How fit is "fit enough"?

[SWVA_Tim]

So I always here people saying how you need to be in really good shape to enjoy back country hunting. I totally agree. So how fit is fit? I know this is very open ended, but in my mind everything is relative? What I consider to be fit you may think is a slacka$$....or vice versa. How how do you know when your in good shape for extended back country heavy hauling trips?

Interested to hear your thoughts

 

[Jason Snyder]

I don't think you can be too fit, but I also think that there are diminishing returns when you get to higher levels of fitness. I would consider myself on the upper end of the fitness bell curve, yet realizing that there are many more folks that are far more fit than I am. So how much is good enough?

I guess you have to ask yourself how you want to hunt. How much ground and elevation do you want to or NEED to cover in order to hunt effectively? Are you fit enough to pack an animal out of the area you are in, doing so in a timely manner and without suffering an injury?

When I travel out of state to elk hunt, I want to be able to hunt every day of the trip, which is usually 7-14 days. I don't want to take rest days, unless it's because we tagged out and drank all the whiskey. The areas we hunt are usually either a 2-3 mile hike into each day, or a backpack trip in for 3-5 miles. We may hunt 2-3 miles from camp (depending on road density) sometimes a little more.

I guess to put some numbers to your question, last year on a deer hunt I went in 5.5 miles the first night, gained 2700 feet in elevation, and was carrying a 60# pack. I was able to cover that in a 3.5 hour period and that included time glassing on the way. The next day, I covered about 7 more miles in about 4 hours, including time spent filling up with water and chatting with some other hunters. I did not feel overly taxed at all. That is the level of fitness I want to be at for my hunts.

 

[2rocky]

Fit enough means:
When soreness from the hike into camp doesn't hinder your hunt that night and the following days.
When you don't leave animals you spot because they are in a deep canyon or high mountain.

The animals will always be faster, and tougher regardless. It is just a matter of being able to not be held back from hunting. You still have to save boot leather by judicious use of Optics. You still have to be smart about gaining, losing and keeping elevation.

No workout program will get you in better shape than hunting in steep country. I really think that if I could bowhunt 4 days a week I would be in better shape FOR HUNTING than if I trained for a 50 mile trail race. Mainly because I would hunt and hike smarter.

 

[Poser]

I'd say my goals are to be in good enough shape to not fear any terrain and to not have to deal with performance prohibitive soreness and recovery.

I don't want to be afraid of hunting certain areas because its too steep or too physically unforgiving. I do not want to be hesitant, because of my lack of fitness, to go to a certain destination because of those factors. I also don't want to be too sore or weak to get up and hunt after a hard day.

Of course, all three of those aspects are just as mental as they are physical and training should be as mentally challenging as it is physically challenging. In fact, most people, myself included, generally short change themselves mentally even when the physical challenge was real. The struggle is almost always in the mind.

 

[Screamrider]

When you're not concerned that your fitness level will negatively impact your hunting partners. This is not to say that everyone needs to be at the exact same level. There will always be those that are stronger and weaker, but "fit enough" is putting the time, dedication and effort into your training so that your individual fitness level is not one of the decision criteria out in the field. This is just as much about being honest with yourself and your hunting buddies, not to mention having common goals and expectations for a hunt - which is of the utmost importance! Bottom line, I think "fit enough" is not having the slightest worry that you're going to be a liability out in the field.

 

[jmez]

Fit to me means that physical conditioning will not be a limiting factor in any part of my hunt. It is one of the few things that I actually have full control over and I take it seriously. I've been involved in sports and training pretty much my entire life. I have a very good handle on my body and fitness level. I know if I'm doing enough and am ready to go.

 

[5MilesBack]

I'm almost 50. Looking around at what I see in society today, and even what I see when I'm in the back country..........in my worst shape I'm still probably in better shape than 95% of the people in the U.S. today. So, given that.........I'm "fit enough" to make it in and out of the back country every year, and fit enough to still haul out an elk by myself. But come summer I'll hit the weights a bit regardless. Cardio never seems to be an issue for me so I concentrate on strength training, and making sure my legs are good to go. If the season started tomorrow, I'd still be ready.......even in my "out of shape" winter mode.

 

[NDHunter]

Keep in mind that you don't necessarily need to run a marathon to be in shape. I've heard of guys who DO run marathons and get destroyed in the mountains because they haven't done any strength training. I think a guy who puts a 50 pound pack on walks up and down hills will be a lot better prepared than a guy who can run his heart out on the treadmill.

 

[Ross]

I want to be able to go and go all day every day until the knee says I need a break. If that means humping up/down 3000 ft to shed hunt for 10 hrs, packing a bull out as needed until done or leaving each day well before sunrise and returning after dark, after another fun day of chasing bulls morning and evening with a smile and not thinking I am spent, then I am fit enough for enjoying my time afield.

 

[Bighorse]

When your young than it's a very simple formula of enhanced cardiovascular fitness then GO!

As I age I find that I have to focus more on injury prevention, strength, flexability, balance, and cardio. I've got problem spots that get attention and rest as needed. For me it's about being in the backcountry and not getting hurt. That means having coordination and focus to move well. If I get to the point that I'm fatiqued enough and falling over myself and risking injury than it's time to rest.

Being a smart backcountry hunter isn't just about who's the strongest. Just knowing the limits of yourself and functioning there will produce results. Perhaps thats what I'm going for when I train. I want to know how I function, that way when I go into the woods I know when to rest, when to push, when to eat, ect.....

Keep in mind this is coming from the perspective of a guy that, while big, can always do a 3,000' climb and lift heavy things. So I'm just doing seasonal maintance work vs. building fitness. Never lived in a big city and have been in the mountains all my life.

 

[WyoHnt300]

I believe your level of physical fitness, at a minimum, should be so that your risk of injury is greater in a controlled (gym/training facility) environment than an unpredictable, uncontrolled one (back country). What that looks like is different for each of us and depends on your hunting/camping style. Fundamentally, we train so that our loved ones don't have to pick us up with the help of a helicopter and S&R team.
I don't believe you can over train mentally. A knowledge of your area, environment, and equipment can save your tail end more so than an extra set of lunges/bench press ever could. Great thread!

 

[HJ Handy]

Better shape you're in, better you feel at the end of each days hunt, less time you will take to recover for the next day. Get in the best shape you can be in and you will only regret it feeling sore after all that hard work up to the point where your hard work allowed you to harvest the best animal of your life. You'll look back on it and say it was all worth it to take all those pains in the gym, on the trails pre-season or wherever.

 

[bowhuntersd]

For me "fit enough" is being able to continue in the hunt at day 12 without worry. At some point you'll need to hunt smarter as to now burn out but being "fit enough" in diving into that canyon AGAIN without hesitation. It's not letting my physical ability limit my hunt.

 

[robby denning]

to hunt without getting hurt (muscle strains, joint sprains, excessive soreness).

You can be too fit and walk right past your game, especially big bucks.

Running a crew of trainers for 20+ years and testing thousands of people's VO2 max, if I consider that parameter only, I estimate you need at least a 14 MET rating (ml of O2/min/kg of body weight) to do well in the backcountry (world class athletes are as high as 30 METs)

 

[Poser]

to hunt without getting hurt (muscle strains, joint sprains, excessive soreness).

You can be too fit and walk right past your game, especially big bucks.

Running a crew of trainers for 20+ years and testing thousands of people's VO2 max, if I consider that parameter only, I estimate you need at least a 14 MET rating (ml of O2/min/kg of body weight) to do well in the backcountry (world class athletes are as high as 30 METs)

Can you give some more examples of VO2 max's? What is the average "pedestrian" MET rating? An average Jogger? Average globo gym user?
Where is a 14 MET rating on the scale of being an athlete? What other activities would require a similar MET rating as hunting?

 

[TWP]

So I always here people saying how you need to be in really good shape to enjoy back country hunting. I totally agree. So how fit is fit? I know this is very open ended, but in my mind everything is relative? What I consider to be fit you may think is a slacka$$....or vice versa. How how do you know when your in good shape for extended back country heavy hauling trips?

Interested to hear your thoughts

I know when I am fit enough personally is when I am not afraid to do something based on my fitness level. An example, four years ago I was big into Westside Barbell/Conjugate Training and I was very strong for me and had pretty darn good speed doing a lot of short track work. However, I realized on day 5 of an archery elk hunt that I needed to get over to an opposite ridge to follow the elk over...I did not believe in myself enough physically that I could get that done. Maybe I was actually being wise, because I am not sure I would have been able to handle two-three days of hunting and maybe packing an elk out of that hole. Either way, I promised myself to focus on mental strength and overall fitness, not specialized strength work. Long story short, fit enough for me is what I am now, and that is the key to me.

 

[primitive]

Great post. In this day and age of "extreme" everything we are dealing with more and more extreme athlete hunters. We see pics of Cameron Haines blown up delts/pecs, Aron Snyder climbing the Red Rocks with 200# and smiling, Bryan Martin with basically a whole Bull Moose in his Mystery Ranch. Wilderness Athlete, Train to Hunt, Mountain OPS, Crossfit, P90X, etc etc. All this stuff is great, except maybe Cam Haines calling himself "Beastmode" (Im a huge Seahawks fan). I just turned 50 so the days of racing to and fro with a heavy pack are over. I hope I hunt smarter but more importantly I hope to continue loving the hunt, respecting the animal, and keeping myself in shape to do these mountain hunts. In the meantime I will enjoy watching the young'uns race each other up and down the mountains.

 

[Piscatory_4]

Fitness in my opinion is more about recovery after exertion. Try not to hunt hard and fast, but instead taking my time more than trying to run the animal down so to speak. No need to carry a 200lb pack full of meat out of the woods. Need to learn to pace yourselves. Try to hunt so you do not exert yourself to exhaustion and put yourself in danger. It's only a hunt after all.

 

[William Hanson (live2hunt)]

I'm fit enough when I can chase an elk up a slope, stab him with a pig sticker, and toss him over my shoulder like a sack of grain and pack him to the truck. Until then embrace the sick and train harder. Is it necessary? Probably not. Fat guys from the city kill elk every year. Peak physical condition definitely helps even the odds against critters that spend their lives in the mountains that we're only blessed to visit.

 

[JP100]

Its amazing this fitness "craze" that seems to have taken over hunting, in the US anyways.
As a person who spends the majority of my time in the outdoors the guy who hunts/walks in the hills 5+ days a week will always beat the guy who trains hard at the gym. I have never had to worry abut fitness only strength on extended pack in/out trips with big loads.
You can worry about being fit or hunt smarter and still be very successful, just depends on the terrain and the game you hunt.

That being said the fitter and stronger you get, the harder you push yourself and the fitter you need to be! never ending cycle haha