Training with out elevation

[Ngarcia11892]

So I live in Florida and plan on doing my first hunt this year. I’m in the gym lifting quite a bit and working on my cardio. Is there anything you guys recommend to help me out seeing as I don’t have access to elevation. Also how early before the hunt do you guys incorporate the pack into hikes and how do you add weight to it?

 

[go_deep]

Run/jog stairs.

 

[Mikido]

MTN Tough 45-70

 

[Mike Islander]

I live in the Lowcountry of South Carolina, so utterly flat. I carry 60 - 70 pounds of salt in my pack. I put a blanket in the bottom so the salt is closer to the middle. Stairs are awesome. Concrete stadium seats are even better, both up and down. When I walk roads at work I'll walk with one leg on the road and one on the curb to (poorly) simulate hill siding. Not perfect, but decent.

Probably an hour on a stationary bike per day will help more than almost anything else.

 

[Blandry]

Do Altitude Training Masks Work for Endurance Athletes?

By now you have no doubt seen athletes running around, lifting weights, or even riding around at sea level or moderate elevations with altitude training masks. The idea is to simulate the hypoxic condition of exercising at altitude (about 5,000 feet above sea level and higher).

trainright.com

I was going to recommend one of those masks but that’s been debunked.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[LostArra]

Probably an hour on a stationary bike per day will help more than almost anything else.

With a side effect of temporary insanity

 

[36Fan]

What type of terrain will your hunt be in? What are you hunting? Day pack hunts?

 

[Sccritterkiller]

With a side effect of temporary insanity

Just put a movie on...hour goes by in no time...

I load up my atlas with 65lbs of plates go out when it the hottest and most humid, think SC in August. My goal is 5 miles with sub 20 min miles at least 3x a week, add 5 days a week at the gym and I have been fine.
The best thing you can do is get to elevation a day early, no alcohol, and drink plenty of water.

 

[LostArra]

Just put a movie on...hour goes by in no time...

I load up my atlas with 65lbs of plates go out when it the hottest and most humid, think SC in August. My goal is 5 miles with sub 20 min miles at least 3x a week, add 5 days a week at the gym and I have been fine.
The best thing you can do is get to elevation a day early, no alcohol, and drink plenty of water.

20 minutes of HIIT on the stationary bike and I'm done. I prefer hills on the road

I don't know how you can carry enough water for 5 miles with 65# in SC in August. We vacation at Edisto in July and I'm soaked in an hour with no pack walking at dawn.

Arriving early is great advice and just plan on taking it SLOW. I don't care where you train you'll never out run an elk.

 

[Sccritterkiller]

I don't know how you can carry enough water for 5 miles with 65# in SC in August. We vacation at Edisto in July and I'm soaked in an hour with no pack walking at dawn.

I usually just carry a 12oz bottle of water, rarely drink any out it. Mostly keep for when I inhale mosquitoes. I hydrate before and after. It's and hour and 40-45 minutes. Now monkey butt that's a different issue...lol

 

[Mike Islander]

With a side effect of temporary insanity

Depends solely on the rider.

 

[Mike Islander]

Just put a movie on...hour goes by in no time...

I load up my atlas with 65lbs of plates go out when it the hottest and most humid, think SC in August. My goal is 5 miles with sub 20 min miles at least 3x a week, add 5 days a week at the gym and I have been fine.
The best thing you can do is get to elevation a day early, no alcohol, and drink plenty of water.

This is funny. I literally workout in SC in August, and he rest of the year. I have a warehouse and do office work in the mornings and warehouse work during the hottest part of the day. Makes it possible to ride dirt bikes off road all summer, despite being covered head to toe in armor. Also makes opening day, August 15, a lot more bearable.

 

[fwafwow]

I agree with all of the above recommendations. I went through the same efforts a few years ago, but luckily there are at least some hills around here for hiking with a pack.

I might have gone overboard, but I rented and used an altitude tent. In addition to any possible benefits, it provided yet another amusing story for my wife and kids to tell our friends.

 

[EdP]

Until elevations exceed 6000ft, the reduction in O2 is not significant enough to have much effect. Most of us easterners have little or no opportunity to train at elevation in preparation for a hunt. It doesn't much matter where you live east of the big river, we are all challenged the same way with training for altitude. What you can do is train your cardiovascular system for the challenges it will face, train your body for the terrain, and plan your travel to give a day and a couple of nights above 7000 ft for a bit of acclimation before going higher.

 

[sILlogger]

There is no replacement for picking up a weight and carrying it. Ruck marches, farmers carry, suitcase carry, hike with a backpack, do zercher squats. Put on a weight vest and get on a stairmaster. Weighted box step ups

Load up a barbell, out it kn squat position and carry it. Add weight and distance. You need to train your body to operate with weight on it over time and distance. It’ll make you gritty.

Lifting weights it great, but you are gonna be starving for oxygen at elevation (compared to what you are used to). Train accordingly. Do high intensity work that makes you gasp for air, that essentially what will happens in the mountains.

You can’t directly train for elevation, but you can get the best prepared you can.

I’m a Midwest guy that hunts our west and has started guiding goats and brown bears in Alaska. I know the feeling. Lol

Good luck to you. Reach out with any questions. I’ll help any way I can.

 

[mtwarden]

The masks have totally been been debunked, so that's an easy pass

What folks experience on a hunt in the West is partly altitude, but a lot of it is simply moving with weight up steep slopes- you can live at 8000' and if you haven't been training with weight moving up a steep slope, guess what- you're going to be hurting, a bunch!

Find something steep, load up a pack (light at first, slowly build) and start hiking hills- that's part of it

The other parts are building a good aerobic base, this takes time (think years, not weeks)- the good news on this front is it's relatively easy to do- 3-4 miles at a moderate pace (hiking or running), moderate being you can still carry on a conversation

Strength train a couple of times a week- concentrate on compound movements- squats, deadlifts, bench, overhead press

Lastly there has been a lot of recent research showing the benefits of training in the heat, not to where you're going to tip over, but moderately. Your body makes physiological changes when exposed to heat, more creation of capillaries in the muscle which equates to more oxygen reaching needy muscles

 

[Slugz]

Take it for what its worth just my 2 sense.

I work 6 months out of the year at sea level. The other 6 months vacation Im at 8000 ft or above. As i get older the number one thing that works for me is keeping my heart rate up while exercising. Knowing your target heart rates and hitting them pays big dividends.

Of course you will have some small issues transitioning into higher altitudes until your blood changes over to account for less oxygen but the felt pain will be less and recovery will be quicker.

IMO

 

[jimh406]

You can use an elevation training mask that restricts your air flow while training. They aren't very expensive (40 dollars or so) and can be bought at Amazon.

 

[EdP]

Limiting your air intake while training seems like a terrible idea. It just limits how hard you can train and that is counter productive.

 

[Centralcoastca]

Sand in plastic bags works pretty good, plus if you need to for whatever reason injury etc you can just dump it. I also would say in addition to all the normal cardio stuff getting acclimated is important. I try to get to altitude a few days prior and just hang out to avoid issues. More time would be better but last time I could afford 3 days and it worked out. Showing up from sea level and hitting the trail on day one is miserable and potentially dangerous.