Physical Preparation

His hands had the deep-creased scars from handling heavy fish on the cords. But none of these scars were fresh. They were as old as erosions in a fishless desert (10).
He has gone through trials in the past; Santiago has internal as well as external scars that have made him stronger and more experienced.

He ate the white eggs to give himself strength. He ate them all through May to be strong in September and October for the truly big fish (37). But, he thought, I keep them with precision. Only I have no luck any more I would rather be exact (32).
Santiago was always prepared unlike other fisherman who relied on luck. He has had years of experience and was precise about the depth with which he kept each of his lines.

Mental Preparation
He was too simple to wonder when he had attained humility. But he knew he had attained it and he knew it was not disgraceful and it carried no loss of true pride (13-14).
Santiago s humility and view of the fish as an equal eventually helped him to defeat it

Eighty-five is a lucky number (16).

Santiago was not discouraged, but rather, confident as he went out to fish despite the fact that he hadn t caught anything in eighty-four days

Physical Superiority
And at daylight when the bettors were asking that it be called a draw and the referee was shaking his head, he had unleashed his effort and forced the hand of the negro down (70.)
Even after a twenty-four hour long arm wrestling match, he still pushed through physically and defeated his opponent. More important than his physical strength though, was his mental strength that kept him going.

The old man drove the blade between the vertebrae and the brain. It was an easy shot and he felt the cartilage sever Go on, galano. Slide down a mile deep. Go see your friend, or maybe its your mother, (109).
Sharks are typical portrayed as strong and ferocious. The fact that Santiago, an old and withered man, was able to defeat him is a clear representation of his physical superiority.

Physical Superiority
They were strange shoulders, still powerful although very old, and the neck was still strong too and the creases did not show so much when the old man was asleep and his head fallen forward. (19)
Even though Santiago is old, he retains the physique of a young man in his shoulders and neck. He returns to his youth as he dreams, revealing that his inner child is still alive.

He had no feeling of his left hand but he braked all he could with his right and the line rushed out. Finally his left hand found the line and he leaned back against the line and now it burned his back and his left hand, and his left hand was taking all the strain and cutting badly. (82)
Santiago bears the pain from the line for a sustained amount of time. He displays endurance for suffering this pain as well as patience in taking the time to find his way again.