Hey all,
I am new to the forum, however I am not new to Rokslide, backpack hunting and certainly not fitness. A little background about myself, I served over twelve years in the military with the majority of this time in a combat arms role and have been bow hunting for nearly 20 years. I am a dedicated bow hunter-athlete. I just want to share my two cents on Physical Preparation.
After reading some recent forum posts on Rokslide, one of these being “Fitness Standards”, I have been thinking about the various comments posted. This has led me to share this:
In order to be the best hunters that we can, whether with bow, gun or smoke pole we should constantly strive to pursue a higher level of readiness. This includes both the physical and mental aspects involved with hunting, particularly backpack hunting. We not only owe this to ourselves but also our hunting partners and more importantly the animals we pursue. Being more prepared enables us to better handle physical and mental stress, thus making it more likely we will have ethical and accurate shot placement and quick, clean kills.
I think we can all agree that luck occasionally plays its part to make a hunt successful. If a person doesn’t have the ability (or will) to properly scout their area, they may stumble across an animal, by pure luck. However, the one thing that is assured is that a lack of physical preparation will not be overcome by luck. Luck will not get you to that distant ridgeline where that trophy goat resides or that high country basin that holds the Muley of your dreams. The only thing that will help you get there is preparation, Full Spectrum Preparation.
Full Spectrum Preparation consists of many aspects, but I want to mention the aspects here that have to do with Physical Fitness for the backpack hunter: Physical Conditioning/Training, Nutrition and Rest.
Physical conditioning has a different definition to everyone. One person’s idea of being fit is very different from another’s, as we see in the forum post “Fitness Standards”. I believe that in order to be truly considered “Mountain Fit” a person should be strong in the gym, be able to run and carry a pack long distances at a moderate pace and also be able to perform “functional” exercises that are both critical to injury prevention and everyday activity in the mountains. Each individual is going to set their own goals and definition of what level of fitness they require. My personal goal is to be the strongest, fastest and most efficient athlete I can. Doing so enables me to move further, faster and keep my head in the game longer. I understand that not everyone needs to maintain the physical fitness level of a professional athlete but I have to ask, “Why not”? Having a higher level of fitness also means less chance of injury and prolonged lifespan.
Nutrition is a critical aspect to physical conditioning and performance. In order to maintain proper nutrition, it takes time and preparation. Personally I try to eat every 3 hours of the day. Preparation for me is the most time consuming part of maintaining my proper nutritional levels. As we approach the Train to Hunt Challenge events, I am working even harder in this area. As I have increased by activity and cardio specifically I am focusing on consuming 5,000-7,000 calories daily. Breakfast usually consists of steel cut oatmeal, hard boiled eggs and a small portion of bacon. Lunch is usually centered on a lean meat (usually venison), brown rice or quinoa and a Greek yogurt. Dinner is generally more lean meats, a high quality carbohydrate, vegetable and salad. In between meals I consume cottage cheese, protein bars and fruit. In order to maintain this sort of eating schedule while working full time, being a Husband and Father and training it takes a lot of time. I generally prepare as much as possible on the weekends in order to make this easier. I don’t mean to ramble, I just want to encourage anyone who is looking to improve their diet to do the same.
The last thing I want to touch on is rest. Programming full rest days and active rest days into your routine is critical. I will go more in depth on this later if anyone cares to hear, but in general I try to get 6 hours of sleep per night. Sundays are a full rest day for me, as far as physical training is concerned, with few exceptions.
Full Spectrum Preparation includes all aspects of preparing for a hunt, or for some of us, life. I brought up the main points I feel are critical to the Physical Preparation side in order to share and encourage thoughts on this topic. What did you do today to be a better Mountain Hunter?
I am new to the forum, however I am not new to Rokslide, backpack hunting and certainly not fitness. A little background about myself, I served over twelve years in the military with the majority of this time in a combat arms role and have been bow hunting for nearly 20 years. I am a dedicated bow hunter-athlete. I just want to share my two cents on Physical Preparation.
After reading some recent forum posts on Rokslide, one of these being “Fitness Standards”, I have been thinking about the various comments posted. This has led me to share this:
In order to be the best hunters that we can, whether with bow, gun or smoke pole we should constantly strive to pursue a higher level of readiness. This includes both the physical and mental aspects involved with hunting, particularly backpack hunting. We not only owe this to ourselves but also our hunting partners and more importantly the animals we pursue. Being more prepared enables us to better handle physical and mental stress, thus making it more likely we will have ethical and accurate shot placement and quick, clean kills.
I think we can all agree that luck occasionally plays its part to make a hunt successful. If a person doesn’t have the ability (or will) to properly scout their area, they may stumble across an animal, by pure luck. However, the one thing that is assured is that a lack of physical preparation will not be overcome by luck. Luck will not get you to that distant ridgeline where that trophy goat resides or that high country basin that holds the Muley of your dreams. The only thing that will help you get there is preparation, Full Spectrum Preparation.
Full Spectrum Preparation consists of many aspects, but I want to mention the aspects here that have to do with Physical Fitness for the backpack hunter: Physical Conditioning/Training, Nutrition and Rest.
Physical conditioning has a different definition to everyone. One person’s idea of being fit is very different from another’s, as we see in the forum post “Fitness Standards”. I believe that in order to be truly considered “Mountain Fit” a person should be strong in the gym, be able to run and carry a pack long distances at a moderate pace and also be able to perform “functional” exercises that are both critical to injury prevention and everyday activity in the mountains. Each individual is going to set their own goals and definition of what level of fitness they require. My personal goal is to be the strongest, fastest and most efficient athlete I can. Doing so enables me to move further, faster and keep my head in the game longer. I understand that not everyone needs to maintain the physical fitness level of a professional athlete but I have to ask, “Why not”? Having a higher level of fitness also means less chance of injury and prolonged lifespan.
Nutrition is a critical aspect to physical conditioning and performance. In order to maintain proper nutrition, it takes time and preparation. Personally I try to eat every 3 hours of the day. Preparation for me is the most time consuming part of maintaining my proper nutritional levels. As we approach the Train to Hunt Challenge events, I am working even harder in this area. As I have increased by activity and cardio specifically I am focusing on consuming 5,000-7,000 calories daily. Breakfast usually consists of steel cut oatmeal, hard boiled eggs and a small portion of bacon. Lunch is usually centered on a lean meat (usually venison), brown rice or quinoa and a Greek yogurt. Dinner is generally more lean meats, a high quality carbohydrate, vegetable and salad. In between meals I consume cottage cheese, protein bars and fruit. In order to maintain this sort of eating schedule while working full time, being a Husband and Father and training it takes a lot of time. I generally prepare as much as possible on the weekends in order to make this easier. I don’t mean to ramble, I just want to encourage anyone who is looking to improve their diet to do the same.
The last thing I want to touch on is rest. Programming full rest days and active rest days into your routine is critical. I will go more in depth on this later if anyone cares to hear, but in general I try to get 6 hours of sleep per night. Sundays are a full rest day for me, as far as physical training is concerned, with few exceptions.
Full Spectrum Preparation includes all aspects of preparing for a hunt, or for some of us, life. I brought up the main points I feel are critical to the Physical Preparation side in order to share and encourage thoughts on this topic. What did you do today to be a better Mountain Hunter?
