Balancing Sheep Shape and Beach Body

[rclouse79]

If you get in shape to hunt sheep effectively and your wife isn’t happy, you both have problems even Rokslide won’t be able to fix.

 

[Aussie Dan]

Im currently 130kg/280lb- was 140kg/308lb about 8 weeks ago, energy levels are in the toilet and what even is cardio.....
(I am working on it)

I was down to 88kg/194lb a few years ago and I looked like I was terminally ill- people were genuinely concerned.
My "ideal" is 92-944kg/203-207lb, at that weight I had energy to burn despite having suffered a near fatal stabbing 8 weeks prior.
Obviously because of the injury, post op issues etc etc I couldn't maintain that weight but damn I felt great at the time, all things considered.....

I say all that to say this, what works for 1 guy may not work for another and only you can decide and prioritise what is most important for you and your life.

As another guy said, if body fat % and exact weight is going to affect your marriage, youre well beyond rokslide help.

 

[Cactus kid]

I’ve been dealing with this trade-off for a while.

I love performing in the mountains, but I also like being eye candy for my wife on the beach. Both are real motivators for me.

I spend about eight weeks every summer/fall in the mountains, and as I’ve gotten bigger, my performance hasn’t really been the issue. Cardio is still good. I can still hike, climb, ruck, and move fine. I train 12–16 hours a week, with 8–10 of that being some kind of cardio.

The issue is food.

I’m 6 feet tall, 45 now, and since about 38 I’ve gone from around 185 pounds at 13–15% body fat to about 230 at 12–14%. That has been good in a lot of ways, but the calorie demand is insanely different.

At 185, I could go a day or two on very little food, still put on miles, and be okay. Now, if I miss a meal, my body lets me know fast. The glucose crash happens stupidly quick.

At 185, my daily burn was probably somewhere around 3,000 calories. Now it’s closer to 4,400. In the mountains, that difference gets magnified. A hard day that used to be 4,000–5,000 calories seems to turn into 7,000 pretty easily. That’s been the challenge: carrying enough food for a long hunt without feeling like I’m packing a grovery store.

So I am dropping from about 230 to 220 before sheep season, assess at 220 and may go down to 215. I’m trying to find the best balance between strength, body weight, food needs, energy stability, and my vanity. There’s definitely a point where extra size starts costing more than it gives back in the mountains. I’d like to carry less food and avoid the dramatic crashes if I can.

Curious if anyone else deals with this and what you found your ideal body mass to be.

Former bodybuilder myself. I gave up the the show muscles years ago to be in better shape for the mountains. That being said, I’m still pretty heavy compared to the average mountain hunter, the lightest I have been is 210. One of the benefits of being bigger is the ability to carry a heavier pack with relative ease. I’d wager you could carry a 65-70lb pack with the same effort as a 170lb hunter carrying a 50lb pack. Pack the calories you need. Figure out the calorie deficit you can get away with. You don’t have to meet the calorie needs everyday, just need to be with in striking distance. That number is about 2500-3000 calories a day for me, YMMV. I usually add several extra packages of fancy ramen noodles to my pack to have extra food if I need it.

As said, the guy who has the Mindful Hunter podcast is absolutely huge and still gets after it in the mountains. He has some tips.

 

[Ucsdryder]

@Ryan Avery ?

He said 6, not 5

 

[Coopsdaddy]

I’m 50 this week and I am a gym rat but that goes to the side if I have something else I’m training for.
Exo challenge the last 4 months and that’s pivoted to be primary focus.
I would say if you’re worried about your vanity preparing for a sheep hunt your priority’s are 100% wrong.
Are you getting laid in the mtns,are you concerned with someone glassing your body on the mtn and judging you.
If your wife judges you for gaining some mtn weight or focusing on your hunt training than that’s a whole other story.
You can have both.
It’s almost overwhelming stated you’re better off going into a hunt overweight with a good energy balance.
Hunts over get back to your other goals.
No way would my vanity detract me from a bigger goal.
You must live somewhere a sheep tags easy to get!

 

[BRWNBR]

Sheep guide here.
I was lean. Never skinny. But lean. 5’8” about 180 and I could pack 100 plus pounds all day long for 15-20 miles and call it a normal day.
I took a year off and worked heavy equipment and fell in love with a gym at work. Bulked up to 230. Not all muscle mind you I don’t eat clean. But man I could throw the weights around and wife said I looked like I was on steroids. That felt good to hear.
I started back to the mountains and about died first day out. Man I was exhausted and just hurt!!! I said I gotta lean out. This is crazy!!!
So I did as best I could. Dropped down to 210, kept a lot of the muscle and some of my sugary sweet tooth chub and trained different. Killed more sheep. Felt better.

I have a few thoughts on all this.

First thought, is the beach vanity REALLY for the wife? Your wife ain’t the only woman at the beach I’m guessing? But that’s a marriage counselors conversation.

Second thought. Train for what you’re going to be doing. Not what you’re going to be doing after. Get in sheep shape. Drop weight. Increase reps. Go lean. Stay strong and fit. Be a machine. After the sheep hunt go back to living worried about what others think of you.

There is no substitute for sheep training other than packing up and down and side hilling. Load it heavy. 70-80lbs is not heavy for sheep hunting. We came out of the mountains successfull with two packs over 120-130lbs quite commonly. Train for the test.

 

[trailblazer75]

I recently dropped from about 225 at 18% bf (per an in-body tester) down to 185 at around 10% BF (per the same tester) and realized how much strength I lost so I bumped up cals and sized up to 200 lbs at around 12%. I'm very comfortable here in terms of strength to weight ratio. I'm 5'11".

I'm of the opinion that I WANT to look good but I NEED to perform. And when I weigh it that way, I will tend to elect a higher body fat percentage at a higher performance level than a lower body fat percentage at a lower performance level. For me this makes sense.

 

[BLJ]

Sheep guide here.
I was lean. Never skinny. But lean. 5’8” about 180 and I could pack 100 plus pounds all day long for 15-20 miles and call it a normal day.
I took a year off and worked heavy equipment and fell in love with a gym at work. Bulked up to 230. Not all muscle mind you I don’t eat clean. But man I could throw the weights around and wife said I looked like I was on steroids. That felt good to hear.
I started back to the mountains and about died first day out. Man I was exhausted and just hurt!!! I said I gotta lean out. This is crazy!!!
So I did as best I could. Dropped down to 210, kept a lot of the muscle and some of my sugary sweet tooth chub and trained different. Killed more sheep. Felt better.

I have a few thoughts on all this.

First thought, is the beach vanity REALLY for the wife? Your wife ain’t the only woman at the beach I’m guessing? But that’s a marriage counselors conversation.

Second thought. Train for what you’re going to be doing. Not what you’re going to be doing after. Get in sheep shape. Drop weight. Increase reps. Go lean. Stay strong and fit. Be a machine. After the sheep hunt go back to living worried about what others think of you.

There is no substitute for sheep training other than packing up and down and side hilling. Load it heavy. 70-80lbs is not heavy for sheep hunting. We came out of the mountains successfull with two packs over 120-130lbs quite commonly. Train for the test. View attachment 1086927View attachment 1086928View attachment 1086929View attachment 1086930View attachment 1086931View attachment 1086932

OT question.

What pack? Thanks.

 

[S.Clancy]

BMI is ridiculous if you're ripped. For 90% of the population, it's a good metric.

99%+

I'm constantly shocked at how much people weigh. I'm 6'1", between 185-190. I can't imagine being 220 or more.