Training for BC goat hunt

[BCDJR]

Don’t forget your upper body exercises. If you go thru blowdowns or climbing down and using hand holds…..you will be glad you did. Your probably gonna have one really tough day and the idea is to be in good enough shape to recoup for next day

 

[JasonM]

I am from the same general area of PA and did a goat hunt in 2022 in the Chugach Mountains of Alaska. Leading up to the hunt I did a lot of rucking with a 40 lb sand bag in my pack to build up stamina. On days I didn’t ruck, I would do some light trail running or stationary cycling.

I probably could have done more in the woods and off trail, but I did not feel unprepared when it came time to hunt.

Once you’re on the mountain, mental toughness begins to play a bigger part than anything. Just keep putting one foot in front of the other and maintain a positive mental attitude.

I had some level of anxiety when we hiked in from sea level thinking I was not ready. At the end of the hunt, I was complimented by the guide and packer on being in better shape than many guys who come to hunt.

Thanks for the advice and encouragement. Much appreciated!

 

[JasonM]

Don’t forget your upper body exercises. If you go thru blowdowns or climbing down and using hand holds…..you will be glad you did. Your probably gonna have one really tough day and the idea is to be in good enough shape to recoup for next day

I keep the upper body training pretty basic

Pushups
Pullups
Curls
Tricep work
Rows
Overhead presses kettle bell and barbell
Core stuff

Not super heavy but not super light just enough for strength and endurance without risking injury I guess you could say. My circuit is about an hour with not much rest between sets or exercises.

Hopefully that will help

 

[BustedRagHorn]

ChatGPT is fantastic for planning workouts. Plug in what you are going to do, equipment you have/terrain available to you, your physical condition including any injuries, and the time you have. It will kick out a customized workout plan for you. If there is a workout I don't know I put it in youtube and there is a video of how to do the workout. Not a big fan of AI but I did it last year for a high country mule deer hunt and it helped a ton.

 

[JasonM]

ChatGPT is fantastic for planning workouts. Plug in what you are going to do, equipment you have/terrain available to you, your physical condition including any injuries, and the time you have. It will kick out a customized workout plan for you. If there is a workout I don't know I put it in youtube and there is a video of how to do the workout. Not a big fan of AI but I did it last year for a high country mule deer hunt and it helped a ton.

Interesting. I’m same way I’m not a big AI fan but I guess it can be helpful.

 

[Short Track]

I had a local help retrieve a Big Horn for me. It was 500 yards up a nasty drainage. Rocks, boulders, and more boulders, and more rocks. He put on these special boots, with a crank down rachet system to hold the angle snug in place. I have never seen them before, but he was an avid rock climber young dude. They were not hunting specific boots, but more for bouldering. He said he would never attempt it without these special boots.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

Just build a good base however you like to do it, then get more specific with weighted hiking as the hunt gets closer. This is very basic stuff.

 

[medvedyt]

ChatGPT is fantastic for planning workouts. Plug in what you are going to do, equipment you have/terrain available to you, your physical condition including any injuries, and the time you have. It will kick out a customized workout plan for you. If there is a workout I don't know I put it in youtube and there is a video of how to do the workout. Not a big fan of AI but I did it last year for a high country mule deer hunt and it helped a ton.

i will try thank you for the hint.

 

[Ts1]

I put 20-50 pounds of water in my pack and hike up the hill by our house 3x a week in the summer and it definitely paid off last fall. You can be in the best shape of your life and will still be wishing you were in better shape.

 

[StopMakingSense]

If you need advice or have questions hit me up. SE BC is my backyard and goats are my thing.

 

[Wyoming Hart]

I'm in Franklin County, PA and we hike every Sunday afternoon around Cowan's Gap SP. You're welcome to join us. Get plenty of elevation gain and steps. We all have packs with around 40 to 50 pounds in them. Sounds like you are doing good. Last year I was limited to walking instead of running my 2 - 4 mile runs everyday. I put my pack on for those and did well on my August Alaska Dall Sheep hunt. But like has been stated before, your brain will need to be in top shape. You'll fail mentally before you fail physically.

 

[JasonM]

I'm in Franklin County, PA and we hike every Sunday afternoon around Cowan's Gap SP. You're welcome to join us. Get plenty of elevation gain and steps. We all have packs with around 40 to 50 pounds in them. Sounds like you are doing good. Last year I was limited to walking instead of running my 2 - 4 mile runs everyday. I put my pack on for those and did well on my August Alaska Dall Sheep hunt. But like has been stated before, your brain will need to be in top shape. You'll fail mentally before you fail physically.

Appreciate the offer man I may hit you up. Coming into my busy season for my side hustle but ….see how the summer pans out.

I’ll keep at it tho!

 

[twistrate]

Taking in the view before breaking down my East Kootenay billy in 2024, best of luck on your trip to my next of the woods.

 

[hawkhunts]

I figure I’m close to the midway point of my prep for my fall hunt. So far I think it is going well for a flatlander.
My training has become focused on 50 lb weighted pack hikes, Saturday and Sunday I roll out and put on 6-9 miles, and try to keep my cardio in zone 2. I do two days a week in the gym- squats, shoulder rehab, and pull-ups one day, deadlifts, core, posterior chain the other. I make zero effort on arms and chest, total focus on legs, core, and pulling muscles.
At first I thought I would just keep adding weight and distance, but once I got into 60-70 lb packs my cardio blew past zone 2- possibly defeating the fat burn process I need to get down another 20 lbs. it wasn’t necessarily harder on my body, it just elevated my heart rate.
My Saturday hike is the money maker- about halfway through the hike there is a steep hill in one of our lakeside parks. I walk a continuous loop up and down with no flats. Boring as hell, cause it’s not long so there are a lot of loops. The finisher on that hill are backpeddles up the hill. Going downhill is harder on my knees than uphill, that 40 yard downhill and 40 yard backpeddle back up blows up my quads. I feel like those are more effective for strengthening and stabilizing my worn out knees than anything I have done in the gym.

 

[twistrate]

Awesome,

I usually keep my rucks between 35-50lbs depending on how I am feeling that day. Todd Bumgardner (Pack mule training) has some really good insight on the diminishing returns on rucking over about 25% of your bodyweight.
If you want to add a little variety, single arm or odd object carries are great for a few reasons. Think single dumbbell or kettlebell (don't go heavier than you can hold while staying upright) or bear hug / over the shoulder a sandbag, your ruck, whatever you can come up with. Great for building stability and core while also giving you the stimulus of a ruck. Weight depending, I'll usually go up and down my street accumulating about half a mile alternating sides.

If you have access to a sled, same deal. Sled pulls are the cheat code for building leg resiliency and muscular endurance without loading the spine. Something like a Rogue E-sled walking backwards will destroy your quads like nothing you've experienced. Like the loaded carries, I usually go abut half to 3/4 mile per session.

Lastly, adding in rotational work to prime your core / back etc for all the awkward moving under load that the mountains will throw at you. Kettlebell windmills, Turkish get ups, rotational Kettlebell RDL.

 

[JasonM]

Taking in the view before breaking down my East Kootenay billy in 2024, best of luck on your trip to my next of the woods.

View attachment 1064079

Looks like fun!

 

[hawkhunts]

Awesome,

I usually keep my rucks between 35-50lbs depending on how I am feeling that day. Todd Bumgardner (Pack mule training) has some really good insight on the diminishing returns on rucking over about 25% of your bodyweight.
If you want to add a little variety, single arm or odd object carries are great for a few reasons. Think single dumbbell or kettlebell (don't go heavier than you can hold while staying upright) or bear hug / over the shoulder a sandbag, your ruck, whatever you can come up with. Great for building stability and core while also giving you the stimulus of a ruck. Weight depending, I'll usually go up and down my street accumulating about half a mile alternating sides.

If you have access to a sled, same deal. Sled pulls are the cheat code for building leg resiliency and muscular endurance without loading the spine. Something like a Rogue E-sled walking backwards will destroy your quads like nothing you've experienced. Like the loaded carries, I usually go abut half to 3/4 mile per session.

Lastly, adding in rotational work to prime your core / back etc for all the awkward moving under load that the mountains will throw at you. Kettlebell windmills, Turkish get ups, rotational Kettlebell RDL.

I wish I still had local access to a CrossFit gym. The prowler/sled, farmer carry handles are the two things I miss the most. Walking backwards pulling the sled is the most brutal quad work I have ever done. We had a 60 yard turf field to walk, down and backs would bring me damn near to a state of crawling home.
My mailbox is 300 yards from my house. On “rest” days I do a suitcase or waiter carry there and back with a 24kg kettlebell.
I started doing some gladiator deadlifts also. Haven’t done enough to be comfortable challenging myself weight wise , but there’s that rotational piece you talked about.