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Why Fitness Matters

Nothing quite compares to fitness. It encompasses the highest levels of physical, mental, and emotional health. However, maintaining fitness often eludes many in today’s modern lifestyle. While mariners face unique challenges, these can be turned into opportunities by fitting fitness into their way of life.

For shipping companies, fitness is crucial to attracting, retaining, and engaging talent, which enhances safety, sustainability, and operational excellence. As the demands on seafarers grow, turning ships into not only remote workplaces but also floating homes and wellness hubs is essential.

For individuals, maintaining fitness both on shore and on board supports personal and professional success. Fitness isn’t just about strength, mobility, power, endurance, lean body composition. It’s about having the energy and drive to get through the day, boosting your metabolism, gaining confidence and command, and improving both performance and sleep quality. A healthy body and mind are intertwined: exercise releases mood-enhancing neurotransmitters, reduces stress, and improves happiness and memory. Moreover, fitness acts as preventive medicine, guarding against chronic conditions such as obesity, hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, and mental health issues.

We know the benefits of fitness, but sticking to a routine is often a challenge. Mariners face specific obstacles, yet they also have unique opportunities to incorporate fitness into their lives, whether on shore or at sea. For seafarers, fitness can be the greatest gift to themselves, and for shipping companies, it can be the best way to care for their most valuable asset and enhance their competitiveness.

Mariner Life: Fitness Challenges or Opportunities?

At Ichor Fitness, we believe the unique challenges faced by seafarers are also opportunities. Here’s how:

On-again Off-again Cycles: The cyclic nature of seafarers’ lives – alternating between shore and sea – can disrupt routines. However, this can be advantageous. Training programs can be designed around these cycles, adapting to both on-board and on-shore conditions. For example, while on shore, seafarers can enjoy sports and activities with family and friends, while on board, they can focus on strength and conditioning using available equipment. This approach uses the seasonal nature of their work to maintain fitness in a smart way.

Lack of Time: Many struggle to find time for training, but we believe mariners have a unique leg up! Seafarers on shore leave often have a unique gift of time for family, recreation, and self-care, freed up from their usual workload. And while at sea, the structured work environment allows for consistent routines now that shore-based family and social commitments are at bay. Fitness can provide continuity between the two phases of life, linking seafarers to their best selves so they can take care of what matters most!

Battling the Blues, Stress, and Poor Sleep: These common obstacles are often exacerbated in a demanding seafarer life. Which is why turning to fitness is precisely the antidote you were looking for. Exercise releases endorphins, which enhance mood, reduce pain, and alleviate stress. It fosters a sense of control, shifts focus from worries to resilience, and even improves sleep quality. Fitness is a game changer, refreshing the body and mind, providing a much-needed mental shift from stress and worry to confidence and wellbeing.

Combating Isolation: Leaving home, family and friends behind on shore can lead to feelings of isolation. Fitness can be a powerful way to build community on board. Exercising with colleagues – or even an online cohort transcending locations! – creates bonds that transcend differences, fostering support and camaraderie. Try training with a buddy and spotting each other for safety, support, motivation, and rest between sets; or organizing group fitness activities, like circuit training or healthy competition; enhance teamwork and make fitness a shared, enjoyable experience.

Craving Alone Time: Sometimes, seafarers may prefer solo me-time in their cabins. Taking time for yourself helps refill your batteries and refresh your sense of identity, bringing your best self back to the group! Personal space for exercising can be achieved with minimal equipment: bodyweight exercises, resistance bands, a mat, or dumbbells are sufficient for an excellent session. You can hit all major muscle groups and even do flexibility, mobility, and conditioning training all within your personal environment with music and routines that suit you.

Feeling Unmotivated? Seafarers can harness both internal and external motivation to maintain fitness. The time you have spent alone, the time you have spent within a group, and the time you have spent studying and building discipline, are all powerful sources of motivation to tap into. Building consistent routines, coupling it with something you enjoy, and celebrating small victories can help make fitness an ingrained habit. Focus on progress, not perfection, allowing fitness to become a natural part of daily life.

Battling Pain, Strain, and Muscular Imbalances:  Exercise is especially important for counteracting the effects of repetitive movements, poor posture, long hours in front of a screen, and sedentary lifestyles we all experience whether on shore or at sea. Regular exercise not only builds muscle and endurance but also corrects muscular imbalances, improves flexibility, and strengthens the core. A good training plan will assess your baseline and focus on alternately contracting, holding, and lengthening the muscles of your body back into their optimum condition.

Not sure where to start? Nothing gets you going like having a clear objective, whether it’s losing weight, gaining muscle, or preparing for a specific activity. No clear objective yet? Start by committing to a routine, such as exercising a certain number of times per week. As you make exercise part of your lifestyle, your confidence and motivation will increase, and you’ll naturally start setting specific goals!

Nutrition on Board

Proper nutrition is critical to complementing fitness efforts. While the rising cost of provisions may strain victualing budgets, nutrition should be prioritized to ensure seafarers are fueled for optimum performance. This requires understanding the role of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats, along with the need for vitamins, minerals, and hydration.

Balanced nutrition helps maintain energy levels, support bodily functions, and promote muscle recovery and growth. High-quality protein sources like eggs, fish, poultry, meat, beans, and nuts are essential for muscle development especially when paired with resistance exercise. For those looking to lose weight, a calorie deficit combined with a structured fitness plan can lead to sustainable results. The controlled environment of a vessel can make it easier to stick to a well-designed nutrition plan with support from the kitchen staff. And even though you may not have as much control over food availability, you can use methods such as portion control, nutrition timing, and even supplementation to optimize nutrition.

And when back on shore, keep the discipline going, using tools such as food journaling and advance food preparation to give you an understanding of and respect for how your body responds to your food choices.

Safety First

Safety first is the seafarer’s mantra, and your mindset is your ally to keeping you safe at all times. While exercise enhances well-being, it does entail risks, especially crucial in a maritime environment. Seafarers should apply the same risk assessment and mitigation skills used in their daily work to their fitness routines.

Before starting any exercise, assess the environment for hazards like wet or unstable surfaces due to ship movement. Wear appropriate clothing and footwear to reduce the risk of slips and falls. Use well-maintained equipment and ensure it’s suitable for maritime conditions.

Progressive training is crucial for building the necessary physical foundation for more strenuous activities. A gradual increase in exercise intensity helps prevent injuries, such as muscle strains or joint sprains. Always start with a proper warm-up to prepare the muscles and joints. Incorporate stretching that enhances flexibility and range of motion. Cool down after workouts to aid recovery and prevent stiffness.

Listen to your body and recognize when to rest. Pushing through pain or ignoring signs of fatigue can lead to trauma. Staying hydrated and nourished is also vital to maintaining energy levels and supporting recovery. Regularly schedule rest days to allow muscles to recover and prevent overtraining.

When engaging in group activities or sports, conduct a risk assessment to identify and mitigate potential dangers. Foster a culture of safety by encouraging open communication among crew members about best practices and safety measures. Remember, the goal is to enhance health and well-being, not to compromise it.

Ichor Fitness, launched in 2023, offers remote, holistic fitness solutions tailored for seafarers and other busy professionals. Their app-enabled service combines fitness, nutrition, and mindset coaching to support individual needs. They specialise in progressive, safe, effective training programs designed for the maritime environment. Their memberships include Ichor Essential, affordable and self-guided; Ichor Premium, personalised one-on-one coaching; and Ichor on Board, custom solutions for shipping companies, integrating fitness into safety and operational practices. Visit www.ichor.fitness for more information.