Let's see your.... Workout?

[Idaho4x4Bronco]

Just curious what people are doing for their workouts. Reps, lifts, rest periods, days per week, so on. Something different on the forum but could be good for bouncing ideas off each other since we're all after mountain strength and cardio I'd assume.

 

[justinspicher]

I try to keep my workouts pretty simple. Walk each day, I have a nice three mile loop around the neighborhood and do some form of a kettlebell circuit. A few times each week I’ll try be in the woods. I also live in the mountains so that really helps. As far as the kb work goes, I do variations of Simple and Sinister or the Quick and the Dead.

 

[Btaylor]

Wife and I do variations of crossfit wods to fit the equipment we have and the fact that we cant drop weights at our gym. Almost exclusively use DB's other than back squats. Every workout has a cardio component and we rotate between treadmill, rower, eliptical and stairmonster. We also hit the stadium bleachers pretty regular at the high school. From now til hunting season I will add one day of weighted pack hiking. We are 5-6 days a week depending on schedules and travel. We also work in time on the road bikes when the weather is good.

 

[*zap*]

Trail hike 1.5-2 hrs. 3x a week with weight and without weight.........looking to push to 2+ hrs by July.

Strength 3x a week for 1.5-2 hrs. Sample workout: last was hip hinge focus, 4x glute bridge, 4x good morning, 4x rdl, 4x dl, 4x ohp, 4x chinup. 3-4 minute rest between sets.

Work very hard a few hrs a week right now, spring season. Those hrs I have an average heart rate higher than packing 30# on a hard trail. I treat those work sessions like workouts, go hard. Sample: 2000# of deco rock on trailer, shovel into wheelbarrow and push to where it gets placed. 9 trips total, usually. That takes around 45 minutes. Very good workouts...digging, planting, putting in dirt, rock, mulch. I work solo.

For May I had 55 hrs total. Starting to try a 2 of 3 day schedule, trail hike, next day strength and then a day off....repeat. I generally work hard at least an hour a day 5 days a week. I was going harder than the current schedule but would have to lay off a bit every 3rd week.......I think a more consistent schedule will be better.

65voa.

 

[MeatMissile]

Load up 275# on the bench, do 2 reps, forget I’m not 21 anymore, walk to the mailbox and back.

 

[JasonWi]

Strength training five days a week( lower weights but higher reps than years past..decided to do more full body KB/DB circuits and see how I feel this fall), walk the dogs at least 2 miles a day in addition to weight training and on weekends try to get some hikes wearing a pack.

 

[Poser]

Weekends:
Scouting, snowboarding, mtn biking

Mon: rest

Tue: strength train

Wed: training hike or Mtn bike or snowboard.

Thur: strength train

Fri: rest (sometimes a short Mtn bike ride or some snowboarding depending on conditions and weekend plans.


For strength, I do a Heavy/light template, sets of 5s: Backsquat, bench press, press, deadlift + chins & dips.

 

[Plainsman79]

Sunday-(run 4 miles)8 minutes cruise, 5 minutes hard, 2 minutes cruise, 3 minutes hard, 2 minutes cruise, 1 minute hard, 2 minutes walk, 8 minutes cruise

Monday-(run 3 miles)8 minutes cruise, 8 minutes hard 8 minutes cruise

Tuesday-(run 5 miles) 8 minutes cruise, 4 minutes hard, 2 minutes cruise, 3 minutes hard, 2 minutes cruise, 2 minutes hard, 1 minutes hard, 2 minutes cruise, 1 minutes hard, 2 minutes walk, 8 minutes cruise

Wednesday (run 3 miles) 8 minutes cruise, 8 minutes hard, 8 minutes cruise

Thursday (run 6 miles) 8 minutes cruise, 9 minutes hard, 3 minutes cruise, 6 minutes hard, 3 minutes cruise, 3 minutes hard, 3 minutes walk, 10 minutes cruise.

Friday (run 3 miles) 8 minutes cruise, 8 minutes hard, 8 minutes cruise. Depending on the week sometimes this is a rest day

Saturday rest day

As the season gets closer I’ll swap the 3 mile days for 1,200 (20”) steps with a weighted pack.

 

[.204smokechaser]

My general workout my first hour of work is:

Monday, 3.6 miles trail run with 400' elevation gain loss followed by 50 pullups, 50 push ups, 100 squats, 100 abs
Tuesday, hike with my line gear and a saw for 40 minutes up a trail and 20 down
Wednesday, 1900' elevation gain in 1.5 miles with my hydration pack. Deck of Cards
Thursday, 4-6 mile run
Friday, long hike with chainsaw and fire pack. Deck of cards.

Usually burn some calories in the day time clearing tails, roads, thinning, or doing whatever.

Have a pullup bar in my office so every hour I do 5 pullups.

In the evenings and weekends I usually ride my mtn bike or go hike a random ridge here.

Eating and what you drink is a big one, can work out all you want, but a good diet is key to hiking steep stuff all day. I'm in the salmon region of Idaho so there's some steep stuff around me. Hill across the river from me is 3600' elevation gain in about 2.6 miles depending on how I go up it.

Example of the type of country I spend my evenings in.

 

[Idaho4x4Bronco]

Awesome fellas.

Question, for anyone doing front squats, have you noticed if that has made a significant gain in the ability to hike with heavy packs? I was listening to a podcast and someone had mentioned that, so I want to give front squats a go.

 

[Trr15]

10 months out of the year I focus on bodybuilding. 5 day split: chest on Monday, arms and abs on Tuesday, legs on Wednesday, rest/cardio Thursday, shoulders on Friday, back/abs on Saturday, rest/cardio on Sunday. Late July/early August I shift to primarily compound lifts (5x5) and really ramp up my cardio. Keeps me strong year round, fends off dad bod and gets my lungs and legs ready for hunting season.

 

[*zap*]

Awesome fellas.

Question, for anyone doing front squats, have you noticed if that has made a significant gain in the ability to hike with heavy packs? I was listening to a podcast and someone had mentioned that, so I want to give front squats a go.

If you have been doing back squats with good form/depth for a while fronts squats would be a more upright squat (thoracic extension) which might help with packing weight depending on where your strengths/weaknesses are. I think low bar back squats are the best squat for overall results..quads/hams/core/lower back. Form is king when squating....drop your hip joints to or below your knee joints for proper depth....bulgarian split squats holding dumb bells would be my #2 squat.

 

[pc3]

Monday: Chest and Biceps
3 to 5 sets of flat bench (dependent on how I'm feeling)
3 sets of incline bench
2 x machines 3 sets each (machine bench and pec dec) Obviously when CV-19 lock downs are on no machines in garage so just extra bench/incline etc.
3 sets of hammer curls and 3 sets of BB curls
2 sets of pull-ups (close grip)

Tuesday: Legs & triceps
3 x heavy sets of squats @ moment 3x8 at 145 kg
2 x 10 reps Back off sets of squats
3 x sets of front squats
3 x sets of french curls
3x sets of behind head dumbbells
3x sets of dips

Wednesday - Rest

Thursday - Back
3 x Heavy sets of dead-lifts usually 3 x 5 (managed 3x5 @ 160kg this week)
2 x Back off dead lift sets
Barbell rows 3x sets
Dumbbell rows 3x sets
Upright rows 3x sets

Friday - Jog & Chest/Biceps
3.5 km Jog a few hills in it (used to more jogging but it is beating me up nowadays)
2x sets of slow pause bench @ 80% of work weight
1 x set of incline dumbbells
2 x set of Log incline press
1 x Log hold for a minute
2 x set of concentration type curls

Saturday - Boxing/Legs

30 min boxing training
Pause squats 75-80% of working weight
Belt squats
Various leg machines.

If lock down is on - Pause squats and I have just added RDL's albeit very light not used to the movement yet

Sunday - Cardio/rest
Could be walking if hunting etc. or might be fan bike, or walk with wife.

I find at my age I am fearful to stop as it is too hard to get going again, so I just keep working out and trying to lift as heavy as I am able without blowing a foofer valve.

 

[Mike Islander]

I mainly ride dirt bikes and mountain bike, surf, and backpack camp 2-3 a month. But I have an active job where I'm humping 50 pound sacks of salt 3-4 days a week.

I rode about 100 minutes on the YZ250 Wednesday. 37 miles of deep sandy whoops through winding pine woods. Sweat estimate was 1.8 liters. Calories estimated at 1200, but it was probably more. Average HR 155 with max at 180.

 

[rodney482]

4-5 times a week
100 situps in sets of 20
2 mile jog
1.5 mile hike w loaded pack
Bike .. distance varies

 

[Poser]

Awesome fellas.

Question, for anyone doing front squats, have you noticed if that has made a significant gain in the ability to hike with heavy packs? I was listening to a podcast and someone had mentioned that, so I want to give front squats a go.

Unless you are an Olympic lifter where the front squat is a primary lift, front squats are an accessory lift to the Backsquat. There is a significantly less muscle involves in a front squat by largely eliminating the hamstrings and much of the glutes and hip involvement in the movement, causing the quads to compensate. In short, you’re emphasizing the quads instead of the posterior chain. Also note that on average, a persons front squat is significantly weaker than their Backsquat due to leverages. That being the case, even though there is more focus on the quads, you are actually loading the muscle group with less stress since there is less weight involved. Think about it this way: do your quads get more stress from Backsquatting 300# or front squatting 225#?
Since all the quads do is extend the knee, more weight = more stress.

Strength is a general adaptation. Since carrying heavy weight around on your back involves considerable use of your posterior chain, why would you perform a subordinate squat variation that largely deemphasizes the posterior chain in favor of the quads? The Backsquat already involves the quads and since you can move heavier loads with the Backsquat, you can put more stress in the quads. A front squat is an accessory lift to the Backsquat, not a sport specific lift unless you are an Olympic lifter. Trying to claim that the front squat is a sport specific adaptation to rucking (aka hunting) is absurd.

 

[rodney482]

 

[pc3]

I did read somewhere that developing your front squat can help with your deadlift, not sure if thats correct.

I just blew up the credit card this morning at Rogue Australia (was planning on ordering an action commencing a light weight .300 win mag build and possibly a scope or two over the coming 12 months, off the cards for a while now).

Ordered a Rogue Hyper Z for reverse hyper extensions, these are supposed to be great for your back as both rehabilitative and strengthening glutes and spinal erectors as well as decompressing your spine, developed by louie Simmons @ Westside barbell.

Rogue Dog Sled
Rogue Dead lift Bar (they have a couple of deadlift bar at the gym....much better to deadlift with than a power bar)
Rogue Curl Bar
Neutral Grip cross member for the power rack
Couple extra bumper plates

You have to strike quick with the Rogue Australia website, its there one minute gone the next, sometimes I am a total spend thrift and lose my self control . But I figure its an investment in your health and fitness, and the rest of the family use the stuff as well, while you cannot quantify it, who knows what $$ you might be saving down the track on medical bills through maintaining your strength and fitness as best you can.

As a side benefit I think the harder your training you generally eat better, drink less as well. It changes the whole mind set about how you approach everything else in your life.

 

[OllieOtis]

Thanks all. This is really helpful for this middle aged newb. I workout 6-7 days a week alternating cardio and cross/strength training, 45-60 minutes per workout. That and a few miles of hills with the dog each day. Something like:

5-7 mile run, then next day
Pushups, pull-ups, sit-ups, split leg squats, etc.
Time permitting, go surfing

I’m happy I can still maintain my same military PT score from 30 years ago, but know full well I need to do more for hunting, with my first real back country trip coming up this year.

Threw on my pack with 65# this week and walked 5 miles on my treadmill at 12%/3 mph and only quit because I was bored. I know it ain’t much, but it’s a start... just gotta find the time to do more like that. This site and posts like this are helping to motivate me to go harder.

 

[Squirrel Master]

Mine is pretty simple. I ruck 3 days a week, and then do strength training 3 days a week. My strength training routine right now is the stronglift 5x5 program, it's basic but gets great results. For me at least. On my rest day I still do some body weight exercises and stretching. I'm not really a mountain hunter though, I spend most of my time in a treestand or box blind in Texas and go to western states when I can. This is just to keep me in decent shape.