.

Pain and aches from family, friends, and bosses, that think you fish too much, should be ignored.

Montana Grant

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