I’ve always considered myself to be relatively fit. After all, prior to my life as a professional sand sculptor, which is quite physically demanding in itself, I spent 22 years as an auto mechanic. My measure of personal fitness in those days was how large of an engine block I could lift. I never really considered any type of endurance exercise or cardio training. I thought that being on my feet all day and working the physically demanding job of an auto mechanic was enough to keep me fit.

This same philosophy followed me in to my second career as a professional sand sculptor.  I was under the assumption that  because the art of sand sculpture requires the artist to move tremendous amounts of sand by hand that I would be getting plenty of exercise while working on my many projects. It wasn’t until one summer back in 2006, while working on a project that I realised that I could not have been more wrong.

It was early morning and the sand had been delivered to the work site the day before. Without my knowledge the client had doubled the sand order. Because it was still very early none of the equipment operators were on site yet. I decided that I would just move the sand, all 40 tons of it, by hand. After all I was perfectly fit, right? WRONG!  Sure the first few minutes were fine but then my heart rate sky rocketed. My whole body was on fire and I felt like I was ready to pass out.  Fortunately for me the rest of the crew showed up and were able to move the sand in time for the project.

That project was a huge wake up call for me. Since then, I have incorporated a fitness routine into my daily schedule. I realised that If I wanted to continue pursuing my passion in this physically demanding art form that I need to train my body to be able to take the occasional abuse I was exposing it to.

Cardio Fitness

 The most effective way to moniter your cardio fitness is to purchase a heart rate monitor. Almost all models consist of a chest strap and sensor and a display unit, typically in a wrist watch unit.  Once you enter some basic information into the monitor, it will do the rest. Most models store the information and allow you to track your progress  over a span of time. You can use it to monitor your pulse, how many calories you are burning or my particular favorite, heart rate zones. Heart rate zones are the levels at which your heart is working. Zone one is light to moderate exertion. It builds basic endurance and helps in recovery. Zone one includes your warm up and cool down time during a typical workout. In Zone one your heart rate is at 60 -  70% of your maximum heart rate. Your maximum heart rate is basically determined by the number 220 minus your age. Other factors are considered such as your weight , height and gender. Zone two is 70 – 80% of your maximum heart rate and works to improve aerobic fitness. Zone two is recommended for training sessions of moderate length. Finally, zone three, which is 80 – 90% of your maximum heart rate, works to increase your maximum performance capacity. This zone is only recommended for fit users for short training durations. It is not recommended to exceed 90% of your  heart rate for any great length of time.

By focusing on cardio fitness and monitoring my heart rate closely, I have been able to develop a fitness routine that has allowed to achieve my fitness goals while increasing my cardio endurance. This has been a huge benefit for me on all of my projects allowing me to be more productive and  confident in getting the projects done on time without  the threat of injury. Many times when  we think of someone that is physically fit we think of exterior muscle tone and definition. Let’s just not forget that the heart is also a muscle, perhaps the most important muscle we have.