Preseason fitness for easterner

[edbentle]

Hello all,

First off I am brand new to western hunting; I'm so new I've never even gone on a trip yet. I live in Western NY and love whitetail hunting. i also enjoy backcountry trips in the Rockies. Up until now those trips have just been short backpackers or float trips. I have a fitness routine that includes cardio and some lifting, but even on these short trips I end up having a hard time in high country. Doing a week or more hunt is a little intimidating because I feel I can't adequately train for it in the east. What is a dedicated fitness routine that I could do back east that will get me ready for big country and most importantly on big game?

 

[PRM]

I grew up in the CO mountains but now live out east. Improving your cardio to enable you to function ok with less oxygen is important. Certainly strength, from a climbing perspective can be important. Whatever routine helps those will work. Make sure you also spend some time climbing with a pack that has a reasonable weight in it. Hard to beat actually hiking to prepare. Once there, you'll always feel a bit off due to the elevation. I find that by day three I feel pretty good.

 

[Z Barebow]

First off, kudos to wanting to do something now. It is hard to erase years of sins in a month or two.

What works for me? Exercise is part of my daily life. This time of year, my routine is weighted toward cardio. 3-4 days a week. I add in strength training 3-4 months prior to my hunt.

What types of exercises. Running is my go to, but also do stair master and elliptical. For strength, lunges, push-ups, dips, crunches. Pack training is a staple.

 

[recon6036]

I started hunting out west 5 years ago and plan on doing a hunt every year. The hunts are one of the biggest motivators that keep me in shape. As far as workouts, I try to mix it up; with weight training, climbing the local ski hill with a weighted pack and a circuit exercise program with tractor tires, that mixes in strength and cardio. I also ride my bike to work during the summer as weather permits.

 

[mtmander]

focus on building your endurance , running , treadmill, stairclimber , etc. You will see the difference as you get into a exercising routine

 

[Murph1]

The exercise that helped me the most was squats. I'm from the Midwest too. I found that the more efficient my legs were at propelling me and pushing my body and pack up the steep inclines, the less oxygen they used.
Murph

 

[Matt/VT]

I've been west twice now to hunt, coming from VT, so I've been there.

This was my latest trip.

http://onyourownadventures.com/hunttalk/showthread.php?p=2472566#post2472566

It was an outfitted hunt, but you still have to put a lot of effort in. I think the biggest fitness piece that having an outfitter saves you is on the pack out, which is obviously significant.

Training hard in a manner that is specific to the demands of your trip is essential. I see a trend in the fitness industry of moving toward more random training, think Crossfit, with sessions that don't last longer than an hour. This might lead to a person who is ready for a variety of challenges, but probably does not make for the fittest predator of elk. Definitely focus on endurance long before the hunt, then build strength into that as you get closer.

I honestly believe that a year-round, periodized program will yield the best results.

If you want specifics of my program, feel free to PM me. Good luck!

 

[WapitiJoeNM]

I am a Bowhunter & Guide in NM but originally from the outer banks of NC.
I am always giving conditioning advice to my hunters (I have also been a 30 year track coach) and the first thing I tell them is " if you were going to prepare to swim the English Channel, you swim...... A LOT! If you are going to hunt elk, you start WALKING!" Flat, uphill...downhill. Your cardio conditioning is the top priority.
The more training that you can add at a working heart rate, starting at the lower end of the range and working towards the higher end (your target heart rate zone will vary according to age) the more efficient your body will become at using oxygen. For die-hard Easterners that want to get in tip-top shape I also recommend Tabata's ( a form of HIIT training). Here is a link for an idea of what it is: http://www.gohunt.com/read/do-you-need-to-be-fit-to-kill-elk
Here are my other recommendations:
1. If you are hunting in September, you need to start no later than June 1st (three months ahead) . There is no way to really get in shape 1 month before your hunt. You can “break” the body and hunting gear in, in that amount of time, but for physical conditioning that you will be calling on day after day, you need more money in the bank. It is always better to create a "lifestyle" that includes training, but you can prep in 3 months if you are diligent.
2. Daily walking is preferable, but every other day will do. Note..listen to your body, if you are experiencing pain or develop an injury, rest for a few days. If it seems out of place or more serious, see a doctor.
3. Start with a 20 minutes a day and work up to one hour a day . If you are a runner and already doing mileage, you are doing fine. I still recommend walking and hiking some hills with a 30 lb pack.
4. Once you are up to 1 hour, alternate days with a 20 to 30 pound pack. Carrying hand weights are a great way to prep the shoulders for carrying a weapon (nothing huge, 3 to 5 lbs...even water bottles in both hand will work).
5. Cross training; biking, swimming laps, trail hikes and jogging, are great ways to vary your training and to give you a fresh change.
I have also found that pushups are the best all around for general upper body and core strengthening and it doesn't take a gym membership to get them done. The core strengthening will really help you through a long hunt with a pack and a weapon.

 

[huntin24/7]

I follow a similar program to what murph mentioned. I can't run a lot like I used to due to an old ankle injury that gives me a lot of pain after long runs. I do a lot of squats, regular squats 1 day a week and front squats the other. I focus on quantity for endurance and also a few heavier sets of 6-8 reps. I also try to get 1-2 days of backpacking a week with 40-60 # for about an hour. Heavy hiking and squats still still are great for cardio. If I didn't have pain from running, I would do 1-2 days a week of weights for legs focusing mostly on squats, then 1 day hiking the hills and a day of running 3-5 miles. Listen to your body and above all else avoid injury. This routine has worked well for me.

 

[NoWiser]

I've done western hunts the last couple of years and have gotten my butt kicked on a couple of them. Last year was the best shape I've ever been in for hunting and I was actually enjoying running up the mountains chasing elk. I have an office job and am far from athletic, but I found the best program for me involved a mixture of doing sprints up the local sledding hill, elliptical machine, stair climber, and some light weight lifting a couple days each week. I have bad knees so running long distances is completely out of the question.

I think the thing that helped me the most was doing the hill sprints. When an elk is bugling and you need to get up on him, you need to be able to give her hell and run up the mountain, and draw the bow back when you get there. The interval training really helped with that.

I only do the heavy pack training if I'm going on a backpack hunt, otherwise I try to save my knees. If I'm hunting from a base camp the only heavy pack I'll have is if I need to pack out an animal, and then, for me, it's just a mental battle to keep putting one foot in front of the other.

Good luck, and mix in some of that interval training!

 

[Nate Mode]

You definitely need to Google Cameron Hanes and get into Beast Mode shape. I'd start by doing chin-ups while having someone whack you in the abdomen with a stick. This kind of primal fitness training will toughen you up for hunting out West.

 

[deer_shooter]

You definitely need to Google Cameron Hanes and get into Beast Mode shape. I'd start by doing chin-ups while having someone whack you in the abdomen with a stick. This kind of primal fitness training will toughen you up for hunting out West.

Now that was funny!

 

[edbentle]

Thanks, everyone. Good advice all around. Whitetail season is about to wrap up here in western New York so getting back into a workout routine will help ease the withdrawal.

 

[Airborne]

For daily work out I like simple body weight stuff, pull ups, dips deep slow air squats and calf raises. Once a week sprint work for cardio vascular capacity/endurance. I.E. Sprint as fast and as hard as you can, say one block then walk 2 or three blocks at least until your heart rate levels of and you have your breath back the repeat 10(good luck) or more times. Sprint work can be anything that lets you push your self with high intensity but short durations. Steep steep walking, short up hill bike work, you get the idea. Personal experience with this high intern it low duration approach has been awesome. I have a nice trail out of my back door that takes an hour to an hour and a half to get to the top, it's uphill and switch backs all the way. I'll hike that on weekends a few times a month and before I started sprint work I always made the same time and felt the same level of exertion, after 1 set of sprint work I noticed a big diferance in both. It made me a believer first time. I will also push some free weight around a few times a week and I like to throw 50/60# in the ruck and and do a 3 to 4 hour trail hike. As the season approaches in about June I'll start out with 50/60# and at the turn around point I'll add as much dead weight as I can carry for the return trip, people look at me funny when I pull rocks out of my ruck at the trail head haha, but it helps to bulbils me up to packing out the meat in my opinion. I start this in February and do it until the elk opener August 15th. Once the seasons for me end, November 30th I'll stop all dedicated work out routines and just rest and hang out with the wife and kids. Then come February I'm ready to go at it again. It's worked very very well for me over the past 4 years.

 

[Airborne]

Inturn it*
Intensity

 

[Kiwi]

Run up a lot of hills. Works for me.