How Navy Submariners Stay Fit and Exercise at Sea

A submarine is built to be secretive and carry out its mission all over the globe. Many times, they are under the ocean for many months at a time. Space is limited, and the crew are always busy. Finding room or time for a workout usually comes second.

There is no running track beneath the waves. A sailor cannot step outside for a few laps after a watch. Even an open patch of floor may have another purpose. Yet crews can spend months aboard, and physical fitness remains part of the job.

The solution is less glamorous than a state-of-the-art Gold’s Gym. Available space and equipment are put where it can be, when time and duties allow.

During a visit aboard the ballistic missile submarine USS Rhode Island, a Defense Department reporter found cardio machines and free weights placed around the vessel wherever there was spare room. That account offers a useful picture of the challenge, though equipment varies by submarine. A workout might happen beside gear that has nothing to do with exercise.

A Fitness Plan Built for Tight Spaces

The Navy has addressed some of these concerns with the Navy Operational Fitness and Fueling System, or NOFFS. This training regimen was designed to be conducted in small spaces and with minimal equipment, according to the Human Performance Resources by CHAMP program, with the broader goal of keeping sailors in shape with the restrictions of a sub.

The overall program has plans that allow for strength and endurance using equipment just found on submarines.

That matters because a submarine workout cannot depend on finding an empty weight room. Sailors may have access to free weights or a cardio machine, but they also need exercises they can do when those options are unavailable.

Bodyweight exercises and calisthenics are one solution. Squats, lunges, push-ups, planks, and other exercises are incredibly effective at getting someone and keeping them in shape.

A circuit with these exercises can help endurance as well when there is really no space to run. The Human Performance Resources actually recommends this kind of workout as a cardio option when space is very limited.

The goals of the sailor are also one boundary condition. Someone who wants to build a decent amount of muscle instead of just staying lean and trim may want heavy weights, and someone who wants to be a distance runner may want space to run miles and miles.

This may be impractical when stationed on a submarine, but the Navy’s underway fitness guidance encourages sailors to choose a plan that allows them to reach their goals, with the space and time that is allowable.

Cardio Without a Horizon

Running is straightforward ashore: Find a route and go. Underway, a submariner’s options depend on the boat. A treadmill, elliptical or stationary bike can provide sustained cardio if one is aboard and available.

The Rhode Island account described cardio equipment distributed through the submarine, but it should not be taken as an inventory for every boat. When machines are absent or in use, a short circuit in an appropriate space may be the workable alternative.

Space is also just one limiting factor here. Exercise also has to fit around watches, drills, sleep, eating, and all the other common day-to-day duties. The mission on a submarine determines the crew schedule, and workouts are secondary to these schedules.

Planning and making proper use of time is of the utmost importance here. The submarine NOFFS series gives plans that allow sailors to be flexible with their goals and surroundings.

They do not need to reinvent their entire workout schedule when a machine is busy or when their planned workout is impractical.

Maintaining Fitness, Not Chasing a Personal Best

The limits aboard are real. Human Performance Resources notes that bodyweight and light equipment can help sailors train during a deployment, while heavier resistance may be needed ashore for substantial strength gains. Keeping up a routine at sea may therefore mean maintaining conditioning until a fuller range of equipment is available again.

Nutrition is also another consideration. Crews from a submarine take their provisions aboard a patrol, and fresh vegetables and fruits are scarce after a period of time. When submarines tend to go out, the crew could gain weight based on the food available.

This is when portion control comes into play. If sailors can watch this aspect of the fitness routine, then they can make do with the products and space available to them.

There is no single submarine workout. One sailor might use a bike; another might lift weights; a third might have room only for a few bodyweight movements.

The common thread is adapting the workout to the boat, the day’s duties and the space at hand. While space or time may be limited, the crew and those in the military find a way to stay ready for battle, as they have always done.