3 Most Important Lifts for Mtn Hunting

[bjaegers]

"The most important lift should be lift yourself out of the computer chair logging off of here and getting to the gym/outside."

Amen- I liked the site and just subscribed. Turkish Get Ups are a legit exercise in my book.

 

[Jager]

The most important lift should be lift yourself out of the computer chair logging off of here and getting to the gym/outside.

Ha ha Gold.

...and if I can add, apply some common sense.

Turkish Getups, yes, try it for 3 minutes solid, you'll be a blithering mess at the end of it.

As for the publication, it is pretty well put together by some experienced hunters, they simply don't crave the limelight.

 

[jwb300]

I really can't take anything they say seriously after seeing the deadlift picture. They then say to get some coaching first. Were they talking to the guy in the pic???? Then they make light of squats as we don't squat dead animals. Yet include the Turkish Get Up as if we may be inclined to try that in the mountains for some reason. Bad article.

I would say

Squats
Deadlift
Situps of any kind: not a lift but core strength is paramount in balancing and maintaining stability with a loaded pack

Lucky for you it is free and no one is forcing you to read it.

I personally find it quite a good publication

 

[Ironman8]

Here's my real question...why are we limiting ourselves to just 3 lifts? I train usually 5-6 days a week and each day is a different lift, which usually consists of squats (and it's variations), deadlifts, shoulder press, bench, cleans, ect. I also try to do some kind of cardio 5-6 days a week (which means I usually do two-a-days). Cardio is a mix of slow/steady, sprints, and pack work. So, with all the options, why just pick 3?

 

[Poser]

Here's my real question...why are we limiting ourselves to just 3 lifts? I train usually 5-6 days a week and each day is a different lift, which usually consists of squats (and it's variations), deadlifts, shoulder press, bench, cleans, ect. I also try to do some kind of cardio 5-6 days a week (which means I usually do two-a-days). Cardio is a mix of slow/steady, sprints, and pack work. So, with all the options, why just pick 3?

On a weekly basis, I almost always have Backsquats, front squats, snatches, power cleans, deadlifts, shoulder presses/push presses/push jerks/split jerks.
At least twice a month or so, I usually have Romanian deadlifts, pendelay rows, rings dips, muscle ups etc

I think that the purpose of trying to distill hunting specific lifting/training down to a few key lifts is to emphasise the sport specific functions of hunting over conventional gym programing. This is mainly because "mainstream" and/or conventional lifting programs are based around bodybuilding. Hunting is sport specific. If a hunter who has little to no experience goes and signs up at the gym, they are likley going to put you on a bodybuilding type program. While any lift can benefit you for conditioning, if you are training specifically to hunt, benchpressing isn't going to offer you much in terms of mountain fitness where deadlifts, power cleans and front squats are. While you may spend half the year working out to be in shape, as hunting season approaches, one's time may be better spent focusing on a core group of lifts such as deadlifts, squats, romanian deadlifts, cleans vs. spending lots of time doing tricep extensions, bicep curls, forearm curls, and shoulder rolls.
IMO, that is the purpose of these types of discussions: Where to focus the core of your training time when it really counts. It is function over form or, a means to an ends (training to hunt) rather than aesthetics (muscle mass).

In other words, the mountain hunter is more concerned with functional strength and muscle endurance rather than building muscle mass, particularly in non functional/sport specific areas. The mountain hunter is more concerned with being able to confidently sling a heavy pack on without injuring a stabilizer muscle, pushing through a mountain pass under a heavy load or being able to shoulder 100+ pounds over rocky terrain rather than bench press 300 lbs or be able to compete with egotistically with muscle dudes at a beach bar on the Jersey Shore, so the strength training is slated towards certain types of lifts while others may be deemphasized or eschewed altogether.

So, I think that these types of discussions are really a way of distinguishing what is different about the training from our pursuit relative to training for other ends. Especially when you hit the 30+ year old age group, 90% of people in gyms are working out just to be in shape (look good, lose weight etc). Mountain hunting is very specific. Not to say that you even have to lift weight to do it, but if you are going to train that specifically, you'll likely be best served to focus on functional (in relation to the demands of sport) lifting the same way other specialized athletes do. However, Others may disagree.

 

[JasonWi]

Poser:

That was a very well explained reason for the specified training and why people do so. When I first started going to the gym I had the wrong program and bulked up my muscle mass. While I was strong and able to hunt, I didn't feel like I was really hitting the key areas enough.

So I've started putting much more emphasis on core and legs. I still do the bench-press (all 3 variations) and military press 2 days a week, but I focus a lot more on overall body and try to work on endurance rather than brute strength.

 

[Ironman8]

Poser,

Your training schedule looks alot like mine. I think I remember you saying you do crossfit, so that doesn't surprise me there since I do as well. You're also 100% correct about training sports specific movements, which is why I'm at odds with Crossfit's mantra of GPP being suitable for specific sports. Depending on your CF gym, I think doing your typical CF movements is a 75-80% solution, but you still need to add sports specific movements to fill in the gaps. For us, that would be adding more longevity in your cardio and heavy pack work outdoors or on the stairmaster. Heavy squats, deadlifts, and cleans should also be added if that's not something you're already doing at your CF gym.

As far as bodybuilder routines, I agree that won't help anyone get up a mountain, in fact it will probably hinder them. I go for compound lifts and have pretty much thrown anything out that falls into the category of only working one muscle/group. For me, bench is done with dumbells so that I'm also working some stabilizer muscles.

That said, and I guess what my point was really meant to be, I will still throw in some bench or other "non-beneficial/specific" movements because I view my whole body as a chasis that will take me where I want to go and do the things I want to do. I want my chasis to be strong in as many planes of motion as possible (GPP) so that I don't have any holes in my functional strength. Working GPP all the time may not allow you to achieve your sport specific goals, while going sport specific 100% of the time will most likely allow for some glaring holes in your chasis. You can't do just one or the other, they compliment each other. Being that I train at least 5 days a week (and most of them having a morning and evening session), that allows me to focus on the important stuff as well as throw in some GPP work as well. Fact of the matter is, we use our bodies for hauling out heavy gear and/or meat from the backcountry far LESS than we do in everyday lives. With that in mind, focusing only on 3 exercises because those are the best for mountain hunting is extremely shortsighted. And I'm not saying anyone here is doing that, but I'm sure there are some that do. Also, the guy that doesn't have much experience in the gym may read this type of discussion and think that those three are the ONLY things he ever has to do to be ready.

As a side note, aesthetics are a by-product of genetics and diet, so if I train for 100% function and eat the right things, I know that just about any aesthetic goals will follow (with the exception of maybe bodybuilding).

 

[Poser]

Good post, Ironman. Yeah, I do Crossfit at a facility that does strength focused programming. We do Wendler cycles out the ass on deadlifts and squats and usually have snatches programmed at least twice a week, sometimes 3.

I agree with you about being well rounded. I don't see a need for most hunters to train 100% sport specific year around. Of course, some guys hunt year around by travelling all over the world, but, most guys are training for Fall hunts. Some are training for Fall and Spring hunt. I'd think that it is important to taper your schedule accordingly by spending part of the year training for general fitness, firming up weaknesses, increasing strength etc and then cycling into sport specific work for X amount of time leading up to a hunt or the season. If you have a solid foundation, a 6 to 9 week highly specialized program should get you ready for a hunting trip or season. If you are coming off the couch, you'll probably need a program that is many months long.

I think that much of what we have to keep in mind about this forum is that many of these guys are "hardcore": they train hard and they hunt hard. When you read general articles about mountain fitness, those pieces are generally geared towards the average mountain hunter who might think along the lines of "I'm going hunting in CO, I need to get in shape, reckon I better start doing some jogging and maybe hit the gym." I think it is that crowd that may benefit the most from these types of discussions and information because, as I'm sure that most on here will agree, simply adding a few miles of week of running and going to the gym and doing a casual and conventional workout of 3x8 sets on the benchpress, some tricep pushdowns and hitting a few machines for chest flies and leg presses is probably not the best way to prepare for the mountains. Granted, its better than nothing and I'd rather partner with someone who has been doing that than no training at all, but its not going to translate very well into a physical performance in the mountains nor are those type of workouts going to do much to mentally prepare you. Its one thing to jog 3 miles on the streets 3 nights a week, but when you are faced with 2,500 feet of elevation gain in two tenths of a mile at elevation while wearing a full pack, you're going to wish that you had spent those 40 minute runs doing something more productive and more specific and the average hunter with average experience and average knowledge of training may not know how to better prepare themselves. Running can certainly be a part of a mountain program, even a pillar of it, but its certainly not a singular solution to performing in the mountains with a pack on. Doing some power cleans, burpees, walking lunges and box jumps would likely get the same person a lot further, but you won't see much of that in the average Globo gym. In some respects, its about about spreading knowledge. "Do less of this and more of that and you'll get a lot further in the mountains." So, I suppose we are having a conversation about what exactly "this and "that" are in relation to hunting.... and we are having a difficult time agreeing, but, we all probably agree that pedestrian exercise and bodybuilding programs are not the best means to the end for hunting in the mountains.

 

[tstowater]

I've really enjoyed reading this thread. I like the concept of functional strength and its sport's specific application. I think Ironman8 nailed it with a general CF workout... a really good start, but we all recognize the need that we need to do more if we want to perform at our highest potential. I will suggest that the older you get, the tougher all this gets. I'm 51 and started CF earlier this year and I initially frowned on the weightlifting side of it, but have come to appreciate it more all the time as I notice how much stronger I am overall. I'm trying to clean up my diet and once I am done with that, my abilities should get that much better. Just surprised how much the diet aspect is overlooked by the vast majority and I thought I was eating reasonably well. I do agree that squats should not have been discounted, but I do agree that the deadlift is important. TGU's, man, they suck.... but certainly good for you. They will find every weakness you have.

 

[justinspicher]

I've got to be honest, you guys put way more thought into your workouts than I do. I try to keep mine as simple as possible. If mine get complicated, I'll straight up quit and change to something more simple. I don't lift weights anymore and stick primarily to body weight movements, I just do alot of them. Specifically pushups, pullups, and squats. Sometimes I throw a kettlebell in there just to mix it up a bit. I also try to incorporate more shooting into the workouts simply because I know that if I can shoot my recurve accurately at thirty yards after twenty burpees, I'll be good in the woods.