Bryce Forbes
For Troy Lindner, the choice was quite easy: combine his two loves of fishing and fitness.
Now the brainchild from the son of fishing legend Al Lindner is looking to relieve the pain of all anglers.
Called “Fit 4 Fishing,” Troy Lindner has created a two-volume workout book that any fishing fanatic can use to cure some prevalent ailments.
“It’s exercises to target a lot of the common areas that affect fishermen—elbows, wrist, and back,” stressed Lindner, who works as a fitness trainer at the California Complete Fitness in Los Angeles.
“Primarily those three from the casting to fighting the fish to a lot of back pain that a lot of fishermen deal with, including myself and especially my dad,” noted Lindner, who is competing at the Fort Frances Canadian Bass Championship this week with his father, Al.
In the first volume, available online at www.fit4fishing.com with a downloadable PDF, Lindner runs through a series of stretches and exercises that can be done in the simplicity of a hotel room.
On the website, there also is a series of videos to further explain the workouts.
In the book, Lindner also discusses total body care, including nutrition and skin care.
Looking through the first volume, the most expensive piece of equipment used is a simple towel.
“Each exercise I talk about is to address the area, lessen the pain, and strengthen the area so you don’t have to deal with the pains and aches, and you can enjoy life and [a] fishing day a lot more,” reasoned Lindner, a University of Arizona graduate.
“It’s not so much a workout but more of exercises you can implement into whatever you are doing. Or if you’re not doing anything at all, it’s a good starting point.
“It’s simple things you can do at home with a water bottle or a towel.
“You don’t need a gym membership, you don’t need heavy weights,” he stressed. “They are really simple, easy, and effective exercises.
“Anybody who has fished an eight- to 10-hour day on the water [knows] there is a lot of work that goes into it physically, from casting, landing the fish, moving the boat, taking the boat in and out,” Lindner said.
“It’s a very physical day.
“Especially with bass tournaments, they never get called cause of bad weather, so that’s another element that other sports would be cancelled in those kinds of conditions that we normally face ourselves with,” he added.
The second volume currently is being printed, with Lindner speculating it should be available in the coming weeks.
He also said he will be filming pieces about “Fit 4 Fishing” in the next few weeks that will air on the World Fishing Network in 2011.
“You can pick and choose what exercises you want to do and try them out, and they are all ones I have used with my clients from very beginners to elite athletes,” Lindner noted.
“They all use them and they all benefit from them.
“I think anyone can benefit from this, and especially fisherman who are standing up all day in a boat,” he remarked.
“Even if we are using a sit-down-seat, the body is still always moving since we are on the water,” he stressed. “We are in a constant state of motion even when we are sitting down.
“I’ve heard some great stories of guys getting rid of their back pain and them talking about the simple stretches they do in the morning.”
Lindner pointed out a way to help alleviate “fishermen’s elbow” in just a few straight-forward steps.
“It’s amazing that such an easy thing makes such a big difference at the end of the day, including simple things like ice cups on the elbows or forearm stretches that get rid of fishermen’s elbow,” he said.
“A lot of guys are seen wearing little bands around their forearms, including my dad, that did that for a long time and you can get rid of that with some ice and a few simple stretches and exercises.”
His father—a “Fit 4 Fishing” user—could not speak higher of his son’s system.
“The program that he has put together is phenomenal. It’s something that is needed in our industry,” lauded Al Lindner, who is a part of Lindner Fishing Edge and Lindner Media Productions.
“Myself being one of the first generation of professional anglers going into the tail end of your career where you’ve made your living fishing, a lot of us have dealt with aches and pains we didn’t know any better that we could have prevented,” he added.
“My issue is back issues, my brother had back issues, [my brother] Ron had massive skin cancer—things that you hear about but never really think about.
“Growing up in the industry, Troy sees a lot of the fishermen that have dealt with bad backs, elbows, wrists, and surgeries for tendinitis, so a little bit of preventive maintenance goes a long way,” he stressed.
The program Lindner has designed for his father, who spends an estimated 40 percent of his nights on the road, takes around 20-30 minutes to complete in the morning.
Al Lindner said he does it seven days a week. And the only equipment he uses is a half ball he can slide against a bed or door for stretching.
“It’s something I can do [for] 20 minutes in the morning while I’m sipping on a cup of coffee, watching the news and weather for the day,” he explained.
“His passion for fitness lit my fire where I am taking much better care of myself,” the elder Lindner continued.
“The idea for total fitness [for me] is a little late, but I am feeling pretty darn good and I can still get out and fish hard on a regular day for long periods of time.
“I’m 66 and I can still do it, my brother is 76 and he’s still doing it.”
For those sitting on the fence about the idea, Al Lindner offers this advice: “You will live a better, more fulfilled life.
“If you love to fish and want to fish for a long time, [you] want to stay in shape because it is a gruelling sport—it will stress your body, especially days like this where you are slamming against the waves [and] you’re on the trolling motor fighting the wind.”
For more information, visit www.fit4fishing.com
