Single Best Workout to Prepare For Elk Hunting?

[fmyth]

If you want to hike uphill efficiently with a pack on, then You are going to need to hike uphill with a pack on. Conditioning is a very specific adaptation, so if you were only going to do one thing, put on a pack and go rucking.

This. My wife and I spent the summer in WY & CO camping in our trailer and hiking nearly every day. Most days we hiked between 4 and 10 miles. I carried my hunting pack with the same stuff I carry on a day hunt and carried my bino pack/pistol. In a little less than 3 months I lost 25 lbs and came home ready for hunting season in the best shape of my life.

 

[Tauntohawk]

For at home work, weighted vest incline treadmill walks, and weighted pack/vest box step ups for a long a$$ time.

Stepper in commercial gym

Weighted hikes outdoors

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[sharpk]

Running for me. Get my heart rate used to being high for long periods of time. Stair stepper is my second choice.

 

[CoHiCntry]

Word on the street is you have to be able to run a 10 minute mile to be a proficient elk hunter… I can neither confirm or deny this assertion.

 

[sspurlin]

Cross fit has helped me greatly in the off season. Hiking with loaded pack cant be replaced either.

 

[kbone]

My money would be on hiking (i.e. stair master or actual hiking). I find that I can lift as hard as I want but there is no substitute for hiking hills.

 

[Clarktar]

A complete regime of mtn ops supplements from dawn to dusk is all that is needed.

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[mtwarden]

A complete regime of mtn ops supplements from dawn to dusk is all that is needed.

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+1 supplements FTW!

 

[dplumlee12]

Anybody check out the Elk fit option from MTN Ops? I recently started it and it has already begin to work. Of course I'm starting from couch potato shape.

 

[Larsen1516]

What do you think? Single best workout to get ready for elk hunting if you could choose only one?

I would vote for hiking with a weighted pack, followed closely by as many stairs as you can do with some kind of weight, either in a pack or just carrying kettle bells. I actually think the stairs with weight might edge out the hiking now that I've done it more the last few weeks, I have not decided for sure.

I have not been home as much as I'd like since April and have been stuck at work long odd hours. Last year I was doing long hikes with my pack but this year have not been able to do that due to lack of time (only home long enough to sleep).

A bunch of us like to workout a bit on our lunch breaks so we've been hitting the stairs in one of the main buildings going from basement to the 12th Floor, either with vest and duty gear (15-20 lbs ) or adding a 25-lb kettle bell in each hand (with same duty gear) for a rough total of 65-70 lbs added weight.

My legs are in better shape this year (even without the kettle bells) having done the stairs compared to the long hikes last year. I guess this could be dependent on the terrain. In my area it would be hard to get 600 vertical feet in a couple miles of hiking but with 4 full stair climbs I'm at that in under a half hour.

Being 41 it has been a little struggle and the gains have been slow. One of my team just got out of the Marine Corp and is doing a full stair climb in 1:15. The best I've done so far is 3:00 but I think I can knock that down to 2:30 in the next week or so. Having someone to keep up with can be both a blessing and a curse!

Being a Marine myself 1:15 is moving, dont hold yourself to that standard yet.

 

[3325]

My money would be on hiking (i.e. stair master or actual hiking). I find that I can lift as hard as I want but there is no substitute for hiking hills.

Agreed. You have to walk. Uphill. Carrying weight.

A way to tweak this into something even more effective is what Ori Hofmekler would call “controlled fatigue training.” The specifics can vary but the principle is to do something cardio/aerobic first and then follow it with heavier/harder work. You train to exert your strength in a fatigued state.

Example: Yesterday it was 30 minutes at aerobic heart rate, then a few sets of sprinter’s step ups, and then 1x20 squats.

If you do 1x20 squats use your 10 rep weight. Get maybe eight reps more or less continuously. Then hold it and take several deep breaths and squat another rep or two. Continue to 20. Refuse to rack the bar before 20. It’s one long set and it’s a lung buster done on pre-fatigued legs.

But think about the application to hunting. Walking, then killing, then wrestling with a carcass in a bad spot, then packing out after you’re already tired.

 

[kota]

Chukar hunting

^^This!! Miss it already…

For everything else, IMHO the best is a program you can maintain all year round and has a lot of rest and variety. The worst things for me are having to start building back from 0 or dealing with overuse injuries.

Running hills, HIIT and hiking hills with a weighted pack are all in my plan.

 

[mtwarden]

this might qualify- 90 mile snowshoe trip w/ a 30-ish pound pack across the Bob Marshall (and Great Bear) Wilderness- heading out tomorrow, hoping to finish Saturday, we'll see

 

[Scott2002]

Watching

 

[ROON99]

All great responses but I agree there isn’t a single best workout. I mix it up every week with strength training, HIIT, and cardio and regular rest. I have to or I get bored. Another piece of advice, don’t quit once you start. It hurts to get out of shape and start over. When my hunts end, I’m back at it first day home.

 

[6.5PRC Guy]

I would get on Stair master at the Gym between 40-60 minutes every other day.

 

[hunting1]

Ruck hiking and running would be my suggestion. CrossFit is great as well, but still need the hiking with weight. You can be fat and sloppy and kill elk, but it will be much more enjoyable if you prepare. The pack out especially you will appreciate the effort.

 

[Bighorse]

Flat bill hat against the wind......on stadium stairs, with ankle weights.

 

[Russ89]

I can hear it now "here comes the village idiot"

Rowing. The intensity dictates what you get out of it, and time spent can increase pure endurance. It's a total body workout that doesn't create excessive impact on joints, but does increase their resiliency. Since altitude and large hills aren't available easily to me without a significant time sink, I've found this is far easier to facilitate and has made my higher altitude efforts much easier. Because of this, the weighted ruck hikes I do once a week (at best) on flat ground get too easy and I have to add weight or hike longer every time. It's supported every trip I've made to hubt at elevations exceeding 8k ft, up to around 11k.

 

[aftriathlete]

I can hear it now "here comes the village idiot"

Rowing. The intensity dictates what you get out of it, and time spent can increase pure endurance. It's a total body workout that doesn't create excessive impact on joints, but does increase their resiliency. Since altitude and large hills aren't available easily to me without a significant time sink, I've found this is far easier to facilitate and has made my higher altitude efforts much easier. Because of this, the weighted ruck hikes I do once a week (at best) on flat ground get too easy and I have to add weight or hike longer every time. It's supported every trip I've made to hubt at elevations exceeding 8k ft, up to around 11k.

Big fan of rowing here too, but I admit I'm not actively training for any specific kind of hunt right now, just training for every day performance. I almost NEVER run any more -- at 38, and with a lifetime of abuse and Ironmans and special ops training, it just isn't worth it to me any more. Assault Bike, kettlebells, C2 rower, stairclimber are how I get my intense conditioning work nowadays.