Tell someone that fishing is a physical sport and you may get some funny looks.  Fishing on the flats of the Florida Keys is quite a bit different than sitting under a shade tree with a bobber, worms, and a 6 pack.  Poling a skiff is hard work.  Often guides pole into the wind for hours at a time with 2 heavy dudes on the bow.  Guys do this 100 days in a row or more during the season.  It is like being a professional athlete.  You are requiring performance out of your body to make a living…regardless of the sea conditions, wind speed, or weight of the boat.  The guide’s job is to push the boat and find fish.   Novice polers are overwhelmed by the strength and endurance requirements and fatigue midi day.  Veterans have different problems.  The repetitive movement of poling for years can lead to painful overuse injuries.   I received a question about this asking me to do an entire episode on developing strength for poling so today we will go over the ways that strength can be developed and also go over ways to reduce the chance for overuse injuries.   We go over technique, equipment, and exercises to build strength in the hands, forearms, and shoulders and I discuss how I rehabbed and conditioned my own achy shoulders to have full mobility and pain-free range of motion despite 20 + years of poling a boat professionally.   Take your health and fitness into your own control and prolong your guide career by training as an athlete does. This episode is brought to you by these great sponsors: Barracuda Tackle - Makers of the best cast nets on the market BarracudaTackle.com Get 30% off any order on Hukgear.com by using the code SE30 at checkout Get 20% off + free shipping on products from Manscaped.com by using the code TRP at checkout This episode has been brought to you by Waypoint TV. Waypoint is the ultimate outdoor network featuring streaming of full-length fishing and hunting television shows, short films and instructional content, a social media network, Podcast Network. Waypoint is available on Roku, Samsung Smart TV, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, Android TV, IoS devices, Android Devices and at www.waypointtv.com all for FREE! Join the Waypoint Army by following them on Instagram at the following accounts @waypointtv @waypointfish @waypointsalt @waypointboating @waypointhunt @waypointoutdoorcollective Find over 150 full episodes of Saltwater Experience on Waypoint You can follow Tom Rowland on Instagram @tom_rowland and find all episodes and show notes at Tomrowlandpodcast.com Learn more about Tom's Television shows by visiting their websites: Saltwater Experience Into the Blue Sweetwater   Contact Tom through email: Podcast@saltwaterexperience.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices