Training for the upcoming hunting season! What motivates you?

[Robert Hanneman]

I will be the first to admit that as soon as hunting seasons ends the last thing on my mind is training for the upcoming season. I just want to relax and be lazy. My motivation for working out is to enter as many competitions I can throughout the spring and summer. I am a very competitive person and I use that to my advantage. This year I will run the marathon with the Rokslide crew and then go on the Rokslide hell hike (really looking forward to this one). I also plan to run and hand full of 5k and 10k races.

I just finished my first competition of the year which was the Seattle Firefighter stair climb. I finished the climb in 13:48 and placed 23 out of 1550 other competitors and my team from the Missoula fire Department took first place.

About the Seattle Stair Climb
At 788 feet of vertical elevation, the Columbia Center in downtown Seattle stands as the second tallest building west of the Mississippi. It takes 69 flights of stairs and 1,311 steps to reach the top. The Scott Firefighter Stairclimb supports the mission of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, raising money through sponsorships, individual and department fund-raising, and entry fees. In 2011, the event raised $930,000. On Sunday, March 11, 2012 1,550 firefighters representing 291 departments from 24 US states, Canada and Germany competed in this timed race to the top of the Columbia Center in full combat gear and self contained breathing (SCBA). This unique event is the largest individual firefighter competition in the world.

What do you do for motivate yourself to get in shape for the upcoming hunting season?

 

[Matt Cashell]

Congrats to you and your team, Robert. I saw your name mentioned in the Missoulian article. You guys always kick butt over there.

I stay motivated by doing what I am doing now: Researching gear, reviewing video, shed hunting, checking Rokslide, applying for tags, shooting the bow, checking Rokslide, shooting the rifle, talking to my hunting partners, checking Rokslide, etc.

 

[JPhelps]

Think about the big bucks and bulls that call the mountains home.

The way I see it is I only have a couple weeks to seal the deal and I do not want my fitness to be a detriment to me being successful. On a hunt I never want to avoid going into a place because the work required to get in there and bring an animal out.

 

[les welch]

23 out of 1550...DANG man...NICE, that is top sub 1.5% DANG.

 

[les welch]

I want to be the best that I can. If I take 5 days off, I know that is 5 days I can't get back. 5 days the elk didn't take off. 5 days that someone out there DIDN'T take off, and if we meet on the mountain, they are going to have the advantage. That is my motivation.

 

[BMB]

not wanting to be a fat ass again. keeps me running as much as i physically can.

 

[Becca]

While I definitely slow down some in the winter months, I am motivated to at least maintain my fitness level for our busy backpack and hunting months. Starting out I wasn't in the best shape, and some trips I felt like I wanted to lay down and die. In the interest of NEVER having to huff and puff that much again, I have been motivated to at least stay in shape, and usually improve at least a little each year. An injury meant I spent the end of '10 and the start of '11 on crutches and in a walking cast, and if anything this has helped me to never take my ability to exercise for granted. I know that hiking long distances and packing heavy loads is a certainty, so the more I can do to prepare for it and make it more enjoyable the better.

As extra motivation this year, I signed up for my first sprint triathalon at the end of May. While I don't have any illusions about winning or placingI think I will feel pretty accomplished to just finish and the added bonus is it will help kick start my spring/summer training.

 

[OR Archer]

Plain and simple I want to be the most efficient predator I can be when I'm in the woods. I want to know that when I've pushed my body hard for days on end that Ill still have some left in the tank to make it happen in crunch time.

 

[Rick Seymour]

396 Hunting addiction. Some of us are born with that gene that makes us HAVE TO work out, HAVE TO sweat darn near every day. I consider it a blessing.

 

[robby denning]

It's actually beneficial to build in some down time after the season. Professional athlete's trainers write their workouts over a year in blocks called "periodization". During those periods, a certain outcome is expected. The post-season period usually incorportates some planned rest for mind/body recuperation.

Can't lay around for a month, but a few days even weeks can be beneficial.

 

[chiefhoyt]

just ran my first 40 miler with my old man. Being in shape is something i can control on a hunt and that motivates me

 

[rebecca francis]

Great job Robert! That would be so hard.

I like to do as many races as I can as well.

 

[ohhiitznik]

What motivates me to train is that I want to be able to go harder than everyone else. And I love being an absolute beast. The elk aren't getting any easier to kill and the muleys are right there with them. Being fit and active is a fun lifestyle and it allows you to do anything you want to do. My goal this year is when I get an elk down, to be able to take it out in 2 trips solo. I don't want to gas going up the mountain either. I just got my altitude training mask in the mail, I'll be starting my workouts using the mask to simulate 8000 ft to begin and slowly work it up.

 

[ScottR_EHJ]

What motivates me is that the vast majority of hunters never get more than a couple miles from the truck. The biggest reason is that they aren't in good enough shape to get where they need to be to see animals of any quality or any number for that matter. Ultimately though, the deer are my motivation. They are in great shape, and I have to do my best to keep up.

 

[tradair1980]

For me it started with never ever wanting to turn down another canyon with hesitation because of steep to deep and has worked . It has turned into being the best I can be all year long pushing myself to my limits on weekly basis. Two years ago this worked for me and has left me hungry to keep pushing myself day after day! I have put elk ,deer at finish lines at the end of almost every run and every hard lift. Luckily I found running first and fell in love with it from the start. Over time it has turned into long milage runs and calf burning hills in the rain ,snow freezing rain to the relentless summer heat to put me out of my comfort zone and in result, I have gained more mental and physicall toughness then I have ever had.... Good luck with it !!!

 

[bearguide]

i do not like getting my butt kicked by my wife / that is my motivation

 

[Rod]

Remembering how the mountains kicked my butt last year motivates me. +1 on being the best predator i can be!

 

[les welch]

Lots of good reasons here. Doesn't matter why YOU train, just as long as you do! Keep at it. Just about 5 months until go time......

 

[AlpineAthlete]

Just the thought of hunting in general. There is always something gearing around in my head about hunting and how am I going to be the best I can be if I'm not at top condition? When my 4th, 5th, and 6th set of squats or deadlifts get tough, I think to myself about that bull over the ridge that I've got to sprint to the top of. That helps me keep a very high intensity in my workouts. I like motivational type stuff off simplyshredded.com and I find some of Cam Hanes stuff motivates me, some of it not so much. I also draw a lot of motivation from guys on rokslide and bowsite. There are some really hardcore guys out there that bust their tails everyday. I want to be like them so their "lead by example" (even though they don't know it), really motivates me. Keep hittin' it hard guys, these last few months are going to fly by.


Tyler

 

[les welch]

Well said Tyler. Cutandjacked.com has some great motivational stuff also.