Mountain Hunting Workout...What is Yours?

[RickNold]

This is great, thanks for sharing! I'm at crossfit 4-5x a week but will be adding a pack and hikes to the routine.

 

[S.Clancy]

I hike actual mountains and lift.

 

[Wingnutty]

Lift 4x/week with a vertical push and pull and horizontal push and pull, along with a hip and a knee centric exercise and core each session - typically 5-7 exercises each session. Then try and swim hard 2/week and do a ruck hike 2/week with between 35-50 lbs.

Am currently having tendinitis issues in my knee which is slowing me down so I’ve switched my ruck hikes to rucking on the elliptical.

 

[Old_Norther]

Mine isn't overly complicated, but has been very effective for me. I hike 4-7 miles almost daily. I'm fortunate that almost all the local trails have a good amount of gain/loss- usually averages out to ~ 200'/mile, which translates into steeper than that in one stretch and downhill on another.

Often the weekend sees a longer hike, typically 10-15 miles. Roughly once a month I get a multi-day trip in (sometimes very (very) arduous).

I strength train twice a week using a modified Wendler 5/3/1 which puts emphasis on the larger compound lifts- deadlifts, squats, bench and overhead press. In addition to the four major lifts I sprinkle pull/chin ups, lunges, dips and a variety of core exercises.

About 8 weeks prior to hunting season I start rucking a weighted pack twice a week (but still hiking like I do the other other days). I start out 30# and a two weeks out am up to 60-ish #. The last two weeks I scale the weight back, basically a taper like long distance runners use before an event.

I've been doing this for roughly a decade and it works. The emphasis is on the almost daily hikes that aren't slow, but aren't panting fast- this is the base builder. If you're not spending time building an aerobic base, you're not going to be in top condition come hunting season. Building an adequate base is usually measured in years, not weeks or months.

Mountain athletes and the scientific community have have embraced this concept. It's not overly exciting or jazzy, but it works

Check out the Uphill Athlete site, lots of good (and free) information on training for the mountains.

This is gold. Some nuggets in here;

- I hike every day
- Wendler 5-3-1
- I progress from X….. to X
- I’ve been doing this for years.

Great info!

 

[Light&Fast]

This is gold. Some nuggets in here;

- I hike every day
- Wendler 5-3-1
- I progress from X….. to X
- I’ve been doing this for years.

Great info!

I love this. I am still figuring mine out but try to do the run. lift, shoot(archery) every day. Miss one day, thats ok, don't miss two days.

Lots of HIIT, heavy lifting and running.
I ran my first 50miler this May.
The biggest factor and lesson for me in ultra running is miles per week is THE metric to track.

 

[illbell]

Lift 4x/week with a vertical push and pull and horizontal push and pull, along with a hip and a knee centric exercise and core each session - typically 5-7 exercises each session. Then try and swim hard 2/week and do a ruck hike 2/week with between 35-50 lbs.

Am currently having tendinitis issues in my knee which is slowing me down so I’ve switched my ruck hikes to rucking on the elliptical.

Have elbow tendonitis now for 7 weeks which has destroyed upper body. Been doing legs and running though.

Mind sharing your core session work?

 

[SwedishDevin]

I've done workouts from both Mountain Tactical Institute and Mountain Tough. Both are pretty great. I used to have a subscription to Mountain Athlete but eventually just purchased 3-4 plans that I like to cycle through at different times in the year. Currently I'm in their Big Mountain V2 plan which is mostly weights and step ups. Usually around the new year I'll do their 50k prep and get a lot of base miles in running with a couple days of lifting, then in the summer I'll switch to a goal oriented program- I'm leaning towards the Jackson Hole Picnic plan which is more swimming, then for hunting season I'll switch back to something like the Peak Bagger. I think with these four plans or so you can have a solid year of programming but the subscription is fun to play around with. I've done their backcountry hunt prep program too and it's great. Also- Rob is an awesome dude, super responsive to training questions. Their Thursday journal is fantastic.

 

[SwedishDevin]

I've done workouts from both Mountain Tactical Institute and Mountain Tough. Both are pretty great. I used to have a subscription to Mountain Athlete but eventually just purchased 3-4 plans that I like to cycle through at different times in the year. Currently I'm in their Big Mountain V2 plan which is mostly weights and step ups. Usually around the new year I'll do their 50k prep and get a lot of base miles in running with a couple days of lifting, then in the summer I'll switch to a goal oriented program- I'm leaning towards the Jackson Hole Picnic plan which is more swimming, then for hunting season I'll switch back to something like the Peak Bagger. I think with these four plans or so you can have a solid year of programming but the subscription is fun to play around with. I've done their backcountry hunt prep program too and it's great. Also- Rob is an awesome dude, super responsive to training questions. Their Thursday journal is fantastic.

I guess I'll add some context. High school football, college rugby, several shoulder injuries, then competed in Olympic weight lifting in my late 20s. Best lifts were 280 snatch and 355 clean and jerk, never broke 500 on squat and deadlifting a little over 5. Strength training is great but I found the older I got the more of a toll it was taking and so I switched to more bodyweight movements and plyometrics. I still squat but I don't go as heavy. This is something I talked to Rob at MTI about going into the plan- I don't do the max out days in the backcountry hunting prep anymore, I just keep my squat around 1.5 BW and call it good. Without a doubt my favorite exercise MTI trains is the sandbag getup. Such an amazing combination for strength endurance and I really notice the difference with core once I throw on a backpack.

 

[northernalpine]

Pretty similar to everyone else, compound lifts + cardio/rucks. Lifting advice is probably subjective, as long as you have a program it's probably fine.

For those with a gym membership, I'll throw a 90min multi-movement cardio workout that is low intensity and has served me well from central NC sandhills to Chugach ridgelines:

3x per week
5 min (warm up of choice)
10 min - Steady-state run (pace dictates, goal of NMT 75% of max HR)
2 min rest
10 min - Assault bike or stationary bike intervals (30s work/2m rest)
2 min rest
10 min - Steady-state Versa Climber
2 min rest
10 min - Row intervals (30s work/2m rest)
2 min rest
10 min - Steady-state Jacobs Ladder
2 min rest
20 min - Uphill Treadmill (start at 10% incline/3.2mph)

*Record your results for each exercise.
After about 2-3 weeks you'll either notice an increase in distance/watts/pace, or if paired with a HR monitor, you will see working HR decline as your fitness increases. Increase each exercise by 1-2 minutes every 2 weeks until you hit about 2 hours total workout, backwards plan to hit 2 hours about a month from scout season or season open to leave your buddies sucking wind.

 

[Poser]

Heavy-Light-Medium template for strength training.

Squat, Bench Press, press and deadlift.
Power cleans, barbell rows cycled in seasonally.
Chins/dips for accessories.

I Do a training hike every Wednesday (unweighted) evening and I’m out backpacking/scouting/hunting/peak bagging every weekend June through September + a few 3-5 days trips. Bigger Hunting trips in oct and nov.

Dec-may, I’m snowboarding and skinning 3+ days a week with a couple of longer trips.

I run short cycles (2-3 weeks) of Linear Progression between seasons and following trips to get my strength back to acceptable levels. I’ve definitely been much stronger before, but have kinda settled in to strength levels that are reasonably inline with my lifestyle the last couple of years. That being said, my GF is competing in some powerlifting comps next year and getting pretty damn strong. I may have to up my game.

I Mtn bike a good bit some summers, but been steadily losing interest last 2 years. I commute to work on a bike during the week and ride a fat bike in the snow some, too.

Overall, I just use the gym to be strong and enjoy the mountains for conditioning.

 

[mtwarden]

Overall, I just use the gym to be strong and enjoy the mountains for conditioning.

this has worked out pretty well for me for the last 10-ish years