Workout goal for backpack mountain trip

[bigdesert10]

I don't really know that I have any fitness goals relative to hunting. The important thing is just to stay active and exercise throughout the year. You may find aspects of your fitness that you'd like to improve year to year, but don't go thinking that you have to be Cam Hanes to have a successful hunt. Everything you do fitness-wise is a benefit, but don't get neurotic about it. You can get away with a lot less than people think, so long as you're mentally tough.

Personally, I spent that last couple years mostly power lifting. I found that it helped a ton with my ability to handle heavy loads, muscle endurance and recovery. I recently hit the strength goals I set out to reach and decided to give the crossfit thing a go. I'm losing weight and gaining cardio capacity, but also sacrificing some brute strength. I'm interested to see how it affects my experiences this year, starting with spring bear coming up soon.

 

[justinspicher]

I guess I don’t put much effort into training because I’m hiking all summer for work, usually above 10k while carrying a pack. It’s not real heavy, but I am usually about 25-30lbs lighter due to the body weight I lose.

 

[S.Clancy]

Being in shape is great an all...but too often guys focus so much on fitness that they are not even close to being prepared mentally for the hunt...and drop out early because it's nothing like they envisioned.
If you can do anything relatively strenuous for 1-2 hours...you should be good. Make sure your boots fit good all day, get your pack on with some weight...but most importantly prepare for long hard days in the mountains, particularly those days you see nor hear nothing, nothing at all and swear there are no elk in the entire state...mental fatigue will end the hunt 10x faster than physical fatigue.

Good Luck, enjoy the journey...and share your story/pics!

I think most guys don't focus on fitness enough. With increased fitness comes confidence, and with confidence comes mental fortitude. I don't think there is any downside to more fitness as long as you have the time and aren't getting injured.

 

[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

I think most guys don't focus on fitness enough. With increased fitness comes confidence, and with confidence comes mental fortitude. I don't think there is any downside to more fitness as long as you have the time and aren't getting injured.

Each situation varies but yeah I tend to agree in the terrain I hunt which is fairly strenuous (where as other stuff I've previously hunted isn't nearly as taxing). Last year myself and partner trained moderately hard (both have young kids and work travel) and were able to function well and stay mentally positive as the suck factor was greatly reduced. A 3rd hunter was out with us for elk and he did not train hard and was hurting trying to keep up even when we weren't moving fast (when we did move fast he got left behind), it taxed his mental state to be hurting/strained most of the time.

Heading in predawn for deer in the cold in fresh snow with our full camping gear we passed some guys from TX that just had their day packs on (they were camped up on a lower ridge we had already passed) and were moving about 3x their speed. We were comfortable in the environment because we could move around in it decently. Those folks were gone the next afternoon when we passed their camping spot (not sure if they left the area opening day or morning day 2). Could have been coincidence but I suspect the fitness level didn't match what the terrain required and less aggressive turf was pursued.

In no ways am I some sort of fitness beast, I don't run ultra fast, I don't set records with weights, etc. but I did spend 10weeks working that MTI routine as much as I could and the box stepping, pack hikes (with a good load) and core routines gave me a solid baseline.

 

[RyanC]

shameless plug: Check out this short article discussing the 5 exercises every Hunter Should Be Doing.

5 Training Movements Every Hunter Should Be Doing- by Kenton Clairmont – Train to Hunt

Outside of these core exercises do a long slow bout (keeping HR around 70-80% max) 3 days of week for around 1 hour and build up from there. Whether it's hiking, jogging, biking, swimming, or rowing. Just get your aerobic conditioning at it's peak. Days are long in the mountains and you'll be glad you prepared.

Ryan

 

[bigdesert10]

shameless plug: Check out this short article discussing the 5 exercises every Hunter Should Be Doing.

5 Training Movements Every Hunter Should Be Doing- by Kenton Clairmont – Train to Hunt

Outside of these core exercises do a long slow bout (keeping HR around 70-80% max) 3 days of week for around 1 hour and build up from there. Whether it's hiking, jogging, biking, swimming, or rowing. Just get your aerobic conditioning at it's peak. Days are long in the mountains and you'll be glad you prepared.

Ryan

Good stuff. I really dig the Basque flag as well.

 

[TBossHSauce]

I find a stairwell that is 10+ stories, the taller the better.

50lb pack, 1000 feet up 1000 feet down in an hour, no stopping. I do that one day a week and then run the stairs one day a week with no pack. The rest of the week is my normal workout routine in the gym.

I'm in Houston so part of the challenge is the heat/humidity as summer wears on.

I've got a 12 story stairwell with no ventilation and it gets brutal. Hotels are good but no breeze.

Altitude kills me but I do what I can while living at 73 feet elevation.

This is what I did to get ready for Kodiak deer last October. Stairwells and Texas humidity will beat you down! before the trip it was 3 miles a day, weight training, stairwell training once a week, and stadium running once a week. I'm glad I did too! Nothing could have prepared me for Kodiak as I waaay underestimated it. Glad I put in the work ahead of time. Those that didn't suffered and paid the price!

 

[robie]

This is what I did to get ready for Kodiak deer last October. Stairwells and Texas humidity will beat you down! before the trip it was 3 miles a day, weight training, stairwell training once a week, and stadium running once a week. I'm glad I did too! Nothing could have prepared me for Kodiak as I waaay underestimated it. Glad I put in the work ahead of time. Those that didn't suffered and paid the price!

Its pretty brutal but gets the job done. I sweat a great deal more in a stairwell than I ever will running at the park.

 

[Wapiti_Harvest]

Hi Widerd,
Older guy here and really not into the fitness scene as others who have posted some great advice here.You asked for advice for setting goals for your trip.A suggestion I might add is to use the research you've done on the hunt at hand to help you set those goals. What's worked for me is figuring out what the trip might require and upping it slightly so you can due it with ease. Let's say hypothetically, you know you have a five mile pack in with a 40 pound pack train for 6 miles with 50. It has elevation involved, why train on flatland hit the stairmaster. Think you might have to pick up 150lbs, train for 185 etc etc... probably not as science based as some of the other tips you've given but has worked pretty well for me and wanted to pass it along.

 

[sveltri]

I haven't read this thread in its entirety so I apologize if this has already been stated. 1) Time under your weighted pack, get comfortable with it. 2) Jumping lunges/jumping squats, I believe its the best training you can do for coming downhill and staying comfortably in control. Additionally there are lower body endurance benefits to gain. 3) Tire drags, they freakin suck, but if you don't have good topography to train with you can still develop/strengthen the muscles for climbing uphill. 4) Posterior chain and core training - kettlebell swings and TGU work well and shoulder stability and mobility is a secondary benefit. 5) Short sprints (uphill if its an option) - it doesn't do you much good to get to the spot if by the time you've recovered enough for the shot the animal is gone or has moved again. 6) Long Slow Distance - I don't really get why/how this works but it seems to.

 

[cambo0420]

You can buy one of the altitude masks

 

[Tank76]

Being in shape is great an all...but too often guys focus so much on fitness that they are not even close to being prepared mentally for the hunt...and drop out early because it's nothing like they envisioned.
If you can do anything relatively strenuous for 1-2 hours...you should be good. Make sure your boots fit good all day, get your pack on with some weight...but most importantly prepare for long hard days in the mountains, particularly those days you see nor hear nothing, nothing at all and swear there are no elk in the entire state...mental fatigue will end the hunt 10x faster than physical fatigue.

Good Luck, enjoy the journey...and share your story/pics!

I agree 100%. Being mentally prepared is a huge part of the trip for me. I worried about the physical aspect of the hunt when I started going out west but quickly found out being mentally prepared was just as important. I’m a flat lander from the Gulf Coast of Alabama so, I can’t replicate Colorado terrain to train on. However, I run a couple miles daily and lift weights. Get as fit as you can and prepare for amazing highs and the lowest of lows. Chasing animals in the mountains is amazing! Good luck.


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[wesGiddingshunt]

I do bleachers at our high school in the mornings about 3 months before I go on my trip, ill do 60-90 minutes up & down bleachers 6-7 times then 2 laps around the track over and over, start with 25 lbs in my pack after a month go to 40 lbs, I dropped 20 lbs of body weight by doing that and never changed my diet.

I like this style. Simple. No need to put 100 pounds in your pack at least not regularly.. when it comes down to it 100 lbs is gonna hurt the next day if you’ve practiced it or not. Steady progression can’t hurt either, a few months of training will get you quite a bit farther than the average guy!

 

[Rhino8541]

Being in shape is great an all...but too often guys focus so much on fitness that they are not even close to being prepared mentally for the hunt...and drop out early because it's nothing like they envisioned.
If you can do anything relatively strenuous for 1-2 hours...you should be good. Make sure your boots fit good all day, get your pack on with some weight...but most importantly prepare for long hard days in the mountains, particularly those days you see nor hear nothing, nothing at all and swear there are no elk in the entire state...mental fatigue will end the hunt 10x faster than physical fatigue.

Good Luck, enjoy the journey...and share your story/pics!

I know how this feels!

 

[TravisIN]

If I was out west I’d just go to the mountains and scout. Since I’m In the Midwest the best scouting I can do is on a computer or phone which I spend a ton of time on...at work . I try and read whatever I can scrounge up about elk and the type of food they prefer and behavior as much as I can. So since I can’t do it exactly how I want i try and train pretty hard. I work 12s and have a very busy family life with kids in a bunch of activities. So I go before work, up at 3 am to be in the gym. I also try and do at least one weighted ruck a week at a bluff nearby. I could probably get away with less training for sure and could do it at a different time. But gettin up at 3am and getting motivated to get after it is a great way to work the mental toughness. It sucks, I’m not a morning person at all. But I chose to do it this way because it’s 1) better for my family 2) harder and challenging mentally. 3) keeps my free daylight hours available to shoot my bow. I agree with the guys saying it’s more mental toughness than physical. But the physical can’t hurt and can really help your mental if your like me and hate doing it. Good luck man. Just go give it your all


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[stump06]

I went on my first elk hunting trip 2 years ago and swore I was never going back, those mountains kicked my a$$!!
Now, 2 years later I'm planning another trip. What I really took away from the first one was how much my calves got worked. Everywhere out there is either up, down or sidehill so your calves are always working. This go around im gonna work my calves every time im in the gym. Also what the guy said about being in the right mental state is a biggie. Go into it knowing its gonna suck. Take your time and enjoy the mountains. Elk hunting is the ultimate type 2 fun.