Flatlander Fitness

[midwestcowboy]

Thanks @T-town best of luck to you this year as well!

 

[Marble]

3 days of acclimation goes a long way. Don’t just sit around. Work on camp. Set up. Cut wood. Take a few medium hikes. Get used to the time difference. Eat good meals and get some sleep. That’s way better than jumping out of the truck or worse yet off of a plane, strapping on your backpack and hitting the mountain.

When I saw three days, I was impressed.

I'll mention also for the OP: Be sure to drink plenty of fluids those first few days. You will lose a significant amount of fluid daily at altitude compared to lower elevation.

I would set out 3-4 liters in the morning and make sure you drink it all during the day.

Sent from my SM-S918U using Tapatalk

 

[midwestcowboy]

Definitely going to remind him keep up on the fluids. I drink so much damn water every day just existing out here. Elevation + sun sucks it right outta ya @Marble

I forgot to mention in the original post that thankfully my buddy is driving out here. Long trip but IMO it makes sense having two rigs for the span of time. Cover more ground if we split up for a few days, extra gear, water, and food storage at the trucks.

 

[LaFever]

Don't forget people come to Colorado and become seriously sick hiking in the mountains.
So be aware of your friend's condition during your hunting trip
My feelings are that he's not gonna understand his responsibilities during y'all's hunting trip until he tries the first time.

 

[Poser]

It normally takes me at least 3 -4 days to acclimate to the altitude. Until then, I definitely question if any of my training prep was helpful.

The more time, the better. I have a partner that comes out every year from close to sea level for what always ends up being a total grind fest of a hunt. After the first couple of years, he started giving himself about a week in town to acclimate (just hanging out) and then he would head into our base camp (about 3,000 feet higher than town) 3-5 days before me so he would usually end up with 10-12 days at altitude before the hunt. Once he started doing this, his performance improvement was dramatic.

1 day is better than nothing, but it really doesn't gain you much on a dramatic acclimation adaptation. 3 days is quite a bit better than 1, but. 7-10 days will come close to equalizing the situation. Think about how dialed in you feel at the end of a 7-10 day hunt. Now consider if that is your starting point.

 

[midwestcowboy]

@Poser I can really only get him out here 3 days prior because of his job. But I totally hear you - if I was able to get him out here for 1-2 weeks prior around 6.5k before going up to 9k, it'd be a night and day difference from an elev acclimation perspective.

I really wish he would've taken me up on training this summer using my oxygen depletion mask. While it def can't mimic the effects of altitude fully, it can at least restrict your breathing and prep those longs for some strain.

 

[cbuck516]

I think each person uniquely responds to altitude based on their own biology, training, and nutrition. I really don't have any issue going from 1200' up to around 7000-9000' and doing 12 or more miles on day one with a heavy bag, but I have my system dialed to be able to do that. My first trip out west I bonked pretty hard by day 7, but I needed that experience to understand where my shortcomings were in my training an nutrition.

I definitely notice my breathing being a little labored when I arrive in the mountains, but I don't feel like it has ever slowed me down. A friend of mine gets sick every time he comes out west with me and has yet to fill his tag, but his biology and preparation are way different than mine.

 

[Ricebowl43]

Run and Ruck. Best thing I've done for general heath and strength. Me and a buddy who live 500 miles apart started a workout program together we send each other updates and videos so we are doing it "together". Here is a guy that I have used for a workout program, his workouts are hard as hell but I'm in the best shape of my life. https://www.grittysoldier.com

 

[midwestcowboy]

Run and Ruck. Best thing I've done for general heath and strength. Me and a buddy who live 500 miles apart started a workout program together we send each other updates and videos so we are doing it "together". Here is a guy that I have used for a workout program, his workouts are hard as hell but I'm in the best shape of my life. https://www.grittysoldier.com

Thanks for the response, this is great stuff.

 

[Gman12]

My favorite way of getting ready is to ride my bike. I don't particularly like to walk for exercise and I'm definitely not going to run anywhere. Riding a bike gets your heart rate up fast and really helps your breathing when you ride pretty hard. A 5 mile ride three or more days a week really makes a difference IMO.

 

[78CJ]

I don't disagree with that at all. The gym can certainly play an important role in physical preparation, but the true, real world "mental toughness"/ "grit" aspect is learned under conditions of more gargantuan, overwhelming, uncomfortable and unforgiving environments.

You probably just don't know anyone truly mentally tough. I do, and I can tell you that it is a real thing......

 

[Poser]

You probably just don't know anyone truly mentally tough. I do, and I can tell you that it is a real thing......

Bold statement, but you're probably right.

 

[bozeman]

Being mentally tough will not supersede a torn ligament or pulled muscle. An injury is an injury. Mental toughness isn't overcoming an injury and keeping plowing forward regardless of pain, that's stupidity. Mental toughness is in the preparation (just my .02). But like Poser, I must not know anyone who is truly 'mentally tough'.

 

[Willie IV]

I'm a flatlander too and I've been having my Doc prescribe Diamox for altitude. I start taking it a couple days before I head west and every day I'm there. For me, it's night and day. Doesn't mean I still don't breathe hard at elevation but it gives me a head start on getting my body ready for altitude.

 

[Johnson27]

I'm a flatlander too and I've been having my Doc prescribe Diamox for altitude. I start taking it a couple days before I head west and every day I'm there. For me, it's night and day. Doesn't mean I still don't breathe hard at elevation but it gives me a head start on getting my body ready for altitude.

I start taking allitude meds several days before heading west. I've aslo learned to get to at least 6,000' for at least 3 days before heading to 10,000'.

The last time I didn't follow this process, I paid the price. I got so sick I had to leave after 1.5 days.

 

[midwestcowboy]

@Johnson27 @Willie IV Genuinely had no idea that altitude meds were a thing. I'll have to mention it to my buddy and see if that's something he's interested in. Thanks for commenting.

 

[midwestcowboy]

Update:

I was back in the midwest this past week visiting family and friends. Got the chance to hangout with my buddy who has the tag a couple times. Checked the zero on his rifle, went through his bag and some important gear, and briefly talked fitness. He's been rucking! I'm feeling a bit better about the upcoming hunt after speaking with him and running through some gear.

The plan is to still get him out to stay with me a few days before season. we're about 25 days away. During that time, we'll do some "easy" chukar hunting with my GSP pup to get the legs ready and help acclimate to 7k feet. We'll be doing some food prep for the hunt. We'll also be double checking the zero on his new rifle after travel. Since he's been practicing at 500ft and in the swamp that is the Midwest, his point of impact will likely need adjusted slightly once he makes it out to my neck of the woods at a higher elevation and totally different climate.

I'll follow up post-hunt and share how it all went!

 

[mad_angler]

My favorite way of getting ready is to ride my bike. I don't particularly like to walk for exercise and I'm definitely not going to run anywhere. Riding a bike gets your heart rate up fast and really helps your breathing when you ride pretty hard. A 5 mile ride three or more days a week really makes a difference IMO.

I've heard folks especially praise getting out of the saddle while biking. The mechanics of that are pretty close to climbing.

 

[salinedude]

stumbled upon an "Elk Hunting Hype" playlist on spotify. Gets me fired up everyday for my run! Arkansas to CO is TOUGH!

 

[Predator_SD]

This is an often repeated line, but, how does one get to a point of mental toughness without exposure to physical hardship?

While I am sure there are a few outliers here and there, "mental toughness" generally implies the ability to compartmentalize and stay focused on the moment rather than becoming overwhelmed by the duration of discomfort/pain/hardship. I have a difficult time buying into people possessing the innate ability to do that without having endured physical hardship, whether that was something you learned early on in life carrying firewood by orders of your dad, hard labor working construction etc or on a ranch or similar, or though voluntary hardship associated with physical activity, training, athletics, competitive sports etc. If you grew up slinging hay bales, you probably learned pretty quick to not think about the wall of hay bales and just stay focused on the one you are moving. Same with moving firewood. Same with running a 100 mile race. Same with getting through bootcamp or SF selection: The enormity of the total task vs. the discomfort of the moment will overwhelm anyone who doesn't have a way to stay in the moment.

Sure, anyone can convince themselves that they won't quit, but if you don't have real world data on that mental-physical connection for dealing with hardship, I just don't see it.

I'm just not sure "mental toughness" commonly exists without some sort of physical touchstone.

I grew up on a farm. I agree with you most people lack mental toughness. It was much more prevalent back say 30 years ago than it is now.