Working out during season

[rtaylor2626]

I have worked really hard tho get where I’m at physically for this hunting season and now that my first tag opens up this Friday I wasn’t sure what to do working out wise. Do you guys just continue your daily workouts as usual or do you scale back/focus on other stuff than strength training during season?


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[Poser]

I try and manage my cumulative fatigue levels as much as possible so, there are definitely some "light" days in there depending on how grueling of a week its been, but, for the most part, I stick with the same approach of heavy, low volume barbell training, but I drop the volume back and do more 3x3 vs 3x5. Deadlifts I will drop back to 1x3 and just once a week and find that I can maintain strength levels for several weeks.

There was a study at some point on deployed Marines that found they could maintain their strength levels for quite some time with a single 1x3 working set once a week on the big lifts. Obviously, those guys in the study were young and in their prime, but they were also likely getting a lot of physical and mental stress elsewhere and on insufficient sleep. I've found that study to be generally true as I have experimented with maintenance strength during hunting and ski season.

Otherwise, I still get in at least one mid week conditioning hike.

 

[rtaylor2626]

I try and manage my cumulative fatigue levels as much as possible so, there are definitely some "light" days in there depending on how grueling of a week its been, but, for the most part, I stick with the same approach of heavy, low volume barbell training, but I drop the volume back and do more 3x3 vs 3x5. Deadlifts I will drop back to 1x3 and just once a week and find that I can maintain strength levels for several weeks.

There was a study at some point on deployed Marines that found they could maintain their strength levels for quite some time with a single 1x3 working set once a week on the big lifts. Obviously, those guys in the study were young and in their prime, but they were also likely getting a lot of physical and mental stress elsewhere and on insufficient sleep. I've found that study to be generally true as I have experimented with maintenance strength during hunting and ski season.

Otherwise, I still get in at least one mid week conditioning hike.

I’ll have to look into that seems like an interesting study. That’s for the most part what I’ve been doing plus keeping my cardio up.


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[LCguy]

I usually try to line it up so my de-load weeks line up with my hunts. Doesn't always line up perfectly but taking a week off here and there outside your normal deloads isn't gonna ruin your gains/physique. Might feel a little flat but your muscles will bounce back quick.

As Poser said managing fatigue is also important. My elk and deer tags are usually back-to-back. Doesn't make sense for me to hunt elk hard for 7 days, then lift with my usual intensity in the gym the two days in between and then go hunt deer hard. I'd be too fatigued.

 

[alaska80]

I have worked really hard tho get where I’m at physically for this hunting season and now that my first tag opens up this Friday I wasn’t sure what to do working out wise. Do you guys just continue your daily workouts as usual or do you scale back/focus on other stuff than strength training during season?


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I think the answer depends on what your hunting season looks like.

I hunt all year round and keep my workouts the same except for August and September where I spend about 6 weeks in the mountains. These hunts are all very physically demanding and include a ton of cardio. So during that two month block I have found maintaining my strength/mobility is the most important thing for me to do. To do that I normally switch to a TB Fighter program and just hit the big 4 twice a week, keeping my normal training maxes. I do some occasional supplemental work if I feel like it and will throw in some mobility work throughout the week.

TB Fighter has a progression of 70/80/90 percent of TM by week, volume is relatively low 3-5 sets x 5 reps on 70/80 and 3-5 sets of 3 reps on 90.

If I know I am going on a particularly difficult hunt I will not do deadlifts. They take the most out of me and I will do minimal sets on back squat.

If I have done a really hard hunt, e.g. packing moose for 3-5 days x 10-12 hours a day then I will just take the entire next week off.

Muscle mass is very difficult to lose from my experience and strength goes slowly. Case in point, I did a 2 week hunt one time where I pulled a 600lb raft up a river for one day, we shot a 54" bull and drug that and my gear (about 1100-1200lb) another 2 days upriver. We then shot a 57" bull and did about 45 miles on foot, 12-15 of which was hauling that moose. After I got back, I took a week off then tested my maxes the following week (3 weeks from last lifting session) and easily set a lifetime PR on deadlift.

I only tell that story to highlight the fact that I think we get too caught up in the attitude of "if I miss a week or two I will lose all my strength/muscle mass." From my experience that has not been the case at all. Ultimately I would err on the side of training less during your peak hunting season so you are as fresh as possible for what life and the environment throws at you.

 

[mtwarden]

My hunting season is roughly 10 weeks; I’m retired so I hunt a lot of that 10 weeks, but certainly not all of it.

I’m pretty flexible as far as how much and how often I work out, basing it mostly on how I feel. Lots of tough hunting, very little training. Less tough hunting, some training.

I back off the weight some strength training and any aerobic training is typically lower volume and intensity.

I find hunting is usually a pretty good workout on its own

 

[Poser]

If you find yourself with that "heavy legs" feeling, that is CNS fatigue. That's going to be a good sign that you need to avoid or minimize additional stress on the body. Its something that happens in the field all of the time and you often just have to push through it and deal with it, but, for example, if you experience "heavy legs" while out hunting on Sunday and you're back on your regular routine the following week, that's going to be an indicator that you need some additional rest and will want to avoid/moderate particularly stressful training.

Most people will find themselves particularly more sensitive to cumulative stress with each decade of their life.

 

[GunsAreFun]

I cut back two weeks leading up to the hunt from four workouts per week to three. I also do little to no rucking to avoid any injury. I’ll hike with my actual loadout and bike.

Use the day off to spend extra time shooting the bow.

Disclosure: I am just a guy. Not an exercise science expert at all.

 

[*zap*]

Listen to your body.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

I don’t over think it. I’ll workout whatever my routine is right up until the day I leave or the day before I leave. When I get back and I’m home between trips or whatever I just workout as usual.

It’s never seemed to cause any issues.

 

[TaperPin]

On the fire crew we’d have some killer steep and physical fires, some that were just a lot of calorie burning line digging, and short and long breaks inbetween. I settled the crew into cardio on odd days and lifting on even anytime we weren’t on a fire. That way it didn’t matter when someone’s days off were, where we were, what anyone felt like, or other excuses. Being physical in the backcountry isn’t always enough, especial for legs. We’d think we were getting a good workout in moderately steep country for a month of nearly solid fires, then get in steep country and have guys more sore and injured than they should have been. Keeping our workouts consistent inbetween fires helped solve most of that.

Typically it seemed to us that even guys with beach muscles need more stress on joints and connections to supporting muscles than their workout provides, so tapering off isn’t really helping the areas that will be causing them issues. Guys who are animals in the mountains also had little need to taper off workouts because a pack in is just another day, although nobody would suggest running a marathon or hiking Longs Peak the day before hunting season opens.

Watch out for confusing sluggishness on a heavy all day pack in with your workout the week prior. Many times in a group setting it’s easy to see, either fire crews, friends hunting together, or peak bagging, some guys really feeling it are actually dehydrated and/or not keeping up with calorie burn. Some of us can flip the switch, pound water and eat all day and some have a harder time and have to force it.

I’ve had one of these $100 freight scales (easily enough resolution to judge 1/2 pound changes) through many different workout phases and strenuous careers and it’s a great way to check your hydration after a long day of steep hiking or heavy working. Water is 8lbs a gallon, if you are getting enough throughout the day when you left in the morning you should be roughly the same weight in the evening. 3,500 calories in a pound of body fat - if you’re calorie deprived losing weight will quickly show up in a couple of days. If I’m in the mountains for even a few weeks I’m getting heavier and clothes are fitting looser, but some guys naturally just thin out and stay the same weight. If someone is losing weight there’s no doubt they would perform better with more calories. For guys who are OCD about what their bodies are doing a scale is a fun gadget.