# Work outs for casting?



## Samurai (Nov 24, 2005)

Just wondering if any of you serious tournament casters have a work out routine/excersise you use to build up strength specifically for casting.If you could describe that would be cool.Aloha!!


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## eric (Oct 24, 2007)

only thing really necessary is a good back.

if you have a bad back due to an injury,, its hard to really really cast.

mainly because you cant do the rotation as well as you should.

IMO.. just dont hurt yourself and youd be fine.
casting slowly and easy gets just as good distance as fast and power packed (kinda, depends on rods).

but ,,, keeping in good shape is just good benefits all around anywho.


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## Tommy (Jan 24, 2001)

A strong core is important. Crunches, leglifts, swiss ball excercises all help. 

Biceps, back, shoulders, triceps and chest all play a role in a powercast. The punch relies on the chest and tri's, the pull needs a strong back and biceps. The shoulders are used heavily.

Bench press (declined, inclined and flat), plyometric pushup.
tricep pushdown, tricep kickback.
High rows (great for the pull), low rows, lat pull downs. Assited pullups (for fat boys...lol)
Curls.

Cable machines are GREAT for emulating the "hit" motion.

Hope this helps,

Tommy


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## Don B (Jul 28, 2001)

Samurai said:


> Just wondering if any of you serious tournament casters have a work out routine/excersise you use to build up strength specifically for casting.If you could describe that would be cool.Aloha!!


Hi Samurai,

The obvious answer is Tai Ji and fishing (pounding).

Tai Ji will improve coordination, balance, endurance and leg strength, while pounding improves arm strength. 

You will want to work on the strengrth and flexibility of your rotator cuffs.

Are you interested in tournament casting or improving your casting for fishing?

"only thing really necessary is a good back."
Well, as a guy with a bad lower back and neck, I can say that you should consult your doctor prior to stressing your body. 

Don


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## kingfish (Feb 28, 2004)

powerful legs that anchor you are imperative


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## Tommy (Jan 24, 2001)

kingfish said:


> powerful legs that anchor you are imperative


Wayne is right, I forgot about those tourturous squats.... :--|

Tommy


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## uncdub13 (Aug 9, 2003)

Yeah, torture aint even the word. Throw in deadlifts, leg press, extensions & curls...tough to walk the next day.


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## Samurai (Nov 24, 2005)

Thanks for the quick replies.The reason I ask is,normally I "pound" all year around but due to work and my son participating in sports,I haven't been able to fish as much as i usually do.Normally I'm able to hold my own at the local spots but this year I think I might need some extra help to stay in shape.I was just thinking about some work outs before our season kicks off in a couple of months.


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## dirtyhandslopez (Nov 17, 2006)

Make sure you weigh more than the combined forces of the weight being slung around, otherwise spin might occur


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## sprtsracer (Apr 27, 2005)

Crap...here I was relying on accupuncture, my chiropracter, arthritis medication, morphine, and massages from my "honey"! Now I find that I have to exercse as well??? I'll never be a tournament caster at age 60!!! Hey Flea??? How far have you gotten with that contraption for slinging out the bait???


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## Jesse Lockowitz (Feb 13, 2006)

sprtsracer said:


> Crap...here I was relying on accupuncture, my chiropracter, arthritis medication, morphine, and massages from my "honey"! Now I find that I have to exercse as well??? I'll never be a tournament caster at age 60!!! Hey Flea??? How far have you gotten with that contraption for slinging out the bait???


i can build ya a tater gun, although iuno how safe it will be 



Jesse


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## Hudak (Sep 10, 2007)

All of the bud light curls I was doing aren't helping me in the least..... I thought I was "in training." Seriously Jesse, your question is similar to other sports... 

What would be a good workout for boxing? What would be a good workout for hitting in baseball? Casting compared to boxing or baseball is not that much different at all. All utilize the same core components to achieve power. A good punch, swing, or cast all start from the feet and go all the way up through the hands after hip rotation. Saying this, as Tommy and many others mentioned, anything that will improve your strength in the areas between your toenails and your fingernails can't hurt your cast.  

Just don't start working out until I have retired from casting....LOL

My .02,
Robert


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## Drumdum (Jan 6, 2003)

thekingfeeder said:


> All of the bud light curls I was doing aren't helping me in the least..... I thought I was "in training." Seriously Jesse, your question is similar to other sports...
> 
> What would be a good workout for boxing? What would be a good workout for hitting in baseball? Casting compared to boxing or baseball is not that much different at all. All utilize the same core components to achieve power. A good punch, swing, or cast all start from the feet and go all the way up through the hands after hip rotation. Saying this, as Tommy and many others mentioned, anything that will improve your strength in the areas between your toenails and your fingernails can't hurt your cast.
> 
> ...


 From most of the really good casters,in fishing situations that I know, golfing is THE CLOSEST thing to a casting motion??
Course,I'd rather watch paint dry than chase a dern ball around... Much more fun feeshin instead....


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## Hudak (Sep 10, 2007)

I have no idea why I thought Jesse started this thread...that's what I get for reading with one eye open...sorry about the mix up

Robert


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## John81 (Apr 24, 2007)

my casting work out method is pretty easy power lifting 12oz at a time untill the 12oz is gone then rinse and repeat


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## sprtsracer (Apr 27, 2005)

John81 said:


> my casting work out method is pretty easy power lifting 12oz at a time untill the 12oz is gone then rinse and repeat


Rinse??? Rinse??? What are you doing...rinsinig out your mouth to get the bad taste of the cheap beer out, or recycling your cans???


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## John81 (Apr 24, 2007)

sprtsracer said:


> Rinse??? Rinse??? What are you doing...rinsinig out your mouth to get the bad taste of the cheap beer out, or recycling your cans???



lol


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## Black Beard (Jan 25, 2001)

Judging by that routine young man I will not recognise you when we meet again - LMAO!





Tommy said:


> A strong core is important. Crunches, leglifts, swiss ball excercises all help.
> 
> Biceps, back, shoulders, triceps and chest all play a role in a powercast. The punch relies on the chest and tri's, the pull needs a strong back and biceps. The shoulders are used heavily.
> 
> ...


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## Tommy (Jan 24, 2001)

Don't worry Neil,

I'm still in proper shape....

Round is a shape, right???.

lol

Tommy


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## Webmaster (Jun 13, 2005)

Don’t change your LDCP, could be derogatory !!!
Roy


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## Bighead (Feb 25, 2008)

Hey guys...this is my first post here, but I'll give you my background.

I have a degree in Exercise Science/Kinesiology (bio mechanics), and also own a small gym in Katy, TX.

While most of the best exercises have been covered...there is something that I am pretty darn sure would work wonders for distance casting, or any other dynamic sport.

Kettlebells. 

Imagine a 35 lb cannon ball with a handle on it, and you've got the idea. Leg swings, Halos, snatch cleans, clean and press and shoulder presses will develop a powerful core, lats, shoulders, and legs, and also develop EXPLOSIVE power that will put more snap in your cast.

Just do a search on youtube for kettlebell certification and watch some of the workouts...you'll think I am nuts, but the exercises are amazing. Your hands, forearms, and shoulders will develop like you won't believe.

Bighead


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## Mark G (Nov 15, 2004)

thekingfeeder said:


> All of the bud light curls I was doing aren't helping me in the least..... I thought I was "in training." Seriously Jesse, your question is similar to other sports...
> 
> What would be a good workout for boxing? What would be a good workout for hitting in baseball? Casting compared to boxing or baseball is not that much different at all. All utilize the same core components to achieve power. A good punch, swing, or cast all start from the feet and go all the way up through the hands after hip rotation. Saying this, as Tommy and many others mentioned, anything that will improve your strength in the areas between your toenails and your fingernails can't hurt your cast.
> 
> ...


There are some similarities, and working on a double hung speed bag is very good for the fast twitch muscles. The Y I visit use to have one, but then it disappeared 

After hitting the weights its good to stretch to keep the shoulders and other muscle groups loose and flexible and to avoid lactic acid build up, which will make you very stiff after a rigorous workout, if you neglect to stretch out. I also toss the basketall around to keep loose after a work out, keeping in mind that as I approach 50, my workouts are not nearly so "dramatic" any more. Oh well at least I still go thru the motions 

I was also amazed at the similarities of some of the motions involved in golf, and golf is a great way to work on flexibility- but the stretching exercises are still key. They will not only make you more flexible for golfing, but casting as well.

Being flexible helps you in building speed into the rotation, it can increase both your golf head club swing speed, and your rod tip speed greatly, with a given that it takes more strength to deal with the lead that is traveling in a bigger arc around you. 

Not that I know ANYTHING, I just like to yak.


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## 1obxnut (Mar 26, 2002)

Any of you guys or Gals ever rake leaves?

You never realize it, but the machanics of it is naturally Push-Pull..


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## Plug (Feb 5, 2004)

This isn't to cast further but rather avoiding injury. 

I've found I need to warm up before casting or else my shoulders really pay. I do some overhead stretches, arm windmills and crossovers and some twisting and crossover toe touches to loosen up my back and hips.

A couple of years ago I hurt my shoulder by going out and banging a dozen or so 8oz. field casts without loosening up first. It took weeks to recover.


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## Hudak (Sep 10, 2007)

Plug said:


> This isn't to cast further but rather avoiding injury.
> 
> I've found I need to warm up before casting or else my shoulders really pay. I do some overhead stretches, arm windmills and crossovers and some twisting and crossover toe touches to loosen up my back and hips.
> 
> A couple of years ago I hurt my shoulder by going out and banging a dozen or so 8oz. field casts without loosening up first. It took weeks to recover.


I agree with you 100%. I usually don't even think about throwing unless I have stretched at least some. It might look dumb, but I have enough problems without worrying about whether or not I am going to pull something.

Robert


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## Hudak (Sep 10, 2007)

1obxnut said:


> Any of you guys or Gals ever rake leaves?
> 
> You never realize it, but the machanics of it is naturally Push-Pull..


I purposely bought a place without any trees so I wouldn't have to do that!! LOL 

Robert


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## reload (Jan 10, 2008)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Hammer_throw.jpg

This is my way of getting ready, 16lbs, it turns 8+bait into ultralite fishing.


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## Black Beard (Jan 25, 2001)

One thing worth noting here is weight loss.

At my peak I was about 10lbs over ideal weight - not sure who it was ideal for - but I got down to target weight and lost my cast for almost a year.

I had developed a cast that worked with how I was then, when that changed the cast was gone. Took a long while to get it back too!

Be aware - BB


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## Charkbait (Oct 15, 2007)

I agree BB, I'm down about 30lbs from when I was casting frequently this summer. Cast is down about 50'...

I think in general bigger is better to a point


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## Webmaster (Jun 13, 2005)

I am by no means a Long Distance Caster; I endeavor to be a better caster for the sake of fishing and have made good improvement after much advice from Tommy. This thread is talking about exercise for the sake of better casting and what exercises to do; logically, it would seem to me that if all the time one might spend exercising for the sake of casting, be spent actually casting, then one would be using/developing the EXACT muscles that need to be better developed, during actually casting practice.
What might ‘Bighead’, the Exercise Science/Kinesiology specialist think about this ??
Roy


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## Tommy (Jan 24, 2001)

Neil,

I lost my cast during the second half of 07 without losing weight...lol.

For me it was a style change that worked great for a while and then just abandoned me. When you lose weight the cast timing changes and it can take hard work to recover. 

Bigger _may_ be better but I've seen some small guys knock the crap out of it.

Tommy


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## Waal (Jan 23, 2008)

Hawaii, excellent, Aloha. I find that once I have fought my way into six layers of clothing and wedged myself into my waterproof sallopettes and jacket, squeezed my arms through the rucksack straps, half strangled myself trying to get my rod bag over my shoulders, attatched my climbing harness, fixed the ropes, absieled down the cliff face, i'm about limbered up for a spot of casting.


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## Bighead (Feb 25, 2008)

You know...you guys that are losing weight like that...when I was playing a lot of golf, I noticed that if I dropped some weight...my golf swing was usually messed up, and was never right again until I fattened back up.

If you guys are serious about working out for distance casting you should check out the Long Drivers competitors, and see what they do. The movements and principles are similar, as well as the need for flexibility and timing.

A few years ago, I was 'competing' at the local level and was swinging a 50" long XX flex driver with a 6* head and hitting balls in the 370-380 range...too bad I could never get one on the grid when it counted though.  I would imagine the torque created by your hips and back that are then transferred to the rod are very similar to the uncoiling of the hips and back when swinging a club.

Bighead


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## Capt Kurt (Jan 5, 2008)

I invited Relaod to come down to North Carolina from Massachusetts to fish the second week in March.....I'm having second thoughts after having seen his workout outfit pictured in the link in his reply above. Well, I guess if you see us on the shore fishing, you'll know which one is Reload.....the one with the long cast......errrrr.....or long skirt, whatever !!


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## Thumb-Burner (Dec 3, 2002)

*Classic!!!*



dirtyhandslopez said:


> Make sure you weigh more than the combined forces of the weight being slung around, otherwise spin might occur


That is a great one.. i think i qualify!!


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## Jesse Lockowitz (Feb 13, 2006)

hrm...interesting.....very interesting...

from what im gathering...my body type is perfectly tuned for casting...


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## VA-Apraisr (Jul 31, 2001)

Not a "long caster" either, but, have been working out for the past year and packed on 25lbs more muscle using a Bowflex. Anywho, went out to cast 8nbait at OI in late November and did not warm up....instantly pulled/stretched a tendon in my neck and keep pulling right through my left peck muscle! Awful pain and could not even cast a trout rod after that.....been 3 months and the pain still comes and goes. Watch out....casting is dangerous


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## Samurai (Nov 24, 2005)

What about your Obliques(sp?)?I noticed if I haven't casted in awhile and fish heavily for the weekend that my Obliques are tight.What excersises can you do for this?


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## Bighead (Feb 25, 2008)

Samurai said:


> What about your Obliques(sp?)?I noticed if I haven't casted in awhile and fish heavily for the weekend that my Obliques are tight.What excersises can you do for this?


To alleviate the tightness, hold onto the appropriate weight for your ability and let it pull down one side while you stretch the other.

A favorite of mine is to use a decline bench, and have someone toss me a 12lb medicine ball...I go back, come up, twist side to side, then toss it back to them...rinse, repeat until you quit, puke, or pass out. 

You can also stand back to back with a buddy and pass a medicine ball back and forth while rotating side to side.

Punching a heavy bag for 1 minute, resting for a minute for 15 minutes...will do it as well.

The best thing...simulate the motion you're wanting to develop, then add some resistance with bands, or weights...start SLOW and LIGHT and don't injure yourself.

You'll be surprised at how creative you can get with your exercises.

Bighead


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## Big Dave (Jan 22, 2001)

Man you guys have it soooo wrong. 

The true basis of great casting is living a quaility life, Enjoying great foods, better wines, and micro brews, a bottle of Crown Royal once and a while. A big ole harley bagger to tour the country with. This combined with the companionship of a wonderful woman. A home on the shores of Cape Cod. A large double size reclining chair with a 50 inch plasma on the wall. 

Let me tell you, if you practice this way of life, in no time at all you will be making those casts of imposible distances, even if it is while you sleep. But whos to say which is more satisfying. Big Dave


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## sprtsracer (Apr 27, 2005)

Big Dave said:


> Man you guys have it soooo wrong.
> 
> The true basis of great casting is living a quaility life, Enjoying great foods, better wines, and micro brews, a bottle of Crown Royal once and a while. A big ole harley bagger to tour the country with. This combined with the companionship of a wonderful woman. A home on the shores of Cape Cod. A large double size reclining chair with a 50 inch plasma on the wall.
> 
> Let me tell you, if you practice this way of life, in no time at all you will be making those casts of imposible distances, even if it is while you sleep. But whos to say which is more satisfying. Big Dave



Yeah...I agree with that to a point...but...you can't get the "Chevy Florida Fishing Report" on your "big screen" in Mass! Guess you'll just have to be satisfied with the "Bass Masters"!


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## Big Dave (Jan 22, 2001)

Touche' about the bass masters. Now thats an entertaining show for the dedication surf guy.:--| 

I have to admit, I envy the angling oppotunities in Florida. I know tons of transplants that are enjoying the good life. and great fishing around Marco and the 10,000 islands. Unfortunately I am not yet quite old enough to join the retirement home of the nation. But I have every intension of making the move to Fla when the age is right.


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## Mark G (Nov 15, 2004)

Webmaster said:


> I am by no means a Long Distance Caster; I endeavor to be a better caster for the sake of fishing and have made good improvement after much advice from Tommy. This thread is talking about exercise for the sake of better casting and what exercises to do; logically, it would seem to me that if all the time one might spend exercising for the sake of casting, be spent actually casting, then one would be using/developing the EXACT muscles that need to be better developed, during actually casting practice.
> What might ‘Bighead’, the Exercise Science/Kinesiology specialist think about this ??
> Roy



you make a good point- you can't substitute exercise for your casting sessions- they go hand in hand.

The flip side of this is they proved in golf that you can't "play" your way into shape- working out, especially cardio and stretching exercises, did more to improve the golf game than say playing an additional 5 or 6 rounds a week. You eventually fatigue and over use the specific muscles involved in a repetitive action, and that can actually lead to more injury.

That plus many hours of simply casting is likely to lead to burnout quickly, combining other types of routines that strengthen the core and add to the variety of what you are doing will provide added benefits and keep the interest up. 

Other wise you fall into the idea that today you are going to go out and make 50 casts. Well after a dozen casts you lose focus and begin to simply go thru the motions. I would rather stay focused and get in 12-20 quality casts, just going thru the motions is likely to let bad habits creep in, before you know it your sessions are actually causing you to get worse, not better.

So it's important to not substitute for, but rather _supplement_ your casting sessions with other activities.

sorry for the long winded diatribe, now excuse me while I go fetch another brew. :beer:


:fishing:


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## clinder (Mar 2, 2005)

Drumdum said:


> From most of the really good casters,in fishing situations that I know, golfing is THE CLOSEST thing to a casting motion??
> Course,I'd rather watch paint dry than chase a dern ball around... Much more fun feeshin instead....


I would rather watch paint dry to my friend and im a *scratch golfer*. spent a few years as a golf pro. It is a very similar motion as far as a *true arch *is concerned and the release.


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