Working out.

[Hblazier3]

I'm sure this is an overly discussed topic here, but I am a noob.

What do you do to stay fit enough to hike the steep n' deep? I'm 28 years old and have worked out my whole life up until the last few years after i quit riding bucking horses. It's time to get back after it, as i start to notice a bit of jiggle i've never had and packing both my bull and buck out this season was a chore in itself. I'm looking for long term workouts, as its not just for hunting season, its for my overall health as i start gaining more miles.

 

[Titan_Bow]

I’m and old school dude who spent time in the Army. I really believe in the old Army adage “Train like you fight” , I just tailor it to “train like you hunt”. All my workouts are really focused on hunting and archery.
For me, I keep a 55lbs backpack in my truck. At work, I’ll do 45 minutes running up and down this steep outdoor stair complex. I’ll mix that up with doing those same stairs but without the backpack and alternate sets is pushups, squats, crunches etc after each up/down of the stairs. I do a lot of rowing machine also. That builds cardio and back and arm muscle. Long trail runs at altitude really help as well. I try and work out every day during the week.
The key is getting comfortable with the uncomfortable feeling of a heavy pack. If you’ve been doing it all year in your workouts, then that heavy load isn’t going to feel as bad. If, however, you are throwing a 70 to 100 lbs pack on your back and it’s the first time you’ve done it in a year, it’s going to suck a$$


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[TheBootBowhunting]

I dont have the advantage of western terrain, otherwise that would be what I would do. Hills with heavy pack weight. Bonus if you do it at 29 palms....its like walking on a beach with added elevation for fun.

Last year I gave up competitive powerlifting, as I just fluctuated in weight too much and could never get the cardio dialed in. Lost about 50 pounds and it made all the difference in the world on the mountain last September. I covered 68 miles in 9 days, from 7500-11000 feet, went everywhere I wanted and I just never gassed. Breathing heavy, yes. But I didnt 'change plans' halfway up or down a spot I was trying to get to.

I focused on cardio, and legs starting in March. Id do upper body, but just to maintain, not to build. 3 days a week Id do a workout that involved 3-5 minute intervals on an assault bike - but I didnt use my arms, all the power going into the bike was legs. Then Id do a 2 minute interval of some other movement....Lunges, squats, push ups, power cleans, presses etc. So 5 rounds of 5:00 on airbike legs only, 2 minutes to complete 40 squats or push ups (goal was 12-14 cals per min average on the bike). 2 days a week I did intervals or a long distance row on the Concept 2 rower. To me there isnt a better whole body destroyer than that concept 2. Id either row a 5k, 10k, or Id do 500m or 250m intervals, etc with the intensity dependent on the interval distance. Added benefit with the rower is your arms/shoulders/back are constantly working as well, so your upper body and core gets blasted too.

Id take off usually tues and fri from the set workouts but.....

In July and August, I added 10,000 air squats per month on top of that. Id do 300-350 a day, every day - no rest days on the squats. Youve gotta average 330ish to hit 10k, so if you slack you have to pay the man extra, so its best to stay on top the numbers.

Basically you just need your heart to pump blood and your legs to be the reason it does.

 

[Seeknelk]

Starting Strength for the base. Strength is never a weakness. This is the fastest most efficient way to add strength. Get the book, app, whatever and follow the program to a T. Do not skip these newby gains. It's not sexy. ZERO benefits to getting more complicated at the start.
I walk hills with a light pack most of the year. I add some weight as I get closeer to season. Lots and lots of time in zone 2 aerobic work.

 

[Mtnmilsurp]

+1 for starting strength! The very simple regimen of squats and deadlifts are the only way I’ve improved my own strength. Ease intimidated it by starting at low weight with perfect technique.

 

[Wyo_hntr]

You need to build a strength base, now is the time to train that. Then transition to muscle endurance and cardiovascular training. During the summer start working in discipline specific workouts (rucking with weight or weighted hikes)

Do not fall into the trap of only training cardio. Periodization, do not over train.

 

[TheBootBowhunting]

Starting Strength for the base. Strength is never a weakness. This is the fastest most efficient way to add strength. Get the book, app, whatever and follow the program to a T. Do not skip these newby gains. It's not sexy. ZERO benefits to getting more complicated at the start.
I walk hills with a light pack most of the year. I add some weight as I get closeer to season. Lots and lots of time in zone 2 aerobic work.

Agree with this as well......but progress into 5/3/1. I did some version of 5/3/1 for about 15 years. I just needed to focus more on cardio the 6 months leading up to September. So I did strenth from October-March, then I started cardio heavy work, and just did enough to (relatively) maintain strength.

Once youve done SS for a while and want to really bomb your legs, do the Hatch Squat Cycle and set it up to where it ends about 2-3 weeks before you leave for a hunt.

 

[Bearwhisky]

If you are looking for a specific regimen, the programs MTNTOUGH are good. They are easy to follow and productive. Several program options for what you are looking for. The same can definitely be accomplished without subscribing to them, I just find it easy to hit play and start working out without a bunch of planning on my end.


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[justinspicher]

I am pretty lucky to live where I hunt. My hunting areas are from 6500-12k, I live at 7500. I try and do 100 pushups and air squats each day with a little kettlebell work thrown in there. I shovel snow and cut all my firewood by hand so that is quite the workout. About two years ago I stopped squatting with any weight. I do walk quite a bit with a pack on though. I try to keep my workouts pretty simple and short. I don‘t really enjoy working out.

 

[Hoosker Doo]

I'm 32. I've never been extremely dedicated to a workout schedule, but I hike as much as possible and do periodic cardio/running in the summer months. In the past I've had a membership at the gym, but I wasn't consistent enough, but the last year or two I've noticed that my leg joints and muscles are more prone to tweaks, twists, aches and pains when I'm not actively strengthening them, so this fall my wife and I bought and weight set for our home. Squat/bench rack, bar and plates, dumbells, and bench. Anyways, come to find out lifting hard regularly is much easier for me when I don't have to commute to do so and it only takes 30-60 min after I get the kids in bed. I think may have been a life saver for me.

 

[MThuntr]

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EDIT: just about anything you can do from walking to rigorous workouts will be better than not. Keep moving. Squats, Deadlifts, Bulgarian Split squats for leg burning workouts help. Swing some Kettlebells and maybe something with resistance bands if you don't have access to a gym.

You can't outwork a bad diet (I'm guilty of that) so start by cutting liquid calories. Baby steps is ok...start with removing sugary drinks completely. If you drink beer either greatly reduce that or switch to something lighter or switch to clear liquor or cut it completely.

 

[BadEarth]

I’ve been noticing some of the same jiggle, and wondering where the heck that came from. Too much cheese during the holidays

I try to do a 30 minute lift each day and then run. Strengthening my lungs has been the biggest help come hunting season. With young kids I just don’t have the time to load a pack and head to the hills each day

 

[LostArra]

I'm a long time Starting Strength/5-3-1/Barbell Prescription fan along with interval and pack training but I think quartering, skinning, dragging, lifting, packing and hauling large dead animals will always be a chore especially solo.

Strong (plus experience) will always be better than weak but these beasts don't come packaged or positioned as nicely as a barbell. As I tell my nephews and son inlaws: "just embrace the suck". Exhaustion from a successful hunt should be treasured. There are plenty eating tag soup that aren't tired.

 

[Truaxdw]

Another vote for mountain tough

 

[CWA360]

I'm sure this is an overly discussed topic here, but I am a noob.

What do you do to stay fit enough to hike the steep n' deep? I'm 28 years old and have worked out my whole life up until the last few years after i quit riding bucking horses. It's time to get back after it, as i start to notice a bit of jiggle i've never had and packing both my bull and buck out this season was a chore in itself. I'm looking for long term workouts, as its not just for hunting season, its for my overall health as i start gaining more miles.

Just turned 40 this year, still in shape.

Three things:

1) Make exercise and activity part of your lifestyle. In the gym I focus on legs and core, so a lot of squats, lunges, core exercises.

2) Diet. Minimize processed foods and eat organic. Drink water in lieu of soda. Just because it is FDA approved does not mean it is good for you.

3) Supplements: I take fadogia agrestis and tongkat ali for testosterone support. Creatine for muscle and brain health. And Combat protein powder.

Go get it!

 

[ElkTycoon]

I’m in my mid 40’s and it’s certainly more work now to stay in mountain shape now than it used to be when I was younger, and I’ve had to change and adapt to an aging body. I don’t think there is any real magic recipe with all of it, and there is no one-size-fits all approach.

I’ve been a backpack hunter for my entire adult life, and have hunted with people of all sorts of different athletic ability. Thin guys that are runners/triathletes do great hiking around until they have to pack meat and the weight crushes them. Stocky/muscular guys with low aerobic capacity just can’t go very far before they tire out with or without weight.

So from a training perspective, you need to train for both strength and endurance. How you get there really doesn’t matter. What does matter is that you figure out a way to train so that you do it year round. And a little more endurance/aerobic capacity is more important than overall strength.

 

[Yoder]

A few things have helped me hiking longer and steeper terrain. Anything to build leg strength. Squats, goblet squats, split squats, step ups with weight. Rucking hills with a weighted pack. Then the stair climber.

 

[ElkTycoon]

This mornings workout was a good lower body and core workout:

Front squats 12/10/8/8/8/8 (reps)
Romanian Dead Lifts 12/10/8/8/8/8 (reps)
Split Squats 5x sets - 12 reps each leg/set
Glute Bridge 5 sets - 20 reps each leg/set
Planks (Front + L side + R side), 5x sets - 30sec/set

 

[trailblazer75]

There's a free App from Bare Performance Nutrition (BPN) with an EXCELLENT program I've been following for a while. Its a 12 week program, call the "Hybrid Athlete Program".

It breaks out into a 5 day split with the following broad brush stroke details.
Monday- 45-60 minute aerobic run.
Tuesday- Push day (Chest, tris, shoulders) + Core
Wednesday- Pull day (Bakc, Bis) + Variable run (Track run, Sprints, tempo)
Thursday- 45-60 minute aerobic run.
Friday- Legs + Core.

It's nice because it tells you everything to include warm ups, rest times, sets and rep schemes as well as allows you to log everything right in the app. Super user friendly!

 

[mcdues]

As for diet, carbohydrates will give you quick energy whereas protein and fat take longer to digest but will keep you sustained for longer. You also want to make sure you're getting plenty of electrolytes like salt and potassium. The foods you brought are lightweight and calorie dense, although you want to be careful with sugar as it can give you lots of energy quickly but then cause a crash later.

As for exercise, grab a water bottle, some snacks, and go for a long walk. Repeat until you're tired. Soon you’ll find you’re more fit than most.